RATING: R
DISCLAIMER: MGM and Trilogy own the rights to the guys. This little tale came from my own warped mind.
NOTES: I'd like to thank Kap, Prizm and Judy for beta reading this and for their suggestions. They helped make this a better story. And again, thanks Kap for the title.
WARNING: This fic contains a few scenes of a graphic nature. Reader discretion is advised.
Vin had been missing for three weeks. Maybe more actually. It had been three weeks since they had decided he was overdue. 'Just a few days out of town' is what he had said. It wasn't uncommon for any of the men to need time away from town and they all managed to get away occasionally but the only time any of them didn't return when they were expected was when there was trouble. Chris and Buck were riding into the high mountains, though they weren't sure why. Nothing Vin had said would have led them to believe he was heading this way but Chris had a feeling.+ + + + + + +
He was tied again. He could feel his arms stretched out over his head, his toes barely able to touch the floor. And it was cold. He knew where he was and that knowledge made him shudder. He still wore the blindfold but the gag was gone. That was because he liked to hear him scream. He was there, somewhere, close by. Vin could sense it. He cocked his head, listening for a telltale sound that would give his tormentor's location away. But there was nothing.
He could feel them around him too. The poor souls who came before him. Forced to do whatever that madman wanted them to do until they begged to die. And then they came here, to hang in the cold dark cellar until...when? How long had they been here? The smell of death hung as heavy in the room as the early morning fog.
Knowing he would end up here was the one thing that kept him from rebelling. He would bide his time and wait for his chance to escape, though he hadn't succeeded yet. His last attempt, earlier that day, was why he was hanging here now. And the man was somewhere close by, biding his time, knowing Vin was breaking.
A sudden swipe of a cold, stiff hand across his face had Vin gasping and shifting away. As had happened before, he shifted away from the touch into one of the bodies hanging around him, started it swinging and it touched him repeatedly as it swung back and forth. His frantic movements to keep from being touched by the dead man just caused him to lean into one of the others. Soon, they were all swinging, hitting him everywhere. He couldn't move away. All he could do was scream at them to stop.
And from a few steps away, the madman watched...and laughed.
+ + + + + + +
The man gave Buck a rough push from behind and the big man stumbled. Chris turned to look, just to make sure he was okay, then turned back and continued along the broken path that the man behind Buck had told him to follow. Chris and Buck were tied up and tied together and were covered by their captor's gun. They would do what he said for now, but they knew their time would come.
Chris shook his head as the moment he had let his guard down replayed in his mind over and over again. He and Buck had found Vin's mare's leg, or rather, the pieces of Vin's mare's leg along the trail. They had previously only found hints that someone had passed the way they were heading but couldn't be sure it was Vin they were following, until they found the weapon. As they were deep in discussions about how the gun had ended up in the shape it was in and the course of action to be taken, they had been overtaken by the man following them now. Chris shook his head again at his own stupidity.
Ahead, the forest opened up and Chris could see a small cabin in the clearing. He walked towards it, assuming it was their destination. The man would have stopped them if it weren't.
The man called a halt just a few steps off of the porch. He held onto the rope he had tethered the two men together with and kept his eye on them as well as he walked around them, onto the porch and opened the front door. Once it had swung open wide, he waved his gun towards the inside, indicating they were to enter as he took a step back to keep out of their reach.
Chris shared a look with Buck. Not yet. They would have to wait. Chris started moving and Buck fell in behind him. They climbed onto the porch, keeping their eyes on the man, and walked slowly into the dark interior of the small cabin.
Once they were clear of the doorway, the man jerked hard on the rope, telling them to stop there. He followed them in and kicked the door closed behind him. He pointed his gun towards a small room off to the side and slowly the two men headed for it. Chris was inside and Buck was just reaching the doorway when the man pushed him from behind again and then swung shut and locked a heavy wooden door. The door had a small window cut in it, blocked by thick metal bars.
Chris and Buck both heard the sound of the key in the lock and the lock clicking closed. They turned to each other and began untying each other's bindings. Finally, the ropes fell to the floor and they stepped up to the small window. It was almost centered in the door and both men had to stoop over to see out of it. The man had taken a seat in one of the rickety looking chairs that sat around the rickety looking table.
"You can't keep us here, mister," Buck protested.
The man turned his head towards the small room and slowly a smile grew on his face. "I can't?" he asked in mock surprise, then scoffed. "Who the hell is gonna stop me?"
