Chapter Forty Six

Chapter Forty Six
Zen’s POV
“Wake up, sleeping beauty.” A man’s voice pulled me from my induced slumber. I groaned, trying in vain to open my eyes, but they just felt too damn heavy. Sleep beckoned to me, and I was joyfully following, unwilling to face my new reality. Suddenly, I felt an intense burning sensation on the center of my chest, causing my eyes to fly open as I screamed at the pain. The smell of scorched flesh invaded my nose, making me want to vomit. With watering eyes, I trailed my gaze downwards to see a Nate with a branding iron, now sizzling with the burnt skin that it managed to pull off my torso.
“Good. That ought to keep him awake for a while.” Dan’s voice reverberated in my mind. I was dizzy, and every single part of me was in excruciating pain. “Hey, my old friend. Hope you don’t mind the wakeup call. You know how busy I can be, and I wanted to have a little word with you before Nate here really starts going to work. Are you done with your nervous breakdown yet?”
I tried to follow what he was telling me, but my mind was numb. It wasn’t the drugs, since I was now wide awake. It was as if it had shut itself down. I didn’t mind it, though. With my brain not working, neither could the sadistic projector in my head that had my girl’s rape playing on repeat. I felt nothing. I heard nothing. I thought nothing. Dan’s ugly mug came into view as he looked me in the eyes.
“Not talking, huh? I never thought it would be this easy to break you, kid. Maybe I misjudged you all those years ago. You lived as a killer, but you sure as hell won’t die as one. Nate, get the light.” A moment later a light so bright that all I could see was white shone down onto me. I preferred the darkness much more. At least that way, I could rest my eyes and mind. Now, I felt like I was staring into the sun, even with my eyelids shut. A deep shudder overtook me when I felt the freezing splash of ice water cascading down my body. This snapped me from my emptiness.
“Son-of-a-bitch, stop!” I yelled.
“Ah, there he is. We can’t have you giving up so easily. I want to see you struggle.” I felt the sharp point of a nail in the center of my hand.
“Just fucking kill me already!” I growled. Their only answer was a boisterous laugh, followed by the sound of metal on metal. It took me a moment to register was had happened, but once the pain set in, I let out a deep throaty scream. I felt the blood weaving throughout my fingers.
“Now, Elizabeth Beyer wasn’t so worth it, was she? It would’ve only taken you a second to kill her. You could’ve been high up in your penthouse as we speak, a woman on each leg just like the good old days. Not locked down here in this cellar, begging to die. I want to hear you admit it, Zen. She wasn’t worth it.”
“I’ll never say that, you sick fuck! I don’t regret what I did. You can do whatever the hell you want to me, and I’ll still never say that her life wasn’t worth it!” My teeth were aching with the strain I was putting into clenching them, but I didn’t want to show that bastard that he was getting to me. Of course I had considered how different it would’ve been if I had killed Elizabeth that day, but I could never finish the what-ifs. Because regardless of all of the shit we’d been through, I wouldn’t have been able to live at all without her in my life. Our time together was short, but it was worth it. I saw her smile, held her in my arms, and received her love for two whole months, which was more than I ever deserved.
“Fine. But you will say it by the time we are done with you. Remove it.” Just like that, I felt the pull of the large nail against the flesh of my hand, along with the cool metal of the underside of the hammer. I would’ve shouted, but I could no longer open my jaw. My teeth were clattering from the effects of the ice water, and my body was trembling uncontrollably.
This was how I was going to die. Locked up and tortured in a room without my angel. This was what I had earned, justice was being delivered. I shut my eyes, imagining that the bright light came from her. She waltzed towards me in a white gown, a lily placed in her beautiful blonde hair. She offered her hand to me, her skin aglow with a radiance that hurt to touch in the best possible way, and we danced. I knew I was going crazy, but I didn’t give a shit. I held her for a while in this room inside my head, ignoring the suffering that was befalling me in the real world. Then, she opened her mouth to speak.
“Hey, Nate, right?”
“Who the hell are you?”
“New here. I have a delivery from Danny.”
That voice. It’s muddled and quiet, but I hear my Princess. She came.