There was pure darkness and silence. Cade could smell the dust and feel the rust beneath his feet. He moved his hands and got a grip on the cold, thin bars.
Am I in jail for drinking too much?
"Help!" Cade shouted as he tried to shake the steel bars. In a snap, the lights turned on. He was inside a vast and empty room. There was no window or anything that could let the outside noises and brightness seep through. He was inside a small prison cell that seemed customized only for him.
The door opened, and a familiar guy set foot in the room. He sauntered towards him with his hands in his pocket. He displayed a sinister yet sarcastic look on his face.
"Luke," Cade uttered.
"Hello, Curt. Did you miss me? Or shall I say, Cade Robertson?"
"How do you know me?"
"Don't rush, Cade. Let's take our time to get to know each other through a game."
Some boys arrived with a gigantic box made of glass. Cade recognized them. They were the boys in the van with him.
"What are you going to do?" Cade asked.
"Shut up and watch the boys do their job."
The boy in a white cap tied his hands with a rope and got him out of the cell. They pushed him inside the box and locked him. The box' six-foot length made him fit inside. The boys then remove the glass cover on top of him.
Cade gazed up when he heard a screeching sound. A machine was moving on the ceiling. It had five claws, each clasping a black box.
"Alright. We're all set," Luke said. "In every wrong answer, you'll get a punishment."
"What punishment?"
"Don't spoil the fun, Cade. You'll know soon enough." Luke pulled a piece of paper from his jacket. "Thank God I only have five questions for you."
It's okay. I am smart. I can handle this. Knowing Luke, he'll ask something logical. Something a tenth grader wouldn't know. I scanned calculus and physics yesterday. It might be helpful.
Cade closed his eyes to gather the things he had studied.
"Question number one: What is my favorite color?"
Cade's mind went blank. "That's the question?"
"Yes, and you have ten seconds to answer."
"Blue?" Cade said. Boys usually liked the colors black, white, gray, red, and blue. But blue was the safest answer among them. It would be too easy if black and white were the answer. And Luke wouldn't make things so simple for him.
"Wrong. If you remember the undershirts we were wearing on your first morning in the dormitory with us, we were wearing printed shirts. My favorite character was Squidward, and you were wearing Mr. Krabs. Therefore, my favorite color is gray because Squidward is gray."
Cade was perplexed.
"Now, for the main event, look up."
When Cade gazed up, the box above him opened and rats came falling right to him. His mouth opened. The rats crawled everywhere inside the box.
"Shit!"
"What the fuck!"
"Stay away!"
Cade uttered curses under his breath as he tried to avoid, kick, and threw the rats away from him.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Luke said. "You see how this game works, Cade. There are four remaining mystery boxes above you. Isn't it exciting to guess what's inside? As you tremble in fear." Luke laughed wickedly.
"Is this your revenge? Are you so desperate to get back at me that you pulled this prank on me?"
Luke splattered a smirk on his face. "Prank? That's a child's play, Cade. This is torture."
"Your second question is... What is Liam's favorite color?"
Cade thought for a moment and used the same logic Luke did in the first question.
"Yellow. Spongebob was printed on his shirt that day," Cade replied.
"As expected. You have an excellent memory."
Cade was given a glimpse of hope.
"But you are wrong. Liam's favorite color is red. He loves seeing the bloodstains on white bed sheets after he fuck girls."
Luke pointed at the box above and counted three seconds with his fingers. Cade shuddered in horror when snakes fell. Their mouths were wide open as if aiming to swallow him whole. Their fangs were ready to feel his skin. Fortunately, they had gotten busy wrapping up their bodies around the rats and bit them alive.
Cade leaned his back on the glass and slowly slid down while goggling with an open mouth at the animals fighting for their lives.
Luke crouched and said, "That's what we are, Cade. You used to be the snake, hurting weak people. Someone who doesn't care about their feelings because you only think of your own satisfaction. But now you are the prey."
