“So Sarah,” he says calmly. “Would you rather have a finger broken, or a toe?”
Sarah shakes her head frantically, terror tearing through her face. “Please. I can’t. I can’t choose. Please—”
Elliot smiles. “You already did.” He tilts his head toward Sophie. “Go on.”
Sarah’s breath hitches. “Finger,” she nods, barely, her whole body shaking.
Sophie steps forward. She reaches down, seizes Sarah’s hand, and yanks it flat against the arm of the chair. Her grip is tight. She isolates Sarah’s index finger between her own fingers and bends it back.
Too far.
The sound is a wet crack, like snapping a chicken bone.
Sarah screams. The noise rips out of her, raw and high, as pain tears through her hand. She convulses forward, clutching her finger to her chest as it twists at the wrong angle, already swelling, already turning dark.
“Oh my God,” she sobs, rocking violently. “Oh God—”
Sophie lets go and steps back.
Elliot watches with quiet satisfaction as Sarah curls in on herself, whimpering.
“See?” Elliot says mildly. “That wasn’t so hard.”
Elliot’s smile widens as he turns to the couple.
“Emma, would you rather have a plastic bag held over your head for one minute… or allow Jared to take a cattle-prod shock?”
Emma freezes.
Jared shakes his head immediately, panic breaking through his voice. “Emma, no. No. Just choose me.”
Miles leans forward. “A minute… Emma, you can—”
Elliot cuts him off without looking at him. “Miles. Silence.”
Emma looks at Jared, fear and love colliding in her expression. Her throat moves as she swallows.
“I’ll take the minute.”
Jared lets out a broken sound. “Emma, please don’t.”
Asher is already moving. He grabs her arm and hauls her to the center of the room. Sophie follows, pulling a thick, clear plastic bag from a drawer and shaking it open. The material crackles loudly in the quiet space.
Emma’s breathing turns rapid and shallow. “Wait. Please. Wait—”
Asher doesn’t respond. He forces her down onto her knees and yanks her head back by her hair. Sophie steps in front of her and pulls the plastic bag down over Emma’s head in one swift motion. The thin material clings instantly to her face, sticking to her lips and nose as she inhales.
Emma screams. The sound comes out muffled and distorted through the plastic.
Asher twists the open end tight at her neck and holds it there, sealing it with his fist. Sophie grips Emma’s shoulders and forces her upright so she can’t collapse. The bag sucks inward with every desperate breath, flattening against her mouth and nostrils as she tries to pull in air that isn’t there.
Elliot checks his watch. “One minute. Begin.”
Emma thrashes immediately. Her hands fly to her face, fingers clawing at the plastic as she tries to tear it open. The bag stretches and snaps back, crinkling loudly. Her chest heaves violently, ribs expanding against nothing. The oxygen inside the bag thins within seconds. Her movements grow frantic, uncoordinated. She makes choking sounds that don’t fully escape.
My heart pounds so hard it drowns out everything else. Jared stumbles forward, hands shaking. “Stop. Stop. Let me do it. Let me.”
Elliot blocks him with a single arm. “Move again, and I’ll shock you anyway.”
