The Pride

by Patricia Morse

  Chapter 17

  Out of Body

  Lexie

  My eyes opened. I was floating on a cloud overlooking my lifeless naked body lying on the sterile torture room floor. I floated through the open door quickly, wanting to leave my tortured body behind. I made my way through the winding hallways, finally finding my way out of Link’s house of horrors. I suddenly found myself alone in the woods, surrounded by nothing but nature and my racing thoughts. My mind drifted to Lenny and our conversation at Camp Grayling just after we’d been turned into half-breeds. As if by magic, I was there again, standing in front of my barracks. The trees had lost most of their leaves, and the air smelled of autumn. The pale purple sky was peppered full with tiny twinkling lights. I had come back to where it all began. I began to search the desolate army base for any signs of life. I started with the women’s barracks, but it was empty. The men’s quarters and the mess hall were void of life as well. I began to feel panic well up in my gut. Was I dead? Was I going to be stuck forever in this endless night? Camp Grayling is an awesome place to visit and train, but not somewhere I wanted to spend eternity. I sat down on the stairs in front of the mess hall and stared out into the trees. I could feel the hot tears begin to well up in my eyes as I listened to the sounds of nature. I pulled my knees to my chest and began to sob. I felt alone, abandoned, and defeated. It was as if my heart and lungs were being crushed in my chest, and nobody gave a damn. Hope was lost for everyone, and it was my fault entirely. I wanted to curl up into a ball, turn into a pile of ashes, and be done with life once and for all. A dense fog began to roll towards me from the forest. Maybe this was God granting me my final wish. I watched as the peculiar fog enveloped me. It began to swirl as it made contact with my breath. I found it to be quiet, calming. I could hear faint whispers from somewhere in the distance. Slowly they became louder and closer, almost thundering in my ears. I could see no one, but I could smell the smoke from a burning fire. I could feel the dampness of the fog begin to caress my exposed arms and legs. All of my senses began to awaken. The whispers became words, words I had not heard since my time in Iraq. Words Lenny spoke to me just before he was shot in the neck. It was an old Native American prayer about courage. “When you are in doubt, be still and wait. When doubt no longer exists for you, go forward with courage. So long as the mists envelop you, be still; be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists, as it surely will. Then go forward, and act with courage.” Over and over this prayer thundered through the mist. My heart began to beat faster, as the prayer for courage reverberated through my very being. The tears and self pity were soaked back up inside me, and turned instead into strength and determination. My need for self preservation no longer existed. A new purpose welled up from the pit of my gut. Freedom for my family suddenly became my new resolve. No more torture. No more chains, real or metaphorical. A new plan began to formulate in my mind as rays of life began to burst from my body cutting through the dense fog as the prayer had foreseen. I floated up from the stoop at the barracks, and hovered over the dense fog that had once enveloped me. More and more rays of light burst from my body. I felt like the Phoenix rising from the ashes. I had a new resolve now. I was selfish no more. I was never alone. I was never weak. I had only been full of doubt, doubt of my strength and abilities. I had allowed others to carve my path. But no longer would I be the victim. I awoke screaming indiscernible words flowing from my mouth. I was naked and shivering under the confines of my down comforter. Link was stroking my wet hair. His cold unfeeling fingers offered no comfort. I almost longed to return to my foggy slumber to replace the nightmare of my existence, but that wouldn’t aid my new found conviction. He kissed the top of my forehead with his cold dead lips. My dreams had revealed a flaw in his plan. If he killed me, none of this would matter anymore, and if he loved me in his own twisted way, he wouldn’t kill me. He wanted to collect me, and my family was a way of keeping me here. I had to chance it. Evie wasn’t my last hope. I was my last hope. I had to get myself and my family out of his grasps. Thane mentioned Kentucky. I needed to get to Kentucky. The wedding was only days away, and if he knew he had me forever, then he would certainly do away with my family. They would no longer be needed. It’s amazing how dreams can put things into perspective. I’d found a new sense of self. I needed to act quickly. I couldn’t think too much about it or the fear would overtake me. I need to use my instincts this time to get out…to get them out.

