“My poor Alex was in the centre of the room, tied to a chair. His feet were bound to the legs, and his arms were tied painfully around the back of the chair. As if that weren't bad enough, his face bore the signs of a terrible beating, or perhaps more than one, I couldn't tell for sure. His eyes were swollen and all but closed and his hair was dishevelled and wet, as though they'd used water to revive him from periods of unconsciousness. The thing that terrified me most of all however, was his arms. The sleeves of his shirt had been torn away, not even rolled up in a civilised manner, and his arms bore the tell-tale signs of many needle marks. His veins were purplish and swollen and it was evident to me that they had done something terrible to my unfortunate wretched cousin. He made no mov