Chris remained silent, just glaring at the man.
"We got friends'll be comin' to look for us," Buck went on. "Best you just let us be on our way."
The small cabin rumbled with the man's full-bellied laugh. "Friends?!" he said at last. "Everyone's got friends." His eyes got harsh as he stared at the faces in the small window of the door. "You had friends gonna come for you too, didn't you, boy?"
Boy? Chris and Buck exchanged a confused look as they were trying to figure out who he was talking to.
Suddenly, from a darkened corner of the cabin, a weak voice sounded. "Yes, sir."
The two men shifted their eyes to the spot, not knowing anyone else had been in the cabin. As they stared into the darkness, a huddled form came into view as it leaned against the wall. They strained their eyes, trying to see details, but it was too dark.
The man cocked his head once in the direction of the corner. "Yeah, he insisted he had friends coming for him too, but ain't no one ever showed up. Hung on for a long time, but I finally broke him." The man straightened in his chair and raised his voice. "I broke you, didn't I, boy?"
The reply from the corner was the same, a weakly spoken, "yes, sir."
The man leaned forward in his chair again, his expression hard. "I'll break you too." He stood up and began to move around the small space, pulling things out of his pockets and putting them away. Then he moved to the table and struck a match, touching it to a lantern sitting there. Once the wick was burning, he lowered the globe and threw the match into the fireplace.
Buck sucked in his breath and Chris turned to him, alarmed. "What is it, Buck?"
The light from the lantern had shed enough additional light into the corner that Buck recognized the mass there. He turned his disbelieving eyes to Chris. "That's Vin," he said softly.
Chris's head shot around as he looked into the corner. At first, he couldn't believe Buck's words, wouldn't believe them but as he continued to stare and to separate the torn clothing and the dirt smudged skin from the shape, his eyes grew wide. Buck was right. They had found Vin Tanner.
"Vin!" Chris called his friend. "Vin, it's Chris and Buck!" Chris wasn't able to say anymore. With an agility that neither man would have expected him to possess, their captor leapt across the room and pounded his fist angrily on the door, startling the two men back a step.
"Don't talk to him," he snarled.
"Chris...," softly drifted from the corner. Vin had lifted his head off the wall and turned it in the direction of the small room.
The man jumped from in front of the door to the corner in a swift move. He grabbed one of Vin's feet and yanked on it hard. Vin slid across the floor, losing his shoulder's resting spot on the wall. His head fell as he was pulled and scraped along the wall as his upper body fell to the floor. Immediately, his hands went to cover his head before more damage could be done to it.
"What did you say???" the man screamed.
Vin opened his mouth to answer but only a feeble squeak came out.
"Did I tell you you could talk?" he angrily asked, putting his face closer to Vin's.
"No, sir," Vin cowered.
"What did I tell you I'd do if you did?"
"...You'd hurt me..." Vin curled up into a shaking ball on the floor and waited.
The man stood over him for a long moment before he silently turned and stepped back up to the door. "I'll hurt him," he said to the small window. "Keep talking to him and I'll have to kill him." He smiled now. " 'Course, I got you two now to take his place."
The man smiled ferally as the two men stared at him in stunned silence. He straightened up to his full height and threw his head back, daring them to defy him. They said nothing and he finally stomped away to his chair at the table. He sat, shifting into a comfortable position, then looked over at the faces watching him from the small window.
"Boy!" he hollered, still watching his prisoners.
Vin pushed himself slowly up to a sitting position and waited for the man's command.
They saw him more clearly now. His clothes were in tatters, he wore no shoes, and had a thick strip of cloth tied across his eyes. He kept his head hung low, as if waiting for abuse.
"Get me a coffee!"
Vin bobbed his head as he shifted to his hands and knees and began crawling towards the fireplace. He would hold one hand out in front of him to feel his way. When he reached the stone hearth, he cautiously moved his hand along until he brushed it by the coffeepot. There was a cloth beside it so he could pick it up without burning his hand on the pot's handle. He picked up the cloth, then felt for the handle, grasping it tightly and raising up the vessel. He reached out with his other hand for the cup that he knew the man would be holding for him to fill. When he felt it, he raised up on his knees and, keeping his fingers lightly grasping the cup to keep its location in his mind, he brought the pot to the cup and began pouring. He heard the sound of the liquid hitting the metal bottom and smiled slightly. He'd done it right this time.
