like i can \/ nancy wheeler

xvi. stayin' alive

"i've been kicked around since i was born."
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

COLBY WASN'T SURE IF HE WAS NUMB OR DEAD.

His face was soaked in his own blood, which dripped down his neck and onto the white shirt that he'd been wearing underneath his uniform. Since he'd arrived in the cell, the soldiers had ripped the sailor shirt off of him, questioning if it was a disguise. Colby had told them "No" several times, and each time, it resulted in a punch across the face or in the gut. He could hardly sit up straight. He was sure they'd broken one of his ribs.

The man questioning him was cold, hard, and ruthless. He had a thin handlebar mustache and dark brown eyes. He didn't have a straight face— he was wearing a sneer the entire time he interrogated Colby.

"P-Please do-don't hurt my sister." stammered Colby, leaning his head back against the wall, wanting desperately to apply pressure to his ribs.

"Pretty girl." spoke the man in broken English. "Shame. Who do you work for, American bastard?"

"Scoops Ahoy!" shouted Colby, narrowing his eyes at the soldier. His lip was busted, there was a cut under his eye and on the side of his nose. Somehow, his nose hadn't been brutally broken yet, although his left eye was blackened. "And I go to school at Hawkins High! I already told you this! I turn seventeen tomorrow!"

He was again punched in the ribs, and that time, he heard a crack. He bit his already bleeding lip, only making the blood flow out more before yelling out in agony. He didn't know if he'd be able to survive much more pain before blacking out.

"Jesus!" screamed Colby, clenching his jaw in pain. "What do you want? God damn ice cream? I don't work for the government, you god damn idiot! Holy shit!"

The guard behind his questioner looked at him, before approaching Colby, raising his rifle above his head. It collided into Colby's, making the room spin and brighten before going completely and utterly dark.

˗ˏˋ 'ˎ˗

Colby woke up to the screaming of Robin and Cassie around him. It seemed to echo around in his brain, making him jolt upwards. He looked to the side. He was in some sort of circular room, with tables and lights. He didn't know where he was.

"Colby," breathed out Robin, and he could feel the back of her head against his own, "are you alive?"

"Yeah, God." he muttered, feeling relief spread through him at the sound of her voice. "You know, you don't have to scream. I doubt there's any other Americans down here."

"Cassie and Steve are in the other room." she told him, panting. "I've been trying to talk to Cassie through the walls. Steve was out cold, too."