Sapphire Bones

Stubborn

L

My jaw stung from where his fist connected minutes ago. We were outside, not far from where I was being kept with Cole and Roddy, but just far enough away that they couldn't see what was happening. Blood sputtered up into my mouth and settled in the dip under my tongue. I struggled to push myself up; the dirt under me was slick with sweat and blood.

Thick locks of hair fell onto my face, wet with sweat. It stuck to my skin. I leaned on my arm. Graphite's leader stood a few feet away, his arms under a faucet. Water sputtered and a cool mist barely reached where I was hitched. I watched through my eyelashes; neither him or his group of friends who'd gathered to watch, noticed my movements. As long as I kept it slow I wouldn't grab their attention.

"How you convince them to give her up?" A new voice rang out from across the yard. I focused on them, hopeful they would say something that made up for the punches thrown by their leader. Something to use against them later on.

"Gave the big guy a couple extra doses. Boosts the paranoia." The rogue leader's voice was exhausted from previous activities, but he still spoke with a horrible amount of confidence. "Think she the enemy so the deal was a no brainer."

"Aren't ya worried it'll fuck up the payout for these three?" A female spoke up. The blood from earlier cooled, a metallic sheen coating my teeth. My stomach lurched, and a shiver shook my whole body. "They said not ta touch 'er."

"Nah," the leader waved a hand her way. "Wha' they don' know won't hurt 'em." Bile filled my mouth with acid and chunks of food leftover from travel before we were captured. Any attempts to swallow it failed and I couldn't help but pull myself up and let go. Vomit washed from my mouth to the ground below me in a violent stream of foul and metallic. All heads in the area snapped to me, and the leader shook off his hands. I coughed another mouthful out.

"Look what ya fuckin' did!" He yelled and sent a foot into my side. I fell, landing in the puddle of bile on the dirt. It splashed with my impact and soaked into my clothing. Tears welled in my eyes as the leader stood over me, a large, thick tower of maroon that blocked my view of anyone else in the room. "You went an' soiled the floor!" He sent his foot into my stomach again, which triggered my stomach to send more vomit up my esophagus. I coughed it out. It sputtered down my chin to the ground next to my face. I held my head as high as I could keep it but I knew the weight and pressure would eventually overpower my will to keep my head above ground.

"Ey boss!" A man near us spoke up. "We need her relatively unharmed! Don't kick her too hard."

"Don't tell me what to do," the leader growled back at him and sent one more kick into my stomach. I wheezed and rolled onto my back, hands clutching at my torso. I breathed hard, nostrils flaring, while the entire room watched. At this point I didn't care about the soiled floor beneath me.

"I-Is this why you brought me here?" My voice was scratchy from the vomit, but I fought through it. "Throw a few punches and then toss me back into that cage with them?" The words burned my throat. I coughed, and what little bile was left over behind my teeth escaped with the forceful expels of air.

"Unless you wanna go again, I'd keep your mouth shut." The leader leaned down and took my chin in his hand. His fingernails dug into the flesh on my jaw and he wrenched my head to look at him. The sore spot on my jaw burned under his strength.

"You gonna share or?" A new voice, male, piped up. I passed a glance where the voice came from but the leader's voice brought my attention back to him.

"No," he said. "I told those two that I alone get her. I don't break my promises," he squeezed my jaw a little tighter, to illicit a yelp out of me but I bit my teeth into my tongue to keep my voice hidden. The man holding my jaw smelled of sweat and caked grime under his fingernails and hidden in his pores. My nose scrunched. I kept still under the weight of his hand so he didn't snap at me.

"You goin' against head honch by touching her anyways. Might as well share!" The same squeaky voice that optioned my passing-around in the first place spoke again. I swallowed, my attention flickering around to follow the voices. Their red silhouettes blended in my vision, but their voices were unique, yet all scratchy and slurred.

"Shut up!" The leader bellowed. His hand left my jaw in an instant, leaving me to take on the weight of my head again. The bone throbbed, and the phantom of his hand still pushed into the soft flesh. "They don' need to know shit 'bout what I do round here." He said. He returned to the faucet to shut it off. "Be graeful I's lettin' you watch."

"It's not like she put on much of a show for us, boss," the woman critiqued. Her shrill tone sent a shiver up my spine.

"She did 'er best," the leader laughed, deep and guttural. "I'll take her back a little early but I don't think that bruise on her chin is big enough." The leader spun around to face me and stalked closer. He knelt, grabbing my chin again. I hissed at his touch and fought to wrench my face from his grip but he was stronger, his fingernails digging further into my skin.

"Eh, eh, sweetie," he whispered, his lips dangerously close to my ear. The leader brushed hair away from the side of my face and planted his mouth on the area right in front of my ear, on the edge of my cheek. His tongue pressed down onto the flesh, his cold saliva coating the skin in a thin layer. I tried to inch away but his strength overpowered my attempt. I struggled, kicking at him but he avoided all my attempted blows with ease.

"Everyone get out!" He yelled to the watching crowd. "I want this time to be private." There were groans from the few rouges in the room but they left without resistance. The second their shadows were out of view I took my chance. Throwing all of my strength into my legs, I lunged forward and grabbed the leader's neck with my hands. I ripped backwards, sending him onto the ground with me above him, behind his head. Shock went through him, freezing his limbs.

"You will not touch me again," I spat, sending a foot into his temple. His face went sideways into the dirt. My noiseless attack didn't grab attention from anyone nearby. I stumbled backwards and looked around, hoping I'd recognize something in the distance but all I saw was black. Gulping, I moved into the eternal darkness, hopeful for even a semblance of direction back to the cage.