Work Text:
The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out...
Jesse was doubled over in the back seat, and he continued to wail in anguish long into the drive back to the compound. As they sped away Todd’s arms were wrapped around his torso firmly to stop him from thrashing, and on the other side of the car a second man held down his knees. He still writhed futilely, straining towards the door through which he’d last seen Andrea’s house and choking against the gag, until his strength ran out and he slumped in Todd’s arms, shaking and crying brokenly.
"Put the fucking bag back on," Jack called back, irritated. "I can’t hear myself think with this racket."
When the starchy black sack was tugged down over Jesse’s head it took him by surprise - so lost was he in his own personal hell. It was stuffy and smothering, and the fabric rubbed over his mouth and nose, smearing spit and tears and snot on his face. He drew a rattling gasp that didn’t manage to draw enough air. And then again.
When he realized he couldn’t breathe, the panic rose instinctively; he started to hyperventilate-
"Hey, shh-shhhhh…"
The muffled sound of a calm voice told him very nicely to shush and quiet down. He felt the rough cloth being tugged away from his mouth. His breaths slowed and the frantic gasps subsided.
He still felt like he was dying.
Jesse was half-laying prostrate across Todd’s lap, with Todd’s grip around his torso more relaxed now that he’d ceased to struggle. Jesse could feel Todd’s thumb rubbing absently against the back of his neck, kind of like he was soothing an injured dog. The touch should have felt like it was burning his skin but it didn’t. It felt soft and nice. Jesse whimpered quietly and then he choked out another sob, opening the floodgates once again, this time muffled by the suffocating sack over his head. The sorrow tore through his body and left all his muscles aching from the convulsions. His mind was still in shock; the only thing that registered there was pain.
Fathomless, shrieking pain.
…Andrea…
Andrea-
Brock-
My fault. My punishment. My fault…
"What happens next is on you," Jack had told him just before they’d lifted away the darkness and forced him to look. He’d started screaming from the very moment he realized where they were. And the screaming hadn’t stopped.
”Jesus Christ! He’s a fucking howler,” Jack said to Todd as they stepped out of the van. Todd, as usual, had a positive outlook on the situation.
"Well, I think we got the message across good n’ clear this time. I mean…" he glanced over at Jesse, who could still be heard making thin moaning noises under the bag,
"…wouldn’t you say?"
"Yeah, I’d say," Jack snorted. "If that drive was about fifteen minutes longer I think I’d’a just pulled us over and shot him. My goddamn ears are ringing."
The two of them dragged Jesse, unprotesting, back to the pit outside the warehouse. They removed the gag and put him down next to the grate, where he curled up on the cold tarmac at Jack’s feet, crying hoarsely, while Todd went to get the ladder.
Jack had been in favor of just dropping him through the trapdoor but Todd shook his head. “Uh, I don’t really think that’d be a good idea, Uncle Jack. He might break his ankle or somethin’ if he lands on it funny.”
"Ah- forgot he needs to be useful…” Jack muttered, staring down dubiously at the sniveling, despondent wreck they’d brought back, as though Jesse was something he wanted to scrape off of his boot.
"Ain’t worth it if y’ask me. But hey, what the hell? This one’s your call."
So, Todd retrieved the ladder, and then practically lifted Jesse down each rung. Jesse’s movements were robotic and he seemed moments away from collapsing with each step down. When they reached the floor Todd set him onto the mattress and double-checked that the metal cuffs were secure on his wrists and ankles. He also took the bent-up paperclip and pointedly slipped it into his pocket. Then, since it was in fact turning out to be a cold night and Jesse looked unable to do it himself, he grabbed the threadbare red blanket and spread it out over Jesse’s shaking form.
"For fuck’s sake," Jack grumbled. He headed back to the interior of the compound, leaving Todd to finish locking in their unresponsive prisoner.
After Todd had put away the ladder, he paused while latching the metal door and called down.
"Hey, uh, Jesse."
Jesse tipped his head up a minuscule amount, only enough to indicate that he’d heard.
"I could leave the tarp off again. Did you…still wanna look at the stars?"
Jesse couldn’t answer.
He stayed silent.
"Uh…okay then. Well, I think I’ll just cover it up ‘cause it’s gettin’ pretty cold out here."
The tarp fluttered in the chilly wind as Todd pulled it over the grate. What little moonlight had been streaming through the bars quickly vanished, leaving the pit with no light to speak of; the stagnant spaces consumed by a darkness as black as pure despair.