Hunter

Chapter Fifty One

Kenzie ~

After the feed had been cut and the camera was removed Kenzie received a particularly vicious beating at the hands of two of her fathers operatives, Rhett and Easton.

As Kenzie's body absorbed the impact of their fists, she tried her best to concentrate through the pain. Her fathers words were the only thing that instinctively flared in her mind.

"Find meaning in the pain. Every move your captor makes reveals something. Find it. Use it."

With her ears ringing and warm blood dripping down her lips and chin, Kenzie used every ounce of strength she had to find meaning through the pain.

There is no meaning. This is senseless beating with no purpose other than to torture me.

Every impact of fist to flesh was more powerful than the last and she wasn't sure how many bones they had broken in her face.

Wait...they are only hitting me in the face, head, and neck...nowhere else. If they were torturing me they'd be breaking fingers and delivering body blows to my ribs. This is deliberate...calculated...They are trying to knock me unconscious.

Kenzie's sudden realization caused her to let her eyes roll back and her body to go limp as she allowed herself to slump to the side in her chair feigning unconsciousness.

The second her body gave visible signs of defeat, the beating stopped, leaving nothing but the sound of heavy breathing and blood dripping into the cold concrete.

Thank God.

"She's a tough little bitch." Rhett huffed.

"Not for long." Easton sneered.

One of the men slapped her face hard, but Kenzie didn't react and let her head flop to the side despite the searing pain.

"Hurry up and get her loaded. I'm fucking starving." Rhett snapped.

Suddenly, Kenzie was lifted out of the chair and carried out into a cold drafty hallway. She felt the men tying her hands and ankles before she was tossed carelessly into the floorboard of some type of small vehicle.

This isn't a car and I know I'm still indoors...it's got to be a small utility vehicle like a golf cart or four wheeler.

A small motor started and she felt the vibration of the vehicle as one of the men rested his boots on her back, pinning her to the floorboard.

Kenzie rested her eyes as the vehicle lurched forward, letting her body rest as they traveled through some type of tunnel system.

By her count it was over an hour with one refuel stop before they reached their destination, with her two idiot captors revealing more Intel than they had intended. Their arrogance and carelessness was going to cost them dearly and Kenzie's ears perked at their discussion of supplies.

"What the fuck do you mean, we can just restock? Fort Liard is three hours away and that's if you're haulin ass."

Thank you, you massive idiot

Their assumption that she wasn't a threat because she was a "helpless female" was playing to Kenzie's favor and she smothered a smile as they harshly hoisted her from the small vehicle.

Go ahead boys, keep talking. I'd love to hear more.

The men manipulated her body and she nearly lost her breath when she felt a splash of freezing cold water splash against her entire body. The shock of the cold forced her eyes open and her lungs to seize as they positioned her now drenched body carefully.

"Time to go night night, princess." Rhett snickered, but Kenzie doubted that they would let her sleep.

Rhett and Easton tied her hands behind her back, fastening her restraints to a rope attached to the wall. A collar was placed around her neck with lines stemming from the walls on either side of her and she was forced to rest on the balls of her feet.

A stress position...they're going to deprive me of sleep.

"Sweet dreams." Easton hissed as the two assholes closed the door behind them, leaving Kenzie alone with her thoughts.

The first few hours weren't too terrible but her entire body weight resting on the small muscles of her ankles and feet quickly became excruciating. Occasionally she'd shift her weight, searching desperately for relief only to feel the collar cut off oxygen with too much pressure on her windpipe. If she leaned too far forward her arms were pulled back at an unnatural angle behind her until the pain was too much to handle. She tried to lower herself down to her heels but if she lowered herself by even an inch, metal spikes on the front side of her collar ripped into the soft skin beneath her chin, sending warm blood down her neck and chest. It was exactly what her father intended...torture.

After countless hours, Kenzie started to feel light headed and woozy as if she was drunk, indicating she'd been awake and anguished for over 48 hours. She knew the effects of sleep deprivation all too well and wasn't sure how much more she could take.

When her exhausted shaking body finally gave in , and her consciousness seemed to slip, loud music and blinding lights would be pumped into the room and her restraints would be tightened.

With no other choice than to take the pain, Kenzie retreated to the safest part of her mind - to the part that housed sweet memories of Hunter. She focused on his face and the smell of his skin. She pictured his powerful presence in the room and focused on it, trying to manifest him through memory. Kenzie pictured his strong arms scooping her up and taking her weight, and for a few fleeting minutes she didn't feel any pain.

Kenzie's euphoric hallucination was interrupted when her fathers sadistic voice cut through the silence.

"Good morning darling daughter." He boasted cheerfully.

"Time for a broadcast to your big bad soldier." Miles hissed as he positioned a camera in front of her.

Unable to move, Kenzie barely reacted to Miles' presence, trying to project weakness, which wasn't difficult to do at the moment. But despite her overly exhausted and beaten body, Kenzie's mind became sharp and focused.

Go ahead asshole...put me on camera, I know our location.

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