Silence Falls

“Okay Otep, what exactly are we dealing with here concerning this guy's restraint?” Bam demanded to know with no hint of his previous temperament from earlier. He stood in this long neglected room by the doorway, studying the unknown body bonded to a massive cross wedge against one wall from floor to ceiling.

Following his gaze, Otep peered at the stilled form for a moment as Cris move a rickety rolling medical tray already stockpiled with medical bandages, a needle, some thread, rubbing alcohol and antiseptic over to her from where he discovered it in one of the dark corners of the somber room. “Well, we need to start by getting these industrial chains off of the body, and then pull those crucifixing looking nails out too to let him down.” Otep briefed the others before facing Bert. “I have no idea about that metal cage on his head though, to be honest. It looks like it might be covered in barb wires so we'll need to discard those first before we get the cage off. If there are locks are on it I might be able to pick them open but I'm not sure I can do that without causing him any more pain during the process.”

“It'll have to do then.” Bert decided before issuing out everyone's job. “Bam, you and I are gonna handle the industrial chains together. According to the fully stocked toolbox in the hall outside we got a pretty big hammer, a giant monkey wrench and a saw to help us do the job. Cris, you can handle the barb wires with the wire cutter from in there too. Otep...you can take the nails out with whatever you need, and Alexis...you can bandage our hopefully rational friend here. Any objections?”

Bam shook his head, surprisingly content with his position though he wasn't sure if those chains were even capable of being abolished what with how chunky and bulky they were. Cris and Otep were 100% ready to get started in helping this poor soul from his imprisonment, however Alexis was the only one dubious about Bert's stragedy and anxiously interjected while nervously wringing her fingers. “A-Actually Bert, I'm not skilled with stitching wounds so I'm not quite sure I'd be helpful in that department.”

“Don't worry, Bert. I can help her.” Cris comforted, placing a confident hand on her shoulder as he graced her with a supportive smile. “My mom taught me how when I was little.”

Relieved that their mission could finally be carried out and that the identity of this mystery person would soon be exposed for him to deal with once and for all, Bert gave them a final nod. “Okay, people, let's get moving. We don't have all day.”

For what felt like several straight hours of labor, everyone worked together to extricate this incarcerated individual. Bam and Bert took turns striking at the chains that held up the prisoner up as hard as they possibly could since their saw broke on first contact with it and it turned out the giant cross the body was ensnared on wasn't made of wood like they previously thought. The cross was unbreakable solid stone that some religiously devoted lunatic somehow carried all the way down there and wedge tightly up against the wall before chaining it to the wall for extra security.

Occasionally as the minutes quickly ticked away, the others soon became paranoid if they would unexpectedly get caught by the staff upstairs, or that maybe it was already morning up there and everyone was walking about in the facility, but Bert would always convince them that he would know if that were the case whenever they'd voice their concerns. And indeed, only he would know. Sometimes though, Bert would start to doubt himself little by little and would stop to recheck his watch to make sure it was still working only to oddly find that time had barely moved throughout their mission down there.

With Bert hitting the chain with a hammer, and Bam hitting it with the big monkey wrench, the huge chain eventually severed free. Bert shouted for everyone to back off in time for the chains to wildly swing loose and fall to the ground with a loud thud, the erected cross remaining stubbornly proud as if it taunted them. All of sudden in those most eerie and both shockingly of way, the imprisoned boy who they all assumed was unconscious this entire time lifted his limp arms to drag the remaining loose chains down from where they were wrapped around his upper half and the cross with an effortless ease that would have made the others think the chain was releasing it's hold as if by command if they all hadn't been dropped into such a deep state of catatonic shock at the sight of his mobility.

With an incredible fast reflex that Bam had no idea he had, he lunged forward just in time to catch the slender body from slipped down the stone cross and to the bleak concrete floor beneath him. Bam quickly noted that the body felt so deathly cold in his hands. Was the poor soul actually alive or did he hallucinate his movements? If so, how did he even get down here?

The snap of the the single chain holding the cross to the wall pierced the air and awoken everyone from their state of shock. Knowing that at any second the cross could lean forward and crush both Bam and the prisoner flat, Cris and Bert raced over to push the cross more steadily against the wall with their strength. It was only then they could both easily see that the boy was still secured to the cross by his shackles embedded into the stone through the gaps in the chains by ancient nails. They had to extract the nails in order to free him once and for all.

