I hope the first chapter managed to provide a clear indication of what kind of story I am writing (which is sometimes dark and overly serious). I will continue with that style for awhile, so, if you’re bursting for release by means of an erotic story, you might want to come back to this one later.

Comments and criticisms alike welcomed:

Enjoy the 2nd chapter of this series.

“Gary,” I heard a voice calling me.

I was at the Greek’s Cafe, having a quick dinner with my best friend. He kept trying to bring up what happened that morning, and I was evading that subject. I mean, how do you talk to your best friend of too many years about that one morning when you had sex with him? I remembered how disappointed he looked when he realised I wasn’t going to talk about it.

But I have seen all this before — I knew exactly what would happen next. Pat would give up on trying to bring up that morning as we finished our dinner (which he — as usual — insisted to pay for). Then, we rode our bicycles to the bonfire. The first hour of the bonfire was fun; lots of laughter with our friends. But then Ruth later appeared and asked about her boyfriend. Pat became annoyed with my teasing and we got into a fight, although the fight was more about him wanting to talk about that morning.

If I had known things would turn out the way it did, I would have given him what he wanted.

“Come back to me.” It was that voice again. I felt myself being pulled back into reality. “Look at me.”

My eyes began to slowly focus on the face in front of me. “Riley?” I heard myself mutter.

Relief suddenly washed over the quarterback’s face. “Are you fine now?”

I took a quick look on my surroundings. Dark, smelly cages. Yep, wasn’t a dream. Then I noticed the pool of vomit on the side of my cage. It was fresh. I felt my head spinning. “Is he— is Pat dead?”

Riley swallowed before answering. “That’s what you told me.”

I felt as if my head was stuck in a fog — I wasn’t able to have a coherent thought. It was then I noticed that Riley has been rubbing my back to comfort me. It was so absurd. Locked in neighbouring cages, the naked quarterback reached between the bars to comfort another naked schoolmate.

“You’re bleeding,” he said suddenly as he grabbed my hand.

I looked down on my right hand and noticed that it was curled up into a tight fist. He was right — there was blood dripping off my fist. I mentally forced myself to loosen it — it was then I became aware of a numbing pain. As my hand uncurled, I realised why.

“What the hell is that?” Riley asked.

“The tip of a ribcage,” I thought aloud. The memory of me breaking it off a ribcage just before I saw Pat suddenly filled my head. I assumed it was an animal’s ribcage when I first saw it. Now I am not so sure.

“Damn, you stabbed yourself with it,” Riley held my bleeding hand as he carefully removed the bone. “We need to get you patched up,” he said as he looked around him, as if expecting to find a first aid kit.

“I’ll be fine. Can we use the bone?”

“I think so. We might need to sharpen it a little first though,” he said as examined the bloody bone with his fingers.

“Use the bars—”

“Already on it,” the quarterback cut me off as he struck the bone against the metal bars of his cage.

Neither of us said it at that time, but we both knew that the only reason why we were sharpening the piece of bone was to use it as a weapon against our captors. I tightened my jaw. They killed Pat. I started to feel sick in my stomach again. Those bastards deserved it.

My head started to ache. It could all be a twisted prank. Or I could wake up from this nightmare in my room anytime now. Maybe if I looked hard enough I will be able to see that everything around me is just one whole big prop. Pat could be sitting at home worried sick trying to get a hold of me right now. Or maybe he was in with the prank from the start.

“So, you’ve got siblings?” Riley suddenly asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“What?” Pat can’t be dead. I wouldn’t believe it for a second. What I saw must be a mistake.

“You know, got any brothers or—”

“I know what siblings are,” I cut him off, feeling a little incredulous. “Are you actually trying to make small talk?” Pat had promised me that he’ll never leave me the night I told him about my parents’ death.

“I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

“I don’t think any amount of small talk will work here.” I have more faith in Pat more than anything in the world. He would keep his promise.

“Hey,” I heard Riley said carefully. “It’s alright to cry, if it makes you feel better, ya know.”

“Pat isn’t dead.”

Riley stared at me for a moment, but I couldn’t make out his expression. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Not that what he thought mattered to me. Pat is alive, and nothing he can say now will change that. As if realising that, Riley kept his silence and just went back to sharpening the bone. I thought I saw desperation in his movements.

“An elder brother,” I heard myself say. Maybe it was because the silence was unbearable. Small talk was the distraction I needed.

The quarterback glanced at me. “Three brothers and two sisters. I’m the youngest.”

“Wow, you have a big family.”

