Page 26 of Corrupted Torment

Me, Dario and Sol rise as one. Dario’s hand still clutches tightly around my own, while Sol eyes me wearily. We cautiously make our way towards Rafferty. Though he looks much more his usual self; laughter is still very much in his voice as he speaks. I’m still not sure if he’s friend or foe, but I have to keep reminding myself of the help he’s given us.

“I’ll escort you back. I have an idea to run by you.”

I must admit, I’m intrigued by whatever he has to suggest. Looking at Solomon and Dario; I’m pretty certain they’re at their limit. Before I can say anything, Sol can’t help but spout his mouth off.

“Not sure I want to hear what you’ve got to say,” he snaps. I turn to glower at the man, but he just shrugs, running a hand through his mop of curly black hair. “Don’t tell me you hadn’t thought of it. Not like he’s going to offer us a way off the island or anything. The guy is crazy.”

Finger caught up in a knot in his hair, he starts to gently pull and tease it apart. I shake my head at him. Was he starting to understand that this place really held no hope of escape, or just being an awkward bastard?

I figure it’s the latter.

“Either way, Raff helped us out. We might as well hear what he’s got to say.” I try to make Sol see reason. Knowing that the hot-headed git knows how to listen for short periods of time. Even if he doesn’t much like to.

“He’s talking while you walk, it’s up to you if you choose to listen to him or not,” Rafferty singsongs. I chuckle at Raff’s antics. Solomon’s anger is palpable, his breathing increases and fury blazes in his eyes. I swear, I hear him muttering numbers under his breath. It makes a pleasant change from it being me.

“Just give us our jabs and fuck off.”

Wrong answer. In a tumble of blurred movement, Raff has the taller man pinned down beneath him. Solomon is bucking, kicking, and growling fiercely; his hands restrained above his head in a tight grip. Raff straddles his waist, but Sol fights back with everything he’s got.

Raff holds him steady throughout it all, with no sign of letting up. It’s a losing battle and Solomon knows it as he lets out a final huff of air. He turns his head to the side in defeat as his body relaxes.

It feels like an invasion of privacy as I watch Rafferty move a hand to Sol’s face, urging him to meet his eyes. Soft words are spoken much too quietly for my ears to pick up as he caresses Sol’s dark skin.

I look at Dario next to me, feeling awkward. His green eyes are taking in the scene. Small, knowing smile on his lips. I raise a brow as he turns his attention to me, and his smile grows wider, but he just shakes his head. I squeeze his hand.

“Happy?”

“Ecstatic, now get the fuck off me,” Sol grumbles.

“Nope. Think I’ll just stay here until what I need to say gets said.”

Raff has administered Sol’s injection in the brief time that I’d looked away. Now he seems reluctant to leave his cushioned seat. That, or he’s determined to leave me with a pissed off Sol for eternity. Hell, it’s getting to be tempting to leave Sol behind with Raff about now, if only to get some peace from what I know is going to be a headache later on.

“Raff, come on. Let the guy up. He’ll listen, right Sol?” I bargain with the pair, hoping for some kind of movement soon. Letting out a grunt, Sol nods his agreement.

“Fine,” Raff says, dragging the word out and rolling his mirth filled grey eyes before leaping from the other’s lap. Sol sits quickly, pulling his knees up to his chest, shielding himself. I smirk knowingly at Sol, who glares daggers right back at me.

“So, I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in a mutual exchange of sorts. I already go to your end of the island—more specifically, I always head to the caves. In the future, rather than having to play tedious games of hide and seek like we always do, I’d like to propose that you come to me and my brother freely.”

I take in the information he gives, nodding along as he checks his watch. Coming freely to him doesn’t seem too much of a hardship. But at what cost?

“I’ll be honest with you here. There are bigger players than us. I shouldn’t even be telling you that. We have no control over what injections you are given; we just follow our instructions. The more we give out, the easier things are for us. You guys don’t even run, just hide. It’s tenuous and time consuming.”

“So, what do we get out of this? Besides queuing up for you like sacrificial lambs?” Solomon grates out between clenched jaws. I must admit, so far, I can’t see how this is beneficial.

“Not a lot, I know. What I can guarantee is safety from worse fates. You get your injection and whatever result the doctor wants is in their hands. You’ve all survived that shit before and if you’re all together, you can help each other through any side effects. Well, if you can, anyway.”

Raff has the decency to grimace as he explains. He pulls out the case I know to hold the vials and needles for our jabs from the jacket pocket of his uniform. Placing the black square case down, he begins sorting out what he needs. We have survived these poisons, but I’ve also seen many who haven’t. I don’t speak out my concerns, but by his continued speech, the thoughts must’ve been clear on my face as I watch him.

“I don’t know if you’ve met my psychotic brother. He’s the kind of man you don’t survive. Him and the men from earlier are what I’ll be keeping you from. Devon has taken it upon himself to team up with that little gang of monsters. What they leave behind… let's just say, it's not pretty.”

I didn’t know the name of the black-eyed demon that roamed this island when the siren rang. His tendencies and preferences to maiming were legendary, though. The stone dagger tucked into my pocket was a powerful reminder of why I never went unarmed. Because of that very man.

“Who is the brother you want to bring with you then?” Dario speaks up, his curiosity piqued. Pulling away from me, he allows Raff to apply his jab with no fuss. I walk up behind to get my own, noting the difference in colours between our two vials.

“He’s good, even compared to me. You can trust him. He needs this. I worry about him and what they will do to him if his numbers don’t increase. He’s not a natural hunter like me.”

The intrusion of the needle is so familiar, I don’t flinch as the cold liquid filters into my veins. Thinking it over, either way they make us have this toxin put into our veins. Not having to run or hide can only be a good thing. If Rafferty can keep even the worst of the others away, it might be worth it. I look at Dario.

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