| Chapter 46 Kevin paced the room, his nerves not letting him sit down. He had barely slept and as the morning shows came on, and Brian's pre-taped interviews where shown, his heart sank. Brian was his normal goofy self in the interviews, joking around, having a good time. He talked passionately about the book, urging everyone, even if they didn't know who the Backstreet Boys where to read it. Kevin looked out the windows, down to the beach. He could see the protectors standing guard around the house. Suddenly he felt like a caged bird, knowing he couldn't leave until they where out of danger, and who knew when that would be? He watched as Tracy talked to another protector. The conversation seemed to be upsetting to Tracy. Kevin wondered just what was being said. He could see the sadness on her face from where he stood, and didn't take it as a good sign. Deciding to find out what was going on, he left the house and headed down the beach. Tracy saw him coming, and waited on him to catch up to her. "Morning Kevin," she said. "Morning," he replied in a weary voice. "You didn't sleep at all did you?" she asked. He shook his head, "I can't. Have you found out anything yet?" Tracy sighed heavily and looked out across the water, avoiding his eyes, "Yes." "Well?" Kevin asked, feeling his heart skip a beat. "We can't get to him. They took him to their realm, through the gates, where we cannot pass," she replied. Kevin stared at her, "Gates? Please don't tell me he's in hell." She said nothing. "Tracy?" Kevin said. She looked at him, "You told me not to tell you." Kevin ran his hand through his hair, "What are we gonna do? How can he survive down there?" Tracy put her hand on his arm, calming him slightly, "Kevin, we cannot do anything for him until they bring him through the gates. All we can do is pray that God will give him what he needs to make it through this." Kevin sat down in the sand, covering his face with his hands, and letting himself cry for the first time. Tracy sat next to him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and letting him lean on her, "I know this is hard to take. I'm having a hard time with it myself, but Brian will get through this." Kevin looked up at her, tears trailing down his cheeks, "What if he doesn't?" Tracy smiled, "Then we will all be blessed by the presence of another angel." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian awoke to the sound of people whispering. He opened his eyes to find he was back in the �torture room'. He was laying on his stomach, his arms stretched above his head and cuffed to the table. He felt the restraints around his ankles as well. He lifted his head slightly, looking in the direction he'd heard the whispering. Hathath and the demon he was taken to when he first arrived where talking. Brian put his head down, hoping they hadn't noticed he was awake, and tried to listen to what they were saying, but he couldn't understand them. The longer he was awake the more in pain he was. Finally he could bare it no longer and let out a whimper. "Aww, he is alive," Hathath teased. The two came closer to the table, staring at him. Brian looked up, his gaze never leaving the two, "What? You had doubts?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound stronger than it really was. Hathath laughed as the other demon turned to leave. "I'll leave you to your work," he said, as he exited the room. Brian watched him leave, then looked at Hathath, "Your work?" "Oh yeah, we are far from done with you," he said, dawning the most sinister grin Brian had ever seen. Brian sighed, "You can't break me, you know that." "Maybe not in your realm, but here..... here is an entirely different story," Hathath said. Brian put his head down as Hathath rummaged through the various torture devices, trying to decide which one to use. "Aw, here we go," Hathath said, holding up the chosen item. Brian looked up, "What is that?" "This my boy, is the epitome of torture devices," Hathath beamed. Brian stared at the thing. It looked like a small version of a Cat of Nine Tails, only the points at the end of the whips where barbed, and seemed to have some kind of liquid in them. "What does it do?" Brian asked, his voice not as strong anymore. Hathath laughed, "You really want me to tell you?" Brian nodded. "OK, when it hits your flesh, the barbs inject a small amount of poison before they are ripped away. Not only do you get the satisfaction of torn flesh, but you also get the all around poisoning of the body," he explained, "Would you like to know how the poison works too? Or are we ready to start?" Brian was visibly shaking, his eyes full of fear as he stared at the thing in Hathath's hand. Hathath smiled at his reaction, and stepped closer, "OK, let's get started then." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gideon walked into the command tent and smiled. Micah and Tara where sitting at the table, talking quietly. Nick was at one end, his head down on his arms, asleep. "So, he does sleep?" Gideon said. Tara and Micah smiled. "Yeah, but not much," she said, concern on her face. Gideon nodded, "I know this is hard on him." "It's more than hard," Micah said, "He's seeing what they're doing to Brian." Gideon looked over at Nick, "I was afraid of that." "How is that possible?" Tara asked. Gideon sat down next to her, "When God allowed him to bring Brian back, they connected. Much like you and Brian where." "So they knew what they were doing when they took Brian. They knew Nick would see it," she said. Gideon nodded, "I'm afraid so." Nick stirred a little in his sleep, mumbling as he did. The three stopped talking and watched as he settled back down. Micah started to say something but was cut off by Nick's scream. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick was standing in the room with Brian. He watched as the demon beat him with the torture device of the day. Brian squirmed in his restraints, obviously in much more pain than he was trying to let on. Nick winced as the demon delivered a particularly hard blow, then yanked the weapon from Brian's already raw back, tarring the flesh in the process. Brian screamed for the first time, "Stop! Please!" The demon laughed, "Well that's a little more like it. Now, where exactly is your God Brian? Cause He surely isn't here. No God would let one of His own suffer this." Brian glared at the man, sweat dripping down his face, "You don't know what you're talking about." "I don't huh?" the demon asked. Brian shook his head, "No you don't. My God is with me where ever I am. You can torture me until the end of eternity, and I will never say anything different." The demon laughed and shook his head, "Stupid mortal. You're gonna let yourself be killed for a belief?" "If that's what has to happen, then yeah, I guess so," Brian said, his voice more confident than it had been. The demon took hold of the back of Brian's head, pulling his head up, "You will regret saying that. How much longer do you think you can last? I can see the poison is already starting to affect you. How much can you take before your body gives out, huh?" the demon asked. Brian just stared at him, his eyes starting to glaze over as the poison raced through his body. His breathing was becoming labored, and his vision blurring. Nick watched as Brian's face began to pale, and he fought to keep his eyes open. The demon slammed Brian's head down on the table and resumed his beating. With each lash, Brian cried out. Nick couldn't take it, if Brian lived through this it would be a miracle. Finally Brian stopped crying. He stopped moving all together, and Nick held his breath. The demon stopped his torture, and checked to see if Brian was still breathing. He was, barely. The demon shook his head, "You are a stubborn little shit aren't you?" He then tossed the whip back on the table and left Brian alone in the room. Nick stood next to the table, gently stroking Brian' s hair. "I promise, I'll make them pay for this," he said. After a moment, the door opened and the demon returned. But it was who followed him into the room, that turned Nick's stomach. "We could torture him for a lifetime and not get any results. See what you can do with him," the demon said. The woman nodded, "I won't be able to do much with him in this condition." "Take care of him, if the poison doesn't kill him, he's yours to do with as you please until we need him again," the demon told her. The woman nodded, smiling down at Brian, "OK, this should be interesting to say the least." The demon laughed, "I bet. Oh, what was your name again?" The woman flashed him a smile, "Evi." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick bolted up out of his chair, looking wildly around the room. He could see the three carefully walking towards him, their hands up in defense, talking calmly to him. His mind couldn't register what they were saying, all he could think about was Brian. "Nick, look at me," Tara said, reaching up and gently guiding his head around so he was looking at her. "Nick, tell me what you dreamed," she said. He shook his head, sinking back into the chair, tears trailing down his face. "Nickolas, tell us what you saw," Micah coaxed. Nick took a shaky breath, "Brian. He was being tortured again, and it ....... it was bad." "Go on," Gideon urged. Nick looked up at him, "They gave him to Evi. They fucking gave him to her! You know what she's gonna do to him, it'll kill him!" "Nick, calm down," Tara soothed. "I can't! I can't just sit here and let this happen! They poisoned him, he's gonna die if we don't get to him!" Nick yelled. "We don't know that for sure," Gideon offered. Nick stared at him for a moment, then rested his elbows on the table and put his face in his hands. He was so torn. He knew he had to stay here with the army, but he wanted to do something to help Brian, even if it meant walking through the gates of hell to do it. "Nick, you can't," Micah said, knowing what he was thinking. Nick looked up, "Why not? I can pass as one, why couldn't I go get him?" "Because, every demon knows who you are. You could never change your appearance that much to fool them. You wouldn't even make it past the gates," Gideon said. "I have to do something," Nick said, frustrated. "You are," Tara said. He looked at her, "What?" "You are leading the army," she said. "But that's not helping Brian," Nick countered. "Nick, it may not be you who has to help Brian," Micah said. "Then who?" Nick asked, brushing the tears from his cheeks. Micah just looked at him, a knowing expression on his face. "Oh no, it'll never happen," Nick said. "Never say never," Gideon warned, "This could be her chance." "You started it when you where with her, maybe it's up to Brian to finish it," Micah added. Nick sighed, pondering the possibility. "Maybe, but he has to live long enough to do it," he said. "He will," Tara said, "I know he will." Chapter 47 |