The Wrong Side

Chapter 27

A dream. That was the only reasonable explanation. It was the only thing that made sense, so why am I not waking up?

After the first few hits, I'm certain that something in my face broke. This pain was on a whole new level for me. It was like something was slowly corroding away my face and everything inside it and then doused it in gasoline and set it on fire.

"This... is a lot of trouble you went through to just beat me up," I gasp once he takes a little break. "At least tell me why. I mean, isn't this a little extreme for wha-whatever I did to you?"

"Shut up," he replies and this time he hits me in the stomach. "You don't know shit."

I groan and hang limp in the bonds. "Th-then why don't you enlighten me?" I manage to get out without throwing up.

He's silent for a little bit, then he chuckles and sets down the arm beside him. "If you think this is because you got the best of me during that one class, you're wrong."

I look up at him, a little interested and a little confused. It doesn't matter because as long as he's talking, he's not hitting me.

"You humiliated me in front of Ember Irving," he says. "You know how important she is to the Freeborn, right? If any of us want to help take down the Endurance, we need to be on her good side. Getting beat up by a skinny kid who's eight inches shorter than me didn't help my chances."

"Ah," I say. "I heard that the Endurance was looking for jackasses. Maybe you should join them instead."

At that his eye narrow and he swings the arm into my side, probably breaking a few ribs in the process. I think I may have screamed but I don't care anymore. I just want him to stop. I need him to keep talking.

"Don't..." he says through angry breaths, "Don't you fucking dare try to pretend you understand."

"Well," I wheeze, "well why don't you explain then? I think I deserve to know at least why you're beating me up like this."

"What? You don't know?" he lifts up my chin with my arm so that I'm looking at him. His expression is one of confusion. I don't say anything and he drops my head.

"Of course you wouldn't," I hear him sneer. "Around six years ago I was living with my family in a little town further south-west from here when a man and his son came by asking the people in my neighborhood for refuge for a few days. The guy introduced himself as Jordan Tarasi with his son Caden."

I manage to look up at him. His he joking? No... there's no way his eyes would be that sincere. He even looks a little pained talking about it.

"My family was stupid enough to let you guys stay in our house for a few days. Is this ringing any bells for you?" he asks and taps my head with the arm.

The taps aren't too hard but I feel my brain bouncing around in my skull as the arm hits my temples over and over. I shake my head slowly. I remember staying in a few different places with my father but like every other memory, it doesn't feel right.

He scowls and stops tapping. "You guys left a few days afterwards and your father left a few things around the house which he said we could use if we wanted to help him help the Freeborn. He hid some of it though and gave us the rest. He disappeared after that and the next day or so a few members of the Endurance came knocking on our door asking about you and your dad. They searched the entire house for whatever he left behind but your dad decided to leave a few traps hidden in the house. One of them triggered a fire."

He pauses, waiting for a reaction. I don't give him one because I'm still trying to process the information. I don't like where this is going at all.