He chuckled bitterly. “Yeah, maybe that’s why no one noticed I was missing.”

“Why would you say that? The entire town could be looking for us right now.”

“Do you honestly believe that?”

“Sam will never rest until he got the entire world looking for us,” I smiled a little. “Sam’s my brother,” I added quickly.

When Riley didn’t reply, I looked at him. His expression was neutral. He had stopped sharpening the bone and was running his finger along the sharpened end of the makeshift blade. For some reason I couldn’t explain, my heart started to race. Something bad was about to happen. I could feel it. My body started to tense.

“Riley?”

He didn’t look at me. “I’m sorry,” he said suddenly. I could see him lower the blade to his wrist.

Shit! I leapt out from my corner, stuck my arm between the bars and knocked the blade from his hand. I quickly snatched the blade from where it fell and brought it back to my cage. “What the hell were you thinking!” I yelled at him.

Riley slumped to the corner and curled up. “There is no way out of this,” he muttered. I swore I heard a sob. Was he crying? He put head in his arms. “They are gonna... th–the screaming... I’m next.” He looked up at me. “I’m next, don’t you get it?”

His face was wet, and his eyes searched mine. I couldn’t say anything. What can I possibly say to him? I reached between the bars and squeezed his shoulder, hoping to provide some comfort. “We can’t give up yet,” I told him. The only other time I’ve seen a guy cry was when my parents passed away. It was the only time I’ve seen my brother cry.

Then we heard it. The footsteps. They were coming. I felt Riley’s shoulder tense up for a brief moment, then he brushed my hand away and wiped the tears off his face. “Give it to me,” he said tersely.

I gave him the ‘no way in hell’ glare. I can see their shadows spilling in from the hallway. They were nearly here. Was it going to be Riley this time?

“Trust me,” he whispered urgently.

There was determination in his eyes. He didn’t look like he was going to do anything stupid again. Maybe that was why I tossed the blade over to him just before the hooded men got close enough to see what we were doing. I felt my heart thumping in my chest as Riley took the blade in his hands, and to my relief, he hid the blade in his palm. He was going to escape!

“You,” one of the hooded men knocked on Riley’s cage. “Hands behind your back, against the cage.”

The quarterback didn’t fight it and did as he was told. I was nervous as hell and was trying to not show it. I watched as they tied his hands with the rope. Dammit, if the blade was discovered... I shook my head. This isn’t a good time to think like that. Then I caught Riley staring at me. There was almost a sad look in his eyes.

“Have I told you that you’re the fastest quarterback I’ve ever known?” I looked into his eyes and said.

“Silence,” the hooded man warned.

It was a lie of course. I have never seen any of Riley’s games. But I hoped he got the message. There was no way he could overpower four of those men by himself, but by the looks of the muscles on his legs and buttocks, Riley shouldn’t have any trouble outrunning them.

After his hands were tied, the hooded men pulled Riley out of the cage. I tried my best to not look at his hands so that I wouldn’t draw any attention to it. Just before they could throw a sack over his head, Riley suddenly struck the man in front of him with the knife. The man staggered back, giving Riley the opening he needed to make a run for it.

I leaped to the front of the cage and grabbed one of the hooded men through the bars, hoping I can at least stop one of the bastards from going after Riley. But Riley didn’t run. He turned around and started attacking the bastards behind him.

“What the hell are you doing? Run!” I yelled at him.

The struggling bastard that I grabbed through my cage managed to slug me in my head and I fell back. When I looked up, I saw Riley charge one of the hooded men and crashed the bastard against my cage. It was then, as if in slow–motion, I saw something fell from Riley’s hands into my cage. At first I thought it was the bone blade, but then I noticed that he still has the blade on his other hand.

Shit. It was the key to my cage. As subtly as I could I kicked some hay over the key to hide it. Damn asshole. He didn’t run because he was trying to save me.

One of the bastards behind Riley grabbed his hand and twisted it until he screamed and dropped the blade. I made a move to grab the blade as it clanked outside my cage, but before I could reach it, the bastard who twisted Riley’s hand kicked it away. “Stay back,” he threatened.

“Don’t worry about me,” I heard Riley say as they tied his hands behind his back the second time. “Promise me you’ll get out of here.”

The bastards were rougher than usual as they dragged Riley away. I could see him struggling as they disappeared in the hallway.

Shit, shit, shit! Damn asshole! I quickly pushed the hay away and grabbed the key Riley had given me. He should have run away the moment he had an opening. Dammit! I pushed the key into the keyhole and unlocked the cage. He doesn’t get to be a hero just like that — not by sacrificing himself. Asshole!

