~Broken Family~

The Serpent

Pain slid through his veins.

"Are you truly working for us?" one of the men asked in German. Clay hissed through his teeth.

"Of course," he growled. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, making him blink rapidly.

"Really." The man stepped away, righting his stupid little hat. He gave a subtle hand gesture, so small it would have gone unnoticed, but fear rolled in Clay's stomach as one of his minions flipped a switch.

Still strapped into the chair, Clay was dropped into a tank of water. The cold slammed into him harder than the force, knocking all the air from his lungs. His body screamed to take in a huge gulp of air, but he resisted. Tears stung his eyes, which he squeezed closed as his skin shivered.

He felt the scales erupting like a fire across his shoulders, jaw, and outer limbs. He opened his breath to scream, but the absence of air made that kind of complicated. A few wimpy bubbles leaked between his lips before he was hauled back up.

Black seeped into the corners of his vision. Almost immediately, his skin began to burn like acid again as the scales receded. He moaned as the man grabbed his chin in his gloved hand and raised his head in the air.

"If you are truly loyal," he seethed, "then you will not hesitate much longer. We already threatened, and they retreated like little dogs with the tails between their legs. If you do not work to bring her out within the next month, we will have no choice but to throw you on the ice."

Clay shivered at both the cold and the thought, biting his lip. "Yes, sir," he breathed.

A jerking punch to the gut. "I didn't hear you."

"Yes, sir," he shouted louder, a whimper to his voice. "I--I won't let you down."

"You'd better not."

Clay was ripped free of the straps and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath on all fours. He listened to the sound of their rhythmic bootsteps fading before rolling over, letting a few sobs free.

He wanted his dad.