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“No.”
Another shock, more painful than anything I’d ever experienced jolted me, and I screamed, falling to the ground. Digging at the device I ripped at it, trying to tear it from my wrist. As bad as the pain was, I wasn’t going to torture and murder someone for over reacting when they were scared.
“No, no, no, no,” I shouted the word over and over as I continued to yank and pull on the wrist band.
Kaden bellowed at me through his gag. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to talk to me or if he was shouting in his own terror. I was still yelling ‘no’ when a final shock hit me. It was like my arm had been wrapped in a coil of copper wire and then plugged directly into a wall. I seized, back arching, teeth gritting tight, and pain blossoming across my entire body.
It didn’t seem like it would ever end. Only a small sliver of my mind could function for thought, and that single part of me was growing more terrified by the second that Sam was going to continue the torture. Unable to even grunt, I could sense my mind beginning to go dark. There was a moment when I, vaguely, noticed a warmth between my legs as I pissed myself, and then I was out again.
Chapter 20
My bed was warm and soft, a far cry from what I last remembered. Screaming and writhing in pain as I was shocked into unconsciousness. Sitting up, I looked around my room, and everything was exactly as it had been. Nothing out of place, and I wore clean clothes. The ones I’d pissed in were nowhere in sight.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I held my head in my hands. My head, aching like it’d been beaten with a hammer, throbbed along with my heartbeat. Even though my body had the heavy groggy sensation of having been in bed for a long time, I was still exhausted. I was nowhere near ready to move when the message came for me to go to breakfast. Unwilling to be shocked again, I stumbled to the door, pulled on my sneakers, and headed out.
In the dining room, the others were standing waiting for everyone to arrive. Elise, Bri, and Liam were all there, but I didn’t see Drake. I froze in the doorway and looked around the room, searching for him.
“Where’s Drake?” I asked.
Bri shrugged. “Haven’t seen him, Kaden, or you since the other day.”
On numb feet, I walked over to stand at my chair. Had Drake been killed for running back to help me? Oh god. What if, after the voice knocked me out, he gave Kaden a choice to kill Drake in order to be free. Would that happen? If so, wouldn’t I have been better off killing him than letting Drake die?
I was nearly ready to cry when Drake strode into the dining room a moment before the door closed. I let out a sigh of relief. Elise must have heard it because she rolled her eyes and scoffed at me. For his part, Drake looked worse than I did. He had a split lip that was healing, a black eye, and what looked like red marks running from his throat down below the collar of his sweatshirt like he’d been whipped or something.
Catching his eye, I opened my mouth to ask if he was okay, but he shook his head, warning me to say nothing. He joined us and we all sat. Liam lifted the domes on the food and showed what looked like southern biscuits and gravy, a giant plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and a bowl of peeled oranges. Everyone piled their plates with food as though it was the most normal thing in the world.
I nudged Drake and whispered, “What happened to you.”
He eyed me nervously, and glanced around before mumbling a quick response. “I was punished for helping you.”
“What?” I said, louder than I’d intended. “All you did was keep him from hurting me.”
Drake hissed and cradled his wrist against his arm, a second later my own device shocked me. I nearly cried out in pain. My wrist was still sore from the electric shock in the playroom. The warning shock did the opposite of what Sam intended. My fuse was already short, and the jolt to my wrist sent me over the edge.
Leaping from my seat I slammed my palms on the table. “God damn it. Why are you all acting like this is normal? It’s bullshit. That’s what it is. I’ve been knocked fucking unconscious twice in one day, and I’m tired of it.”
Liam glanced up, his expression wary. “Uh, it was actually two days you were gone.”
Elise slammed her silverware down. “Sit down, Dahlia, and shut the fuck up. Tonight is family game night, don’t ruin it.”
I gaped at her. How was this real life? They were acting as though this were nothing more than a standard family breakfast. Kaden had most likely been killed, I’d been shocked and knocked out, and Drake had been tortured. All in a day’s fun.
Flopping back into my seat, I glared at the rest of them, unsure what else to say. “Fine,” I shouted. “Let’s fucking eat.”
The group ate in silence. As much as I didn’t want to eat, my stomach was cramping from not eating for two days, and I gave up abstaining. Under the table, Drake reached over and squeezed my knee in reassurance. That small bit of contact did more to calm me down than anything else did.
After breakfast, I was sent back to the gym. I had another little panic attack as I went. Could I deal with another all-out training session? Worse, more fighting? My body could handle it, but I wasn’t sure my mind could. Not so soon after what happened with Kaden.
Arriving in the gym, I waited alone until the doors swung shut and locked.
Bong. “Dahlia, today you will run three miles on the track, you will do one hundred push-ups, and two hundred sit-ups. You have the next two hours to complete the training.”
Freezing in place, I waited for more instruction or some catch or twist. It was a lot of work, but even I thought I could complete all that in less than that amount of time. I stood there for almost a whole minute before I realized there was nothing more coming. Preceding to start jogging on the small track, I noticed my cuff was tracking my distance so I didn’t have to. It was nice to zone out and do the work without having to talk or worry about what was going to happen with someone else. By the time I finished the three mile run forty minutes later, I was sweaty and breathing hard but refreshed.
The other hour I alternated between push-ups and sit-ups, never letting myself get tired. I got up to walk around between sets. Finished, I headed to the showers and was a hundred times calmer and more at ease than I’d been when I got there. I was also proud of how fast I’d completed the entire workout. I’d assumed I’d be done with about fifteen minutes left, but I’d done it all in less than an hour and a half.
After getting changed and cleaned up, my device buzzed painlessly, and I read the message: Music room next. Lunch will be provided there. You will have three hours alone.
