CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

 

 

Fingers pinched Andeal’s nose and woke him. He shook his head to get rid of them and took a deep breath when he was released. Andeal’s instinctual panic calmed and he tried to get his bearings despite his powerful headache. They’d stopped in a small room with unfinished walls and an open cupboard full of janitorial tools. Andeal was manacled to a pipe, sitting on the concrete floor, his side still radiating dull pain. The area around had been cleared of anything he could use as a weapon. An emergency solar lamp provided the only light. They must be in the basement. Galen Clarin welcomed him back with a crisp smirk.

“As you can see, we are not out of the tower yet. We had a little…inconvenience.”

Andeal pulled himself to an upright position and massaged his stiff neck with his free hand.

“What inconvenience?”

He feared the answer but if this was why Galen had bothered to wake him, he’d hear it whether he wanted to or not.

“You’re not a fool, don’t act like one. He hid in the recording room the whole time, didn’t he?” Galen clacked his tongue and crouched next to Andeal. “You became so helpful when it meant keeping me from entering it.”

Andeal clenched his teeth and avoided Galen’s gaze. What had Henry done? He should have escaped while he could. Saved himself.

Fake pleasantness had vanished from the scientist’s tone—a rare occurrence, never a good sign. Galen grabbed the back of Andeal’s head and forced him to meet his eyes.

“My men will hunt him down and bring back his body riddled with holes. Just like his father’s. I’m done with the Schmitts.”

Mention of Henry’s father brought angry bile to Andeal’s throat. How much had Lenz given to free Andeal, and Maniel, and unravel the truth about the Clarin twins? First his son, then his freedom, and finally his life. All for nothing. They had failed him. They’d failed everyone, really. He was surprised Henry still fought at all. He’d always been rather stubborn.

“You’d be surprised what Henry can do.”

Galen replied with a scoff. “I’ve read a detailed report that qualified him as clueless and incapable. It was wrong about his role in your little joke but I am confident in this evaluation of his skills.”

“It’s those you don’t expect who are the most dangerous.”

“We’ll see.” After a dismissive shrug, Galen straightened up, pulling Andeal by his hair in the same movement. The engineer moaned from the sudden pain, like a bolt of lightning through his neck. “You lied to me. That’s a bad habit to have.”

The meager defiance Andeal had summoned to defend Henry vanished. He cowered against the wall, a lump of solid fear in his throat. He knew that soft, angry tone, like a father with a disobeying child. It starts now, he thought, and it never ends. His breathing turned into a hiss. Galen patted his cheek.

“Let’s be honest, here. I haven’t done any human testing in the last, oh, three years? I was rather busy chasing your group.” Galen lifted Andeal’s left hand, placed it over a section of wall devoid of pipes, then spread his fingers, one by one. “What we’ll be doing together is torture, plain and simple. We’ll still call it science, though. It looks good on paper and I find it amusing. Do hold still.”

Andeal obeyed, too confused about Galen’s intention to rebel. It had always been torture to him, but the scientist’s cool admission added a layer of horror to it. What could he have planned that even Galen refused to consider science? Andeal fought his growing nausea. He had to pay attention. Every mistake would worsen his case. The scientist stepped back twice before he seemed satisfied with Andeal’s position. He remained still for a few seconds, studying his prisoner. Andeal’s heart sped as he waited for his sentence.

Galen’s hand flew to his pistol without warning and he shot. Andeal withdrew his hand with a surprised yelp and the bullet hit the wall. Tiny shards of plaster stung his skin as he brought the hand close and held it against his torso. Andeal panted, eyes wide, stunned. Galen lowered his firearm with a slow shake of his head. Now even his smile had vanished. Moving was a mistake. He should have let the scientist shoot his fingers.

“I told you to hold still,” Galen scolded. “I’m a bit rusty and if your Henry is as dangerous as you say, I need to practice.” He gave a dramatic sigh and moved to a table buried under construction tools. His hand drifted over them before landing on an electric drill. “Now I’ll have to screw it on.”

Andeal choked on a sob. He tugged on his manacled hand several times, pulling as hard as he could, the metal chafing his skin. What was he thinking? Never defy an order from Galen. The payoff wasn’t worth it. Andeal’s gaze landed on the drill and tears ran down his cheeks.

