I Am Bree - Book 1

Chapter 27 - Accused & The Figure in the Dark

One of the men drew a steel rod off the wall. It was the same sort that had been used on Kotaro, and the image of his battered frame flashed through my brain. He had suffered and borne the pain with nothing more than grunts. There would be no one to stop my beating, though.

"Going easy on her, I see?" The guard with the gravelly voice said.

"She's small. It won't take much to get her talking." The other man shrugged, running a finger down the length of the rod. "How long do you think it'll be before she tells everything she knows?"

"I bet a pint I can get it in under five swings." His chuckle sent tremors down my spine.

The other man laughed and handed over the rod. "You're on. I didn't particularly want to do anything strenuous today anyway."

The big man gripped the steel rod, a devilish smile on his face. I wanted to tell them that their bet was for nothing, because I had nothing to confess, but my voice wouldn't come. They wouldn't have listened to me, either.

"I'm going to enjoy this." The big man chuckled, winding up to strike.

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to prepare myself. Nothing could have readied me for the strength of the blow. Involuntarily, I cried out in pain as I felt the steel meet my back. My eyes snapped open, and I gasped for air. The guard had moved right in front of me, and his gleeful eyes caught mine as he prepared to strike again.

There was no warning buzz this time to warn me. One moment, there was terrible pain and a sense of impending doom as the guard smiled at me, and then, I was gone.

I felt all the air leave my lungs as I spiraled into the eerily familiar vision world. The well-lit expanse of the interrogation room disappeared into a dim, musty room. It was colder, too, if that was possible.

A big man was standing in front of me, his shadow casting an eerie shape on the wall. He was looking down at a crumpled shape on the other side of the room. As my eyesight adjusted, I recognized the shape to be a small, human figure.

"Get up, boy." The big man's voice filled the small room, and I jumped.

The figure stirred and crawled out of the corner. In the dim light, I could see that his legs were bloodied and bruised—beaten so brutally he couldn't stand. The boy's face came into the light, and I gasped. Young as he was, I could clearly recognize Kotaro's eyes looking up at the speaker. As familiar as his face was, however, the image he made was entirely foreign to me. His emotions were plainly written across his face. There was no mask, no wall in place.

"I'm not sorry." He said through gritted teeth. His voice was raw with emotion. He had changed so much.

Without a word, the big man struck him full across the face. I sucked in a breath as Kotaro's entire body jerked with the force of the blow. Lifting his head again, Kotaro looked his attacker right in the eyes, blood dribbling from his lips. There were tears in his eyes.

"You are nothing more than a piece of useless garbage. I should have left you to die as the murderer you are." The big man's voice was vaguely familiar.

Kotaro ducked his head. I had never seen him so submissive...except. Bile flooded my throat. The "big" man was King Erik. Apparently, his brutality toward his son had started long ago.

"I've saved your life. What do you say, boy?" King Erik's voice was flooded with contempt.

"Thank you." Kotaro's voice was so small, and my heart broke at the sight of him.