I slowly brought my eyes back up to the window. The iPad was no longer mounted in front of it. The only thing before me was the open concrete room. I released a small sigh of relief.
I’m just losing my head. There’s no one in here, I told myself.
No sooner than the thought crossed my mind, a naked woman appeared in the middle of the room. Her body was covered in bruises, her hair gone, and her eyes completely blacked out. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, but she was still there. She cocked her head to the side, staring at me with her creepy eyes before an almost demonic grin pulled at her lips.
“Do you not recognize yourself?” she asked.
“What the hell are you…” I trailed off when my mind finally processed who was actually before me. “Are you…me?”
“Aurora in the flesh,” she replied, gesturing along her body.
Then I noticed it. The placement of the bruises. Her lack of hair. The bandages on her wrists, both with a thin strip of red across them from where the cuts still bled. She was the epitome of everything Bennett had done to me and what I’d brought upon myself, proof of what I’d suffered and would probably continue to suffer. But her black eyes made her appear evil, her teeth sharp and jagged. She was fucking terrifying.
Why could I see her while I was awake?
Because you’re starting to lose your mind, just as Bennett intended, I told myself. As much as I hated to admit it, Bennett’s tactics might be working better than he’d anticipated.
“What the hell happened to you?” I asked, unsure if she could even hear me from inside the box. She took a couple of steps closer, the creepy smile never leaving her lips.
“Let’s not ask questions we both know the answer to,” she scolded, cocking her head as she came to a stop a couple of feet away. “The weaker you get, the stronger I become.”
“What the fuck does that even mean?” I snapped.
I was sick of all these imaginary people and their fucking riddles. I could barely think straight, nor could I make sense between what was real or a part of my imagination anymore.
“It means you’ll need me soon.” She took a few steps back and held out her hand. “Are you ready to break yet?”
I scoffed. This had to be some hologram or something Bennett put together to freak me out. Fucking bastard. He’d have to do a lot more than leave me in a room with a dead body or lock me in a cramped box in order to break me.
“Fuck you and him,” I snapped. “This isn’t going to break me.”
She only continued to smile. “Soon it will. The offer still stands,” she said and disappeared.
Darkness shrouded me once again, and I continued to stand there, shivering, in pain, and on edge. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed as I dozed off for a few moments, only to be jolted awake when I’d lean too much on the nails.
My heart nearly leapt for joy when the heavy door finally opened, letting in a stream of light from the hallway. I heard his shoes against the concrete before I saw him. As much as I hated him, I’d never been so happy to see him when he appeared in front of the box.
“Please let me out,” I croaked as he stood there looking at me.
He cocked his head to the side, a sinister grin on his lips as he shook his head.
“Nah. I think I’ll just leave you in here to die,” he said. “You’re definitely not worth the headache.”
“No!” I screamed. “No! Please! I don’t want to die!”
But he didn’t stop.
He walked back out of the room, casting me in darkness again as I screamed.
I jolted awake, gasping as I looked around and touched the nails sticking out of the walls of my prison. My heart raced in my chest. Was I dreaming while awake, or was I in and out of sleep?
I fought the urge to press my hands to my eyes because I didn't want the nails to prick me. I knew I'd started to seriously lose my mind, unsure of what was real, a dream, or a delusion anymore. When Bennett did return, it would be to take me to another punishment, something more sinister and nefarious than this box. I rested my head against the window, and I sighed. I just wanted this week to be over with.
A little while later, the door to the room opened, the lights in the room coming to life. Bennett’s dress shoes clicked against the concrete, the sound hollow in my mind.
I closed my eyes, unsure if it was my imagination again or if he was really here. He didn’t say anything as he looked at me through the window, briefly glancing down at the iPad on the floor. I was afraid to say anything out of fear it was another trick my mind my mind was playing on me. He opened the door, and I collapsed into him, unable to remain standing any longer. I quickly met the concrete when he stepped back and allowed me to fall, but still not saying anything to me.
“Please,” I croaked. “I’m sorry. I’ve learned my lesson!”
Two pair of hands reached down to pull me to my feet, but I couldn’t will my legs to work. They dragged me over to the corner where Bennett had hosed me down the day before, and I screamed. I was already freezing; I didn’t want to be pummeled with high pressured water again.
“No! I’m sorry! I learned my lesson!” I screamed as I tried to shake from their grasp, but I was too weak to fight them off.
They tossed me onto the floor and turned on a shower. Icy water sprayed down on me, so cold that it hurt every nerve in my body. My teeth involuntarily chattered, and I could hardly breathe.
I couldn’t get any words out or muster up the energy to pull myself out from under the spray. My body shivered so violently that I couldn’t form words or thoughts. I hoped I’d just freeze to death so it would all be over, but I knew Bennett wouldn’t let me off so easily.
The water shut off, and the pairs of hands grabbed me again, dragging me across the floor and out into the hall. The warmth from the hallway was no match for the coldness that had seeped into my bones and all the way to my soul. My eyes couldn’t focus on anything as they took me to another room. My brain could only process one thought: At least it's warmer in here.