The man watched the satisfied look grow on the boy's face. He turned his eyes to the two in the room and a corner of him mouth twitched up evilly. He turned back to the boy in front of him and jerked the hand holding the cup. The coffee poured over the edge and down along Vin's thumb. Vin immediately righted the pot and snatched away his hand. His mouth dropped open as he gasped.
"Right clumsy of you, boy," he said as he raised the cup to his mouth. He held it there a moment as he glanced again at the two men watching him and smiled. He took a sip of the coffee, then lowered the cup.
"Get back to your corner."
Vin set the pot down on the hearth, careful to place it properly so the coffee stayed warm, but didn't get too hot. He put the cloth beside it and then began slowly crawling back to the corner he had been in. Once he reached it, he curled up with his shoulder leaning against the wall, his knees pulled in tight to his chest. His hand was trembling as he raised it up and put the burned part in his mouth, taking it out a few moments later to blow on it, trying to cool it to relieve the pain.
"You bastard," Chris shouted, angrily hitting the unmoving door. The man merely watched him and smiled as he continued to drink his coffee.
+ + + + + + +
Morning dawned on the mountaintop as the occupants of the cabin began stirring in the growing light. Chris had spent most of the night looking through the small window in the door watching Vin. His friend spent the night on the drafty floor with just the barest hint of a blanket for warmth. Chris could see him shivering. At least he and Buck were allowed to keep their heavy coats.
Their captor rolled over in his cot in the far back corner of the cabin. He rose and stretched his arms up to the ceiling then moved around the back of the cabin pulling on clothes and boots.
"Boy!" he bellowed. Vin perked up, waiting. "Time to go out." The man stepped towards the front door of the cabin as Vin pulled himself to his feet. He took a furtive glance into the small room at the two new occupants and saw that they were still there, though he knew they couldn't get out. "There's a pail in there for you to use," he spoke to the window in the door. He grabbed Vin by the arm and opened the front door, pulling him out along with him and slamming the door shut behind him.
"We gotta get out of here, Chris," Buck stated the obvious. "We gotta get Vin out of here. That guy'll kill him."
Chris silently watched the door his friend had just been drug out of, wondering what that madman was doing to him. He grabbed the bars in the window and gave the door a firm shake but it held fast. Angrily, he threw down his arms and stalked the three steps to the other side of the room.
The man roughly led Vin away from the cabin down a narrow path to where the outhouse stood. He pushed Vin up to the door and then stepped back and waited. Vin timidly felt for the handle, opened the door and stepped inside, emerging several minutes later having taken care of nature's business.
The man grabbed Vin and moved him off to the side. "Wait right here," he commanded as he took his turn inside. Vin didn't dare move and when he came out, the man found him right where he had put him. He grabbed Vin's arm again and headed back to the cabin, stopping at the water pump.
The morning trip to the privy and water pump was the only time Vin was allowed out of the cabin. The man stopped him at the pump and primed it until the water began to flow. He pumped twice more and Vin had until the water stopped to get his fill. He was told he could drink it or wash with it but it was all he was getting for the day. Since Vin always had the blindfold on, he couldn't see how dirty he was but he always felt how thirsty he was so he always chose to drink. It was never enough though.
The air was getting colder, probably not a week away from the first snowfall, and the water turned Vin's hands to ice but he kept them under the flow, making a bowl for the water to collect in so he could drink from it. Even after the water stopped, he kept drinking from his hands until the last drop was gone, then he licked any remaining moisture off until his arm was firmly grabbed and he was led back inside the cabin.
Once inside, the man pushed him in the general direction of his corner. Vin stumbled a few steps, then dropped down to his hands and knees and crawled up to the wall, feeling his way along it until he reached his corner. Once there, he curled up in a ball, sticking his hands under his arms to try to warm them up.
The man grabbed a bucket and headed back out to the pump, pulling the door closed behind him.
"Vin," Chris called as soon as the man was gone. Vin lifted his head slightly but otherwise did not respond. "Vin, we're going to get you out of here. I swear it," he called to his friend. Vin pushed himself up a bit but curled back up when he heard familiar footfall on the porch. A moment later, the man entered with a bucketful of water. He eyed Chris suspiciously, then turned his eyes on Vin. Vin didn't seem to have moved so with a self-satisfied grin, he moved off to the fireplace to begin making his meal.
