inonebasket | [Commentlog Style]

[Commentlog Style]

[A small, dark room greeted them upon awakening; the only light bled in as diluted moonlight from a small window about eight feet off the ground. The floor was concrete and dipped in the center toward a drainage grate; occasionally sewage trickled beneath it and made the room smell, but it wasn't anything its occupants weren't used to.

One shadowed figure was propped upright against a nearby wall, his wrists snapped in cuffs anchored to the brick with iron bolts and chains, just short enough to keep his arms above his head and unable to fully rest.

Another figure lay across the room, huddled in a corner and unmoving. The only sound was the plip plip of sewage and their ragged breathing.]

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Mike... [Leo drags himself the last foot or so over to his brother and rests his forehead against his knee.] Mike, are you all right? I'm sorry, I'm sorry I took so long. Are you okay?

Leo?

[His voice feels thick, and he coughs to clear his throat.]

M'okay. I'm okay.

[His head is pounding and his jaw aches, but he's still conscious.]

[He won't believe that until he sees it.

The guy has to have a key on him. Leo crawls over to the man -the pain as long now faded to something bearable; either he got used to it, there's enough adrenaline to mute it or he's getting nerve damage- and gives the body a shove to flip it over.

His eyes are open and glassy. Definitely a corpse. Leo presses his lips together in grim satisfaction as he rummages through the man's coat pockets. The two inside the jacket produce little more than an extra clip for his handgun, which Leo takes. He searches the man's pants pockets- a keyring.

Leo glances up at Mikey, then down at the keys. Looks like he's going to be standing after all, Mike's definitely got a concussion by the way he's listing like that. Leo needs to get him to sit down; if he faints while standing, he'll definitely dislocate his arms if he falls forward.] Mikey, stay awake. Don't fall asleep, okay?

Mmm. Okay.

[Eyes closed, Mike can hear Leo rustling around and doing ... something. Either the man left or something happened. And Leo ... Leo's hurt. It's hard to think.]

Keep talking to me. Keep talking. [Leo gives the brickwork a rueful look, then tucks the keyring between his teeth and grips the wall with his fingers, attempting to haul himself to his feet.

Okay, pain's back.

There's no way he's going to support himself like this, so instead he makes a wild grab for the length of chain between Mike's wrist and where it's anchored and hangs from that instead.

...oh God that hurt. So bad.

He grips the chain and shoves his shoulder against the wall, taking the keys from his teeth with a shaking hand and tries to flip through them carefully, trying one key after another inside Mikey's cuff.]

[A few seconds pass before Mikey realizes that Leo's upright. Scowling tiredly, he twists his head to watch him.]

You shouldn't be standing.

[A quiet whimper as the chains are jostled and his shoulders protest the movement, but it brings with it a moment of clarity.]

[Leo laughs and it sounds dry. He's thirsty. The keys jangle in his grip as his hand shakes harder, and the teeth of one key catch on the lip of the cuff and yank them from his hand. They jangle to the floor and bounce to the edge of the dip.

If they slide any further, they'll plummet right into that drain and they'll never see them again. Leo looks at Mike, and then at the wall.

He won't be standing a second time. Already his legs feel as if the bones were shattering and driving a million little splinters into his muscles. But he has to get those keys.

So he carefully -carefully- slides down against the wall. His knees bend and he feels like he's going to be sick, but then he's on his stomach and his hand is around the keys. He draws them away from the edge.

He blacks out.]

Leo?

[Mikey's voice echoes in the silence. His stomach rolls and his voice is a little more panicked this time.]

Leo?!

[His head is swimming and it's hard to think and Leo's gone and he's so tired. Mikey bites back a sob and lets his head hang.

He wants to go home.]

[Not two minutes later, footsteps clomp clomp clomp down the hallway until another man is silhouetted in the door. He lifts his hands to his hair in horror.]

Oh shit. Oh fuck, oh shit!

[He rushes in and drops to a knee next to the man's corpse before withdrawing; he's obviously dead.

He begins to pace, hands combing through his hair vigorously.] Oh fuck oh fuck, oh fuck. He's dead. Oh shit I knew we shouldn't have asked him, oh shit.