Cade didn't blink an eye.
"My third question is... who do you think is the person I like?"
Cade's headache kicked in. The pressure around his forehead felt like a clamp squeezing his skull.
"I—I don't know," Cade replied.
"Come on. Is that all you can do? I have high expectations."
"I don't know and I don't give a damn."
"Alright. That's my cue."
The box opened and worms came falling. Cade was getting hysterical as the worms were crawling all over his body. He was agitating violently.
Luke opened the glass and walked closer to Cade who was almost unconscious.
"Poor thing," Luke said and slithered his finger on Cade's neck. "Do you want to know who I really like?"
Cade's heart was beating rapidly. He lost the strength to react.
Luke whispered in his ears. "You. I like you." Luke stared at his despairing eyes down at his soft lips. He cupped his face and slowly kissed his lips.
Luke moved away after three seconds. When he realized that Cade wasn't being aggressive with his behavior, he sat on top of him. He held his face and kissed him once more.
To his surprise, Cade kissed him back. It wasn't a simple kiss but a torrid French Kiss.
It lasted for fifteen seconds until they stopped and were catching their breaths.
"You're giving me a hard-on, Cade. You make me want to do something more."
"If you want me to touch you in places you'd surely go crazy, untie me. I will give you something you'll never forget."
Luke thought for a second. It was such a tempting offer.
"Because I like rich men, the pleasure is mine," Luke said and kissed him while untying his hands. His hips were thrusting, feeling the hard thing in his pants.
When Cade's hands were free, he pulled away and struck Luke's head, and he fell unconscious.
"I can't believe I made out with a guy," Cade said and spat on the floor. He opened the door to the other side. But when he turned around, a wave of boys welcomed him with deadly stares. Their headcount told him he couldn't get out alive.
"Oops," he uttered.
The boys in the front stepped closer.
He alarmingly raised his hands. "Wait! I won't fight. Okay? Chill."
"But we will," the boy who was wearing a red bonnet said.
The boys struck Cade with a bat and kicked him one after another. He covered his face with his elbows as he fell to his knees.
"Hey!"
The boys paused and turned towards the enormous door opening. A guy was standing in the middle. They couldn't recognize him because of the blazing rays of the sun coming through.
"Don't touch him or I'll throw you off the hill!"
The boys chuckled at his confident statement.
"You can't beat us alone."
"Who said I'm alone?" The guy looked behind him. His gang members came running. And the gang war began.
"Theo," Cade uttered.
The fight went on for fifteen minutes until Theo's gang defeated the opponents. Theo had bruises on his face and his clothes were tainted with dirt. His fists had some cuts, but he didn't seem to feel the pain.
Theo walked away and didn't even look at Cade.
"Theo!" Cade called him.
"I'm not doing this for you, Cade. I'm saving my own ass from your dad. Besides, I don't want to look like the bad guy here. You are the bad guy. You reap what you sow."
Theo secretly put a tracking device on Cade's phone. Earlier, he noticed Cade's unusual location. He informed Stan about it, but he cared less.
"Stan. I think Cade is in trouble," Theo said.
"So? You're going to rescue him? I thought you're tired of being his pawn?"
Theo was dumbstruck for a few seconds.
"Well, he has lots of enemies. He's a wanted person. What if he dies? What will you do?"
Stan sipped a cup of tea. "I will mourn on his deathbed, reminisce the good times, and hope his soul will not burn in hell. Aren't those enough as his good friend?"
"Since when did you become heartless, Stan?"
"He brings death to himself, Theo. There's nothing to feel guilty about. If you want, we can go back to car racing as a tribute to him," Stan replied in a casual tone.
Cade walked nearer to Theo. "Still, thank you for coming. I owe you my life."
"You owe many things to different people, Cade. You must admit your mistakes, your evil deeds, and pay them back before it's too late."
Before they knew it, the cops arrived and arrested them.