I pushed the cage door open and ran as quietly as I could into the hallway. They had taken the blade, so my only weapon is the element of surprise. I ran into a cross–junction in the hallway and took a quick look around. Which way did they take Riley? I couldn’t see them in any of the hallways. Dammit.

Breathe. I’ve been here before when I was blindfolded. Assuming they were taking him to the same place, they must have gone... left. That’s right, we hit left at the first turn. Then we walked about twenty paces before turning right.

I followed my memory as much as I could. The walls and ground looked like they were constructed in the 16th century. Instead of plain, hard cement, it was made of old, uneven bricks. After about a minute of going through the corridors, I could hear Riley’s voice, cussing and shouting at his captors. I sped up a little, hoping that I’ll reach Riley in time.

Before I knew it, I walked into a hallway full of men in hoods and robes. Surprised, I quickly stepped back into hiding. Fortunately no one saw me — they were all looking at Riley, who was making quite a fuss. Dammit. So many people. There’s no way I can rescue him here. If my memory serves me right, they still have at least two more corridors to drag him across before they get to the room where I saw... I shook my head. Don’t think about that now.

It was then I remembered something. I felt a breeze the first time I was brought here. Why is there no breeze now? I looked around, trying to find the source. There were only two doors near where I was standing; one of them must lead to the outside. Think — which one was it? Was it the one on the left, or the right? Just as I thought of that question, the door on the right opened and someone walked out, heading towards Riley.

No breeze and no smell of sawdust. The door on the left. That’s the exit.

There won’t be anymore opportunities like this one. Riley’s ruckus–making was drawing everyone’s attention, and hence that was my only chance to get to that door unnoticed. There was no way I can help him right now — not when I’m naked and alone. I needed to get help. Dammit I needed an entire army down here. But I’m coming back for you, asshole, I promise.

With that thought, I counted to three, held my breath, and made a dash for the door. As silently as I could, I pushed the door open, slipped in, and closed the door again. When I was sure that nobody sent an army after me, I exhaled, counted to three, and continued to look for the exit. It wasn’t hard to find — I only had to walk into the room a little and I saw a set of semi–circle stone stairwell leading upwards. Without hesitation, I ran up the stairs and found a wooden door at the end of it. I took a deep breath and pushed it open.

I was greeted by waving trees and a gentle breeze. The sun was already setting — or was it just rising? But there was no time to waste, so I quickly stepped out into the forest, only to bump into a hooded man. Shit, there was someone guarding the entrance outside! Luckily, the man was just as stunned as I was, so I took off as fast as I could away from him.

As I was running, I spotted civilisation — there was a construction site close by. Without thinking I turned towards it and screamed for help as loud as I could. The hooded man was still after me, I could hear his heavy steps. Not that I was worried — I was an accomplished long distance runner in my highschool.

Before long, I was running between the half–built buildings within the huge construction site. “Help!” I yelled again. There’s got to be someone around. I could still hear the hooded man’s heavy steps behind me. Dammit, he’s pretty good if he can keep up with me this far.

“Whoa slow down kid — my god, what happened to you?”

I turned to the voice and saw a construction worker in a yellow cap. “There was a man chasing me, he—” I pointed behind me, but the hooded man wasn’t there anymore.

“Calm down kid, tell me what happened,” said the man as he walked towards me.

By reflex I stepped back. Before I could say anything, the hooded man suddenly jumped out from behind the wall and leaped towards the construction worker.

“Behind you!” I tried to warn him, but I was too late. The hooded man had stabbed the construction worker in his chest.

I tripped over some construction planks behind me and fell onto my ass. My legs were shaking as I tried to move away from him. He killed him. My mind was still reeling from the realisation.

The hooded man tossed his victim aside and walked towards me, his next victim. While I was moving backwards on my ass, my hand came in contact with something metallic, heavy, but light enough for me to carry. Without thinking, I held it tight and swung as hard as I could at my assailant’s legs. He yelped in pain as it hit him just below the knee, and he fell in an awkward position.

Shit, I just broke his knee. Surprised at the realisation, I dropped the metallic pipe, which was a mistake, because the hooded man jumped on me with a knife in his hands. I only barely stopped him from stabbing my chest with my hands, but he had the advantage of being on top of me. I felt myself weakening. I stared in horror as the knife inched closer to my chest.

