| Chapter 30 Nick slowly opened his eyes, blinking. The sun was shining through the window, and blinding him. He turned his head, scanning the room. He was in a huge bedroom. It was lavishly decorated in the Victorian style. The walls were white, with delicate white lace curtains on the windows. Nick wondered how he'd gotten there, then things started to come back to him, the two girls, Jered and Ephah. He tried to roll over, but realized something was stopping him. He lifted his head and looked down at his feet. His feet were shackled to each other, then a chain ran from the one between the cuffs on his ankles to the frame of the bed. He pulled his legs up as far as he could, testing the strength of the chain. It wasn't giving any. The bed frame was iron, so he knew that wasn't going to give. He tried to sit up, realizing when he did that his hands were cuffed together also, although they weren't attached to the bed as his feet were. Nick made it to a sitting position and rubbed his face with his hands. His mind was still fuzzy, and he couldn't seem to focus on anything for very long. He stopped rubbing his face and looked at himself. He wasn't wearing the clothes he'd had on the night before, instead he was dressed in a plain t-shirt and a pair of sweats. He was bare foot, and his necklace he'd been wearing was gone also. He looked around the room again, this time paying more attention. The closet door was ajar, and he could see the arm of his jacket through the space in the door. He looked over at the dresser, seeing his wallet and necklace laying on top of it. Nick scooted down to the end of the bed and looked at the chain. It had enough length to it that he could get off the bed and move in a semi circle around the end. He swung his feet over the end rail, and stood up. His legs were a little shaky, so he stood there for a moment before trying to move around. He finally took a step, and almost fell, reaching the end of the chain that held his feet together before he thought he would. He grabbed the bed, and got his feet back underneath him. "OK Nick, baby steps," he told himself, baby stepping to the end of the chain. He tried reaching out for the dresser, but still couldn't reach it. In fact, he couldn't reach anything. He turned around and went back to the bed, trying to move it. "Man, I know I'm not that weak," he said, wondering why the bed wouldn't move. He squatted down and pulled the covers up, looking underneath. "No wonder," he said, seeing that the bed frame was bolted to the floor. Nick stood back up, looking around. He could see out one of the windows, and the sight sent chills down his back. All he could see was desert. He moved as close to the window as he could, looking from side to side. Nothing but sand dunes and desert. "Where the hell am I?" he asked. "My house," Serenity said from behind him. Nick turned around, staring at her. "I see you're up, thought you might be hungry," she said, setting the tray she'd brought in with her down on the dresser. Nick walked back to the bed and sat down, "Why are you doing this?" "Doing what?" she asked. "Keeping me here, what do you want from me?" he asked. "Nothing from you, just helping out a friend," she said. "Jered's your friend?" Nick asked, disgusted. Serenity laughed, "Well, not really a friend. More like a means to an end." Nick put his head in his hands, "Why can't I think straight?" "You don't think we're gonna keep you here and let you be able to focus do you? We know what you are, and what you can do." she said, walking over with a plate of food. Nick looked up at her, "What kind of drug did you give me?" She smiled, "It's best you don't know, now eat." Nick refused to take the plate from her, though his stomach was growling so loud he knew they both could hear it. "Nick, you're gonna be here for a while, so you're only going to be hurting yourself if you don't eat," she said. Nick took the plate from her and looked at the food on it. He sighed and set the plate in his lap, taking the fork in his hand and started to eat. Serenity watched him. Nick finished and handed her the plate back. She shook her head, "Fork to." Nick reluctantly handed her the fork he still hand in his hand. She put the plate back on the tray and left the room. Nick sat on the bed for a few minutes, wondering if he had enough strength to break the chains when Serenity walked back in. He watched as she pulled a key from her jeans pocket and unlocked the chain holding him to the bed. "Don't get any ideas," she warned, "Stand up." Nick did as he was told, and walked in the direction she pointed. "Open the door," she instructed as he reached it. He did, realizing it was a bathroom. "You have five minutes," she said, dropping the chain, and letting him walk on in. Nick got in and shut the door, then went over to the toilet and relieved himself. He'd needed to do that since he woke up, but he wasn't going to ask. He then walked to the sink and washed his hands as best he could, and splashed some water on his face, trying to clear the cobwebs that seemed to have taken over his mind. He noticed a tooth brush and toothpaste on the sink, and went ahead and brushed his teeth. He then looked around, wondering if there was anything else in here that could be useful. All the drawers were empty, except for one. It contained an electric razor. Nick pulled it out, then looked at himself in the mirror. He was starting to look scruffy and decided to go ahead and shave too. He didn't know why he did it, other than to keep some sense of himself about him. He never was one to have any facial hair, and he'd like to keep it that way, if at all possible. He had just finished shaving and was wiping his face off when Serenity opened the door, "You done?" He looked over at her, "Yeah, thanks," then walked out of the room. As he passed her, she picked the chain back up. Nick wondered if he could catch her off guard and get the key from her. "Don't even think it," she said. He