The man worked silently and before long, the cabin was filled with several different aromas. Fresh coffee, biscuits, bacon and beans. He pulled out four tin plates and began doling out the food. Three of the plates got two heaping spoons full of beans, two biscuits and several slices of bacon. On the fourth plate, he spooned out one spoonful of beans and placed one biscuit. He filled three cups with coffee and then carried two of them over to the room Chris and Buck were in. They hadn't noticed until the man stooped in front of the door and set down the cups that the bottom of the door didn't go all the way to the floor. It was high enough that the cups would easily slide underneath. The man pushed them into the room. He then stepped back to the table, put spoons onto two of the plates and took them over to his prisoners, sliding them under the door.
Chris and Buck watched angrily as the man went back to the table and took his seat. He pulled his plate around in front of him and began eating.
"Feed Vin!" Chris demanded, even though he was in no position to do so. The man flicked disinterested eyes at him then returned his attention to his breakfast. Chris slammed his palm against the door. "He has to eat!"
"He'll get his food," the man growled back. "Eat yours. Long time till dinner." The man slowly finished his meal as Chris and Buck picked at theirs, not wanting to eat while their friend went hungry.
Finally, the man stood and picked up the fourth plate he had prepared. He walked over to Vin still huddled in the corner and leaned over only slightly before he let the plate fall to the floor. The biscuit bounced off and if it hadn't hit Vin's hand, he may not have even known there was one. He remained still until he heard the man move off then timidly felt around for the biscuit. When he found it, he picked it up and reached for the plate. He hadn't been given a spoon so he stuck the tip of his finger into the stuff on the plate to see if it was too hot to eat. It wasn't so Vin carefully tore off a small piece of the biscuit and dipped it into the beans. He slowly brought it up to his mouth and bit down on it. Chewing slowly as he savored the taste, he raised the plate up to his mouth. Once he had swallowed, he stuck his fingertips into the beans and pushed a mouthful in, then grabbed the biscuit and bit off a chunk. This time he chewed voraciously and his eating got faster and more desperate with each mouthful. When the biscuit was gone, the plate never moved from his mouth as he kept scooping in the food. When the beans were gone, he began licking the plate until it was yanked from his hands. He froze for a moment, then began licking his fingers clean as he sank back into his corner.
Chris and Buck had been watching from their tiny window, shaking their heads at the animal Vin had been forced to become. Imagining the things he must have been made to endure just to survive. Chris stepped away from the door and rested his back against the wall as he closed his eyes and tried to remove from his memory the sight he had just witnessed. Slowly, he slid down the wall until he was sitting and leaned his head over to rest his forehead on his knees.
"God, Vin," Buck heard Chris mutter under his breath. He remained at the door staring sadly at their friend.
The man was moving around his cabin, gathering things. He put items in each of the pockets of his bulky coat. Finally, he grabbed his rifle from a rack over the fireplace and left the cabin without a word to the occupants.
All three men sat in silence for a long time before Buck spoke. "Vin, do you know where he keeps the key to this room?"
Vin picked his head up and turned it slightly towards the direction the sound of the voice had come from. After a long moment, he shook his head no then hung his head again.
Chris stood up and looked out at Vin. It hurt him to see the man like that. "Vin, did he hurt your eyes? Is that why you're wearing that bandage?" Chris had been worried about that. He didn't believe the man was overly concerned if Vin were hurt and wouldn't do anything to keep an injury from getting infected, or worse.
Vin remained still for so long that Chris didn't think he'd get an answer but finally, Vin shook his head no. "Not supposed to see. Not good enough," his voice cracked. It was barely audible from the other side of the room. Chris couldn't believe that this was the same man. Vin was strong, confident, smart. This wasn't the Vin he knew.
He wanted to help his friend and the one of the first he needed was to get strong again. "Vin, I have some extra food. Do you want it?" he called. Vin lifted his head and Buck saw the interest.
"Yeah, me too, Vin. I ain't too hungry and there's more here than I can eat." Buck picked up his plate and held it up to the barred window. He blew across the plate hoping the smell of the food would entice Vin over.
Vin did smell the food and his stomach grumbled. The man hadn't been feeding him nearly enough and he was constantly hungry. Before he had a chance to think about the consequences, he started moving towards the door to the small room where his friends were locked in.
He moved in a slow stiff crawl but finally made his way to the door. Chris had put the extra bacon and biscuits from Buck's plate onto his and slid it underneath the door so that it would be easy for Vin to find.
