I WILL FOLLOW YOU INTO THE DARK - DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
My eyes open slowly as I hear a buzzing sound. It gets a little louder as I try to blink through the fog but it still seems far away. Far away, high above.
My head bobs a bit; it feels like it weighs a thousand pounds, and as soon as I can force it upright, I squint against the bright light hanging above me. My eyes hurt but that’s the source of the buzzing, I don’t need the obnoxious flicker to confirm that for me.
It takes a few seconds for everything to register but the clearer my vision becomes, the faster that changes.
My head is throbbing.
I’m almost naked.
I’m tied up.
And I am spread fucking eagle.
Other important details worth noting? I’m definitely in some sort of abandoned building, which most likely means it’s pretty off-grid and far from the campsite. The room is full of barrels and pallets, crates, and an unnerving amount of chains scattered around. It’s damp and cold. I’m on the edge of a circle, a spotlight of sorts, tied to what I’d call a St. Andrew’s Cross inliterally any other scenario, and right now I’m alone. Completely alone.
Thank god Liv isn’t here.
I look around, straining against the light, trying to see through the darkness to find anything to give me an idea of where I am or who put me here. There’s nothing, though. Nothing but a lot of pitch dark and eerie silence.
Jerking against the restraints at my wrists, I test how secure they are then do the same with my ankles. They’re fucking tight but whoever stuck me here is overly confident because those are the only places I’m restrained. If they were smart, they would have made it harder for me to get out. It’ll take time and energy I don’t really have, but I can get out of this if I try hard enough. I don’t give a shit if I end up as naked as the day I was born, I need to get out of here and find Liv, and I’ll let my dick flap in the wind while I do it if I have to.
“Hey, he’s waking up.”
I squint as the sound of at least three pairs of heavy boots start echoing through the place and as the bodies attached come into view, my questions only double.
“He is awake, you dumbass.” A big bald guy resembling Mr. Clean in army gear stops in the center of the space, grinning as he crosses his arms against his chest. “Aren’t you, boy?”
Boy?
Well, this is going to be a shit show.
I have to say it again: thank god Liv isn’t here.
I don’t know what’s going on, but I can only hope she got away, far away, and she doesn’t worry about coming back for me.
“You got the picture?” Mr. Clean asks as two equally large dudes join him in staring at me.
He holds out what I’m assuming is the photo in question, his beady eyes moving from it to me a few times before he nods.
The two do the same then the one on the right tilts his head in confusion. “Kinda small for an alpha, ain’t he?”
“Don’t ask questions,” the one on the left sneers. “I’d hunt for a fucking alien for the kind of cash being offered.”
What the hell are they talking about?
Mr. Clean folds up the photo and sticks it in his back pocket before he walks up to me, close enough for me to smell the hot garbage and onions on him. He reaches out and grabs a few pieces of my hair, letting the blood-stained blond strands fall back into place.
“You double check the info?”
The moron on the right nods. “Two point five on confirmation, the rest when the body is received.”
A grin splits the bald douche bag’s face, revealing a gold tooth right in the front of his mouth. “Doesn’t say anything about the condition, right?”
“Not at all.”
“Extra if we can get info out of him.” He pats my cheek hard before he takes a few steps back. “I remember that, and I think we can get him to talk.”
