Hi people, here's the next update. I'm so sorry for making you all wait so long. College is back and I'm getting more and more work, and to be honest, I really struggled to write these past two chapters. I guess you'd call it writers block? Anyway, here's another chapter for you. It's not as long as usual but I thought I'd try and give you something.

Thank you for being patient and please leave a comment, I LOVE YOU <3

Kris’s POV

I continue slamming my fist against the unyielding door, unable to stop the sobs of horror and frustration from pouring out of me as the sounds of Tao’s agonised screams burn themselves into my mind. I can feel my heart breaking as the minutes tick by and his screams get weaker and weaker. I hate everything at this moment.

The knowledge that the only reason they’re doing this to Tao is to hurt me fills me with frustrated fury. I throw my full weight against the door but it barely even shakes from my efforts. I’m tormented by the thought that if I’d listened to Tao and escaped when I could then they might not be doing this because I wouldn’t be here to hear it, although something tells me they would have made him suffer anyway.

After an eternity, Tao’s screaming cuts off and I’m filled with a mixture of relief and panic. What if he’s…?

I don’t let myself finish that thought and I press my face up to the small square opening in my door through which, after a minute or so, I see our jailer dragging Tao’s limp form past my door, but there’s no sight of the men who’d taken him away. I rush to the bars that separate our rooms and watch as he’s pulled over to the mattress and dumped there. I hiss at our jailer as he stands there for a moment staring down at Tao. “Get the hell away from him you sick bastard!”

He just looks at me silently for a second before rolling his eyes, shrugging and leaving. I glare at his back for a moment until he’s gone and then reach through the bars to gently pull Tao as close to me as I can. Once I’ve accomplished this, I turn his head to face me, examining his face in barely controlled terror at what I might find.

His hair is drenched and his skin is freezing. I take off my jacket, pushing it through the bars and covering his bare chest, hoping to take the chill off his skin that must have been caused by icy water, worried that he might get hypothermia or something. It’s then that I notice the painful looking burn circling his right wrist. The skin is broken and red and appears to be from a manacle of some sort.

I reach out and tentatively pick up his arm. I trace my fingers gently along his forearm which is covered in a faint red, burnt mapping of his veins which must have been caused by his body’s resistance to an electrical current. It’s then that I realise what they did to him. The breath whooshes out of my lungs in pure horror and I’m unable to stop the silent tears of anguish from streaming down my cheeks as I realise how lucky he is to be alive and I pray to God that there’s no permanent damage from this.

I gently place his arm back down on the mattress before rushing to the door of my section and banging on it hard. I flinch back in shock when the shutter opens almost instantly. I don’t bother hiding the revulsion I feel for our jailer as I beg for some things to help me patch Tao up. To say I’m surprised is an understatement when he silently raises his hands into my view and I see that he’s already got a first aid kit and a bowl of water ready.

“I was wondering when you’d ask.” He says.

I take the supplies as he passes them through the opening and turn my back on him without another word. I return to Tao’s side and gently pull his burnt arm through the bars, propping it up on my leg as best I can, then check the temperature of the water, before placing his burnt wrist into it water; keeping it there due to the angle it’s at off my leg.

I check his other wrist, pressing myself right up against the bars so I can reach, seeing that he’s got similar injuries on that wrist too, but it doesn’t appear burnt. It looks painfully raw and I assume that’s from fighting against restraints. I open the first aid kit and use what I can to clean and disinfect the wound before wrapping it in a bandage to protect it from infection.

I check his temperature again, discovering that his skin is cold and clammy and that he’s starting to sweat. His breathing is getting faster and shallower. I feel the slight tremors coursing through his body and curse.

I call out, hoping that our jailer will hear me. I let out a sigh of relief when Tao’s door opens and he walks in.

“What?” he asks in barely masked disdain.

“Please,” I say, “he’s getting sick, he needs medical treatment for these wounds and I can’t fix this.” I scan his face, feeling my eyes tear up as I search desperately for any sign of pity or compassion in his expression. “Please,” I whisper. I let out a sob of despair when he simply turns and walks away, not appearing to even consider my request.

I return my gaze to Tao, feeling my broken heart shatter into even smaller pieces as I realise that I can’t help him. What if he dies because of me? I take a deep breath, pushing aside such thoughts as they threaten to overwhelm me and I rummage around in the first aid box for some pain killers. I finally find a pack of aspirin and pop out a tablet, placing it on his tongue and washing it down with some water that we’d saved from lunch, watching as his unconscious self swallows reflexively.

I check his burnt wrist, staring at it in the water, unsure if it’s less red or not. Thankfully it’s not bleeding as the burns seemed to have sealed the skin or something.

Once I’ve done everything I can, I sit there, gazing at his face and trying desperately to fight off any thoughts about the fact that I could actually lose him because of this. He’s never experienced anything like this, should never have to, what if he’s not strong enough?

Twenty minutes later I’m crying with relief after a short moment of panic when the door to Tao’s cell opens and a man is directed in by our jailer, carrying a large sports bag. He opens it and sets about examining Tao. I watch him carefully as he begins treating his injuries properly and sets up a drip next to Tao, gently pushing a needle into the crook of his arm and giving him a boost of nutrients and pain killers that will hopefully help his body put up a fight.

