Day of Reckoning

Chapter 6

Drew

I"m drowning.

I choke out the water as it"s poured down my throat, but it continues to come. Laughter sounds in the background as my body jerks and I flail my arms in an attempt to breathe or break free. I strain against the shackles. I try to scream. I only inhale more water.

Finally, it stops. The water is gone and I"m left gasping for air. I try to catch my breath. Where am I? I look around frantically. Where are Dawn and Gabby?

Two men are standing behind me and a third enters the room. At first, I can only see his dark figure talking to the others. Then he"s right in front of me. He bends down and looks at me. He is so close now that I can see the speckles of green in his eyes. I can smell his breath.

I don"t know what he"s looking for as he stares into my face; maybe a hint of fear? I mean, that"s what these kinds of gits live for right? After a few moments, he backs away and straightens up.

“Leave us,” he says to the other men. He closes the door behind them, loosens the straps holding me to the board, and motions for me to sit up.

“Drew Crawford,” he says. I startle and he continues, “Yes, I know who you are. I also know who your father is.”

“Who the hell are you? Where am I?” I sputter.

“Now, Mr. Crawford, no need for nastiness. I only want to talk.” I would almost believe him if I wasn"t being held hostage and tortured. “We have a simple task for you. If you perform it to our satisfaction, I see no reason why we would need to continue this spectacle.” He gestures to the board.

“Who the hell are you?” I repeat, this time through gritted teeth.

“You"re in the Republic of Texas. My name is Dr. Cole, but my friends call me Darren. We"re going to be friends aren"t we Drew? I can call you Drew, can"t I?” He smiles at me and all I want to do is slam my fist down his throat. Instead, all I can do is glare. “Well, let"s begin, shall we? I have some questions about your father.”

“I don"t know anything about my father,” I say.

“Oh, I believe you. I know how you feel about him, trust me on that.”

“You know nothing.”

“Well, that isn"t true at all Drew.” He opens a file that I"d failed to notice before now. “Drew Crawford, fugitive from the English. You hitched a ride on an airplane and landed north of Floridaland. You were not alone. Dawn Nolan accompanied you. She just happens to be General Nolan"s youngest daughter. Your mission was to free Dawn"s sister from Floridaland. Surprisingly enough, you succeeded with the help of a few Americans. Sam has since died and Lee is MIA as is Jeremy who you also freed.”

I"m too stunned to say anything more than “how?”

“Don"t be too surprised. We know everything that takes place in the colonies. What we need to know, is if your father is supplying the rebel forces with firearms.”

I hold back the laugh that tries to break free. This guy is a nutter. My father, allied with the rebels? He would rather die. I"m sure of it.

“I told you, I don"t know anything,” I say.

“Let me explain something. We know exactly where the rebel base is. We know who the officers are and we know that there is a high ranking British soldier on her way to join with them.” His voice grows louder with every word until he is screaming. “Do not lie to me!”

I suddenly understand what is going on. This man is scared. If the British were to ally themselves with the rebels, the Texans would be facing forces from multiple sides.

“You"re right to be scared,” I say, my voice low. “They will gut you.”

He lunges at me and wraps his large hands around my throat. I gasp for air and try to wriggle free. As if suddenly realizing that he lost his cool, Dr. Cole releases me and backs away, his face still red. He leaves quickly, only to return a minute later with a handheld screen. He forces me to look at it and then turns it on.

It takes me a few moments to realize what I"m seeing. It"s a hospital room. Dawn! I suck in a breath. She looks like she"s just taking a kip. My heart begins to pound, a panic building in my chest. “Is she-”

“Dead? Not yet. We don"t want to kill General Nolan"s daughter unless we have to.” I quickly realize what he means. They can use her as leverage. “She was injured when we brought her in, but she should be awake by now. We"ve induced a coma for your benefit.”

“My benefit?” I swallow hard.

“Yes. You see, I don"t believe that punishment always works. I think you need a reward to strive for if you"re going to behave. Although, I"d be happy using both. If you give us what we want, your little girlfriend can wake up.” He gives me another toothy grin as if he is doing me some favor by not killing Dawn.

“What do you want me from me?”

“We need to send a message to General Nolan.”

“General Nolan doesn"t even know me,” I protest.

“The name Crawford should be sufficient.”

I stare at the screen a little while longer. “Gabby,” I say as she enters the room.

“Yes, her sister if I"m not mistaken.”

“Fine,” I spit, “I"ll do it, but you have to promise me you won"t hurt Dawn.”

“As long as you"re cooperating, I have no need to hurt her. As a show of good faith, I"ll even wake her up. She won"t be allowed to leave the city.” He taps a finger against the screen and turns to the door. “I will return, Drew. See, I told you we"d be friends.”

As soon as he"s out the door, the two men from before come back and deliver a beating. “English scum.” They laugh as they"re leaving, one of them punches me in the gut and laughs as they shut the door and the darkness surrounds me once again.

“Dawn,” I murmur through the pain.