"There's some bacon there, Vin. Try and find that. You need the meat," Chris directed. Vin reached a hand out in front of him and finally felt the plate. His finger fell on the two strips of bacon and he snatched them both up and stuffed them into his mouth. Chris cringed as he watched.
"Take the blindfold off, Vin," Buck suggested. "He ain't here, he won't know."
Vin froze for a moment, his mouth still full, and then shook his head. He finished chewing and swallowed. "He'll know. He always knows." Vin reached forward to the plate and his own words echoed in his ears. 'He always knows.' He'll know he'd gotten more to eat. Frantically, he pushed the plate back towards the door. "Take it back! He'll know!" Vin cried.
Vin started to scoot backwards towards his filthy corner of the cabin. Chris lay down on the floor and thrust his arm under the door, hoping to get a hold on Vin but Vin had moved far enough away that all Chris managed was to lightly brush the skin on his arm. It was enough contact, though, because Vin stopped and turned his head back towards the door.
"Take my hand, Vin," Chris called. He was stretching his arm out as far as he could. His face was pressed against the wooden door and it was difficult for him to see.
Slowly, Vin moved his hand. He inched it forward, not knowing exactly where Chris's hand was. Finally, he was close enough that Chris could grab him. Chris winced as he felt the caked on dirt and who-knew what else that covered Vin's hand but he held fast, pulling him gently to the door.
Suddenly, with a crash that rattled the walls, the front door burst open and the large form of their captor filled the space. Chris looked up through the space under the door and he felt Vin tug almost hysterically on his hand, trying to get him to release it.
"BOY!!"
Chris could feel Vin trembling violently as he finally got his hand free. He started scampering back towards his corner but when he passed in front of the man, the man reached down and grabbed what was left of the collar of Vin's shirt. He yanked back hard and Chris and Buck heard fabric tearing but enough of it held that the man could lift Vin up by it. He raised him up until he was off the floor, gasping as the shirt gathered tight around his neck.
The man held him there as he looked over at the two men gaping at him through the small barred window. His expression remained menacing but the two men saw a smile in his eyes. He was enjoying this. He turned back to deal with Vin.
"What were you doing, boy?" the man asked in an unnervingly calm voice.
Vin struggled weakly and shook his head.
The man threw Vin back against a wall and stepped up to him, catching him before he could slide down to the floor. He pressed his forearm across Vin's neck and pushed, watching as Vin clawed desperately at it trying to open his airway. The man leaned his face right up to Vin's.
"You weren't talkin', were you, boy?" he asked. Vin opened his mouth to try and respond but no sound came out. When he realized no sound was going to come out, he began shaking his head.
"STOP IT!" Chris cried from his cell where he watched helplessly. "YOU'RE KILLING HIM!"
The man turned to look at the faces watching him and a smile crept slowly on his lips. He now knew what to do to break the new arrivals. He turned back to Vin and let up slightly on his neck.
"You know the rules?" he quizzed.
Vin nodded as he took in as much air as he could while he could. "You'll hurt me..." he gasped out between breaths.
The man nodded. "That's right," he said and renewed the pressure on Vin's neck. Vin struggled against it but found himself weakening. After a minute, he felt a darkness creep over him and he let it. His arms fell limp at his side and the struggling stopped.
"Let him go!" Buck shouted, his eyes wide in shock.
The man turned to look at them again, keeping his arm across Vin's throat. He stared at them a long time before he pulled his arm away, stepped to the door and left, pulling the door closed behind him.
Chris and Buck watched in horror as Vin's limp form slid partway down the wall then crumbled forward to land in a heap on the floor. They watched, looking for any telltale signs that their friend was still alive but there were none. He had fallen with his back towards them and they couldn't tell if he was even breathing.
"Vin?!" Chris called, pushing against the door. There was no response. Chris grabbed the bars and shook the door with all his might but it still didn't budge. "Vin..." His voice turned to nearly a whimper.
Buck and Chris both looked up suddenly as they heard a loud laughing coming from just outside the door followed by heavy boots on the wooden porch.
Chris slowly moved his gaze back to his friend on the floor. Still no movement. "Vin?" he said under his breath as he squeezed his eyes shut. He felt Buck's hand on his shoulder as the bigger man drooped under his own grief.
+ + + + + + +
Several hours passed and Chris continued to watch the form on the floor. Buck paced nervously, biting down on a cold biscuit, not because he was hungry, or bored, but because of all the angry energy that had built up since he and Chris had fallen into this situation. He had probed all the walls, looking for a weakness but found none.
