Page 20 of Echoes From Within
“I’ll give you until morning,” he smiles, walking towards the door. “I’ve got a good feeling about you, Travis. Your eyes are haunted. It’s almost as if they keep changing color. It’s strange. But, I hope you pass those on to your children. See you in the morning.”
“Wait,” I say. “The woman that was in the room with me. The guards said she was going to get punished for not doing as they said. I may be considering your offer but I’m not a complete dick. She doesn’t deserve a punishment just because I wouldn’t rape her.”
“Unfortunately, Seven is already down in cellblock X,” he sighs, trying to appear upset. “Once the punisher has his task, he won’t release them until he’s finished. But don’t you worry about her. Seven has been down there countless times during her stay here. She won’t be injured enough to worry about death. See you in the morning, Travis.”
With that, he and his guards walk out of the room.
Xander’s in my head reminding me that I need to stay calm or he’s going to have to take over. Xander has the most control over his emotions and reactions. He might have been the best bet for this job.
I walk to the sink and turn the water on as high as it goes.
“Details,” I whisper, leaning my head down, hoping no listening devices can hear me.
“They’re gathering to do a raid on Sinclair manor in twenty minutes,” Ghost says. “Not much longer brother and we’ll have you out of there.”
My mind goes to Sophia and what she’s going through.
“I need to find a way down to her,”I tell my alters.
“As much as I hate it,”Xander chimes in.“The best course of action is to wait. Ghost says it will be twenty minutes and we know that she isn’t going to be killed. We just need to wait.”
“I’m ready for if she needs me, Travis,”Doc says.
I know he is. Doc has been ready to front for days now. They’ve treated us men like royalty compared to what it looks like she’s been treated. Sure, we’re locked in this single room but at least we have fucking heat. It’s the dead of winter right now and it was massively cold in that room.
“Venom,” Steel says. “I know you can’t say anything, brother, but are you doing okay? Did they hurt you?”
I sit on the couch, lean down, and rest my head in my hands. If anyone is watching on the camera it would just look like I’m exhausted.
“I’m good,” I whisper. “Women not.”
“I know, man. Ghost pulled some strings and we’re going to be right behind the raid team. They second they took you from the warehouse, Detective Jacobs contacted us and told us that he was right in his assumption that they were holding the women and men in the same place this bastard lives. We’ve been camped out just a few miles down the road for days now.”
“Hang in there, son,” I hear Pops say. “Don’t disconnect your ear piece until you’re safe. We’ll be silent on this end but know that we’re here and we can here everything on your side.”
“Got it,” I whisper before standing and pacing.
Hold on, sweetheart. I’ll be down there soon.
Chapter Five
Sophia
“I think you act out on purpose, Seven,” the Punisher says in his slimy little voice. “Do you miss me when I’m not around?”
“About as much as I do a toothache,” I say.
I’m still strapped down to my cot and even though I appear nonchalant, I’m freaking terrified. The Punisher is a sadistic man who smiles as soon as the screams begin.
“I was instructed not to damage you too much,” he tells me, running his fingers down the table housing his many devices.
“Shame,” I say, because for some reason, regardless of my fear, I’ve lost my fight.
“Isn’t it, though?” he sighs. “Since I can’t draw blood tonight, I’m just going to have to get creative. How do you feel about hanging upside down for a few hours? No, I don’t think I much like that idea. You have the most beautiful scream, Seven, and it would be a shame not to sing it for me. How about we warm up that voice of yours?”
I close my eyes, willing my body to just quit.
“So soft,” he says quietly as he drags his nasty finger down my arm. “I have just the thing to warm you up.”