Stockholm Syndrome (John Seed x Deputy OC)

2 - John Seed

Vision hazing in and out, my head lolled around. Trying to move my arms and legs came to no avail, a dim light flooding into my pupils. Lazily, I stared down at my limbs to see them bound to the arms of a chair. It felt as though my brain had been taken out, shaken around and put back in. Saliva dribbled down my chin, forming into a droplet that splashed onto the floor.

'Looking rather unsightly Deputy.' Tattooed hands came to rest on my shoulders from behind. My jaw clenched and I stiffened, determined not to be intimidated by the youngest Seed sibling. He spun the chair around so that I was looking at him though holding my head upright was becoming a chore. His glacier blue eyes bore into me, almost matching in colour with the silk shirt he wore under a black waistcoat. 'Who'd have thought that someone like you would be able to take down half of my family hmm?' He pushed the chair back making the wheels career into the nearby wall. My head swung back and collided with the plaster. 'I almost admire you, it's no small feat to come out alive from the grasps of Jacob and Faith.' His tall figure took menacing steps toward me, producing a pistol from his pocket. Within a flash, he struck me on the side of the temple with it. 'But I won't be as stupid as them.'

'Funny, I heard you were the easiest to break being the youngest and all.' My retort earned me another hard strike from the pistol grip. Blood trickled from my forehead.

'You think you're clever don't you?' John's hand wound around my throat placing pressure on my wind pipe. Letting out a single choked cough I stared him down virulently despite my inability to breath. My lack of response irritated him and eventually made him let go. I took a few deep breaths through my nose as he stepped back and rested against a workbench. His fingers gripped the edge of the wooden surface as he eyed me carefully. 'You seem so... angry. So full of hate and wrath.' Staring at him apathetically, I refused to give anything away. A sick smile spread across his face as he pushed himself upright and entered a side room. He was out of sight but I could still hear him talking. 'It's okay. We'll make you atone sinner. Or have you forgotten that I have your little buddy here?'
On cue, he rolled Joey into the room with exertion. I'd never seen her looking so worse for wear. Bruises and bloodstains painted her face, panic and fear wavering behind her solemn facial expression.

'Oh God Rook...' She whispered, swiftly receiving a slap across the cheek from the baptist. Reigning my overwhelming anger and sadness back, I avoided her gaze and continued to stare down John.

'I suggest you comply with me sinner or Deputy Hudson here is gonna be in for a rough ride.' With ease, he dragged her back from whence she came.

'Rook!' She screamed to me and I cringed, biting on my tongue to stop tears leaking out of my eyes. After everything I'd managed to get through so far this should be easy. John returned and crouched beside me, twirling a small knife across his knuckles.

'So, what's your name sinner?' He asked, forcefully rolling up my sleeve and dragging the knife edge across it. Goosebumps prickled on my skin and my incisors dug deeper into the muscle in my mouth. 'You can't atone without telling me.' He taunted, pausing and digging the point of the blade into the crook of my elbow. My eyes focussed straight ahead at a spot on the wall and I slowly began to count up from zero in my head. It was a coping strategy I'd developed whilst being stuck in Jacob's cages. 'So you wanna play hardball huh?' He leant so close I could feel his hot breath against the side of my neck. Calloused fingers reached up to it and tugged my long hair out of the way. Slowly, he began to dig the point of the knife into the side of my throat. 'Your name. Now.' He hissed as a small stream of blood began to flow out of me. I was at thirty now and continued to count, unwavering and refusing to look at him. 'YOUR NAME SINNER!' He yelled directly into my ear, almost perforating my eardrum. Flinching ever so slightly, I carried on counting from forty. 'Hmph, you're not nearly as fun as I thought you'd be.' The cool blade relinquished it's intrusion into my neck as he drew back. 'Maybe your friend would rather tell me...' He mused, edging back towards where he was keeping Joey hostage. Her situation in all of this made it marginally harder to play the game. John began to press down the handle and I buckled.

'Harlow.' I hissed under my breath. He paused, surprised that I'd answered.

'Unusual.' He murmured, thinking I couldn't hear him. Backing away from the door he came back and crouched in front of me. He used his index finger and thumb to grab my chin, lifting my eye line to stare him dead in the face. For the first time I got a good look at him. A medium length beard adorned his face in a clean and clinical manner. In fact, not a hair on his head was out of place. A single black plug earring sat in one of his ear lobes and my eyes momentarily flitted down to stare at the key hanging around his neck. The buttons of his blue shirt were undone, revealing just the slightest view of his chest. 'If you want to keep your friend out of harms way I suggest you do as I say from now on.' He relinquished his grip on me and headed for the heavy doors on the other side of the room. 'Lights out.' John gave me a corrupt smile before plunging me into darkness and leaving me alone.