Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Afraid of the dark!!!
Dragged in chains, he fell countlessly, his knees scraping against the rough jungle floor. Each drag dug deep into his kneecaps, tearing away flesh little by little, the raw ground showing no mercy to his battered body.
Before long, they arrived at a dead forest, far removed from civilization and human settlement.
Daniel was dragged out, slapped repeatedly, spat on by almost every member of the organization—including Tatania, who looked on at his suffering with relishing delight.
Greta held a massive cow whip, determined to inflict deadly injuries across his body, but Cassian raised a hand and stopped her.
"Boss strictly warned against touching his face. Anything should be restricted to his body, not the face," Cassian said flatly.
Greta frowned in disbelief. Her boss wouldn’t say such a thing, not even if he were dying. That man—the very prisoner before them—had done something unthinkable, betrayed the organization, and even killed family members. To her, death was far too cheap a punishment; nothing beat pure torture before execution.
And yet here was Cassian, claiming otherwise.
"I don’t believe you, Cass. Boss wouldn’t let that son of a bitch go after his harrowing behaviors," Greta shot back, and Gregor quickly stood by her side, nodding in support.
She was right. This was unlike the boss they knew.
Daniel, taken from the boot of the car and dragged to God-knows-where, stood silently like a cow led to slaughter, awaiting its fate. His gaze lingered on Alex, who still hadn’t spoken, his mouth zipped shut as though he wanted nothing to do with the mess.
"What a bastard," Daniel thought bitterly. "He only got close to me to find someone to set up." He wished, desperately, that he could hold a knife.
The chains binding his hands stretched impossibly long, the other end clutched firmly in Cassian’s grip—like a herdsman leading livestock to be sold.
Daniel wasn’t afraid anymore. He had lost hope of escape, lost faith in salvation. Freedom wasn’t coming. He had learned that depending on humans was useless—they had all let him down. If anything, he was his own rock and salvation. And even God... at this point, he wasn’t sure God was with him anymore.
"And I said it was an instruction by the boss. Or are you undermining his authority now?" Cassian asked sharply, eyeing Greta.
But Greta was unmoved.
"So, you’re the leader now? We all know that’s been your dream. Probably, the prisoner was told to be kept alive, but you decided to twist the rules and do things your own way. I wouldn’t be surprised—you’ve always been this stupid," Greta snapped.
Gregor stood behind her, as usual, like a man without a spine, nodding foolishly at everything his sister said.
Daniel scowled at the sight. How pathetic—to let his sister control him, wearing him like a bra. A man without his own voice, following word for word everything she spat out. That was the definition of a weakling, a coward. Daniel, at least, was glad he wasn’t some worthless animal like them. Oh, exhilarating indeed.
"You jealous cunt, I should’ve known," Cassian ranted, but before things could escalate, a glass bottle dropped in the middle of them. Their wide eyes immediately turned to the one who had thrown it.
And, as expected, it was Alexander.
"Carry the prisoner in and stop arguing like underage kids. You’re adults, for Christ’s sake—behave like one," Alex’s words sliced through the tension, dropping like a bomb of insult.
On a normal day, Daniel might have praised him, but now he hated him with every fiber of his being. He sent Alex a look full of disdain, trying his best to ignore the others. His knees throbbed in agony, and the stench of saliva from the crew members’ spit still clung to him. Disgusting.
Once Alex spoke, silence fell over the group. They finally decided to take Daniel into the cell. His whipping would begin in the morning.
"So tomorrow morning we’ll bring him out and start his 80 whips," Cassian said, and the rest grunted their approval. Daniel was dragged like an animal once again.
Cassian quickened his pace, his strides longer than usual, until they stopped before a cabin.
Daniel blinked. He had expected something grand, but what stood before him was a shack.
"Is this it?" he wondered.
Where was the rest of it?
Despite all the boss’s supposed wealth, this was what he could boast of? The building looked like a barn—no, worse, a storage room. Even a yam barn looked better than this.
First his room, now this. Could his taste get any worse?
The others didn’t seem to mind. They opened the door, and its creak was loud enough to wake the dead. Haunting.
Daniel shuddered at the sight of cobwebs, the overwhelming dust, and—worst of all—the darkness.
Not the darkness.