  “I am truly sorry that you had to endure that kitten, but you know what happens when you misbehave.”

  “I am well aware. I am aware that anything that I do to displease you leads to my being punished. I’ve been punished over and over again. Tortured in the name of love, and yet I do not love you. I’ve only grown to loathe and despise you more and more with every passing day!

  Link leapt from the bed keeping his back to me.

  “What’s the matter Link? Cat got your tongue?”

  He turned slowly toward me, his scowl showing his disapproval. He lunged towards me, his face inches from mine. He violently placed his hand on my throat. “Do not cross me cub!”

  “Why? Will you put me into the ice bath again? Or maybe it will be the electric shocks again? I’ve grown ever fond of the whippings and beatings! Do your best you psychotic bastard! You will not break me!”

  He lifted my naked body from the bed by my throat. I couldn’t help myself, and I began to laugh, laugh directly and angrily into his sadistic face.

  He threw me onto the hard mahogany floor and pounced on top of me. His breath was icy on my naked skin. “I could break your neck before you can bat your eyelashes again.”

  “Please! Do it! End this dreadful existence you’ve created for me!”

  “Don’t tempt me kitten.” His voice was full of anger and hostility. I had him backed into a corner. He knew I had nothing else to live for; I was a caged animal who would never appreciate his type of kindness. I pushed him off of me and glowered.

  “I will never love you. You can do your worst to me, and I will only hate you more for it.” I spit in his face and ran for my closet, slamming the door behind me. I did not hear him follow. He was probably off with his masses trying to come up with a new form of torture. I dressed quickly in layers. Evie taught me well. I wore jeans, a tee shirt under a sweat shirt, heavy socks and hiking boots. I was three stories up, and going out the front window was too risky. There would be too many soldiers wandering in the front. I had to exit through the back. There was a small piece of rocky earth below my window. If I landed wrong, I’d end up falling several hundred feet into the shallow rocky bottom of the lake. I couldn’t think about that. If I thought, I’d fail. I opened the door to my dressing area. Link had gone. I ran to the door of my chambers, and threw the dead bolt. I pushed a heavy armoire in front of the door as an added barrier. I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer, and ran as fast as I could for the plate glass window. I leapt into the air, and felt the window give as I crashed through. Shards of glass surrounded me as I plummeted towards earth.

  Chapter 18

  The Cave

  Evie

  The chaos had finally ended. My heart pounded. Just seconds earlier I had a large growling beast of a man lunging at me with hot daggers. The fellas were snarling and screaming as searing jolts of electricity pounded through their bodies. Strangely, as quickly as it began, it suddenly stopped. I looked around the room. The realization of the severity of the situation suddenly began to take hold. The boys were slumped over; their arms still chained high above them. The once overwhelmingly noisy room was deathly quiet. I could hear water dripping in the distance, echoing through the cave. The silence was actually more unnerving than the bedlam from moments before. The calm before the storm. My heart ached for the fellas. They’d endured weeks and weeks of this unnecessary torture, while I selfishly hot-rodded around Nashville in my new car. I had to push the guilt aside for the moment and tend to my boys.

  “Cam! Camalo! Camster! Wa
ke up sleepy head!” I tried to keep my voice chipper. I wanted them to know I was OK.

  Cam began to stir. He groggily looked up at me with a sluggish grin. “Just another day at the office ay Ev??”

  I exhaled loudly, showing my relief. “I’m so sorry Cam! “

  “Don’t be sorry gorgeous. This is the kind of excitement we all signed up for.”

  His half hearted laugh gave away his fear. I knew he was trying to be strong for me, just as I was trying to choke down my fear for him. Neither one of us was going to win an Oscar for this act. “How often does this happen?”

  Cam shook his head looking for the strength to answer. Lenny was beginning to stir. “What Ev? The barbequing of us half-breed dudes?

  I nodded.

