Page 9 of Corrupted Torment

The older boy glares at the man as he stands strong over him. My mind whirls. His chest heaves with an agitated noise as he looks over his wide shoulder at me. I look down at my feet, wriggling my toes inside my socks. I didn’t mean to make him mad.

“You little shit, you’ll pay for that. He needs his injection,” the man spits out venomously. What injection? Hasn’t he done enough to me? “In fact, you need yours. Come here willingly, the pair of you, and for tonight, I’ll leave this be.”

I don’t understand. Nothing in this place makes any sense. My stomach whirls, and my body shakes with confusion and shock. I look up at the boy through my eyelashes, wondering if we could just go. He fingers something inside his pocket and looks thoughtful at the request. After a moment, he nods and pulls out a stone dagger.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, princess. You may have gotten me once with that thing, but I’m ready for it next time.”

The man examines something on the watch I hadn’t noticed before. I can’t see what it says. Everything here is so strange. It’s like this is normal. He pulls out a black zipped case from his jacket pocket and takes out two needles. He fills them both with different coloured liquids. I dare not ask what is inside these concoctions.

The boy holds his hand out to me. I look at his outstretched palm for only a second before gripping it tightly in mine. He saved me once; I just hope I can trust him as we walk back to the man who assaulted me. In front of the man, he lets my hand go to have the needle jabbed roughly into his neck. I wince before taking my place. The man places an arm around my waist, giving me a leering look with his penetrating black eyes.

“I had fun tonight. Shame we were interrupted. Next time, maybe I’ll be luckier. I don’t enjoy an audience as much as others.” His quiet words make me shudder. He injects me in the neck, and it isn’t as painful as I expected. However, the pat on the butt as I turn away makes me want to puke again.

I can’t stop the tears that trail down my cheeks when my saviour grabs my hand, dragging me quickly away as I shake more violently. My wobbly legs have me stumbling through the woods as I follow him. Glad for his reassuring presence to guide me, I remember that I don’t even know his name.

“Thank you. I’m Dario.” My throat is so closed up, sobs desperate to escape that I can’t say anything else. Wouldn’t even know what to say. I shouldn’t have run, I should have stayed with him, listened to him. I was stupid. Those things are all painfully obvious and do not need to be said. I’m disgusted with myself for freezing like I did. If I hadn't frozen, perhaps I could’ve gotten away.

“Huck,” he coughs slightly, then contemplates me, still leading the way. “You’re lucky you ran in this direction, and I didn’t go too far. I heard you cry out. I wish you’d listened to me. That one is one of the worst. He’s insane. The others mostly just inject and take off, but not him. I’ve seen him leave boys for dead after he’s through with them,” he says. A shudder radiates through our joined hands, making me incredibly grateful for his intervention. “Come on, the cave is just through here.”

Huck leads me through the trees to a secluded spot where a crop of vast rocks are jutting from the earth. Each seems to be sitting on top of the other in a crude sort of tower, held together by time, weight, and the nature surrounding it. They dip and flow, leaving small gaps which I can only assume are the caves Huck is leading us towards.

“A few guys and the youngsters use this cave system to bed down in. We try to look out for each other a bit, but we have caves to ourselves. I sleep just a little way up, if you’re okay to climb while it’s slippery. I have a stash of food, water, and a change of clothes for now until we can get to the outpost,” he explains. At my nod, he releases my hand. I find I miss the comfort of his secure grip, but I understand why as he grabs hold of the stones.

In the rocks are indents, corrosion over time perhaps, but more likely carved out with tools. Huck was right, clambering the ladder like foot holds in the rain is slippery and slow going, especially with so little light. My hands are practically frozen, my feet are hardly any better, and my legs are still trembling as Huck once again holds his hand out to me. Pulling me up the last of the way, I stumble into him. Huck wraps his arms around me to hold me steady. I look up at him while my face heats as I try to pull away. He just grins and his face brightens as he keeps me held firm but gently in his arms. It’s so warm.

“It’s all good. Don’t be embarrassed. I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispers softly, tucking a strand of my soaked hair behind my ear. “You’re so skittish, Dario. I’m gonna need to toughen you up a little bit, huh? Now, come on, this way,” he croons. A soft smile plays on my lips as I duck my head and realise just how nice older boys can be. Or, at least, this one is.

