CHAPTER 28
Jimmy blinked open his sore eyes, his vision was blurry but he could see a light bulb dangling above him, giving off a bright yellow luminescence. He tried to move his arms, but he couldn’t. His wrists were trapped by cold, metal restraints that were attached to the table in front of him. He struggled, it was no good, and the restraints were firm in place. Jimmy noted how particularly uncomfortable the chair he was sitting in was, the chair was stiff, forcing him into an uncomfortably stiff position. Then, his stomach dropped as he noticed the shadowed features of a face staring at him from across the table. Along with the obscured face, a pair of cut and muscular arms were clasped in front of it.
“Oh, I see that you have come to.” Said the man sitting across from him. He had a deep, calming voice and a strong British accent. The light only lit up the lower half of his face, he had high cheekbones and puffy cheeks, a close to nonexistent chin, a weak and rounded jawline, thin lips, and yellow stained teeth of which many were chipped and crooked.
Jimmy remained silent as his throat felt sore; he let out a snotty cough filled with phlegm.
“Oh, I see you’re breathing too.” Said the man sarcastically, obviously wanting some kind of reaction from Jimmy.
“Where am I?” asked Jimmy angrily but warily in his gruff and worn out voice.
The man responded with a short chuckle before his voice turned deadpan and somewhat menacingly growling. “I don’t know. Where are you? You brought yourself here, didn’t you Jimmy, or should I say, Rick?”
It was over, the jig’s up, thought Jimmy. This guy was mad that Jimmy had come here, and perhaps even more infuriated that Jimmy entered under a false identity. Not knowing what to respond with, Jimmy replied with “How do you know my name?” he quickly turned his head around, “And where’s my friend? Jimmy asked, startled.
“Oh you are friends, about that…” he responded with faux remorse and naiveté.
“Friends?” shouted Jimmy, alarmed and triggered. He attempted another vain attempt to free himself from his restraints, nearly lifting up the entire table.
“Shh, shh. Don’t bother with those cuffs. No need to shout, now.” He said calmly, coldly, and calculatingly. Something about him told Jimmy that he had ulterior motives, and in his gut, Jimmy knew this man was the kind of guy who would do anything to reach his objective. The man readjusted his hands, putting them in front of his face. “Point is, if you want to see your buddies again,” he clicked his tongue, amused, before continuing, “You’re going to listen to me very carefully. The name is Darcy, displeased to meet your acquaintance.”
Jimmy was getting angry, he hated being patronized and belittled. Almost as much as being powerless. “Let me out of these cuffs.” Said Jimmy, trying his hardest to intimidate his captor.
“Listen. Jimmy.” Darcy placed emphasis on Jimmy’s name, detailing it with an expression of disgust and annoyance. “I give orders here. Not you, me. Again, not you, me!” he exhaled soothingly, letting out his anger. Darcy clasped his hairy, veiny hands in front of him once more, on the table. “What are you here for, Jimmy?” he asked calmly.
Jimmy snickered, “Couldn’t help but notice the wanker décor, oh and the red fetish. A house for a dick head like you.” Said Jimmy with a hysterical laugh; he was really pushing his luck now.
A grimace formed on Darcy’s face, he shouted, “Chains!”
“What’s that Darcy? You’re safe word, too hot for a bloke you?” said Jimmy with another laugh, thinking that he had finally gotten to Darcy. He felt less tension in his restraints, Jimmy stood up, still restrained by a two foot chain on each of his cuffs that served as his leash. The lights came on revealing a white room with three cubicles behind glass walls behind Jimmy and on either side of him.
“Get up, I think I found your friends.” Said Darcy tauntingly from across the table.
Jimmy attempted to lash out on Darcy from across the table before standing up in defeat and turning around.
Behind the glass behind Jimmy’s chair were Sara and Gavin. They were each strapped to slanted table that were set across from each other, their eyes were locked.
Darcy came around to Jimmy’s side, meticulously making sure he was out of Jimmy’s reach. “I’ve found that specimens, when tempted with death, find solace with those around them. I never understood it myself, it’s quite fascinating.” To Jimmy’s surprise, Darcy was little over half his height, a midget. But his arms were enormous and muscular, unlike the rest of his body. His messy brown hair fanned over his eyebrows, stopping right before his cold blue eyes.
Jimmy was saddened, Sara and Gavin were talking to each other but Jimmy couldn’t hear them, perhaps that was for the best. Tears were rolling down their cheeks as they gasped for air while continuing to talk to each other. A man in blacked out body armor and a gas mask gagged both of them, but their gaze on each other didn’t waver. “Let my friends go, Darcy.”
Jimmy looked on either side of him to see Eddie and Matt in a similar situation, exchanging words that were inaudible to Jimmy but must’ve meant the world to the friends. To Jimmy’s right, Jake and Darya were in an identical situation. Despite not knowing each other very well, they too, were exchanging words that spawned tears that flowed like rivers down their faces.
Darcy put his hands in the pockets of his lab coat and looked up at Jimmy, approaching him. “Everything action has an equal and opposite reaction. More or less, your actions are going to be your friend’s consequences. And they say I have no mercy, nonsense.” He chuckled before turning serious once more, “Consider yourself lucky, Jimmy.”
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