“Please…”

“You should’ve thought about it,” Galen snapped back. “Now stop fighting or I’ll end up nailing every part of your body to the concrete.”

Galen Clarin approached with his drill, grabbed Andeal’s hand, and slammed it against the wall, over the bullet hole. Uncontrollable shudders ran through Andeal’s body and he feared Galen would mistake them for a fight. The tears blurred his sight but he gasped as a cold tip touched the middle of his palm. The screw. Andeal blinked the tears away, tried to slow his breathing and steel himself. Galen powered the drill mid-air—a terrifying, warning whir before the screw’s pressure in his palm increased. Andeal shut his eyes tight. The cold metal jerked when Galen settled the drill in place.

Then he pressed the button.

Metal dug into Andeal’s palm and sent waves of crippling agony through his body. He screamed. At least he thought he screamed. The drill’s noise tore through his ears and pain flared all his senses. Andeal’s legs kicked out despite his efforts to keep still while his stomach climbed all the way back to his throat, threatening to eject itself. It lasted a few eternal seconds, then stopped as abruptly as it’d started.

Andeal slumped and hung, his legs devoid of strength. Gasping sobs interrupted his panting and he couldn’t stop either. He flexed his fingers, moaned at the flashing pain in his palm. He felt both numbed and strangely conscious of every part of his body—the blood running down his sleeve, the bitter aftertaste in his mouth, the throbbing in his heels after too many hits against the wall. It was all there, close to his mind but paling compared to the cold sensation of solid metal through his palm. He let out a long, shaky breath while Galen set his tool back on the table and admired his handiwork. He picked up his pistol again and Andeal closed his eyes. He didn’t need to watch Galen take aim a second time.

Galen’s short-wave radio emitted a loud burst of static, then an enthusiastic “Hello?” came through. Andeal looked up as he recognized Treysh’s voice and a warm feeling spread through his belly. The scientist snatched the small radio from the table.

“What are you doing with that?”

The cold fury in his tone extinguished Andeal’s meager hope. Whatever she said, whatever she did, he would be the one to pay for it.

“Remember me, Galen?” she asked. The heavy static could not erase her cheerful tone. “Your twin’s dead, my friend, and I am coming to cough all over you. Over and out!”

They heard part of her laugh before the communication was cut. Galen’s hold tightened over his radio until his knuckles turned white. He stared at a point on the wall, his mouth twisting into a snarl, little by little. Then he slammed it down on the table with a cry of rage.

“No.” He snatched the drill, set the tip into the screw once more. “Dead? They think that’s a good thing, don’t they? They think they can just kill Omar and get away with it?”

Andeal whimpered as Galen powered the drill again. Except this time, he unscrewed him. The metal twisted in his palm, through flesh and muscles at a slow, excruciating pace. The lights turned back on then, all at once, and Galen’s younger, smooth voiced filtered through the radio station’s speakers once more. Andeal mumbled Henry’s name, shook his head. He received a powerful slap from Galen.

“You and I have places to go. One in particular.” He sped the drill and removed the screw altogether. Andeal fell to the ground with a moan, only to be picked up by Galen. “Did you know Omar liked to be loved? He was always the one pushing to ‘do this right’. He wanted to be remembered as a savior. A hero.” He scoffed. “I don’t really care. And since you are so determined not to give our family the love it so rightly deserves, we’ll at least make sure you peasants learn to fear our name.”

Andeal tried to ignore Galen’s rant, bringing his hand closer to him, but the tone and increasing pace terrified him. This one place could only be his new labs. The scientist slid a finger under Andeal’s chin and forced him to look up. “You already shake at the mere thought of it, my blue friend. Surely we can teach everyone else.”

Galen Clarin pulled Andeal back to his feet, holding him in a slumped, standing position by the armpits. Andeal clung to consciousness, on principle more than anything, dizzy and nauseated. The scientist grinned at him and there was a renewed excitement in his expression. Not unlike his smile as he lied on the radio but darker, wilder. A cold shudder shook Andeal’s body as his captor undid his manacles.

“Let’s head home and prepare them a gift, shall we?”