turned his head and looked at her, "Think what?" "About trying to get away. I see the look in your eyes, I'm not stupid," she said. Nick turned back around, just as she yanked on the chain, pulling his feet out from under him and sending him crashing to the floor. He rolled over, looking at her. Serenity bent down and put her hand on his throat, squeezing. "You know what we can do. Don't test us, and your stay here will be much easier," she said. Nick grabbed her hand with his, and tried to pull it off his throat. Serenity punched him in the temple with her other hand, then let him go, "Now get up." Nick struggled to his feet, holding the side of his head. "Back to the bed," she instructed. He slowly walked back to the bed, sitting down. She locked the chain back in place and glared at him. "I didn't do anything," Nick said. "You were thinking it, that's enough," she answered back. Nick stared at her, wondering just how far he could throw her across the room, when Evi walked in with Jered. "I see you two are having fun," Jered said, laughing. Nick looked over at him, "You couldn't do your job by yourself, so you had to get them to help you?" Jered's smiled turned to anger. "Girls, leave," he said, through clenched teeth. Nick watched as the two left the room and shut the door, then looked back up at Jered. "If I were you I'd watch what I say. No one knows where you are, and your blessed teacher can't help you," Jered said. Nick stared at him, "Why them? Why get sirens to help you?" "Well we all know you have a weakness for them. Sacrificing yourself just to turn them, trying to be their savior," Jered said. "I'm no ones savior," Nick said. Jered laughed at him. "So how long am I here for?" Nick asked. Jered smiled, "What makes you think you're leaving at all?" Nick swallowed hard, "What if I don't turn? What then?" "We're not letting you go," he said, smiling at Nick's uneasiness to his statement. Nick looked down at his hands, playing with the cuffs around his wrists. "Why do I have these?" he asked. "That's the girls idea," Jered answered absentmindedly. Just then Ephah came through the door, "We're ready." Jered smiled, "Good, come on Nicky, we have work to do." Nick stared at him as he unlocked him and led him toward the door, "What kind of work?" Jered laughed, "You'll see." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin rubbed his eyes and looked over at Brian, "That's it. That's all we can do right now." "They didn't ask what it was for?" Brian asked. "Oh they asked, I just didn't tell," Kevin answered. "Kev, you know how bad it was when he was here, just imagine what they're doing to him right now," Brian said. Kevin pointed his finger at his cousin, "Don't. Don't even start with that. If I stop to think about it, I'll die, so just don't." "Sorry," Brian said, "I'm just really worried." "We all are," Howie said from across the room. "Yeah man, I swear if I see those two again, I'll kill em for sure," A.J. said. Tara walked out of Nick and Lyn's bedroom, looking exhausted. "She's finally asleep," she said. Brian walked over to his wife, and hugged her, "You look like you need some rest to." Tara shook her head, "I can't. I need to talk to someone first." All the guys looked at her. "Who?" Brian asked. Tara looked up at him and smiled, "Just give me a few minutes, OK?" He watched her go into their bedroom and sit on the bed, closing her eyes. "Who's she talking to?" A.J. asked, coming over to watch. Brian shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno." Just then a bright light shown from the room, causing all the guys to shield their eyes. Kevin looked in to see several others with her. Tara talked to them for a moment, then they disappeared. A few seconds later Jade, Tracy, and Gideon appeared in the room with her. Brian walked in, "Where is he, do you know?" "No we don't," Jade said. "But how can you not know?" Howie asked. "Guys, Nick is still in his trials. We can't interfere, and we can't watch him now," Gideon said. "Then why are you here?" Kevin asked, angry. "We're here for you guys," Tracy said. Kevin looked at the floor, ashamed of his outburst. Tracy put her hand on his cheek, "We're worried to, but we can't interfere. What happens now, happens. Nick is strong, he'll make it through." "Tracy, Jered and Ephah have help this time," Tara said. She looked at her, "Who?" "Two sirens," Tara answered. Jade and Gideon glanced at one another. "Two sirens?" Tracy asked, making sure she heard right. "Yeah," A.J. answered. "Well, this changes everything," she said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick was led through the house and into a great room. He looked around, trying to get a feel for the house. Where the exits were, what rooms were where. The house was extremely large, and very well decorated. It rivaled any of the guys houses. Nick was actually impressed with the amount of pricy items he'd seen so far. He finally looked to where they were going, and his heart skipped a beat. There in the middle of the room, looked to be some kind of torture rack. "No," Nick said, pulling backwards. Jered yanked on the chain, landing Nick on his back in the floor. Then he and Ephah picked him up and drug him the rest of the way. They grabbed his hands and hooked one into the cuffs on the rack, unlocking his other wrist, and placing it in the rack as well. Now Nick was hanging by his wrists, his feet barely touching the floor. Nick looked around the room, seeing Evi with a small video camera in her hand. "What are you doing?" he asked. She smiled, "Just a little memento for your friends." "You ready?" Jered asked. Evi nodded and started the camera, focusing in on Nick, then panning out to include the rest of the room. Jered and Ephah stayed out of camera range, letting the girls have their fun. Serenity stepped up, "Hi guys. Remember us?" she laughed. "Just wanted to send you a reminder of what will happen if we don't get our money, or if someone interferes with