Darkest Before Breaking Of The Dawn

Resurgence

Present.....

His consciousness returned to him by force. The first thing he felt just as it did was the uncomfortable scrapping of something entering his throat. His throat felt tight and his lungs felt sluggish. It was hard to breathe; he felt like he was drowning...again? Did he drown before? Yes, and it was horrible. No drown...

His felt eyes tried to flicker open, trying to see past the stinging in his sockets. Past the veal of blurriness that seemed forced onto his eyes. He faintly remembered his sight had been bad for a while. So was his hearing.

But he instantly flinched, not only against being choked and the sludge in his lungs, but at the familiar shadowy figure hanging over him. Large and intimidating as always. For good reason, as with their presence came their intentions to inflict pain on him. And suddenly he wished he wasn't awake anymore. He wished to go back to sleep–forever. Want peace. Want no pain.

But as the sludge in his lungs suddenly began to evaporate, allowing more air to take its place, consciousness came back to him then. No, want sleep. He wanted to go back to the world of peace and tranquility. Not wake in this awful world where only pain met him every waking moment. But no matter how he tried to shut his eyes and force his brain to shut down, the oxygen returning to his body gave him life. Gave him consciousness again. No more...no more...

His breathing picked up, though his throat hurt. He could feel something in his throat. He would have thought the tormentor was choking him then. But he could feel air entering his lungs. He could also feel something else poking inside his lungs. What he do now?! He thought fearfully and beyond tired.

The object in his throat was suddenly being pulled out and he gagged, mouth agape, tongue lolly, throat straining. Please stop...please stop...no more...

"....am Groot..."

Did he hear that right? He thought he heard his tormentor again. In brief moments he would hear him past his deafness a bit more clearer. But now he sounded different. Louder, booming, grating....yet somehow not as intimidating as his old voice. His blinded eyes squinted at the shadowy figure.

This was the same person who had been hurting him right? Was his mind playing tricks or did this figure seem oddly shaped differently? Did his torturer bring someone else to torture him? The idea brought terror to his traumatized mind and heart. One man alone had caused him so much pain already.

For so long, he dreaded the continued appearance of this man bringing him agony and torment. The thought of someone else joining in...he couldn't bear it! When could he just go back to sleep and not wake up? He would have begged him pathetically as always. But his tormenter had gone from mocking his so-called 'broken English' to angrily scolding for even thinking of speaking.

Then punishing him brutally for speaking in the first place. So he clamped his mouth shut, kept his voice and thoughts to himself. He never would have shown him mercy even if he had begged for it anyway. So he squeezed his eyes shut again, deciding he didn't care to know who this was, even if it was someone else. Leave alone...please leave alone...

"I am Groot. I'm sorry Rocket. " Groot begged for his forgiveness, distressed, as he gagged beneath him, tears squeezing out his newly shut eyes.

"It's okay Groot, you're helping him. The fluid in his lungs lessened." He felt Gamora come by his side, pausing momentarily her own task to reassure him with a shoulder rub. She and Mantis were wiping Rocket's body up with a bowl of water and towels, hoping to wash him before dressing his wounds.

Before they did so, they checked his body for any remnants of DNA left behind by any of his torturers that could be used to identify them. But there was none found. They suspected his body had been washed of all DNA. Not that it would stop them from looking for the perpetrators that hurt him.