The Starling Vigilante [Watty's 2015 Award Winner]

Chapter 68

'You can't do this!' I shouted after Slade.

But he had already left.

'He can't do this!' I shouted again, this time at Oliver. 'Your family is in danger!'

'Calm down,' Sara said, putting her hand on my arm.

'No, I can't calm down!' I retaliated, pulling away from her. 'I don't understand how you can both be so calm about it. He's threatening our friends. Our family.'

'Then we'll have to stop him,' Oliver said. 'But we will when we get to that problem.'

'You need to rest, Ollie!' Sara exclaimed as Oliver let out a cry of pain.

'I'll go and... get some water,' I said quietly, realising that all Oliver needed at that moment was someone to help him, not shout at him and give him a hard time.

To be honest, I felt a little embarrassed at my untimely outburst. It really wasn't my day.

---

'Can you help me up?' Oliver asked as Sara and I as we finished tending to his wounds.

'Yeah,' Sara nodded as we began to support him, putting his arms round us.

'Look, Oliver, I'm sorry I got mad earlier,' I tried to apologise. 'I just got so... angry at Slade, I-'

'Hey, it's fine,' Oliver tried to smile through a grimace as we lifted him up from the floor. 'You don't need to apologise.'

He let out another shout from the pain he endured, Slade's acts of torture giving Oliver painful consequences.

'Just to my trunk,' Oliver added, remembering what he had asked us to do, pointing to where his trunk lay.

We dragged him there, giving him the opportunity to swallow some sort of substance he had in his trunk. I imagined it was to help him through the pain.

'Ah, look who's up!' Anatoly burst in happily. Scary happy. 'Just in time for all the fun.'

Anatoly led us to where Ivo sat in the hideout, we, the escapees, now able to take out our anger from being prisoners on Ivo. And Ivo didn't look like he was looking forward to it.

'What are you gonna do to him?' Sara asked Anatoly, looking at Ivo unpitifully.

After all, he had made Sara torture many innocent people, all for a cause that was flawed in so many different ways.

'Make him scream,' Anatoly said darkly, taking a knife from his picket and clicking it open. 'Just like he made us.'

Anatoly had a very valid reason. We all had a reason to take our anger out on Ivo. But were we just using this as an excuse to hurt someone?

'Hmm, they say living well is best revenge? I prefer torture.'

He looked towards Oliver.

'You want first turn?' Ivo asked him.

'No,' Oliver shook his head exhaustedly.

'Please,' Ivo breathed raspily. 'I can help you.'

'No doctor,' Anatoly said, rather expectedly. 'I can help you. What was it you said you needed for research? An eye?'

Anatoly leapt towards Ivo, his knife pointed at Ivo's face as he pleaded him not to.

'Let me get you a fresh one!' Anatoly continued, leaning closer to Ivo.

'You can still stop Slade Wilson!' Ivo suddenly shouted, stopping Anatoly at once.

His type of torture really seemed to work.