  “It was happening almost every day for awhile, and then it slowed down. Today was the first day we got shocked in awhile though.” His once brilliant eyes were anguished. I took a close look at all of them. Just weeks ago, these amazing men looked unstoppable with rippling muscles and unquestionable strength. Now they seemed emaciated. Dark circles hung below their eyes.

  Lenny spoke up dragging me from my thoughts. “At first they wanted us to join them. Then, I think it just became fun to watch us squirm.”

  Cam chimed in. “Yeah, that big dude you just met is a mean mofo Ev! He really enjoys watching us suffer. Usually he doesn’t stop until another one of those dickweeds pulls him off!”

  Cam looked towards the entrance of the cave and shouted. “Yeah, I’m talking about you, you nasty son of a bitch! I know you can hear me, ya butt-ass! I bet you wouldn’t be so brave if I was out of these chains!”

  I winced as a jolt of electricity knocked Cam back into the wall. Cam was down for the count. I gazed at Lenny, I couldn’t hide my worry.

  “He’ll be alright Evie. Give him a few minutes and he’ll come back to us.”

  “Dear God Lenny! How are you guys holding up? I’ve been here a few hours, and I’m ready to lose it.”

  “Evie, you can’t lose it. That’s exactly what they want. If you lose it, you become one of them.”

  “Len, I’m so sorry I didn’t come sooner. I thought…”

  Lenny cut me off. “Evie, we knew you would come when the time was right. We hoped,

  and we prayed. That’s all we had. My God, when I saw you coming down that corridor, I thought it was over. I was ready to give in to their demands.”

  It was my turn to cut him off. “Len, what are their demands? Do you know why you were brought here?”

  “Like I said earlier, they want us to become one of them. They follow Link blindly, and he has some master plan to take over the world.”

  I began to ask another question, but Lenny was zapped into unconsciousness once again. We were talking too much, and Link or his master minion didn’t like our conversation. The Bronx Brothers were still out. I’d seen these two guys crumble boulders into dust. I began to assume they had probably been sedated to keep them from ripping out their chains. My mind was racing. I was unsure if I could last long enough for Thane to get Lexie out. That infernal dripping water was starting to get on my nerves. I was antsy, and I had to pee. I began to wonder if the boys got bathroom breaks, and how they were being fed, or bathed. They didn’t look overly dirty or smell. My thoughts were interrupted by footsteps coming down the stone corridor. The nasty beast of a man emerged from the dark wearing the same snarl as before. He’d removed his army jacket, and wore a black sleeveless tee shirt and khaki shorts. He had a machete strapped to his leg. His greasy dark hair was slicked back into a long ponytail. He placed his arms on either side of me and leaned in towards me. I could smell the blood on his breath as he spoke.

  “Ms. Bourocher, I’ve been ordered to be gentle with you. Gentle isn’t my specialty, so if you co-operate, I won’t have to break my orders.”

  “I’m a Captain in the United States Air Force, and I expect to be addressed as such soldier!” My defiance was quickly thwarted as he reared back and slapped me across the face. I could feel the blood trickling down my cheek.

  The man with the ponytail began to laugh maniacally. “I’m no soldier for your country you little witch!”

  He snarled into my ear as he pulled my head back by my hair. My nostrils flared, and my cheeks flushed with rage as I spit into his sweaty red face. He snarled, once again nauseating me with his rancid breath.

  “You’re going to pay for that you wicked hag! That little blond harpy had back up, but where’s your back up, Captain Bourocher? Those little boys over there can’t help you now can they. You’re mine you vile shrew!”