"Vin?" Chris suddenly shouted as he straightened up against the door.
Buck turned around, half-frustrated with his friend, half-understanding. It was hard to lose someone so close to you. He rubbed his eyes wearily. "Chris, he's..."
"He's moving, Buck! He's still alive! Vin!" Chris shook the door, this time trying to make some noise to get Vin's attention. Buck stepped up to peer out the small window beside Chris.
Slowly, painfully slowly, Vin moved his arm underneath him and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He kept his head hung nearly to the floor as he began the long crawl back to his corner. He reached out one hand every now and then to get his bearings but kept crawling, moving away from Chris and Buck, not responding to their calls.
When he reached his spot, he curled up with his face set deep into the corner. Weakly, he grabbed the threadbare cloth that was his only source of warmth and pulled it up over his shoulders. He still did not acknowledge the two men who continued to call to him.
+ + + + + + +
It was late afternoon when they heard the man stomp back onto the porch and open the door. He entered the house and pushed the door closed behind him. If he was surprised to see Vin back huddled in his corner, he didn't show it. He walked up to the fireplace and replaced the rifle in the rack there. Without a word, or even a look at any of them, he set about gathering things to make his dinner. He threw a few logs into the burning embers in the fireplace and soon it was roaring again.
He tossed items Chris and Buck couldn't recognize into a pot and when he was satisfied, he hung it by its handle on a hook over the fire. He gave it one quick stir from a large spoon and then set the spoon on the table.
With the fire now burning brightly, the cabin was warming up and the man peeled off his coat and hung it on a hook by the door. Finally, he looked over at the two men inside the locked room. He smiled and shrugged.
"Guess I didn't kill 'im." He shrugged again. "Always tomorrow." He moved back to the table and gathered up the plates and eating utensils. He realized that they weren't all there and looked back at the two men.
"You wanna eat tonight, you have to give me back them plates." He walked up to the door and waited for them to be slid under it. When they weren't, he looked up at the window.
Chris sneered at him, his lip curled up at the corner. "Here it comes," he said calmly and then put all the power he had behind the kick he gave to the plate. It sailed out from under the door and hit the man in both legs, just above the ankles. The food that was still left on it splattered all over his lower legs and boots.
"And here's mine," Buck said as he threw his plate towards the window. The bars stopped the plate from traveling any further but his leftover food passed through and landed on the man's chest. "Oh, sorry," Buck apologized as he picked his plate up off the floor and gently flipped it under the door.
The man stared down at the mess on his clothes and boots. He felt himself simmering with anger and was about to go dig the key to the door out of his coat pocket and teach these two a lesson but as he looked back up at the faces before him, he knew what would work better.
He shook his shirt and feet to remove the food that stuck. Then, he walked over to the hooks by the door, lifted his coat and grabbed a coil of rope that hung there. He glanced over his shoulder once as he moved up to Vin's side. Leaning over, he pulled back the so-called blanket and roughly grabbed Vin by the wrist. Vin let out the tiniest whimper but didn't fight. The man grabbed his other wrist and held it together with the first. He un-coiled the rope and began tying Vin's wrists with one end.
Immediately, Vin began to struggle. "NO!!!" he screamed hysterically as the man continued to tie him. Vin tried to push himself backwards with his heels but they just slid along the floor. He tried to pull his hands free but the man had too strong a hold of them. "NOOOO!!!" he kept screaming.
"HEY!" Buck yelled as he thrust an arm out between the bars. "Leave him alone! You got a problem with us, you take it up with us."
The man finished tying Vin and stood up, pulling a resisting Vin up with him. He started towards the door, grabbing his coat and slipping one arm into a sleeve then, shifting the rope to the other hand, he put on the other sleeve. All the while, Vin was whimpering and trying to get away back to the relative safety of his corner. The man jerked on the rope and Vin stumbled towards him.
He looked up at Chris and Buck. "The way I figure it...I got a problem with you...I take it out on him...I don't have any more problems with you." He opened the front door and dragged a struggling, sobbing Vin behind him.
"Coward!" Buck screamed. "Man's half your size, half-frozen and half-starved. Fight someone who can fight back! COWARD!!!!" Buck screamed to the empty doorway. He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his forehead to the door as both he and Chris could still hear the cries of their friend.
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