destructive // l. hemmings

chapter eleven

I opened my eyes to find that I was sitting on the floor of a dark room, a dim light shining through from underneath the metal door in front of me. I looked down at where I was sitting, seeing that my hands were bound together with rope. My eyes widened as I pieced things together; Rickie.  I could feel my breathing quicken as I remembered that I was kidnapped, placed in the trunk of some car, and brought here, wherever here maybe. 

"Fuck," I huffed out, my body tensing up as I tried to think of a way to get out. I didn't want it to end like this. I slid my foot against the other, trying to feel around for the knife, but feeling nothing but the material of the boots.

They must have grabbed it. I thought to myself, as I tried to feel around frantically for anything sharp. I couldn't find anything, besides a glass bottle near the waste can. I patted down my pocket and felt around for my phone. I quickly pulled it out, seeing that the battery was almost dead along with multiple missed calls from Luke. I blinked rapidly, breathing out at the relief that washed over me. 

"He'll come for me,"  I whispered repeatedly, in hopes to convince myself that it was true. 

I turned on the phone light, placing it upwards on the ground as I reached out for the bottle, smashing it against the concrete floor -- the liquid inside spilling out like paint. I brought my hand down towards the liquid, collecting some on my fingers. Bringing my hands up to my face, I sniffed the contents; the substance held no scent, but there was something about it that didn't seem right. It was something like that could be the deadliest thing to consume.  Maybe it's contaminated with a drug and they knew that I'd become desperate enough to drink it and I'd overdosed on the said drug. The possibilities were endless.

I grabbed a shard of glass next to the substance and slid it down between my hands, using my fingers to try and cut the rope. I winced at the pain as the glass drew blood from my fingertips, a pool of blood forming on the ground in front of me and on my clothes as the rope finally gave. Pulling off the remaining rope from my wrists,  I rubbed the skin, feeling the bruising that formed and wondering how long I had been knocked out beforehand. Ripping off a piece of my shirt, I wrapped it around my bleeding skin before running over to the door, pounding away in hopes someone would come to my rescue, but nothing. The lights that once shined through the door had completely turned off, leaving me in complete darkness.

"Fuck.." I said with gritted teeth as I slapped my palms against the metal frame. I have to get out of here. I repeated those words as I  paced around the small room, looking for any possible means of escaping. When I found nothing that was of any use, I gave up hope, sliding my body against the wall. I was in acceptance with my fate, and like I had said many times before, it was a matter of time before we were dead.

•••

The days began to blur into one another, my eyes never leaving the wall as I began to etch lines into the drywall with my fingernails. Ten days, of eating shit and pissing in a bucket.  At this point, I realized they didn't just want to kill me, they wanted to watch me suffer -- to prove what they were willing to do everything in their power to get their point across. There was nothing that could be compared to the feeling -- with every passing second, I could feel my body weaken as if they were poisoning me from the inside -- pumping my stomach with chemicals until I eventually die out. The only sign of life beyond the door was the frequent shadow of feet behind the light that began flickering a few days ago. Someone was always standing in front of the frame, watching me as if they thought I had a plan when I, myself had no fucking idea on how I could even escape -- my body was far too weak to even stand up. I had been counting the steps from when the guard stood at the door to when he went through a second door. Twenty-one. From that, I could conclude that I was stowed away in a building all in its own, based on the fact that when the guard went through the second door, much more light shined through and fresh air flowed underneath my door. Or maybe I was completely wrong, and I was being kept in plain sight. The only thing that I did know was, I grew tired of waiting around. 

"Rickie, I'm all yours..." I yell out, hoping for some kind of response. I could feel my lungs weaken with every syllable, quickly learning how dehydrated I had become. I made an attempt to stand in order to bang on the door, my body tremble with every extension of my muscles. As I got to my feet, I moved slower than I anticipated, not realizing how weak and frail my bones had become; the pounding noises echoing throughout the room as I was able to pound away at the door. "Hey, I know someone is standing in front of this fucking door, I'm ready to see Rickie,"

Silence. 

I let out a sigh as I stepped back, examining the door. As another second passed, I could hear the hinges of the door creak and the door swinging open, revealing the man from the other side. I met his eyes, and I completely froze up, not knowing what I needed to do but knowing I only had a short amount of time to do it. I watched as the man began to walk towards me, and I crouched down, sneaking underneath his arm and past him. I made my way down the hallway, coming in contact with the second door. I reached out for the handle and turned it, seeing that it wouldn't budge. 

"Fuck," I looked down to see that there was a code reader on the handle. I began punching in random numbers before I felt hands wrap around my waist and yank me backward.

"You gotta be a good little girl if you want to see the big man," The man instructed, pulling me into another room as I squirmed against him -- my weak arms flailing out as I made an attempt to slip myself out.

"Fuck you," I spat, trying my hardest to pry his hands off of me. All he did was chuckle in response as I threw me down with some much force that when my head made contact with the concrete, I felt my eyes roll into the back of my head until all I saw was darkness. 

 •••

I woke up to see a bright beam dangling from the ceiling, my head throbbing in pain. I pulled my face forward and saw three men standing in front of me, only one appearing familiar to my memory, Rickie.  "Why are you doing this?" Asking as I push against the tape wrapped around my arms and legs.

"Oh, well if you put it that way, I just wanted some answers like maybe why your sneaky little boyfriend and his so-called friends were stealing from my bank?" He asked, his frightening stare matching his intimidation. "I didn't know they were stealing from your bank, I swear to you -- they shut me out completely from knowing their plans," I could sense he was amused with himself, as my answer was exactly what he was wanting to hear. I could feel the blood run down my chest as he pressed a knife into my skin. "Do you feel that?" He asked, his question almost humorous to him. "It's death inviting himself in," I began to breathe even more heavily as he removed the knife from the wound, the feel of blood soaking through my shirt as my body goes into shock. "And would you like to know what comes next?" I shook my head frantically as I felt another sharp pain split through my abdomen, the knife twisting and turning into my intestines. I let out a loud crying, begging for him to stop. "Please..." I cried, pulling my arms against the restraints, my back arching from the pain. I could feel my eyes drooping with every passing second, the blood loss had blurred out my vision and the figure standing in front of me was unrecognizable. 

Rickey began to laugh, his hands running through his sleeked hair. "Now, my darling, what you are experiencing is internal bleeding and I'm no doctor, but I can tell you that you are going to bleed out if you don't..." He begins, kneeling down in front of me in order to be eye level.  "agree to be my little subject," 

I spit out the remaining blood in my mouth towards his face and responded, "And why the fuck would I want to help you?" I asked, growing numb and weary from the loss of blood.  "Because your life is in my hands. I decided if you bleed out right here, right now or if you live to see another day,"  He reasoned, subsiding from the facts that he's known for his broken promises. "You see, I read your file. You aren't so innocent as you portray yourself to be -- shoplifting, pickpocketing, you know, you've done it. Now, unless you are wanting to die here, I suggest you agree,"

"And if I do?"

"Then the money Luke and Lex owe me will seize to exist and they will continue to work under my power with cleaned out records, along with your own," His words, laced with false truces. I could feel my wheezy breath hitch in my throat, as my lungs began to cave in on themselves. 

"And if I refuse?"

He stood up and began to walk away from where I sat, before turning around to reply, "Then, I bring all of them back here and make you watch as I slaughter them one by one."

I closed my eyes for a split second before I felt my body grow even weaker. "I-I'll do anything for L-Luke..." I begin to drift off.