Darkness was the one thing he feared most, a phobia born from old scars. Now he was being led straight into it.
When Adrian’s keys were used to open the cabin doors, Cassian ordered someone to clean out the cobwebs. Titania was chosen.
"Are you kidding me? Why should I be the one?" she complained, but Cassian gave her a cold stare. Begrudgingly, she grabbed a stick and began swatting down the webs.
Cassian followed behind, dragging Daniel again. By now, Daniel had collapsed several times, his feet and knees in terrible shape, bleeding profusely. Sharp stones and splinters dug deep into his flesh with every step. Dizziness washed over him—blood loss and hunger gnawed at his body. Two days here, and already this was his fate.
Finally, Cassian stood before a basement. The stairs leading down were swallowed in pitch-blackness, webs clinging to every corner.
Daniel’s panic spiked. His phobia consumed him, and Alex, who had never seen him display such fear, frowned as he noticed.
"What’s the problem?" Alex muttered, watching Daniel fidget uncontrollably at the darkness.
Without hesitation, Cassian dragged Daniel to the basement edge.
"No! Don’t push me—I can walk on my own!" Daniel begged.
But Cassian only smiled darkly.
Everyone here was mentally broken. Not a single one was sane.
Daniel turned desperately, only to meet Greta’s cold stare.
"Where’s the fun in that? Let’s search his body first—see if he’s hiding something," she suggested.
Nausea churned in Daniel’s stomach. His suppressant was still in his pocket. If they found it, his secret would be exposed. They’d realize he was an omega, and then—God forbid—their animalistic instincts might kick in. Brutal rape was a very real possibility.
He trembled.
Greta’s eyes flicked to Cassian, who nodded in agreement. Just as he prepared to start the search, Alex’s voice cut in.
"You’re wasting time. We should be visiting the boss at the hospital, not losing daylight on a prisoner. It’s already evening, and night will fall soon," Alex reminded them.
They turned to him, considering his words.
Daniel seized the chance, slipping the small container from his pocket and tossing it silently into the basement. Relief washed over him when it made no sound. His secret was safe—for now.
But how? Did Alex deliberately help him?
The group, swayed by Alex’s reasoning, nodded in agreement.
"You’re right, Alex. After we drop this bitch off, we’ll head out," Gregor said, and the others concurred—even Cecilia, usually dismissed like she was useless. Alex’s ideas were always too sharp to ignore.
Greta, losing patience, shoved Daniel violently into the basement. He crashed to the ground with a bone-jarring thud that nearly snapped him in half.
He screamed, pain ricocheting through his body.
He couldn’t stay silent anymore.
"Fuck you all! Pieces of shit! Fucking bastards!" Daniel cursed, groaning as the door locked behind him.
The rest turned away, planning to leave him until morning.
Only Alex lingered. In a low whisper, he said, "After today, you’ll be freed from him..." He scanned the place once more, then walked out.
Darkness swallowed Daniel whole.
He screamed, clutching his hair, covering his face as if to shield against unseen forces.
"No! Please, no! No! Don’t—"
"Get me out of here! The dark—I can’t cope, I can’t see!" Daniel sobbed desperately.
Memories crashed into him.
FLASHBACK
His father’s voice thundered in his ears.
"Stop acting feminine! Didn’t I warn you about that, you cursed creature? Not only are you an abomination—an omega—but now you’re acting like a pussy. Not in my house!"
The belt lashed across his back, each strike burning like fire.
Whip!
Whip!
Daniel screamed, tears spilling, but no one came to help. His sister—the only one who had ever tried—had been disfigured with acid when she intervened once before. She paid the price with a ruined face, and now her hatred for him burned hotter than ever. To her, he had destroyed her life and her chance at marriage.
Back then, Daniel had been whipped mercilessly, then thrown into a closet and locked inside for two days, swallowed by darkness.
PRESENT
His body now lay weak on the cold basement floor. He had pounded the door until exhaustion made him collapse, tumbling helplessly down the stairs.
Curled in a corner, he bawled as his father’s cruel words echoed endlessly:
"You’re nothing but a curse. A commodity. An abomination of a man. No one will ever want you as an omega. You will die lonely."
And as the shadows pressed in tighter, Daniel feared... maybe those words were true. Maybe he really would die alone in this wicked, merciless world.