Edited by: Waning_Crescents

---

As soon as Cal stepped into Axis’s car, that strong and cool demeanor he had mustered up before wavered. His pulse increased and all the thoughts of what would come next trickled into his mind, yet he had no regrets. If his life had to end today like this then this was fine, somewhat bearable, but if Sigal had to suffer because of him, then he couldn’t bear it at all.

I’m sorry Sigal, but this was for the best. You will be able to forget in time.

Cal had lived like this long enough to know that every attempt to catch Axis ended in failure. This man was cunning and manipulative. No one ever suspected that he held Cal caged in the depths of the basement like an animal. On the contrary, they even granted Axis full custody of him after their dad and Axis’s mom died. If he could be certain of something, then it was the fact that he would never be found, not even by Sigal.

“I’m so happy you decided to comply. This really got me excited.” Axis’s unwelcoming voice disturbed his thoughts. He reached over to Cal and let one finger run along his cheek. “Unfortunately, you still have to be punished accordingly, I can’t just let you off the hook like that. All the preparations had already been made.”

Cal turned his head away and stared out the window not paying him any heed, but in the next moment his vision went dark.

“Can’t let you see where we are going, can I?” Axis said in a soft voice and tightened a cloth around his eyes before he retracted his hands.

 

After an unknown amount of time the car stopped. Cal tensed up as next to him the car door opened noisily with a creak. “Come.”

With great effort Cal climbed out of the car, almost slipping as he did so. Unconsciously, he stood still for a moment trying to listen to his surroundings in order to figure out any clues about their whereabouts.

“We are almost there. The rest you have to walk, little brother,” Axis said with a grin on his lips as he tugged on Cal’s choker, urging him to move.

Cal stumbled along as he followed. He remained silent the entire time, only trying to not trip along the way. With every step he took the chains clanked loudly, while one foot always tugged on the other ankle, causing him to flinch every time.

 

Not long after, they seemed to enter a building, making their way downwards. With Cal’s current vision blocked out and his ankles bound he hardly could take any steps.

Axis sighed. “Raul.”

In the next moment, a quite sturdy arm slung around Cal’s waist, lifting him up before he got thrown over someone’s shoulder.

Cal hung limply there, just listening to any noises, but nothing beside their footsteps echoed through. As they went deeper, the smell of mold and pungent chemicals lingered in the air, penetrating Cal’s nostrils. This familiar scent sparked an immediate reaction of nausea in him, and his breathing quickened.

“We are here.” Axis opened the door to a room while the one who carried Cal, put him down. Then Axis walked back to him, unwrapping the blindfold that covered his eyes. “You are home.” He whispered into his ear.

As soon as Cal’s eyes fell on the items inside the room, he froze up in place. At first, the big, enhanced chair in the middle of the room came into view, which had built-in restraints for arms and legs. Then his gaze shifted on a little table beside it; a tray with needles, liquids and other equipment rested on it.

In an instant all his remaining strength dissipated. He broke out in a cold sweat, his heart rate sped up and his limbs grew weak, almost completely giving out. Instinctively he staggered a step back as images of the present and past overlapped. The cries, the pleads, the pain, all of it just crashed onto him like a hurricane. Even though he tried to make peace with his fate, upon this sight his mind and body revolted.

Axis tugged on his collar, indicating for him to move, but Cal only dropped to his knees. His vision blurred, while he trembled incessantly as he kept staring at the chair, all the painful memories resurfaced.

“Get up!” Axis glanced at him. “Stop dawdling.”

Axis’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he bit his lower lip. He attempted to get back up, but his legs gave out, causing him to drop down every time he tried to put pressure on his feet. He couldn’t accumulate any strength.

“You are really hopeless, aren’t you?” Axis sighed before he gestured to Raul and Killian —the only two people who came along— to speed things up.

The two nodded in unison, each grabbing one arm of Cal. They dragged him into the room and over to the chair, heaving him onto it.

Cal’s eyebrows lowered and drew together as his eyes followed Axis walk over to him, undoing his cuffs around his wrists before firmly restraining them to the chair; afterwards, he did the same with his ankles. “That’s a sight to behold. I’ve missed it so much!”

Then he bent forward and stopped by Cal’s ear. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

As Axis moved away, busying himself with his companions, Cal panted fiercely. He glanced at his restraints, lightly tugging on them, panic visible in his eyes.

Around a minute later, only Axis and Killian remained in the room, the other person had left.

“You know, if you hadn’t run away then this wouldn’t be necessary.” Axis walked over to Cal. “You know the rules: Disobeying leads to punishment. It’s your own fault, really.”

Cal bared his teeth. “Nonsense…”

“Nonsense?” Axis laughed. “This is the reason why I always had to punish you. Backtalk also counts as disobeying. You never fully succumbed to me, but that will change this time.”

He grabbed a knife and drew closer to Cal. “Let me take a look.”

Cal pressed himself back into the chair, his eyes shivering in terror as Axis cut his shirt in half, revealing the bandages which covered his chest and torso.

“You really covered it up.” Axis clicked his tongue. “All my efforts are hidden to the world. You little piece of shit.” With another quick move he cut the bandages in half as well and ripped them away before he stared at Cal’s bare upper body.

Scars in all sizes marked his porcelain skin, reaching from his chest to his abdomen, some clearer visible than others.

Axis let his right index-finger wander along these healed scars, his expression full of disappointment. “So pretty yet it has been so neglected.”

“Y-you are sick.” Cal pressed out between his lips, disgusted by Axis’s comments and touches.

