It was a hell of a way to die.Rotting in the worst hellhole I could provide. Alone, betrayed by the only person who ever cared about him. I couldn't stop grinning like a madman. Poor John.
I wanted her. Not physically - I've never been into that. I just needed to have her working here. She was too good to let her go. Thing was, she wouldn't focus. She cared too much about him. You can't really care about anything in this place - it always ends badly. I couldn't take that risk. Sandy was right, he had to go.
I kept staring at the screen - watching them through the cams. They were in the shithole - a big cage, too small to contain the dozen of prisoners it currently had. The rest of prisoners were the kind of scum I would never send to an actual prison. They kept messing with these two, knowing they couldn't fight back.
I looked at the clock and got up. It was time for another round. I took two syringes and my briefcase and went down.
John was still trembling from the last dose. I was pushing long past his limits. But Key still tried to put up a fight. She'd rather made him go through hell, than see him die. I needed to change that.
"You guys ready for another round?" I greeted them all. The room fell into a tense silence.
Her voice, however, was completely calm. "You're wasting time, Andrei. You won't get what you want, no matter how hard you try..." She got quiet as I placed the two syringes on the floor, just inside the cage bars.
I grinned at her. "Are you sure?"
"He's stronger than this, you -" she bit her tongue. "I'M stronger than this. You won't..."
The vermin's barks drowned her voice as I nodded at them. They were following my orders, of course. They promptly immobilized her against the floor. Dragged John in front of her. He started howling in pain as soon as they injected him with the chemicals.
I hushed them with a finger to my lips. Her voice boomed in the silence.
"You won't get anything from me!"
I smiled at her. "Why are you doing this, Key. You can save him. But I guess you're too damn stubborn to do what you must."
"You sick bastard, I won't. I'd rather rot in here for..."
"Would he?" I interrupted her. "Look at him, Key. He's long gone. And I swear, it will only get worse, won't it, guys?"
The vermin rushed to them, and gave them both a beating. Nothing too bad, no broken bones, just... pain. Heh. Except, poor John already had more than enough of that. He was now whimpering comically. The rats rushed back to the furthest wall when I rang the bell. They knew well what would happen if they didn't follow my orders.
I kept staring at her. "Save him, Key. I swear, there's no other way. He doesn't deserve this."
"Go to hell already!" She yelled back at me.
I lowered my voice to a whisper. "You know what he's going through. You know how it feels. Now, imagine that, but for days, no end in sight. I won't stop this, Key. It's up to you."
She was trying hard to keep her facade, but it was starting to crack. I heard a slight tremble in her otherwise perfectly calm voice. "I won't. No matter what you do, no matter how long..."
I interrupted her again. "Look at him. How long, Key. How long does he need to suffer through this until you realize there's no other way. I'll make sure it only gets worse." I said as I drew another syringe from my briefcase.
I unlocked the door. She put herself as a human shield. Trying in vain to protect her friend.
"Step aside." I snapped.
"Go to hell." She replied, boldly trying to put up a fight.
I couldn't help to smirk at her recklessness. "You wouldn't beat me in a fair fight. Step aside, Key. Don't make things worse."
"Come and get me." She taunted.
She was trying too hard. I just had to push a bit further, and she would snap. I grabbed her and roughly tossed her across the place. Before she could react, I stabbed John with the syringe needle. She was getting up in pain when she froze as she saw my thumb ready to press the plunger.
"LEAVE HIM!! YOU BASTARD, LEAVE HIM!! YOU WANT ME, I'M HERE!!"
I just stared at her, grinning. A little bit further.
She started mumbling as I injected John with another dose of serum.
"No. No, no, no, you sick bastard, I'm gonna..."
"What. Fly across the room again?" I grinned at her. "You're not in position to fight back. You're not in position to do anything else than stare and see how far I'm willing to go. And let me tell you, I'm willing to go as far as necessary. I have about twenty syringes in the case, but if that's not enough, I'll bring more."
She lost her mind. Looking at nowhere, her breath turned shallow. She crawled to him. Again trying to protect him. Her voice was now an unintelligible mumble. "No, no, no, no...."
"End this, Key." I offered her a knife. "Save him. There's no other way."
She was so lost in her mind that I had to place the knife in her hand before she reacted. I leaned onto her. "Save him."
I felt her grip on the handle, almost tearing the knife from my hand. One single step further. "Do it." I whispered.
And she fell apart. I clearly saw the change. She relaxed her hand. Grabbed the knife in a much more natural manner. She started muttering. "I'm sorry, John, I'm so sorry, I'm..."
In an instant, she slashed his throat, almost severing the whole head. She hugged his dead body. She started crying, still muttering nonsense, as his blood soaked her. I stared for a second, then left. I would free her later.