I glance up at the door where our jailer is standing; leaning against the door frame and watching the medic do his work. I’m furious at him for letting this happen but I’m also immensely grateful to him for getting Tao help and probably saving his life. We make eye contact and although I’m unable to form words right now, I think my expression gets the message across as he rolls his eyes and looks slightly awkwardly to the side.

Once the medic seems satisfied, he starts packing up his stuff and our jailer heads over. “How is he?”

“He’ll survive; he’s not the worst case I’ve seen here. Tell those boys not to push it so far, seriously, I’d really rather not have to come down here to deal with their little torture cases.”

He simply gets a nod and a shrug in return and as he’s escorted out, I turn my attention back to Tao. He’s looking slightly better already, seeing as it has been over twenty minutes since the drip was put in, although I doubt he’ll wake up any time soon.

Five hours later

I hear a slight hitch in the rhythm of Tao’s breathing and immediately start examining him, hoping he’ll wake up. I reach through the bars and brush his hair off his forehead. He stirs slightly and I blink back tears of relief as he leans into my touch and manages to open his eyes.

It takes him a moment to focus on me, but when he does I see the pure relief in his eyes. “Kris,” he rasps out, seeming to be having difficulty forming the words, “you’re ok.”

My eyes widen in shock and fill with tears as I choke out, “I’m ok? How can you even worry about me after what happened to you? You should hate me; they ing electrocuted you because of me.”

Tao just pulls his lips into a weak smile before he closes his eyes again and lets out a quiet sigh. He shifts slightly and gasps softly in pain and discomfort.

I push down on his chest lightly, “don’t move Tao, you need to rest. Your muscles are going to kill for ages and you need to be extra careful with the burn on your wrist.”

Tao simply breathes “ok” before slowly drifting off again.

I watch him silently, listening for any bad signs in his breathing and checking his temperature again, before allowing myself to lie down properly next to him and attempt to get some rest.

Four hours later

I wake up slowly with a groan before suddenly remembering what had happened and snapping upright. I scan Tao over in half panic and I’m relieved to see that he seems no worse than before.

It’s then that I notice the tray of food and water next to us and wonder how our jailer had managed to put it in here without waking me up. I reach over, checking the seals on the water bottles and drinking some of mine after discovering that neither seal is broken.

I manage to force down my half of the food too, whilst wondering whether I should wake Tao up for food or just let him sleep. My dilemma is solved on its own though, when Tao stirs and slowly wakes up without my interference. I reach forward, helping him lean back against the wall at the top of our mattresses. He groans in discomfort and I do everything I can to make it easier for him as I help him drink some water and eat some food.

When he’s eventually consumed as much as he can he lets out a sigh and leans his head back to rest it against the wall. I sit next to him, on my side of the bars and reach through to gently hold his hand. He smiles slightly and squeezes my hand before closing his eyes and resting.

“I don’t think they plan on letting us out of here Kris,” he says suddenly. I turn my head towards him and ask “why?”

He tilts his head in my direction and murmurs, “they told me the name of the guy they work for.”

My eyebrows rise and I’m suddenly completely alert. “Who did they say it is?” I ask.

“Zhang Yuan,” he replies softly.

I freeze; unable to move as I’m rendered completely shocked. As I struggle to comprehend this, I see Tao open his eyes to gaze at me questioningly. “Do you know him?” he asks. I’m still unable to formulate words, so he gives my hand a little shake, “Kris?”

He snaps me back to reality and I manage a breathless reply, “that’s Lay’s dad.”

It’s Tao’s turn to freeze in shock now. He stares back at me, eyes wide in confused horror. “Lay as in your friend from high school?” he asks, as though hoping it could somehow be a different person.

I just nod slowly and watch as he leans his head back against the wall and closes his eyes to process this.

“Do you think he knows?” he asks suddenly. “Lay I mean.”

I think about this for a moment, hating that it’s even necessary to do so, before replying, “No I don’t think so. I can’t imagine him being involved in this at all. He’s my friend.”

He nods weakly before replying, “Ok,” and I’m grateful that he just accepts my conclusion. “I wonder what happened between your dad and his. It must have been pretty terrible if it’s resulted in this.”

I nod, trying to remember if I’d heard anything unusual about my dad’s past but unable to think of anything. “I wonder why my dad never told me. I wish he had; then at least we’d understand why we’re in this situation.”

Tao squeezes my hand comfortingly and I force my self to stop thinking about it all. Then I suddenly think, “Why haven’t they found us yet though. You’d think with all their technology and manpower they’d have found us by now.”

Tao shakes his head, as unsure as I am. I sigh, “I wish I knew what’s going on.” I feel myself getting angry as I say, “I wish I knew why they’re doing this to us, why they’re hurting you.”

Tao squeezes my hand firmly, “keep control of your anger Kris, we need to remain level headed if we’re going to get out of here.”

I fix my gaze upon him uncertainly, “how are we going to get out of here? Do you have a plan?”

He sighs and nods, “yes I do, but you’re not going to like it.”

OK, so there we go. Not much really happened though I've confirmed your theories that the evil mastermind here is Lay's dad. Hopefully you'll not hate on Lay cos if you remember from my last chapter, he was really worried too.

Please leave a comment and stuff because I love replying to them :)

Ps, thanks to thatweirdo for encouraging me to get this done XD and also to my friend Karina for being the one friend I knew wouldn't be weirded out when I asked her questions about torture.

<3 XOXO