Page 20 of The Wolf and the Monarch

“Milo, come on,” Sawyer spoke up for the first time, walking closer to them all. “You don’t have to-”

“Shut the fuck up!” Milo shouted and shot a glare at him. “Keep your ass over there or you’re fucking next.”

Benji heard a sigh from Sawyer. It was a nice effort but probably not worth it in the end. He still didn’t even know why Sawyer cared so much. It didn’t make any sense to him. Milo then snapped his fingers and held his hand out towards someone else. “Get over here, Clay.” Cackling immediately filled the room and quick footsteps were heard. One second his vision was of the ceiling the next it was the face of the tiny guy. Benji’s lip curled immediately. He did not like being that close to him.

The guy took a seat on his chest, each leg on either side of him. He leaned over, dragging his nose down his cheek and neck while he reached into his back pocket. He pulled out an old looking cloth. Clay wasn’t necessarily heavy but it sure wasn’t comfortable having a grown fucking man sitting on him and nuzzling him. Plus, it was crushing his hands even more and that was the part that was particularly painful. Benji tried his best to not look at Clay but the guy was just staring at him. It sent a shiver up his spine.

Without any warning, the cloth was spread over his face and pinned to the ground by the guy's hands. Benji attempted to shift from under it but it wasn’t doing much of anything. Something squeaked loudly and the rumble of pipes was soon heard within the wall. “Wait, wait–” He began, but it didn’t matter. Freezing cold water was soon pouring over his head.

Over his life, he had trained and prepared for a lot of things. Hand to hand combat, gun control, stealth, endurance. Not once did the thought to practice surviving waterboarding cross his mind. He had read about it in some old military report from many years ago. He remembered thinking how miserable it sounded. He could officially say, yes, it was. It was more than miserable.

It was despairing.

Not being able to breathe was horrifying.

He struggled to find a way to get even a morsel of air but it just wasn’t coming to him. He writhed beneath Clay’s body, hoping to peek his head out from underneath the cloth that was currently suffocating him but it just made the man double down and hold the cloth even tighter against his face. If Benji wasn’t so terrified, he probably would have noticed the toe of Clay’s boot directly digging into the deep wound on his side, causing it to bleed even more, even with the bandage. But that didn’t even cross his mind.

The water was turned off after about thirty seconds, but it felt like much longer. The cloth shifted down and was held around his neck while Benji gasped for air. The water that had poured on him was so cold and tasted like rust. It didn’t help him trying to gather his breath. Yes, he would take cold showers in the morning, but they weren’t nearly as cold as what had come out of that pipe above him.

Milo leaned over and grabbed his face so he could turn it towards him. “Oh. I forgot to get the temperature fixed on this old thing, haven’t I?” An evil grin crossed his features. “John Raymond. Has the name come to you yet?”

He coughed up some water that was sitting in throat and shook his head. He didn’t necessarily mean it as a no (even though he had no idea who it was), but more of a way to get the water off his face.

“Pity.” Milo stood back up straight and gave a slight nod his head. Clay immediately plopped the wet cloth back over his face and seconds later, the water cascaded down upon him again. Benji at least expected it this time and he was able to take a breath into his nose. Well, as much as the wet cloth would allow him. As the water poured over him, he counted in his head the seconds it would take until they turned the water off. He was expecting about the same time frame but this time it just didn’t stop. And that was enough to make Benji panic.

He couldn’t help but take a gasping breath which simply sucked the soaked cloth into his mouth. Clay cackled above him as Benji struggled with every ounce of energy in his body. No matter how much he moved though, the water just kept coming.

“Milo, you're going to kill him!” Sawyer spoke up again.

That was enough to at least get them to turn the water off. Benji’s face was quickly uncovered which allowed him to take the breath he had been trying to get. However, as he did that, he inhaled water and just threw himself into a coughing fit. That gave Clay a good laugh and he slapped Benji on the chest. “Water down the wrong tube?” He snickered.

He eventually was able to open his eyes and watched as Milo faced his nephew. There was no mistaking the frustration and anger that was written all over his face. “Why are you interfering? That’s not your fucking job, Sawyer.”

“My job is to make sure you don’t drown him, Milo.”

“I can do what I want to him!” He screamed in Sawyer’s face.

“But you need answers from him.”

“Do you know anything now, Andi?” Milo asked, suddenly calm, with his gaze steady upon his nephew. “Do you remember your job with John Raymond? Why did you take our money? Where is it now?”

Benji shrugged his shoulders sadly while he flopped his head towards the two. “I-I don’t know a-anything.”

Milo pointed towards Benji. “He’s useless to me in his current state,” the leader shoved Sawyer backwards and stepped back to Benji. “Everyone has a breaking point. I am just finding it so he can become useful.”

And they sure did try to find it.

The waterboarding carried on for quite some time. It was the same thing over and over. Wet rag over his face, cold water dumped over him, and suffocation ensued. Benji couldn’t even tell how long it had been by the end of it.

His body was practically convulsing from a slew of different things. He was frozen to the bone. His nervous system couldn’t figure out how to regulate that and his nonstop panicking from lack of oxygen. He felt lightheaded, like he was going to pass out. The wound on his side was so aggravated. At one point, Clay had noticed that it was starting to really bother Benji so he just dug his boot further into it. Benji officially couldn’t stand that guy. He really didn’t like any of them but the guy on his chest was the absolute worst.

Milo was frustrated. There was no doubt about that. His frustration came to a head when he grabbed the cloth and tossed it at the wall with a loud squish. He released a growl as he walked away from Benji, towards the stairs. Clay and Tank just watched for a moment before Tank followed after him. “Aw, we’re done?” Clay asked with a pout, tapping his fingers against Benji’s cheeks.

“For now,” was the only thing Milo said before he stomped up the stairs.

Clay pouted and stood up. His gaze drifted over towards Sawyer, though it was more a glare, and then he walked away, following the others up the stairs.

Benji’s body was still tense even after they left and he was certain it would be for some time. Sawyer quickly made his way over to him and lifted his chair from the floor. The first thing he did was check his hands. Benji felt soft fingers against him, apparently checking out the damage. “God, you’re freezing.”