Page 38 of Scar

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Either the gun was jammed or it had never worked to begin with. Farmboy raised the handgun, but the results were the same.

Tyke had used that gun on the Taliban member. There had been at least one bullet in that weapon, but now it was nothing more than a paperweight.

Cajun and Tyke toppled to the ground, no longer able to hold each other up. Julian saw the fresh blood and the bullet wound in Cajun’s left shoulder, but it was not near the artery.

Julian did not care that they were surrounded, outgunned, and outmanned. As the leader approached, Julian attacked.

It was pathetic how easily he was overpowered. Farmboy, Cajun, and Tyke hadn’t stood a chance either. There was only so much the human body could take and they were already at their breaking point from their hours’ long trudge through the cave’s tunnels.

As Julian was dragged forward, the skin scraping off of his shins and the tops of his feet, he had to wonder if it was all some sort of elaborate scheme to get the four soldiers out of the cave for a time. Were the situation any less dire, Julian might even go so far as to call it a sick prank.

The four brothers were forced to their feet, their hands quickly tied behind their backs. Julian tried to kick at his captor, but his aim was pitifully off, and his foot connected with nothing except air.

Julian was lifted onto the box. It was sturdier than it looked. He had expected it to collapse under his weight, but the wooden crate held true. It even took the weight of the terrorist as he climbed up to loop the noose around Julian’s head, tightening the slip knot just shy of completely cutting off Julian’s air supply.

Farmboy was on the crate directly across from Julian. Little Tyke was on his right and Cajun on his left.

The leader started speaking, but Julian’s ears were ringing so loud that he barely heard the man’s voice and had no hope of picking up any words. The man stopped talking and looked to Little Tyke.

The young man had tears running down his dirty face as he translated, “For every hour that you do not tell him the code, he will shorten the ropes. He wants the code.”

Julian stared at the leader in his cold, dead eyes and tightened his jaw to the point that a tooth cracked in the back of his mouth. Still, he did not loosen his grip.

I will not talk…

The leader shouted something in his language and the ropes were pulled taut. Julian’s head was forced upward so he could breathe, the rope biting into his neck.

I will not talk…

Whether exactly an hour passed or not, Julian did not know. After a long while, the leader made another signal, and the ropes were tightened even more. It hurt to breathe. Julian’s eyes watered and snot poured from his nose into his unchecked beard.

I will not talk…

At the next signal, Julian’s rope was the only one not tightened. He watched as Tyke, Farmboy, and Cajun were forced to stand on their toes to continue breathing.

I will not talk…

Another hour passed. The leader continued to stare at Julian and Julian continued to stare back. Suddenly, the man let out a frustrated roar. He turned away from Julian, shouting in his language, but Tyke was in no position to translate. Just when it looked like he was about to leave without ordering the ropes shorted again, the man kicked the crate out from under Farmboy’s feet.

The sickening gasps of his brother’s dying breaths were drowned out by the leader’s continued shouted orders as he stormed from the cave.

Julian watched, helpless, as Farmboy dangled and bobbed above the ground. The fear in his brother’s eyes as he struggled in vain for air, the rope not merciful enough to have broken his neck.

The rope of his own noose biting into his skin, Julian continued to stare long after Farmboy’s struggles ended. The piece of his tooth he’d broken off was still in his mouth.

I will not talk…

CHAPTER10

PRESENT DAY

[WiseWave620: Did you know I graduated high school when I was fifteen? I could have done it early but I had a crush on one of my teachers and kept flunking her class. And before you judge, how close could you have been paying attention if Jessica Rabbit was teaching you?]

* * *

Tally did not spend the night at Mark’s apartment. He drove her back to her place around three in the morning. She already reset her alarm so she got more than two hours of sleep. She felt bad that she might miss the little homeless boy coming to the restaurant but she needed sleep if she had any hope of functioning the next day.

A weight was lifted from her shoulders as she fell asleep that night. Mark had agreed to return to being friends, though she knew he was reluctant to do so. She appreciated that he didn’t fight her on her decision. Maybe when things calmed down with her restaurant and she was able to have a more manageable schedule, and if Mark was still single, they could revisit the idea of being more than friends.

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