“Let’s start, shall we?” Axis ignored his remarks as he put the knife back on the table. His fingers slid from the weapon to the syringe on the tray, lifting it. He flicked it slightly before he turned to Killian. “Gag him. I am afraid he might try to bite his tongue off. Better be safe than sorry.”

Killian did as told and picked up an item from the table, turning to Cal. He grabbed his hair and held him firmly in place before he roughly shoved the leather gag into his mouth, tightening it. Then he stepped aside.

Cal knitted his brows, while sweat rolled down his temples. He tried to brace himself for whatever followed next. He was well aware of what Axis would do; he had experienced this multiple times in the past after all. But as soon as Axis turned around with a needle in hand, Cal froze. This sight always terrified him to his core since he was a kid. His body just reacted on pure instinct as soon as a needle came into view; his head spun, and his breathing quickened. The fear was too deeply engraved into his body, his soul, so that no fiber in his being managed to stay calm.

“Still don’t like these, huh?” Axis held the needle in front of Cal's face. “I always loved this part, the fright in your eyes.” A malicious grin appeared on his lips.

Cal averted his gaze, turning his head to the other side. His chest heaved up and down heavily, while his vision went out of focus. He blinked a few times to regain his sight as someone pressed down on his right arm.

Cal tensed his muscles in fright.

Axis inserted the needle into his vein, letting the liquid slowly trickle in. “Since last time, I have increased the effect to a great extent. I hope you will entertain me well.”

Cal squeezed his eyes shut as the cold needle pierced his skin, wheezing in terror.

Satisfaction plastered Axis’s face as he pulled out the needle again, putting it back on the tray. The familiar effect of the drug washed over Cal in an instant, turning his expression more pitiful. His skin tingled and his muscles and nerves pulsated as if his body was in an irritated state.

Axis picked up the knife once again and smiled at Cal, his eyes brimming with enjoyment. Then he reached out with his right hand, letting his thumb slide over the gag. “It really suits you.”

Terror reflected in Cal’s eyes while his body shivered uncontrollably, even unconsciously tugging on the restrains as Axis hovered with the knife playfully over Cal’s chest. “Where shall I start?” He tilted his head as if he studied a complicated math question.

Being at the other’s mercy was a terrible feeling. Not able to know when the pain would start, how unbearable it would become this time. Cal could only wait like a criminal that expected his execution.

Axis moved the knife from his chest to his abdomen and then back up again, but so carefully that he didn’t injure the skin. “Can you feel it?” As soon as these words left his mouth, he put more pressure on the sharp object, slightly cutting into flesh. A few drops of blood ran down along Cal’s chest, leaving only a small wound.

However, for Cal, this small wound set-off an avalanche of stimulations. Cal’s eyes widened, followed by muffled cries. Just the slightest touch initiated a burning sensation in him as if Axis cut out a whole piece of flesh, the pain unbearably strong. Cal panted, staring fearfully at the knife that hovered dangerously over him.

“Excellent! This is better than I expected.” Axis called out happily, “Let’s continue, shall we?” His eyes sparkled as he pushed the knife deeper in, letting it wander a bit downwards, increasing the size of the wound. More blood poured out this time.

Cal tensed his neck, jerking his whole body forward, while he screamed at the top of his lungs through the gag. His whole body burned this time as if his muscles got peeled off his bones.

At this sight, Axis seemed even more excited, slashing another part of his body, this time he slid from his chest halfway down to his abdomen.

Tears filled Cal’s eyes as the unending pain overwhelmed him. He screamed in agony, but only muffled noises echoed through the room. Traces of blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth while his vision blurred more and more until darkness swallowed everything.

However, as soon as he fell into that silent, painless slumber, he startled awake the next second. A sharp, yet unpleasant smell wafted into his nose, and he found himself conscious again.

“No, no, that won’t do.” Axis’s voice resounded. “Faint as much as you want, I will bring you back every time. You have to endure the whole punishment.”

Cal glanced, exhausted, at Axis through clouded vision, panting heavily. But he couldn’t relax for long as Axis continued to slit his skin mercilessly.

Cal dug his nails deep into the armrests of the chair until blood dripped down from his fingers. He bit onto the gag with great effort to bear the pain. Every nerve, muscle, bone burned as if on fire; it ripped, it tensed, it snapped and with every cut the pain increased. He coughed and tried to catch his breath, but without avail as Axis just kept going without a break.

Cal couldn’t take it anymore and tears rolled down his cheek, glancing at Axis in a pleading manner to stop.

“What?” Axis looked at him. “You really think I would feel sorry for you?” He laughed. “Seeing you like this is just exhilarating.” Another slash followed. “I am having so much fun, so much so that I will keep going for a long time.”

I want to die… Cal thought as another wave of unbearable pain rolled over him. Please, just let me die… Afterwards, his consciousness drifted away once again.

However, as promised, Axis brought him back as soon as he closed his eyes. Killian held the smelling salt below Cal’s nose whenever he fainted, forcing him back into consciousness every time.

This continued for around an hour and in the end Cal lost track of time as well as how many times he had fainted. Every time he had startled awake, and the pain rushed through his body anew, stronger and stronger each time. Blood stained most of his body by now, old scars and new cuts intertwining.

Cal’s pupils dilated and a haze covered his hue. His screams had decreased a while ago and his body stopped reacting. He sat there with his eyes half-open while tears kept running down his cheeks as if his mind closed itself off, hiding at a safe place to escape this gruesome torture of this insane man.

Axis drew back his knife and stared at Cal in admiration. “Really beautiful. A masterpiece if I can say so myself.”

“Indeed it is,” Killian mentioned, “But I think it’s time now.” He handed Axis another syringe.

“I can’t wait to see the results.” Axis received the needle enthusiastically.