us," she said. Nick watched as she walked over to a table and picked up some sort of whip. "For those of you that don't know what this is, let me enlighten you. This is a cat of nine tails. It's an ancient torture device, and it works very well," she said. She picked one of the strands up and showed it to the camera, "See this? That's sharpened bone, and it cuts like a knife through butter. So you can imagine what this feels like when you get hit by one." She laughed again, "Actually, lets not imagine, let's watch shall we?" Nick's eyes widened as she walked around behind him. "No, don't do this!" he yelled, struggling against the cuffs that held him in place. "Come on Nicky, don't be such a baby," she said. Nick tried to turn his head to see her, but couldn't. Evi walked over to get a better camera angle. "First we need to get rid of this," Serenity said, taking a pair of scissors and cutting the t-shirt off. Nick flinched under her touch, hating himself for doing so. She laughed at him, "My aren't we touchy?" "Serenity, please you don't have to do this," Nick begged. "No I think your friends need to see what we will do if they don't comply," she said. Nick looked around the room, trying to think of something to get out of this. His eyes focused on a mirror on the opposite wall. He could see Serenity behind him, picking the whip up and walking toward him. Nick took a deep breath and tensed his muscles against the first blow. As the different ends hit his back he could feel the bone slice into his flesh. As much as he tried not to, he let out a scream. Then as fast as it made contact, Serenity pulled it back, ripping his skin. "Fuck!" Nick yelled, trying not to pass out from the pain. Evi laughed from behind the camera, "No Nick, that comes later." Nick looked over at her, tears streaming down his face. Evi focused in on his face, as the next blow came. Nick closed his eyes, letting out a horrific scream. Serenity came around to face the camera, as Jered and Ephah uncuffed Nick, letting him drop to the floor, writhing in pain. "So you see what we'll do if you don't follow our instructions," Serenity said. Then she walked over to Nick, kneeling down beside him, "Heal yourself." Nick looked up at her through his tears, "What?" "Heal yourself, we know you can, so do it," she said. Nick looked over at Evi who was still taping, "No." Serenity leaned down closer to him, whispering in his ear, "If you don't I'll do this to Lyn, and I won't stop at just two blows. Now do it." Nick rested his head on the floor, trembling with pain and fear. He closed his eyes, and focused with everything he had. After a moment he opened them looking up at her, "That's the best I can do." Serenity walked over to a table and grabbed a small bucket of water, pouring it over Nick's back to wash away the blood. There were eighteen large whelps on his back, but the skin was no longer broken and bleeding. She shrugged her shoulders, "Good enough I guess." Nick lay on the floor, his eyes closed. He hated what they were making him do, but at the moment he didn't have much of a choice. Healing himself had taken everything he had, leaving him weak, and unable to defend himself. He figured that was why she made him do it. Just then Jered and Ephah turned him over, holding him down. Serenity walked toward him, another syringe in her hand. "No, please," Nick said, to drained to struggle. Ephah held his arm out, and Serenity injected him once again. Nick looked at the camera, Evi still taping. "Tara, help me. I'm in my dream..." Nick said quickly, before Jered slammed his head into the floor, knocking him out. Evi turned the tape off, "What was that?" "A futile plea for help," Ephah said. "Should I erase that part?" she asked. Jered shook his head, "No, leave it in. She won't get it anyway, even if she did, she still wouldn't know where to look." Evi shrugged her shoulders, "OK, I'll get this sent," she said, taking the tape from the camcorder and leaving the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that evening, everyone was still in Brian's room. They had been talking with the three for hours, trying to figure out just how they could go about finding Nick before the three days were up. Lyn had woken from her nap, joining in. She was determined to get Nick back, feeling that it was partly her fault for leaving him alone with the two witches to begin with. Just then a knock came at the door, and Brian went to answer it, coming back with a manilla envelope in his hands. Everyone watched as he opened it, pulling the tape out. "Put it in," Tara said, seeing Brian staring at it. He walked over to the VCR and put the tape in, pressing play. Everyone gasped, seeing Nick hanging by his wrists. "Oh God," Lyn whispered. They all watched as Serenity started to explain what it was she was holding. "No, God please no," Brian said, knowing what was coming. "Turn it off," Kevin said, "I can't watch this." "No!" Lyn yelled at him, "I want to see." They all watched in horror as Nick was hit, tears coming to their eyes seeing the pain and fear in his face. Howie ran to the bathroom, not able to handle the gore of it all. Then Serenity told him to heal himself. "Why would she do that?" Kevin asked. "To weaken him," Tara said, not taking her eyes off the screen. They watched as Nick refused, then she leaned down and said something to him, changing his mind. Howie came back from the bathroom just as Serenity injected Nick with the drug. "Damn," he said. Then the camera focused in on Nick's face. The pain and desperation apparent in his eyes. He said something in his and Tara's language, immediately paying for it, as Jered slammed his head to the floor. Then the tape went black. Everyone looked at Tara, she had tears in her eyes. "Honey, what'd he say?" Brian asked. "He said, Tara help me. I'm in my dream," she answered, through her tears. "What does that mean?" Kevin asked. She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know." Chapter 31 |