Page 100 of In the Light of Sin

“Don’t talk,” I croaked, my voice raspy with lack of water and emotion. “Save it for when we get out of here.”

“We both know I’m not making it out of here,” I swore I stopped breathing. “My mom. Please take care of my mom. I’m all she has.”

He begged. Michael never begged.

“You can take care of her when you get out of here,” My words were desperate. Even in the darkened room, they were keeping us in, I could tell the light was dimming from his eyes.

“I didn’t think dyin’ would feel this way,” He croaked, making my throat tighten. “I’m not in pain, I feel so light. Maybe I’m goin’ to Heaven after all,” He shot me a blood-stained smile, his hand raising to his forehead for a shaky two-finger salute. “It’s been an honor serving with you, Darin.”

He wasted his last breath on thanking me instead of cursing me.

“Damn, lost one of them.” Our captors kicked Michael’s lifeless body to the side. Anger churned in my gut at my inability to do anything about them treating Michael’s corpse that way. They didn’t know him. He loved to joke around and make everyone around him happier than he was.

“Fuck you,” Leo spat at them, gaining their attention. He had burn marks from the cattle prod on his face. His words were almost unrecognizable, his tongue swelled from the electric torture.

“No, thanks,” The largest captor said. They all wore black ski masks, I couldn’t tell them apart except for their size. He crouched where Leo was sprawled on the grimy floor. “We have other plans for the rest of you.”

* * *

Rubbing my wrists raw against the ropes securing my wrists over the bar, I tried to free myself from my constraints. The sharp edge of the metal of the beam was rigid enough to where I could cut away at the thick restraint of the rope. The other problem was how high my squadron and I were suspended off the ground.

I was a tall man at six foot five, but my feet were well above ten feet off the ground. I wasn’t leaving here without a dislocated knee—if I was lucky. I worked my arms, the rope tied around my wrist scraping against the sharp metal of the rafters. I gritted my teeth, the strain making my muscles sore and tired, but I had to push on. It was more than just me. I had to think about the men suspended on the rafters alongside me after two weeks of strenuous torture.

My brothers would make it home to their families. I would make sure of it.

“Darin!” I heard Jake shout as the ropes gave into the friction of the metal, causing me to drop down and land on my feet. My legs shook, a painful throb hitting every nerve as it shook all the way up to my waist and almost brought me to my knees. But I wouldn’t look weak in front of my squadron. I refused. They needed me. I wasn’t going to let them down.

I looked up, seeing the men who were more like family than comrades hanging from the rafters that had been our prison for the past few days. Our captors had enough fun with us, and the lack of information we refused to give. They had something planned, something slow and painful. But they’d never get a chance to act on it.

My eyes sought Michael’s lifeless body. Beside him was Karev who was slowly following his fate. Jake and Leo were trying with all their might to get their restraints off. I looked to Dan, who was calmly looking at me, nodding at me.

He trusted me to get them out of there.

“If something ever happens to me, make sure my wife and daughter are taken care of.”

I remembered his words. But nothing was going to happen to him, I was gonna make sure of it.

Regret sank into my gut, but I didn’t have the luxury to wallow in whatever bullshit feeling was consuming me. I looked around. There was no way to get to them. They used an excavator to get us up there. And I didn’t see anything to get them down with. I cupped my hands over my mouth to make my voice louder, “The rafters are sharp! Cut your ropes with it!”

I saw Jake and Leo struggle harder, trying their best to remain calm as their arms worked frantically to cut their restraints, their legs flailing with panic. “Ours aren’t rough!”

Fuck. I tried to think quickly, but it was broken when I heard a crash outside. My head snapped to the noise, debating on what to do. We were taught to never leave a brother behind. My head went from the sound of the noise to my suspended comrades. I couldn’t help them just standing here with a thumb up my ass. I had to try to do something.

God, please forgive me.

“Someone’s outside!” I shouted at them, heart sinking at their chants of ‘don’t leave’ ringing in my ears. I didn’t know what to do. We were trained for torture. We were taught to survive natural disasters and impossible situations. This? This was uncharted territory.

I ran out of the warehouse towards the direction of the sound. It was dumb. It was impulsive.

It was my greatest sin.

A man was there, almost like he was waiting. I’ll never forget the way he looked at me. His black eyes resembled the devil as he held up a joystick. My eyes trained on the way his thumb moved in slow motion as he began to press down on the button. My body moved towards him in an effort to stop him. His thumb jammed the button as I closed my eyes, the bright light of the chemicals detonating blinding me as it exploded in the small area.

Unbearable pain spread to the left side of my body, and I moved involuntarily on the ground to try to relieve even an ounce of the pain I felt. My body was melting on the left side, engulfed in flames. A scream ripped from my throat at the unbearable pain, and I rolled around in a feeble attempt to put out the searing fire on my skin as the building went up in flames, connecting to some flammable objects surrounding the perimeter.

Fuck. FUCK!

A loud pop followed by a huge boom sent debris flying through the air, some cutting my skin. A large piece of the metal siding hit the top part of the suicide bomber’s body. His lower half was disconnected a yard away from him. My breathing was rushed, adrenaline setting it where I barely felt the pain as I looked towards the engulfed building where my brothers were still inside.

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