Page 39 of Aftermath

All this hurt to think about, especially when it felt like he had one foot in the grave already.

In a moment of defeat and despair, Austin leaned back and sought out Cam's shoulder to rest his head on. All curled up, he felt small and weak.

The thought didn’t cross his mind, but it was Cam's bad shoulder. However, Cam didn’t say a word; instead he silently encouraged Austin to lean on him, take comfort fromhimfor once, and rested his cheek on the top of Austin's head.

Austin had of course missed Riley's tenth birthday. He didn’t know what he'd been doing the day Riley turned ten, because time didn’t give the men anything in that basement. Time only took from them. It had taken hope, strength, dignity, and humanity.

It wasn’t until toward the end that things changed, and that was where clothes and professions played the biggest part. It was what finally gave the men something to mull over. Reasons, motives…but still more questions.

Cam's nickname for Austin had been coined one day…

"Breakfast!" Mr. Insane bellowed.

"I'd like to see the menu," Cam muttered as he got up from his cot to wait for the hatch to open. "I swear to Christ, I ain't never having chicken soup again if I ever get outta this place."

He flexed his bicep and shoulder, and Austin watched him wincing at the lingering pain, but at least it was getting better.

"I think I've forgotten what pizza tastes like." Austin sighed and emptied the bucket of water into the toilet.

They'd already washed their clothes as well as they could, and Cam's coveralls and Austin's torn sweats were currently drying on the floor. These days, though, they did it without soap. It had been a while since that one bar they'd been given was gone, and they hadn't been supplied with more.

The toothpaste was also gone, but they still had their toothbrushes.

"Even my shit smells like chicken nowadays," Cam said.

Austin didn’t know whether to scoff or laugh. "No, it doesn’t." He limped over to Cam, his right thigh still killing him, and gave him a sideways look. "Trust me. It doesnotsmell like chicken."

Cam chuckled. "Fuck you."

Austin smirked and turned to the door as Psycho slid open the hatch.

"Evan. Sam." The crazy man smiled like a creep. "You seem to be recovering nicely." Austin held up the empty bucket, and Mr. Crazy started filling it with the garden hose. "That’s good—means I can plan our next meetings soon."

Cam gritted his teeth and glared.

"I think onemeetingwas enough," Austin said flatly, setting down the filled bucket on the floor.

"Oh, but it never is with uneducated simpletons." The man laughed and extended two bowls of steaming chicken broth. "I am your boss, fellas. I know what's best for you. After all, I didn’t get this position by being stupid."

Cam took the bowls and huffed quietly. "No, just criminally insane."

"Yeah, and I thought having an MBA from Duke would save me from being called an uneducated simpleton," Austin drawled, only for Cam to hear.

Evidently, he hadn't been quiet enough.

"A what from where?" their kidnapper growled. His beady eyes turned murderous, and they were fixed on Austin.

Cam stiffened.

Austin frowned, but before he could respond, the hatch closed and they were left in a wake of furious screaming about ruined plans and how only accomplished people deserved to live.

"What the hell just happened?" He turned to Cam with a confused expression.

"You're askingme, Mr. MBA?" Cam snorted and shook his head. "Sometimes I find it hard to understandsanepeople."

Austin whimpered in his sleep. Tears rolled down, unbeknownst to him. His body was tense with frustration.

Between the moments where the nightmares took over, family members asked him questions he couldn’t answer. If given the choice, would he go back in time and put on a suit, hence saving himself from being kidnapped? It was his wife who asked. His mother asked if this could ever be worth it. His daughter just cried and cried and cried. Austin tried to reach out to her, but the image of Riley vanished with her heart-wrenching sobs.

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