Chapter Text
A sweaty cluster of 3 men lay in the middle of the theatre stage, huddled together. Their wrists were amateurly tied up. Though, that sloppiness was on purpose, so they’d feel some semblance of control at first.
Ryan sat in the audience as the only viewer. Waiting patiently, as he’s done for the last few years. He wore a sports jersey over his lean frame, trying to cosplay the heyday of the lowlifes in front of him.
Finally, one awoke. Craig Davis, a former star ruined from a torn ACL. Prior to the injury, Craig already used Ryan for ‘stress relief’, as he called it. After the incident, his frequency for it skyrocketed. In that period, Ryan couldn’t even bother taking care of himself. He knew he’d be dirtied again. And, no matter how much Ryan scrubbed, he couldn’t erase the feeling of someone’s touch anyway. It lingered, even now. So, as ironic as it sounds, Craig took care of Ryan, back then. For cleanliness, and food. But, he was the same person who molded him like that in the first place.
Ryan waved at him. “Remember me?!” he called.
Craig looked around disoriented. Where’d that sound come from? Eventually, his eyes locked onto the man in the front row. “Where the fuck am I…?”
“You’re the star of today!” Ryan clapped loudly. “Out of everyone, you fucked with me the most. Are you proud?” Ryan tilted his head, smirking.
Craig looked down at his bare-bones restraints. He almost laughed. He raised his arms halfway, using his mouth to free himself from the loose knots.
“Wow, that skill will definitely come in handy! Woo!” Ryan clapped even more obnoxiously, mocking him. Craig hadn’t been clapped for in years, because of the injury and whatnot, after all. “You know how to use your mouth, huh?”
Craig ran faster than he had in years. The fear of reinjury had vanished, replaced by a goal to escape. He breathed in through his nose, and exhaled through his mouth erratically as he ran to the obvious Exit Door.
Ryan turned his head towards Craig, humming.
Craig wobbled the door handle. It was locked, as he should’ve expected. He grunted, and began slamming his body against the door.
“A+ Survival Tactics over here!” Ryan cheered, still mockingly. He laughed at how hard Craig was trying. It was fruitle-
Craig knocked the door over.
Ryan’s smile dropped. “How heavy are you?!” he yelled.
“Fuck you!” Craig shouted back, before running into the labyrinth.
“Get back here while I’m asking nicely!” Ryan sprinted to the Exit.
Craig could hear his heartbeat ringing through his ears. He tuned out Ryan, and just ran, and ran.
Ryan watched him with narrowed eyes. He never would’ve expected him to still be so athletic. But, it still wouldn’t matter. Craig could never escape. It’d be nice to give him false hope though, wouldn’t it? Ryan smiled again.
A pair of robotic tentacles were activated from the harsh pressure Craig put onto the floor. They latched to Craig’s legs, then lifted them. Craig was suspended in the air, and his upper body fell back. He could see Ryan, upside down.
One of the tentacles had a screen on its side, asking for a thumbprint. If a certain thumbprint was laid on it, its action would be cancelled.
Ryan gave Craig a kiss on the stomach, before leaving Craig to his fate without another word. He headed to the stage.
Nate and Miles had woken up, and taken off their restraints. But, unlike Craig, they didn’t run. Instead, they stuck to each other, as if they were each other’s knight in shining nude.
Ryan waved at them. “Hey! You guys didn’t do anything to me.”
Miles snarled. “So, why the hell are you keeping us here?”
“Because you didn’t do anything, like I said. You could’ve stopped Craig. But, you didn’t.” Ryan sighed. “I won’t keep you two here for long. So, you can be grateful for that. I just need you two to smack Craig. That’s it.”
“That’s it?” Nate raised an eyebrow.
“Yep.” Ryan nodded. He beckoned them with his finger.
Miles stood up, slowly. He rubbed his sore wrists, imprinted from the previous red rope.
Nate wobbled to his feet, legs asleep from sitting on them. He grabbed Miles’ shoulder for balance.
Ryan led them to Craig.
Craig was still struggling futilely. He raised his upper body a few times, like he was doing a sit up. He shook his legs erratically.
“Getting a nice workout in, huh?” Ryan chuckled. He stepped closer.
Craig swung his upper body up again, and managed to grab onto the restraints on his legs. So, he stayed up.
“Ooo, my little acrobat!” Ryan clapped.
Craig tightened his grip on the left one, then released the one on the right.
Ryan looked toward Miles and Nate. “Don’t do anything yet, I wanna see this.”
Craig punched the hell out of the left metal appendage, his right hand bruising from the impact. He genuinely made a dent, so it retreated. His upper body fell over again. Craig repeated the same process for the right metal appendage. He fell to the floor, as the final restraint left.
Ryan just stared. “Wow, uh... You’re like a gorilla.”
Craig looked behind himself, flushed and panting heavily. His eyes were completely relaxed, even a bit euphoric-looking. Probably from adrenaline.
Ryan felt his cheeks heat up. “Now, I haven’t seen that look in a long time.”
“Why are you doing this?” Craig breathed.
“Because of what you did to me in High School. Do you not remember?” Ryan snarled. He stepped closer.
Craig’s face scrunched up. “Didn’t you like it? You could’ve stopped me anytime. If you just told your rich ass parents, then I-“
“Are you kidding me?!” Ryan screamed. “It’s shameful. I couldn’t just tell them, ‘hey, some juiced-up worm keeps,’” his lower lip trembled. “Keeps… Oh, fucking hell!” He kneed Craig in the face.
Craig fell back, holding his cheek.
Ryan jabbed a finger at Craig. “You’re going to suffer, just like me. For the rest of your life. And, I won’t let you kill yourself. Unless you want your friends and family dead too,” he tried to deliver his threat smoothly, confidently, but his voice trembled and cracked. He breathed heavily from his nose. “This is your punishment. Accept it like the man you are.”
Miles put a hand on Ryan’s shoulder.
Ryan tensed up. He glared at Miles, eyes watery. “What.”
“I’m… really sorry.” Miles squeezed it a few times, trying to be comforting.
Ryan snorted. “If you’re sorry, then do something. Go hit Craig, or whatever. Get some stress relief.”
Nate stomped on Craig’s stomach.
Craig curled up. The wind was knocked out of him. He couldn’t make a sound, or even breathe for a few seconds. Yet, he didn’t fight back this time.
Miles kicked Craig’s side.
Craig spread his arms and legs out, making it easier to hit him.
Nate hesitated. “Can we go? We hit him,” he mumbled.
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Sure, whatever.” He took a keycard out of his pocket, throwing it at Miles. “This’ll let you escape from the tentacles, if you tap it on the black screen at their sides. It’ll also unlock the door.”
Miles picked the keycard up.
Nate grabbed Miles’ hand, and ran off.
Ryan looked back at Craig. “They abandoned you,” he said, flatly.