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Strade’s coppery yellow eyes fluttered open. It took him a moment to take in his surroundings. He wasn’t. . . no, he was tied up, in his own basement. He looked forward, at his own camera which was pointed at him. He turned his head to look at the laptop it was connected to.
“Good morning, Strade.” The voice was cheery, and familiar.
It was Raven.
”What’s going on, what are you doing?” Strade pulled against his restraints, only to hear metal hit metal. He wasn’t tied with rope, he’d been handcuffed.
Raven laughed softly, as she reached forward to shift her camera. Strade watched as the image turned from Raven’s grin, to Ren. His hands were tied behind his back, and his legs were chained to the floor, and his collar was gone. Strade’s mouth fell open.
“You, bitch! Leave him out of this!!”
He watched Raven’s form walk behind Ren, and she sat down in a chair he hadn’t noticed previously. “Oh, but Strade, we wanted to have a little fun~” She chimed, and something glinted in her hand. Strade looked down to his hip, and cursed under his breath.
She took his knife.
“I’m gonna kill you, Raven!” He shouted, enraged with her, but this only made her giggle softly, which in turn upset Strade more. Her fingers traced Ren’s cheek, and the fox let out a tiny, scared whimper through the cloth tied around his head.Raven slowly lowered the knife, and cut the cloth away. Ren spit it out of his mouth, and struggled to get closer to the camera.
“Strade!! Help me, please!” His usually sweet, soft voice was contorted with fear, and helplessness. His orange eyes were wide, and his breathing fast, and rapid.
“Ren, calm down, you’re gonna be fine, okay? I promise!” Strade tried to speak calmly, but the tinge of terror in his voice wasn’t helping anything. He watched as Raven grabbed a fistful of Ren’s soft, auburn hair, and pull him closer to her. Strade watched as Raven cut away the boy’s clothing, something he’d done himself many times. She nicked the fox a few times with the blade, sometimes on purpose, others were accidental.
Raven stared into the lens of the camera, straight into Strade’s eyes as she made a clean cut across Ren’s thigh. The small fox cried out in pain, and whimpered, hanging his head. He was bubbling, and crying, already starting to fall apart. Strade screamed at her to stop, to leave Ren alone, but she licked her lips as she made a deeper cut in his other thigh. Strade watched, embarrassed to admit that seeing Ren in such a state was a turn on, but furious at the fact someone else, someone like Raven, was touching, and cutting his fox. Raven lifted the knife to her lips, and slowly licked the crimson liquid from the stainless steel edge. she set the knife on the floor, and began to run her slender fingers across the boy’s cuts. The fox muttered and whimpered as she teased the openings in his skin, and he muttered an almost silent, “Don’t” before Raven began to push her finger into the cut. Ren’s head shot up, and he let out a fresh scream of pain. Raven giggled, and pushed her finger further inside the cut, feeling around the muscle and flesh. Strade began to curse at her in German, flinging every insult he could think into the camera. He was still struggling against his restraints, though he knew himself it was hopeless.
Raven looked back up at the camera, and tilted her head. “What’s wrong, Strade? Not enjoying the show?” She slowly withdrew her finger from the wound, and stuck it in her mouth, sucking the blood off. She giggled when Strade continued to curse. “Oh, dear. Look at how much he’s bleeding.” She looked down to Ren’s bloody thighs. “It’s too bad I don’t have anything to patch him up with.” she gently slapped Ren’s face, her voice teasing and malicious. She smiled, and turned Ren’s head towards her. “You know, I feel like Ren and I are really starting to get to know each other. Hmm. Must be the adrenaline.” She looked back into the camera, her grey eyes seeming to pierce straight through Strade’s soul. “So, how about I give you a choice, of what happens next? You’d like some control, wouldn’t you?”
Strade settled down, and watched the screen intently. He watched as Raven left her chair, and Ren was left alone in front of the camera. Strade tried reassuring him, but he couldn’t calm Ren’s crying. Raven slowly entered the frame again.
“So, Strade, what’s your pick? Nail gun, or the jig saw?”
Strade’s mind raced as he stared at the two power tools in Raven’s hands. The nail gun might not be so bad, it was quicker, easier to control. But that jig saw. . .
“Tick tock, Strade. If you don’t pick then I will~” Came Raven’s sing-song voice as she tapped the side of the jig saw with her nail.
“Nail gun.” Strade mumbled.
“I’m sorry, what was that, Strade? I couldn’t quite hear you.” Even the tone of her voice was as teasing and malicious as her glare.
“The nail gun!” He was back to shouting. Raven giggled softly, and set the saw down.
She turned Ren over, and looked at the camera. “Strade, look at me! If you don’t watch, then it’ll be the saw.” Strade lifted his head, his greasy brown hair falling into his eyes. Raven smiled as she positioned the nail gun over Ren’s palm. Strade flinched when he heard the click, which was quickly followed by a scream from Ren.
“Mmmm. Perfect.” Raven muttered as she examined her handiwork. The nail had pierced through both of Ren’s hands, and the tip was sticking out the other side. She positioned the tool once again, and each time she pulled the trigger, Strade would flinch. His precious fox had a total of 7 nails, now. One through his palms, and 3 on each wrist.
“Are you ready for the last nail, Strade?” Strade watched as Raven positioned the nail gun in the mid-center of Ren’s back. He watched with wide eyes, as Raven pulled the trigger, and shot the nail into Ren’s spinal cord, severing it, and paralyzing him instantly.
“At least he can’t feel the pain from those cuts anymore.” She sing-songed, and giggled.
Strade was infuriated. “Stop this! Raven!!” He continued to curse, and yell as Raven sat back down, and turned Ren to face the camera. His face was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot from crying. He whimpered, staring at Strade.
“Strade” his soft voice whined. “everything hurts. I can’t, I can’t feel my legs anymore, I can’t move them!”
Strade tried to hush, and calm Ren, but knew it was no hope. Unless he could be there, to hold Ren, and whisper to him, he knew Ren wouldn’t calm down.
Raven picked the knife off the ground. “Perhaps it is time to stop, hmm?” She hummed softly, as her fingers traced Ren’s neck where his collar would usually be. “But I think we’ve all had our fun.”
Strade began to mutter swears under his breath, watching as Raven lowered the knife to Ren’s neck. Strade screamed at her again, to leave Ren alone, and to stop. He knew she wouldn’t listen. He couldn’t do anything to save his fox. he could only sit, and stare with wide, golden eyes as the knife, his knife, slid slowly across Ren’s pale skin. At fist his rich, red blood only appeared in small balls, which rolled quietly onto his chest, until the blade reached the jugular vein. Strade was screaming in all languages he could speak, though not a word was coherent. Blood seemed to pour endlessly from Ren’s neck, and the fox desperately tried to move, but with paralyzed legs, there wasn’t much hope. Strade could only watch as Ren’s fighting, and hope slowed, his breathing coming to a full stop. Strade screamed incoherently, staring as Raven dropped the boy’s body to the floor.
Raven approached the camera, and turned it back to her grinning, blood splattered face. “We had so much fun together.” and the screen turned black.
Hot tears ran down Strade’s flushed face. He continued to scream, and cry, not wanting the reality to set in that Ren had died, and he had watched it.