Page 9 of Code of Captivity

“Walk,” Viktor said, pushing my arm up painfully.

I followed Adrik through the house. I couldn’t focus on my surroundings because of the pain in my arm. The bastard was going to dislocate my arm from the socket. We went outside, and when I saw the building with the cell, I tried to stop walking, but Viktor was merciless and drove me forward. I was no match against the big brute.

Adrik opened a door—a different door, but as he opened it, I knew whatever was inside this door would change me. The fear made me push back at Viktor, but he shoved me inside, and I fell on my hands and knees.

The floor was clean, and there was a scent in the air that my brain tried to remember. The room smelled like a hospital. It was clinical and clean with a hint of antiseptic. I looked up and saw a man strapped into a chair with a metal hoop around his head. He was gagged, but I recognised the desperation in his eyes.

There was movement, which made me tear my eyes away from the terrified man and toward the man holding an instrument in his hand. He wore a plastic visor over his face and a white disposable apron. I glanced at the instrument again and realised it was a small surgical saw for precision cutting.

The man held it by a black handle, but the flat saw at the top was unmistakable. The victim, strapped in the chair, had his head shaved. I began to back away, but a fist in my hair and legs behind me stopped my backtracking.

“If she closes her eyes, stick a needle in her eye. I only need one of her eyes to function,” Adrik said.

“Da, Pakhan,” his loyal dog said, dragging me closer to the horror scene.

The man in the chair looked older than Adrik and Viktor. There were tears running down his bruised and bloodied face, but it was the sheer desperate terror in his eyes that froze me in place. It was the sight of his anguish that momentarily made me forget, and I closed my eyes.

A swift slap from Viktor made me open them up again. I barely felt the sting in my cheek as I processed what was happening. When I focused my eyes, I saw an empty syringe in his hand as he stood beside me.

“I would advise you to keep your eyes open at all times, or this needle will go inside your eyeball,” Viktor growled before he pulled the small plastic cap off the needle with his teeth.

I couldn't take my eyes off the sharp point of the hollow needle. The entire situation made my eyes roll to the back of my head.

“Don't even think about passing out, or you will be next on that chair,” Adrik’s voice boomed around the makeshift medical room of horror.

I kept blinking and realised that I couldn't breathe. A part of me sorely hoped that I was having a heart attack because I wouldn't endure this ordeal. I wouldn't survive the madness of these depraved monsters around me.

Chapter 7

Adrik

To watch the little rabbit hyperventilate was amusing. She didn't know what pain and suffering was. Not like I did. She didn't know what true starvation was—to linger between life and death. I once had hope when Yuri offered me food, but I didn't realise that the food he fed me came at a cost. He made me who I am, and for that, I slit his throat, giving him an easier death than he deserved.

"Do you know what a craniotomy is,krolik? It’s a procedure. A window into the mind. The soul. I’ve always been fascinated by what makes people tick. What makes them—break,” I said, my voice calm and as clinical as the room.

“Please... you don’t have to do this. I’ll do whatever you want. Just—just don’t—” she said, her voice trembling with her eyes wide in terror.

“Shhh, little rabbit. This isn’t about punishment. Not anymore. This is about understanding. About control. You see, I need to know what makes you so—resilient. What it will take to break you,” I said, mocking her with a cajoling voice.

“This isn’t control—this is madness. Y-You’re a monster,” she said as the panic raised her voice.

“Perhaps. But monsters are made, not born. And you, my dear, are about to meet the monster within me,” I said before pointingto the traitor.“This? This is justice. He betrayed me. Betrayed the Bratva. And betrayal... requires retribution.”

The rabbit was correct. I am a monster. I am the monster that this world created.

She shook her head in disbelief as it fully dawned on her that I could place her in that chair. Her eyes were locked onto the traitor, and I knew her services were as good as mine.

“Vadik, take the gag off before you begin. I do enjoy the screams,” I told the doctor, who followed my instructions.

“Please, I’m sorry! I’ll do anything—” the traitor said, his voice hoarse.

“You were paid handsomely by the Bratva for a purpose. To allow our permits to go through and our goods to move freely. You got greedy, and this is a result of betraying the Bratva—betraying me,” I said to the soon-to-be-dead police official before nodding to Vadik.

When the drill whirred into life, a high-pitched scream made Ania flinch. The saw drowned out the traitor’s cries. I looked away from her when the sound of the saw met with bone. The wet, grinding crunch that made the rabbit’s stomach heave. The traitor screamed a raw, guttural sound that echoed off the walls.

“Fascinating. Isn’t it? The human skull is stronger than you’d think. But it's not strong enough. Watch closely, little rabbit,” I said casually as if discussing the weather.

Ania’s breath came in shallow gasps. Tears streamed down her face as she watched the horror unfold. It was satisfying to finally see those big, fat drops of tears pouring out of her. The traitor’s screams faded into whimpers, then complete silence.

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