Edited by: Waning_Crescents

As soon as Cal stepped into Axis’s car, that strong and cool demeanor he had mustered up before wavered. His pulse increased and all the thoughts of what would come next trickled into his mind, yet he had no regrets. If his life had to end today like this then this was fine, somewhat bearable, but if Sigal had to suffer because of him, then he couldn’t bear it at all.

I’m sorry Sigal, but this was for the best. You will be able to forget in time.

Cal had lived like this long enough to know that every attempt to catch Axis ended in failure. This man was cunning and manipulative. No one ever suspected that he held Cal caged in the depths of the basement like an animal. On the contrary, they even granted Axis full custody of him after their dad and Axis’s mom died. If he could be certain of something, then it was the fact that he would never be found, not even by Sigal.

“I’m so happy you decided to comply. This really got me excited.” Axis’s unwelcoming voice disturbed his thoughts. He reached over to Cal and let one finger run along his cheek. “Unfortunately, you still have to be punished accordingly, I can’t just let you off the hook like that. All the preparations had already been made.”

Cal turned his head away and stared out the window not paying him any heed, but in the next moment his vision went dark.

“Can’t let you see where we are going, can I?” Axis said in a soft voice and tightened a cloth around his eyes before he retracted his hands.

After an unknown amount of time the car stopped. Cal tensed up as next to him the car door opened noisily with a creak. “Come.”

With great effort Cal climbed out of the car, almost slipping as he did so. Unconsciously, he stood still for a moment trying to listen to his surroundings in order to figure out any clues about their whereabouts.

“We are almost there. The rest you have to walk, little brother,” Axis said with a grin on his lips as he tugged on Cal’s choker, urging him to move.

Cal stumbled along as he followed. He remained silent the entire time, only trying to not trip along the way. With every step he took the chains clanked loudly, while one foot always tugged on the other ankle, causing him to flinch every time.

Not long after, they seemed to enter a building, making their way downwards. With Cal’s current vision blocked out and his ankles bound he hardly could take any steps.

Axis sighed. “Raul.”

In the next moment, a quite sturdy arm slung around Cal’s waist, lifting him up before he got thrown over someone’s shoulder.

Cal hung limply there, just listening to any noises, but nothing beside their footsteps echoed through. As they went deeper, the smell of mold and pungent chemicals lingered in the air, penetrating Cal’s nostrils. This familiar scent sparked an immediate reaction of nausea in him, and his breathing quickened.

“We are here.” Axis opened the door to a room while the one who carried Cal, put him down. Then Axis walked back to him, unwrapping the blindfold that covered his eyes. “You are home.” He whispered into his ear.

As soon as Cal’s eyes fell on the items inside the room, he froze up in place. At first, the big, enhanced chair in the middle of the room came into view, which had built-in restraints for arms and legs. Then his gaze shifted on a little table beside it; a tray with needles, liquids and other equipment rested on it.

In an instant all his remaining strength dissipated. He broke out in a cold sweat, his heart rate sped up and his limbs grew weak, almost completely giving out. Instinctively he staggered a step back as images of the present and past overlapped. The cries, the pleads, the pain, all of it just crashed onto him like a hurricane. Even though he tried to make peace with his fate, upon this sight his mind and body revolted.

Axis tugged on his collar, indicating for him to move, but Cal only dropped to his knees. His vision blurred, while he trembled incessantly as he kept staring at the chair, all the painful memories resurfaced.

“Get up!” Axis glanced at him. “Stop dawdling.”

Axis’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he bit his lower lip. He attempted to get back up, but his legs gave out, causing him to drop down every time he tried to put pressure on his feet. He couldn’t accumulate any strength.

“You are really hopeless, aren’t you?” Axis sighed before he gestured to Raul and Killian —the only two people who came along— to speed things up.

The two nodded in unison, each grabbing one arm of Cal. They dragged him into the room and over to the chair, heaving him onto it.

Cal’s eyebrows lowered and drew together as his eyes followed Axis walk over to him, undoing his cuffs around his wrists before firmly restraining them to the chair; afterwards, he did the same with his ankles. “That’s a sight to behold. I’ve missed it so much!”

Then he bent forward and stopped by Cal’s ear. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

As Axis moved away, busying himself with his companions, Cal panted fiercely. He glanced at his restraints, lightly tugging on them, panic visible in his eyes.

Around a minute later, only Axis and Killian remained in the room, the other person had left.

“You know, if you hadn’t run away then this wouldn’t be necessary.” Axis walked over to Cal. “You know the rules: Disobeying leads to punishment. It’s your own fault, really.”

Cal bared his teeth. “Nonsense…”

“Nonsense?” Axis laughed. “This is the reason why I always had to punish you. Backtalk also counts as disobeying. You never fully succumbed to me, but that will change this time.”

He grabbed a knife and drew closer to Cal. “Let me take a look.”