"Please!" Garrett screamed from his cell as the metal doors slid open.
Kai held himself tightly to keep his body warm in the metal and concrete cell he was kept in. Scratches from previous captives were cut into the walls, with some leaving behind blood as they tried to scrape their way to freedom. One light overhead, one vent on the wall, and a large metal door was all he could make out as he shuddered and panted in terror.
A large metal collar had been affixed to his neck tightly, and the skin around it was raw and aching to be freed. Garrett continued shrieking as he was carried down the hall, his limbs flailing and kicking for anything he could reach as they took him to the pristine white steel door on the opposite end of where they arrived from.
"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.." A large thud of the door cut him off and from behind it, Garrett could be heard screaming even louder as he begged not to be strapped to a chair. Kai muttered and restarted his prayer three more times, burying his hands in his hair as he felt tears begin to drip. "Oh god what am I going to do?"
He had been awake for what felt like hours, but the isolation and dim light was beginning to seep in and play tricks on his mind. "Oooh..what?" He heard a familiar voice through the vent and stood up, hysterical in his excitement.
"Ari!" He called out to the metal.
"Kai?" He heard her sit up, the dose of whatever they were given wearing off slower in her body. "What the fuck?" She tugged at her metal collar.
"Don't fight it! They shock you if you fuck with the collar!" He grinned and stomped his feet in happiness. "I was scared you were dead." Kai heard the shock of the collar go off through the vent and winced, Ariana now groaning.
"Kai where are we?" She asked sleepily.
"No idea. They drugged us and took us here. Garrett is awake, but they're torturing him in the other room." He sighed.
"Derrick?" She asked with fear in her voice.
"No Derrick, Jason, or Miles." Kai looked at the old and stained mattress they had provided for his room. "Any chance we can get out of here?"
Ariana stood, looking around as she touched her cell. "I don't think so..." She tapped on the walls. "Solid concrete. I think we're underground but I can't tell."
"Why did they raid our house?" Kai asked the walls around him.
Ari groaned in frustration. "Who fucking knows."
More screams filled the air from down the hall for a few minutes, and then silence. With a clang the metal door at the end of the hall opened once again, and being dragged out by two guards was Garrett. The heavy panting and dripping of blood could be heard through the vents. Kai leaned forward to his cell door and tried to make out what he could through the small food slot as he pushed it open.
Both of Garrett's legs were covered in blood, and the boy was dragged all the way to his cell and slammed inside. Tired, bloody, and painful breathing of their friend was still audible after they slammed the metal door shut. Kai waited until the guards had departed and called out to his friend. "Garrett, please tell me you're alive."
Ariana and Kai listened but only heard his panting. "Garrett, can you hear us?" They screamed out one after another.
"Stop...yelling." He slowly answered in a dull tone that made Kai strain to understand it.
"Oh thank God." Kai whispered as tears dripped down his face. "Don't die on us, we're gonna get you out of here!"
Garrett's rasping laughter could be heard from his cell, and the sound filled Kai with sadness. "Sure." He gasped.
"What the hell do they want from us?" Ariana called out.
"M...m.." He stuttered in response, and for a minute he coughed and spat blood on the floor. "They...want...Miles."
Kai sat back in confusion. "Miles?" Garrett only panted and struggled for more breath. "What the fuck do they want him for?"
"No...clue." The response made Kai sit and stare up at the light as he thought diligently. Internally he cursed his ally for whatever he might have done to catch their attention.
Hours dripped by as they waited for more, with Garrett struggling every minute to keep awake. "Don't...let...me...die...in...my...sleep." He gasped, sliding to the floor and coughing up more blood.
Ariana and Kai tried to stay quiet to let him rest peacefully, but after a confusingly long amount of time, the door at the end of the hall opened once more. Three guards came to Kai's cell and began to open the lock, and as they did, he stood and readied his hands to fight. When the door opened and they were visible, he was struck in the chest with the two darts of a taser. Seizing and shaking his body hit the floor, with the guards turning it on two more times and chuckling to themselves before they lifted his body.
Dragging him down the hall, Kai's drool hit the floor. He was taken through the metal door and into a shining white tiled room with a large chair in the center. With his energy sapped from the taser, he could barely kick and fight back against them as they sat him in it, and strapped him down limb by limb. The guards took their place at the back of the room, and in walked a woman in a black suit. She wheeled in a tray of tools. Pliers, scalpels, knives, and even a hammer.
She was silent as she wheeled them closer and closer to the chair, her face blank as though she was going to file paperwork. "Who the fuck are you?" Kai yelled.