Bennett roughly dried me with a towel and nodded at the men holding me. They put me onto a table and quickly secured my arms and legs in the shackles at the four corners of the table.
At least I can sleep, I thought as Bennett and the men walked out, leaving me alone again.
No sooner than I closed my eyes, loud rock music blasted from unseen speakers, the noise rattling me. Tears burned my eyes as I laid there. I just wanted to sleep. After two days of hardly any rest, I was beyond exhausted. The longer I went without sleep, the closer Bennett came to achieving his goal of successfully breaking me. I didn’t want to crumble so easily, but as the hours went on and the torture became more severe, I didn’t know how much more I can take.
The woman from the last room appeared again and stayed there during my entire punishment, her arm outstretched.
“Take my hand when you’re ready to break,” she said, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t give Bennett the satisfaction.
“No!” I screamed, but I couldn’t hear myself over the loud music.
She said nothing as she continued to look at me with that demonic smile and those frightening black eyes, her arm outstretched to me. The tired part of me wanted to take her hand. I didn’t know if it meant that she’d kill me or not, but maybe that wasn’t a bad thing since I’d failed so miserably on my own.
After another night without sleep, food, and water, Bennett came back to the room to retrieve me, taking me back to the chilly concrete room again.
“No, no, no,” I begged.
I didn’t want to be sprayed down again or be put back in the box. I didn’t want to freeze in here for another twenty-four hours. It didn’t matter to him what I wanted though. The men put me back in the icy shower until I shook from the cold, and Bennett brought a tray containing a bottle and a bowl of something.
Food. Finally.
I rushed over as quickly as I could to him, my legs tingling as if someone had pricked th
em with needles in order to wake up. They gave out when I reached him, and I fell to his feet, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
“Do you want to eat?” he finally asked.
“Please,” I whispered, my empty stomach growling so loud it almost echoed in the empty room.
Bennett looked down at me and grinned, the action sending a chill down my spine that was much colder than any water he could’ve sprayed me with.
“Kiss my feet,” he said.
From my memories, I knew this was the part where I’d usually defy him, but that part of me was quiet. What had happened to me? I knew I didn’t want to be further humiliated for a meager meal that was probably the worst he could get for me without making me sick.
He looked at me expectantly, his grip on the tray tightening the longer I took to obey. One thing was certain; if I didn’t do what he said, it would be another day without food. I couldn’t afford that.
I dropped my eyes to his shiny black dress shoes and swallowed hard. The request was so simple but so daunting. It felt wrong, but he didn’t leave me with much of a choice if I wanted to eat. Slowly leaning forward, I placed a small kiss on his shoe, shame and humiliation radiating through me. When I moved to sit up, his voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Last time I checked, I had two feet,” he said, his tone flat.
I swallowed hard and leaned down to kiss his other shoe, not daring to move in the event he told me to do something else. He took a step back and placed the tray down in front of me. A lump of oatmeal sat in the bowl with two pathetic blueberries on top of it, a small bottle of water next to it.
“Thank you,” I murmured, unable to meet his eyes.
The words tasted like poison on my tongue. He didn’t deserve anything like that from me, but I figured if he saw I’d changed—that I was willing to listen—he’d end my punishment early. But Bennett never made things easy. He could sniff out bullshit a mile away, always two steps ahead of his opponent.
“There’s a bucket over there in the corner so you can stop pissing yourself,” he said and pointed to a plastic bucket.
Bruce walked in with a blanket and a pathetic excuse for a pillow and tossed it on the floor next to me.
Bennett smiled, but it was wicked, dark. “I’m at least nice enough to give you something to keep warm for the next twenty-four hours.”
I ground my teeth. He’d said it as if he was so proud of himself, so happy that he was “nice enough” to make my suffering a sliver of an inch less just because he gave me a fucking blanket and pillow. I forced myself to tell him thank you, keeping my eyes down until they left me in the room.
With a sigh, I quickly unraveled the blanket and wrapped it around me. The material was scratchy, but I didn’t even care. I propped myself up against the wall, eating my cold breakfast of oatmeal and water. The food felt heavy in my stomach, sending me to the bucket not much later to use the bathroom. My stomach cramped, and I groaned. It would be a long fucking twenty-four hours.
The concrete floor was cold as I went to lay on it. I got up and spread the blanket out on the floor before lying down and wrapping myself like a burrito. Though it took a good while, I finally stopped shivering, and my teeth no longer chattered. My heavy eyes finally closed, pulling me off into a much-needed slumber, but it was anything but peaceful.
I groaned out loud when I was back at the safe house. She was the last person I’d wanted to see after all the trouble I’d gotten in, but there she was in her regular spot. Instead of stoking the fire in the fireplace, she only looked at me, the other woman appearing next to her.
“I don’t know what the fuck you two lunatics want with me now, but I’m out,” I said holding my hands up.