It was then I heard a loud bang and my assailant slumped on me. I looked over his shoulder and saw the bleeding construction worker on the ground with a shotgun by his side. He wasn’t dead. Relief washed over me as I pushed the body off me.

I was about to ask the bleeding construction worker if he was okay, but he passed out. Feeling a little panic, I took off his orange jacket and tied it around his chest to stop the bleeding. I had no idea what I was doing — I wish I had done First Aid. I tried slapping his face to wake him, but it wasn’t working.

“Did anyone else hear that? I thought I heard a gunshot.”

I jumped at the voice. There was no one around — it came from a radio. I searched the bleeding man and found it clipped to his belt.

“Yeah, I thought I heard something like that south of me,” said another voice through the radio.

After trying a few buttons on the radio, I finally found the talk button. “Hello,” I said. “Can anyone hear me?”

“Yes sir we hear you — but this is a private channel. Would you mind switching frequencies?”

“No, wait,” I quickly said and opened the bleeding man’s wallet. “There’s a construction worker named Stephan Medley who had been stabbed in his chest. He’s bleeding badly and he’s unconscious.”

There was a short moment of silence. “This better not be a prank kid — Stephan, if you can hear this, say something now.”

Dammit I don’t have time for this. I grabbed the gray shotgun, pointed it to the sky and pulled the trigger. “You hear that, you assholes? Someone has my friend somewhere and if we don’t call the police now they will kill him!” I shouted into the radio.

“Okay, okay, calm down, I’m calling the police. Where are you?”

“How the hell would I know. I woke up in some basement outside the construction site.”

“The warehouses are numbered. What is the number of the one closest to you?”

I looked up at one of the buildings. “Twenty–three. You have to hurry, my friend can’t wait.”

“Fuck, what are you doing all the way out there? Don’t go anywhere, we’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Dammit he can’t wait a few minutes. They could be cutting him up right now!” I felt sick as I thought that. How many bullets do I have left in this shotgun? “What time is it?”

“What?”

“The time! Is it morning or evening?”

“It’s AM. Why?”

Okay, so it’s the rising sun — if the sun is east, then... “The underground basement is in the forest north west of here. Send the police there, I’m going back in.”

“Wait don’t go anywhere — you can’t expect us to find something like that in a forest!”

But I didn’t listen to him. Riley can’t wait any longer. With the shotgun in my hand, I ran naked back to the hell I just escaped from.

I kicked the door to the corridor open. “Riley!” I shouted down the corridor. “Just hold on a little while longer!”

At first the hooded bastards came after me, but after unloading four shells into them, they started to avoid me. Shit, this shotgun better not run out of ammo yet. When I finally found my way into the room where I had seen Pat, I could see a man with a sack over his head tied up on the table where Pat was. He was not moving. That had to be Riley — these bastards better hope he’s still alive.

I managed to shoot down two more of the bastards in the room. However, the trigger only clicked when I tried to shoot the last person who hasn’t fled the room. Realising that I was out of ammo, the lucky bastard turned around and charged at me with a knife in his hand. I dodged his clumsy lunge and bashed the back of his head in with the shotgun barrel.

I tossed the gray shotgun aside and pulled the sack off Riley’s head. “Riley, wake up!” I slapped his cheeks.

His eyelids fluttered open. “Wha— Gary?” he croaked. “Am I dead?” . Damn, they really beat him up good. His face was so badly bruised I could barely recognise him. But I was relieved that he was at least still alive.

“No, asshole, I’ve come back to save you,” I grabbed a steel knife lying on the table near Riley and slashed the ropes.

“I told you to not worry about me.”

“And look where that got you.”

I was cutting the last rope on Riley when his eyes suddenly widened while looking pointedly over my right shoulder. Almost by reflex, I ducked and spun around in time to see a steel knife slicing the air where my head was. The hooded bastard was aiming for my neck! I swung my knife at his chest in retaliation but he took a step back, barely avoiding a fatal blow — but I still managed to give him a deep cut across his chest.

The hooded man winced in pain and grabbed his chest.

It was then I heard gun shots outside the room. When I looked back at where hooded man was standing, he was gone.

“Where did he go?” I asked Riley, as I continued to work on releasing him.

“He went over there,” he pointed at another door which I hadn’t noticed earlier. The last of the ropes snapped and Riley was free. “Thanks.”

Suddenly the door I came in from was kicked open and a cop was standing at the doorway. “Drop the knife,” he demanded with a pistol pointed at me.

I did as I was told, and soon I found myself being pushed into the ground by the cop, with handcuffs around my wrists.