Her tone was cool, and her eyes hidden behind shades as she adjusted her tie. "I'm going to ask you once civilly, where is Miles and the rest of your comrades?"
"Why Miles?" Kai asked, but instead she heaved a heavy sigh.
"He's unfortunately going to bring about the end of the world if you don't give me him." She said plainly.
"That's horse shit." Kai laughed.
She leaned close to Kai. "I have it on good authority."
Kai spat right in her face, and with a look of rage, she grabbed her scalpel and held down his hand. Slowly she pressed the blade into his knuckle, and with a loud crunch the left middle finger was cut off brutally. Kai screamed as hard as he could, his lungs feeling like they would break as tears ran down his face.
The agent tossed the body part aside and watched as Kai shrieked and tried instinctively to pull away from her. "We gonna talk now?" Kai sobbed as she asked him the same question over and over again. "Where are they?" She punched him in between each time she asked. The blows stacked up until his nose was running heavily with blood, and his face was feeling heavy.
"I don't know." He begged. "I don't know at all. They could have gone anywhere." His face was swelling rapidly from the hits, and the agent over him just wiped off her knuckles and gripped him by his jaw.
The agent left the room and returned quickly with a large metal rod in her hand. "Tell me where Miles is." She said coldly.
"Are you drunk or something?" Kai exasperatedly asked. "I already told you I have no idea." Walking behind Kai, he saw the flicker of a fire beginning. "You gonna burn the room down now? Or are you just going camping?" He chuckled. "This is so stupid."
Despite the pain, Kai put a large smile back on his face, but the confidence started to fade as he heard the agent pick up the metal rod again. She walked up to his chair from behind and pressed it to his back. Kai screamed so hard he thought he would pass out. The smell of burning flesh filled the room quickly. "Where are they Kai?" She bellowed. Aside from his crying and screaming, Kai didn't form any more words.
Once again she heated the metal rod, and pressed it to his back to burn him. Kai screamed until he couldn't breathe. Each time she would ask him, and each time he would stay as quiet as possible through the pain. After the sixth time she tossed the rod to the side and faced him.
"All of this stops when you tell us where your comrades went." She said coldly, eyeing the tray of tools.
"I don't know." Kai whispered, his heart pounding in terror as he watched the agent who picked up the scalpel once again. "You're wasting your own time."
"How long do you think you can last?" The agent grinned. "I could take my sweet time with your body." They took a slender finger and dragged it along the jawline of Kai.
Kai felt a deep laugh echo out from his belly. "Cut the flirty, creepy, necrophilia vibe. I could give a fuck what you do to me. Just go get the metal rod again, at least I didn't have to look at your face." He spat blood on her shoes.
"So that's how we're gonna play?" The agent had a wicked grin. Taking her gun from her holster, she pressed it to the leg of Kai who only stared up with rage on his face.
"Fuck you." He whispered, bracing himself for the pain. The gunshot rang out and went cleanly through his leg, and this time the corners of his vision went white as he gasped and cried. "You psycho bitch!" He screamed.
Minutes passed as she watched him bleed and cry. Kai was beaten by the agent for another few minutes until her fist was bloody and tired, and finally she looked to the guard. "Take him back to his cell." She whispered in rage.
***
Kai fell back against the cell wall as the guards tossed him inside, his right middle finger still bleeding heavily from the severing. He groaned and gasped as he tried to focus his power, muttering his prayers. Slowly, the bleeding came to a stop, but the broken stub was still tender. Removing his shirt, he wrapped his hand tightly. "Kai? Are you there?" Ariana called out to him. "Are you okay?"
Kai took stock of the bullet wound in his leg, the destroyed finger, his broken left arm that wouldn't respond, and the heavy burns on his stomach. "I'm...alive." He panted.
"Can you heal yourself at all?" She asked with worry in her voice. Slowly the panting of Garrett could be heard as they listened for each other.
"Not much. I got something to stop bleeding though." He chuckled. "Can't exactly grow a finger back though." His sorrow in his tone filled the air and Ariana was silent for a minute.
"Even if they take all your limbs I'm still gonna love you." She said quietly.
"Thank you." He replied sadly. "I love you too. We get out of here, and we're gonna have a conversation about the future okay?"
Ariana was quiet again, but the sniffling in her voice was clear that she had started crying. "Yeah. I'd really like that. Just stay strong."
Kai sighed. "Don't cry. We're gonna be okay. I bet the others are looking for us right now."
"But why do they want Miles?" She asked through the vent.