Stephanie frowned. “I’ve already told you what you need to know. You just need to figure out what to do with it as well as get the truth to Bennett.”
I waved my arms around the living room. “And you see how well that’s worked out for me, haven’t you?” I said sarcastically. “Look, you can take your little dream quest and shove it up your dead ass. If you want him to know something, fucking tell him yourself. I don’t owe him a damn thing, and I don’t owe you anything either.”
“Is that what you think?” the woman next to her said, cocking her head to the side. “That you don’t owe her anything?”
“I don’t even know her anymore. She’s not the little girl I remember from my childhood.” I glared at Stephanie. “The girl I knew never would’ve fallen for a jackass like Bennett.”
“Situations can change anyone,” Stephanie said through gritted teeth. “Just like he’s slowly breaking you down until you’re nothing but a shell of your former self.”
“I’m not that weak,” I fired back.
Stephanie grinned at me. “Then why is she here?” she asked, gesturing to the woman next to her. “You’re losing a battle you never had a chance of winning. And soon, when it becomes too much, you’ll be begging her to come save you.”
“Like fucking hell I will,” I snapped. “Either way, I’m done with this dream bullshit with you. Tell Bennett yourself.”
“I’ll see you soon,” the woman cooed, waving at me.
The door opened briefly, another food tray appearing before it slammed shut again. I slowly sat up on my elbow and glanced over at the tray. The oatmeal had been replaced with a sandwich, an orange, and a bottle of water. I sighed to myself as I sat completely upright, reaching over for the tray and dragging it over to me. I ate it a lot slower than I did breakfast, the food settling better than it did this morning.
Hours and days meshed together. I only knew it was a new day when Bennett would reappear to drag me off to the next punishment. It was like playing ping pong in between the concrete room and a smaller version of the Retribution room.
Day Four: strapped in a chair while hooded, listening to Savannah scream on a loop.
Day Five: Suspended in the air and force fed by hooded men, Bennett standing in the doorway with an indifferent expression on his face before he and the helper left me alone again.
Day Six: Twenty-four hours of darkness and no human contact.
The longer I was locked up, the quicker my mind slipped away. My dreams of Stephanie ceased after the last one, but the evil version of myself always appeared the same way as she usually did. A part of my mind screamed at me to take her hand. I wasn’t sure what taking her hand would do, I was so desperate to leave the hell I was in, just as I was when I’d attempted suicide in the first place.
Normal people didn’t go to war with other people over respect and unspoken rules. What kind of existence could you have when you had to walk on eggshells around the man who snatched you from your life while running or fighting for your safety because other people also wanted you dead?
By the sixth day, everything in me wanted to let go and leave the hell that was my life, but a small voice inside of me told me to keep fighting, to keep moving forward as the week was quickly coming to a close.
“Just one more day left,” I said, glancing up at the clock in the concrete room.
It hovered just above the door, the only light in the pitch-black room. I wasn’t sure if Bennett put that there for me to help drive me even crazier as I watched the minutes tick by or if it’d always been there, but I watched it like a hawk whenever I was in the concrete room. After hours of watching the time slowly tick by, Bennett was in the doorway at 9:00 in the morning.
“Ready for your final punishment?” he asked.
I was mentally weak and beyond ready for this to be over with. I never wanted to go through this again, so I’d do whatever he said just so I wouldn’t have to suffer through another punishment.
“Well?”
“Yes, sir,” I murmured, keeping my eyes low.
Bruce and Saint came into the room and pulled me to my feet, escorting me back to the Retribution room, where it all began. They worked quietly as they restrained me in chains dangling from the ceiling. I fought the urge to groan.
Once I was secured, Bennett walked over and stopped in front of me. He didn’t say anything for a long moment as he stared at me. His face held no hint of emotion, but his eyes were a brewing storm that made me tremble in fear.
I wasn’t sure what kind of punishment the last day would hold. After everything I’d been through, I hoped it wasn’t physical. My legs were already weak, my body and mind were weary, and I knew that any more pain would cause the last part of me to break.
“It’s been a long week, hasn’t it?” he finally said.
“Yes, sir.”
He looked at Saint and Bruce, who were still in the room. “I got it from here. You two can wait outside for now,” he said.
The men nodded and walked out into the hall, closing the door behind them and leaving me in Hell with the devil.
“Are you truly ready to follow the rules? This is going to be the last time I ask you this question,” he said.
I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Do you understand that I can do whatever I want with you whenever I want to?”
“Yes, sir,” I said with no hesitation.
“I don’t want to hear anything else about this Stephanie bullshit you’ve been going on about. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good,” he said and walked behind me.
The silence heightened my anxiety. It was one thing to know what my punishment was so I could brace myself, but I didn’t know what I needed to brace for. I didn’t know if he’d leave me standing there for a few hours, spank me again, shock me, or something else sinister. The chains jingled as I trembled. Bennett opened and closed something behind me. Suddenly, I felt his presence behind me.
“As your last punishment, you’ll get forty lashes. Do you understand?”
Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection Page 31