  He ripped me from my shackles and threw me onto the hard gravel. I was close enough to the fellas to touch them, but they were completely knocked out. Link’s minion leapt on top of me knocking the air from my lungs. I struggled under his weight as he began ripping and clawing at my flesh. My clothes were being torn from my body. I managed to get my knee into his groin with full force. He rolled off of me screaming in agony. I tried to pull his machete from his leg, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back down to the cold, hard gravel. The red phone on the wall was ringing. The pandemonium was confusing my thoughts. I heard a growl from behind me, then a thunderous crack. I looked up just as Diablo broke his chains from the cave wall. Snarling and growling, he lunged towards my attacker. I quickly found Lenny and began to try to pull his chains from the wall. Other members of Link’s horde were starting to run towards us now. I could hear their heavy footsteps crushing the gravel on the narrow path towards the cave room. I had one of Lenny’s arms free as I was hit from behind by a strong shock, a tazer perhaps. I fell face first onto Lenny’s lap. All the boys were awake now, and the sounds of their growls was deafening. I was quickly scooped up and restrained. I watched in horror as Diablo stood at the edge of a drop off, surrounded by heavily armed snarling half-breeds. He winked at us and smiled devilishly as he put his hands up into the air. The man who attacked me picked himself up from the ground and started to lunge towards Diablo. Diablo just leaned back and fell into the dark ravine; the man with the ponytail went over with him. Horrified chills went up and down my spine as I heard two splashing thuds as they hit the water a moment later. I felt physically ill. I’d explored this cave when Jacks and I were engaged, and I knew even a half-breed couldn’t survive that fall. It was at least a two hundred foot drop to jagged rocks and shallow water. My heart broke as I looked towards Grizzly. His eyes were bloodshot, his shoulders slumped. He was broken. He’d just watched his brother die, and there was nothing I could say or do to make it better. The brood of minions quickly descended onto the fellas prodding at them with electric pokers as if they were cattle being rustled. I was dragged away from them. One large smelly beast carried me sideways with my torso under his arm, crushing my rib cage, while the other restrained my feet. I couldn’t breathe. I was gasping for air. I wrapped my arms around his waist and held on as tightly as I could, struggling for oxygen. I could hear my ribs cracking as he squeezed tighter and tighter. I was beginning to feel faint as we neared the cave entrance. I could see the sunlight and smell the fresh, dewy Kentucky bluegrass. The light nearly blinded me as we emerged from the murky depths of the cave. I was tossed to the ground where I curled up onto my side in fetal position trying to dull the pain from my broken ribs. I stared at the base of a nearby tree, gasping for air. Once again I was pounced upon, this time by an overly-muscled man with a blond crew cut. His breath also reeked of fresh blood. I could feel the bile rising up in my throat as his face neared mine.

  “Joseph was one of our best soldiers! His death is on your hands!”

  “He wasn’t a soldier!” I could barely speak. My words were coming out in a whisper. “He was nothing more than a yellow-bellied automaton.”

  Every breath I took was causing stabbing searing pain. The new young blood thirsty beast rolled me onto my back. He straddled my hips and pinned me down by my shoulders. I screamed in agony as the pain overtook my will for defiance. I could see I was
surrounded by at least seven members of Link’s army.

  The soldier restraining me took a deep breath and looked skyward. His face softened a bit before he spoke. “You probably did him a favor. Link would have strapped him up by his balls with electrified barbed wire for trying to…Uhumm…defile you. He tried it with your little friend you know? He almost got away with it, but Ganyon stopped him. I can’t believe that dumbass tried it again. You are a pretty little thing though. I can see why Link wants to keep you around.” The soldier laughed eerily. He lifted his hand from my shoulder, and drove it into the center of my rib cage, while covering my mouth with his other hand. I’m sure my muffled scream could still be heard for miles. The pain shot up my spine and into my head. It was as if someone had taken a pick axe and jabbed it into my temple. I could feel hot tears flowing from my eyes. He leaned into me once again, placing his lips close to my ears. “Pretty soon, it will just be you and me, no cameras, nobody watching, and nobody to hear you scream. The name’s Drake by the way. I’m gonna make sure you never forget it!”

  He licked the blood and tears from my cheeks, and gave my ribs one last jab with his fist before getting off of me. My head was spinning. I was immediate surrounded by more people. They all seemed fuzzy. I couldn’t tell if they were men or women. I felt a quick jab in the crook of my elbow as someone stuck me with an I.V. I could hear muffled talking, but couldn’t make out any words. I felt a cold rush of something entering my vein, and I was out.