He leads me towards one of the cave openings with an arm wrapped around my waist. I’m aware of just how filthy I am right now, covered in rain, mud, and my piss, and my smile turns to embarrassment as the acrid smell hits me. I think about how pathetic I am, what I must look like to him. How can this older boy want to help me? Be kind to me? Let alone touch me? Step after step, I follow his lead, feeling all the worse. I will myself not to break down into a sobbing mess like I had been when I’d met him, pushing myself to be stronger, braver.

We walk into the mouth of the cave and follow the tunnel. There’s little light. The only exception is the dappled light from the moon shimmering through the trees. The deeper we delve, the darker into the abyss we go. I have no idea how Huck knows where we’re going because I can see nothing at all. After a time, he stops and moves away from me when we get about a hundred feet inside. Clawing fear unfurls inside me at being alone in the unending dark. Noises sound out in the surrounding area making me jump. There’s a hiss, a crackle, and then flames spring from a match to my right. Huck lights a sconce on the wall.

“Home, sweet home.”

I blink at the sudden brightness invading my vision to remove the dots now spotting my sight. As things begin to clear, I take in the cavern, seeing the many plastic boxes and bags littered to one side and a fire pit in the middle. Looking up, I notice it’s the perfect spot to shelter—little crevasses in the cave roof allowing the curling smoke to leave but stops the rain from pouring through. I ponder if this was yet more man-made workmanship or just another of nature’s wonders.

Huck crouches to the boxes. He unclips one of them and sorts through. He sets things beside him, reseals the box, and methodically moves to the next. Clothes, tins and a canteen appear, along with a saucepan and what looks to be some wood shavings. Next to the boxes he opens a bag to reveal wood of different shapes and sizes. Huck proceeds to drag his findings over to the fire pit.

“How did you know we’d made it here? It’s so dark,” curiosity laces my voice. I watch as Huck pats his pocket and pulls out the matches he had used to light the sconce on the wall. He turns and puts them carefully back inside a box while considering his answer.

“Echoes of our footfalls. Once you hit the cavern, they change sound. Plus, I’ve done this like a million times. I used to use a torch to get through, but it’s been so long I didn’t even think to,” he says. He seems sheepish about admitting it, but really, I’m more fascinated than upset. “I’ve been here maybe five years now. Not sure. I was ten when I was taken. I think I’m fifteen now.” Huck shrugs nonchalantly, but the sadness in his eyes tells a different story.

I wonder if he’s lonely? If that’s why he stood up to a full-grown man to help me? The fact he’s been here so long is disturbing; it means any hope I may have of getting home is well and truly gone in my mind.

“Oh.”

My only response. It’s stupid. Childish. But really, what more could I say? “Can I help you with anything?”

Huck smiles as he hands me a small bundle of clothes and returns to the logs in the bag.

Fascinated, I watch as he places the wood shavings down first, then stacks a small, almost tepee shaped pile of sticks over them. I’m so mesmerised by the process, I forget the clothes in my arms. I can’t look away as he stands, grabbing the sconce on the wall to light the kindling in multiple places before putting it back in place. As the fire appears to grow, he slowly adds wood to the fire, starting with the smaller logs, then going up in size until the warmth from the flames filters through my body.

A wracking cough takes over Huck, and I give him a worried look. He bends over away from the blaze and his chest rattles. I drop the clothes and hurry across the room, finding the canteen where he’d left it. I shake it and am relieved to hear the liquid sploshing inside. Opening it, I hand it to Huck, hoping a drink may help ease him. A few sips and his breathing eases, his cough dying down.

“Thanks. Think I got a lungful of smoke there. Teach me to show off when I saw you watching,” he laughs before taking another small sip of water. “We really need to get out of these wet clothes. Tomorrow, maybe we’ll get a wash down at the bay on the way to the outpost. Since you’re here, I’m guessing that’ll be restocked with new things.”

“What’s the outpost?” I hadn’t asked before, but if we were going tomorrow, it’s best I know what I’m getting myself in to. Walking back to my borrowed clothes, I pull off my wet top, but pause as I go to take off the pyjama pants. I turn my back on Huck as I sense my body go beet red. It’s not like I’ve never shared a changing room with the boys at school before, but this feels somehow different.

“It’s like a shop, I suppose, but instead of paying, you take what you need to survive. If you try to take more than you need… Well, let's just say, don’t ever try to take more than you need.”

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