[Stirring, Mikey lifts his head slowly. Another man.

He tenses, rattling the restraints.]

[The rattling draws his attention and the man spots Mikey, then Leo on the ground and jumps as if he didn't expect them to be there.]

Fuck! Fuck, he- [The man darts toward Mike.]

[Mikey bites back a shriek, trying to shrink back against the wall as his heart thuds in his chest.]

[The sharp movements and sound make the man recoil too, but he approaches anyway and with surprisingly gentle hands reaches up to hold Mike's head, trying to twist it to see the wound on the back.] No- Calm down, you...whatever the...fuck you are I have no idea. I'm not gonna hurt you, we're not supposed to hurt you.

[Hissing in pain, Mikey's eyes are wide and distrusting as he tries to turn his head back to look at the man.]

Who are you?

[His voice is hoarse and rough, almost slurred with exhaustion.]

Derek. Jesus, you can talk. Fuck. [The man strongarms Mike's head and peeks around to look at the wound, hissing. He backs away then, and almost trips over the body of the other man before jumping away in alarm.

He glances at Leonardo and points at him, glancing over at Mike.] He dead too?

Ow ...

[Blinking slowly and letting his head lower slightly, Mikey snaps back to attention as the man gestures towards Leo.]

No, you've gotta help him, his legs are broken!

[Voice cracking in his panic, Mikey looks at the strange man imploringly.]

Yeah, I know they are. Not a lot I can do about that. [The man takes to a knee gingerly and prods Leonardo's shoulder. The turtle doesn't so much as twitch. He spots the keys in his hand and quickly scoops them out, into his own pocket, before jumping up and dancing away nervously.]

Shit, you guys did all this. You're good.

[Leo's not moving. He's not moving oh god he didn't even twitch what if he's dead what if they do--

Sucking in a shaky breath, Mikey tries to keep his head clear, but he's so tired and he just wants to sleep. His head dips.]

Where're you taking us?

[The man had crouched down beside the body and relieved him of his handgun and additional clips, pocketing those as well. Then he timidly slipped his hands under his armpits and made to drag him out of the room.]

I'm gonna be right back to fix up your head and see if I can help your buddy, but I gotta get rid of him first. They gotta drop the body before daylight hits or we are in such fucking trouble.

[He then proceeds to drag the body out of the room before slamming the steel door shut and leaving Mikey alone in the dark.]

[It's dark. It's dark and he's alone and Mikey hates the dark. The silence is oppressive, but his ears are ringing and it's difficult to stay scared for long before his mind wanders.

Mikey tugs weakly on the restraints once, then his eyes slide shut and he passes out, slumping against the wall.]

[Derek returned no less than half an hour later; he surveyed the room with his hands on his hips.

The orange one had fainted. Shit. Hoping to God it wasn't faking, he headed over, unlocked the shackles and caught the surprisingly light turtle before lowering him to the floor, on his side. Then he fetched a first aid kit and returned, drawing the chains through the loops and rethreading them to chain the thing's legs together instead. Making sure the gun was ready and loaded in his pocket, he took the keys and tossed them beyond the threshold of the door and knelt down to start treating the head wound.

That stupid asshole.]

[Slowly coming to, Mike groaned loudly. His head was pounding, he felt sick, his hands felt like they'd been dipped from a bucket of ice into boiling hot water.

Not daring to open his eyes yet, he murmured.]

Donnie?

[The groan makes him jerk and immediately he drops the antiseptic-soaked gauze in favor of ducking a his hand into his pocket and withdrawing the gun, flicking off the safety.]

Derek.

[The click of the gun brings him a little closer to wakefulness, and Mikey's eyes snap open, though they slide back to half mast a moment later.

And then everything floods back to him. Waking up here, Leo's broken legs, the strange men, the beating ...

When did he get on the floor?]

Where's Leo?

I dunno who that is, but the other one've you is right next to you. [Derek still doesn't move, both hands on the pistol. He hadn't touched Leo yet, so he's in the same position he was when he passed out.]

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This is not Jerry Shaw.

Righto o7

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