Breed and Burn: Faceless

chapter 28- in bloom

Axel shouted in regret from were he had been tied down. Blackened fingernails dug into Sage's wrists. Thorne was supposedly busy but Axel knew better. He could hear it panting, the pleasure in its breath like an animal in heat. Its teeth were greenish in the pale light. Seven did not speak, not even when Sage let out a small whine though his face remained steady. Its fingers managed to do all the work, leaving deep discoloured scars that would remain long after the blood stopped flowing.

"Stop acting like I don't exist," snarled Axel, struggling to free his hands from the curtains that bound him. Although he didn't admit it, he couldn't remember being tied down or waking up. There was a stretch of nothingness in his memory but he dared not ask how much precious time slipped through his finger so easily. "I don't care. Why are you doing this Seven? Stop hurting him."

Seven hardly gave him a glance before pressing harder. Although his arms were trembling and he had to keep blinking back tears, Sage stared past Axel with nothing close to an expression on his face. There was a moment of silence where the truth sank in. They were really doing this.

"Sage. Trent? How are you letting it do this to you? What the hell, mate" said Axel, in distress as he tried to twist his body out of the binds. Clearly conflicted, he looked between them and felt a pang of hurt. "What you standing there for? Let me out, Trent."

Moving from one foot to the other, Trent pressed his chin into his neck. When he did look at Axel, it was not at him but through him.

Seven cut across, speaking loudly and failing to hide the pleasure in his voice. Jarringly, there was even a hint of pride in his voice. "Sage. You seem awfully quiet. Perhaps you are a Faceless and the control for this experiment. I overhead Facesmiths discussing the possibility but I thought they never went along with it. "

Fear made Axel incapable of making sense of what Seven had just said and he quickly forgot about it and it even took him a few seconds to recover use of his limbs.

"Hey! What are you ignoring me for? Sage?" Axel winced. In a moment's flash, Axel was drowning again. Horrified, Axel felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. Loneliness was beginning to consume him. He had a strong, unfocused feeling that they had already begun his end.

Axel could not bear it and squeezed his eyes shut. Heat spread through his veins. However, the fleeting image of his friends ignoring his existence smudged his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Axel tried for he could sense a hurricane brewing but he could not give the words voice as it came out all wrong. Twisted and animal-like. The words were followed by a gouging silence. How inadequate those words sounded. Rage built like deep water currents but Axel tended to skip that part. It was all or nothing. Tears began to roll down his ashy skin as he rocked back and forth.

After was seemed like hours but in reality, was no more than a few minutes, Seven stepped aside and Sage lifted his rest so that Axel could

Thorne entered soon after, laden with several blankets that had somehow been tied in a way that allowed it to be used a bag for the food packs that remained. Water was still lacking and that troubled him. Everything about him was grey, unsettled and tired. Even his eyes could not focus on one thing for more than a few seconds.

Trent moved towards Axel and said, "hey," in a voice unlike his own.

Axel's jaw seemed to be locked solid but he managed a nod but when he realised it was Thorne who he was addressing he withdrew his motion. However, it had not gone amiss by Trent.

"What? The hostage thinks I'm speaking to it." Trent threw back his head and laughed. The whole room followed in a chorus. Red spread up to Axel's roots. The sinister undertone shocked Axel, forcing him deeper into the currents. The same currents which were growing more violent and threatening to swallow him whole.