“I’ve gotcha, Shaney,” Todd whispered shakily. Todd always had him, continually saving Shaney from his own self-destruction. And how was Shaney going to repay his real-life hero? By dying and fulfilling his best friend’s worst fear. Shaney was such screw up.
Fighting to draw in enough air, Shaney forced the words out. “S-sor-ry. L-lo-”Another sharp stab to his gut yanked the remaining air from him, forcing out a sharp cry.
“Get him against the wall,” Caleb barked.
Todd’s grip tightened around his waist and he lifted Shaney, carrying him backwards. The coldness of the wall against his back did little to dampen the fire within.
“Strap him in.” Caleb’s words dripped with impatience.
Todd strapped Shaney’s arms and legs to the wall. The strap across his chest was tight and restricted deep breathing. Reality, and something obscure and significant, battled for dominance over his brain. Shaney struggled to remain on the side of reality and prevent the pending eviction from his own mind. Two strong hands wrapped around the sides of his head.
“Shaney. Look at me.” Thumbs caressed Shaney’s cheeks.
Shaney forced his eyelids to open. Todd stared at him with a fierce intensity. “You’re going to be okay. Caleb is going to get this toxic waste out of your ass so you can go back to being the world’s biggest pain in mine, right?”
If not for the underlying terror in Todd’s beautiful brown eyes, Shaney might have believed him. Shaney managed a jerky nod. The nod was a lie, but Shaney would have told a mountain of lies for Todd. Todd pressed a quick kiss to Shaney’s sweat-slicked forehead, and then stepped away. Caleb stepped into view and raised his hand. His fine-boned fingers clenched another one of those complex symbols cast in a gold.
“Feel free to scream,” Caleb said with that fucking irritating calm. Then he slammed the gold sigil against Shaney’s chest.
Shaney’s head snapped back and an inhuman scream flooded the room.
Minutes, hours, or, for all Shaney knew, days, had passed with him strapped to that wall. Intermittent periods of muted pain were interspersed with prolonged periods of white-hot, searing agony that flayed him alive. Occasionally, cold water dribbled into his mouth or was poured over his head, instantly heating on his flaming skin. He babbled about his dad and mom, screamed for Todd and Hudson, muttered prayers for the agony to end, screamed obscenities, and cursed a god he didn’t believe in, until his vocal cords finally gave out. Those streaming, blue streaks flooded his vision, tangling and writhing as if trying to organize and coalesce.
Someone, anyone—Death, Superman, the Goddamn Marines…Hudson—oh, please, Hudson—needed to free him from his perpetual torment. Todd shouted for the “mother fuckers” to let him go and that he would kill them when he was free. Well, Todd wouldn’t be rescuing him any time soon. Even if Todd unlocked the biting restraints, the primordial energy from hell would still pull Shaney to pieces. It was totally possible Shaney had already been scattered into fragments on the black and white floor. What nearly drove him one exit past sanity was the belief that he was already dead and in an eternal hell.
“How you doing, Shaney?” Caleb’s voice rode in on a muffled wave. Any questions Shaney had about sweet, owl-eyed Caleb’s propensity to be a sadistic killer had been nullified. Time to take advantage of that. Shaney hissed as he willed his mouth to form the words.
“I’m sorry, Shaney. I can’t hear you.”
“K… k-kill me.”
Todd screamed at the “pieces of shit” to stop, while Caleb assured Shaney that death was imminent if he failed to remove the deadly energy. Fuck his task. Shaney’s will to live had neared empty.
“P-please. I c-can’t,” Shaney sobbed, wanting to give up.
Maybe it was that simple...just stop trying to breathe. Shaney ceased his struggle and sank down into his mind. An echo of a crash sounded, and then something like a scuffle tried to yank him back. Something touched his chest. Shaney braced for the crashing pain, but there was none. He descended further, spiraling, escaping agony and grief, unearthing a peaceful euphoria, and disappearing into the cradle of darkness.
* * * *
“Shaney. Come on, it’s time to wake up.”
Shaney struggled against the words, fighting to stay swaddled in the downy bliss of his warm cocoon.
“Shaney, baby, please, look at me.”
The sorrowful plea yanked at Shaney’s gut and squeezed at his heart. No one had ever called him ‘baby’ before. Damn that endearment went straight to his cock. Hands cradled his cheeks. Mmmm, earthy and spicy and so familiar.