Caught Red Handed

Chapter Four, Conditioning

Tom's Perspective

-Two Weeks Later-

I awoke to the familiar and freezing feeling of my surroundings, once again reminding me that I was asleep in a stone cell. I shakily got up and rubbed my arms, attempting to warm up with friction. My teeth were practically chattering. I pushed my tired body against the bars of my cell and squinted so I could see the digital clock in the hall. It was only 5:30 A.M. I had awoken too early, due to how cold it was. I pressed against the bars and quivered, my whole body begging for something to warm me up. I had the sniffles and felt dizzy. Maybe I'm getting sick. Maybe finally, I will die. Spending time with a certified psychopath who kills for fun is not my vision of a perfect world. Especially when that murderer leaves me in a cold dark cell to rot away in at night. Then he drags me through the halls and forces me to sit in his office. I'm so fed up with all of this already. I waited and stared at the clock as minutes inched by, waiting for six. Even if I didn't want Tord to come and drag me out, his office was really warm compared to this freezing cell.

Of course I had to realize this quickly and behave, because otherwise he would leave me in this ice cold cell all day. I would probably get a cold and feel miserable, but the cold wouldn't kill me. Anything that could really kill me was obviously off limits, because then my torture would end. That included being fed one meal a day, which was picked by Tord. He was keeping me on a tight leash, not allowing me any freedom. He would make it even worse when I acted out. I knew and he knew that if I just listened, my life would be better right now. I might even be in a warm bed, not sniffling and feeling numb. But I'm not listening to that sadist, and he can't make me. Once the clock reached six eleven, I could hear familiar clacking. He was here to drag me out into the halls again. I retracted from the bars and backed up, crossing my arms. I watched as the familiar light brunette opened the cell door. "Well hello Tom, don't you look chilly today?" He commented with a sneer. I huffed and glared at him. "Just let me out already, you dick." I hissed out and he grinned.

"Say please." He demanded, taking off his jacket at the same time. I stared at the jacket that he was offering to me. "... Please let me out already you dickhead-." I huffed and he laughed, gently wrapping me in the coat. i huffed and slapped his hand away, putting it on by myself. He strutted out with the usual bloated level of overconfidence, but this time he wasn't pulling on my leash. My foot automatically began stepping, but I stopped myself. He was treating me like an unleashed puppy, huh? I'm not following him. I instead stood there as he walked off, holding the cologne drenched coat tightly around my quivering body. I felt my rebellious confidence growing, until my collar suddenly gave a warning jolt. My newly "trained" instincts set in, and I quickly sprinted up to where Tord was walking at a casual pace. I huffed, yet again angry at this controlling collar. I scratched at it like I usually did, opening the newly scabbed scars from last night's attempts. I didn't care if it hurt, I wanted the damn thing off. And I wanted a shower. And I want to have a breakfast. All of these unmet conditions made me grumpier and I slowed my walking so that I wasn't as close to Tord.

I didn't want to see his stupid smug expression. I glared harsh daggers into the back of the Norski's head and snuggled closer into the unfamiliar cloth of his jacket. At least he hasn't really hurt me since that cut on my arm. It was still healing, and it made me more sour. I was led into the warm office painted red and immediately got into the visitor's chair, pushing against it and staying in the warm jacket. I was so cold still. Tord didn't even glance at me and went through his routine, drinking a delicious smelling mug of coffee and filing through papers while checking his schedule. I never let him focus for long, as payback for everything he's doing. "Why didn't you use my stupid leash?" I hissed, glaring coldly at him. He looked up from his papers and snickered. "I wanted to see what you would do~ you reacted how I imagined. After all, it's only your second week. You'll get used to your restrictions and be happier." He informed me and took another swig of dark coffee. So he really was just testing how much I had fallen into his routine that he forces me to participate in.