Relentless (Book 3)

Chapter 5: Benjamin - The Second Day

Bethany was up half of the night screaming and hallucinating. And once the hallucinogen had worn off, she was shaking like a leaf and trying to catch her breath. I did what I could to comfort her, but there wasn't much I could do without being able to hold her. And whatever she'd seen while she was hallucinating, had scarred her.

She finally fell asleep after awhile. But I wasn't able to sleep because she kept screaming while she slept. I wasn't unused to her crying out, but last night was much worse than usual because of what she'd seen while under the influence of the hallucinogen. 

When the lights in our cells turned on in the morning, I let out a groan and put my hands over my eyes. I hadn't slept at all last night, and I'd only slept for a few hours on the way here. The most I've slept in the past few days happened to be when I was knocked out from the sedative, and when I passed out from the electric rod being used on me. Other than that, I've had only a few hours of sleep in the past few days.

I pulled my hands away from my face to look at Bethany. She was laying on her stomach, her head facedown, cradled in her arms, still shaking. The light in our cells flickered on and off a couple of times. I sat up, but Bethany remained laying down. An alarm in our cells blared and Bethany jumped, but she didn't sit up. The sound was deafening. I put my hands over my ears in an attempt to block out the noise. The alarm didn't stop until the door to Bethany's cell opened. When she heard it open, I saw her stiffen and bury her head deeper in her arms.

"When the lights turn on, that means you need to be up and ready for us." Bethany still didn't move. I wondered if she was frozen from fear, or if she was already trying to anger the guards so they focused on her. The guard approached her and she remained frozen in her position.

"Bethany, sit up. Please." I whispered. The guard stood over her, his head cocked. He looked down at her, it appeared as if he was wondering what he was going to do about her insubordination. I'm sure the guards here weren't used to someone so blatantly disregarding their orders. Please, please get up. I begged her silently.

He pulled the electric rod off of his belt and turned it on. I heard it crackling and vividly remembered the pain that came along with it. "Bethany, get up!" I yelled at her. When she heard the fear in my voice and the sound of the rod, she turned over onto her back, and brought her feet under her and pushed away from the guard.

"I'm up!" She said, "I'm up." He advanced toward her, standing directly over her again. He waved the rod back and forth in front of her eyes. Bethany shut her eyes tight and turned her head away. The guard touched the rod to her chest for a moment before pulling it away. She screeched and moved further away from him. The guard didn't pursue her. I was surprised he let her move away from him without following after her, and I was even more surprised that he didn't hold the rod to her longer, prolonging the punishment.

"Your personal guards will be in here in a few moments to get the day started. And they will not be as lenient as I am. So I suggest you get your act together." He said. "Got it?" Bethany nodded slowly while placing pressure on her chest where used the rod on her. The guard nodded curtly at her and left her cell.

Once he left, Bethany let out a breath she'd been holding and pulled her tank top out and looked down at her chest. She didn't seem worried about what she saw, she let her top go and blew her hair out of her eyes. She then turned toward me and raised her eyes slowly to look at me, she was still afraid that when she looked at me, she would see something horrifying. It broke my heart that she was terrified to see me. "I'm fine, Bethany." I whispered softly.

"I kn-know." she stuttered.

I took a closer look at her and noticed her lips were turning blue. She looked like she was freezing. My cell wasn't cold, but from the looks of her, her cell was frigid.