“Otep! Alexis! Hurry up and get these fucking nails out so we can get him out!” Bert ordered, seeing the weight of the cross to be a problem if it so much as swayed even the slightest bit. There was no way they've be able to prevent it from toppling over and it they weren't quick to let go they'd go flying with it.

Otep rushed over with the pliers gripped in her hands and immediately went to work wrenching the nail out. Two of the nails had went straight through the center of the prisoner's wrist which she pulled the out without a squeamish reaction, unlike Alexis who turned away from the sight in horror.

Once the body was fully removed from the cross, everyone but Bert and Bam scattered the dangerous area around the unstable structure and dragged the body towards the center of the room, his wrists dripping blood along the way. Cris helpfully guided Alexis on bandaging the boy's bloody wrists as quickly as they could while their patient made no sound during the process. He was dead, they were for certain of it now. They discovered that his sock clad feet had also been impaled with the nails in the same fashion as Jesus Christ to the cross. Refusing to take the time to question it, the ancient rusty nails were pulled out and he was bandaged as best as could be expected what with the tools that had been accumulated onto the medical tray.

Bert and Bam, who were red faced, sweaty and grunting, finally jumped out of the way and let the stone cross fall to the floor with a roaring crash that violently shook the whole floor level they were on with such devastation everyone was frightful the it would collapse right on top of their heads and crush them. When nothing that catastrophic unfolded, Bam and Bert joined the others and caught their breathes just as Cris took the cautiously guided the last barbed wire off the thick metal cage that hid the black bagged face.

“Alright, move aside, it's my turn.” Rubbing her hands together, Otep immediately got to work once everyone shuffled aside to give her room to work. The metal cage consisted of 6 switches all over, 6 locks on the back, and 6 leather buckles and straps along the sides. Like an master lock picker, Otep managed to handle the locks with surprising ease before she and Cris pushed the metal cage apart to uncover small crosses carved all over the inside of the metal bars.

“Wait, what the fuck are all those? Crosses?” Bam abruptly demanded, finally back to being his defiant argumentative self instead of the obedient helper he'd been a minute before. He couldn't explain how he became so compliant all of a sudden when normally he'd object to everything everyone did. For a minute there it was like...his anger finally went to rest and left him...normal. But now it was back, and fiery as ever before.

“Yeah...it kinda makes you wonder what for, huh?” Otep murmured distractedly before carefully removing the wire cutter from Cris and poking a hole in the black bag with the sharp end. Eagerly tearing aside the black fabric, it revealed a white handkerchief lying over the face of the silent form. This was it. This was the moment they'd finally find out what this person was...even if they were already dead. It would help put everything they'd been through to rest if they could at least see their face.

“Wait, before we continue any further we need to keep in mind that this person has been down here for god knows how long. He could be dead right now underneath there for all we know. This won't look pretty, you guys so please, don't look if you can't stomach it.” Bert warned them, before nodding for Otep to take the handkerchief off and reveal their face. With a nod back she did just that, but no one was prepared for what they saw hiding beneath.

The body was a boy with feminine features.

The boy clearly wasn't dead despite the validity to his skin. No, he was astonishingly stunning. In fact, despite being god knows how many thousands of feet below ground they were, it almost seemed like Heaven's light shined down through the many layers of earth between them and the surface just to fixate solely on his face. His pale white skin was flawless of blemishes, moles, or scars, and appeared soft to the touch. The only sign of life at first was the healthy rosy blush blossoming the apples of his cheeks. His lips were soft, lush and tantalizing. The vibrant color of them made your lips tingly with jealousy at their pigmentation as your eyes were constantly drawn to them. His silky hair which looked like he stepped right out of a hair salon was long and black with streaks of dark brown. It looked to be shoulder length and healthy, as heaven's light seem to reflect off of it. His eyes were peacefully closed, concealing the color of his irises from his already captivated audience. It was a shame, one would think that a boy so gorgeous as he, would have in possession two stunning eyes to complete the perfection that he already seemed to be, they all thought simultaneously as they gawked with bewitched eyes and gaping mouths from where they stood circling him.

As if the boy read their minds, his eyes fluttered open to unveil vibrantly pigmented big eyes that were... and unrealistic shade of both blue and green.

It was almost unsettling to see. It wasn't like complete Heterochromia where one eyes was green and other other blue. No, he had both colors in each eye but in the most...unrealistic shades that would automatically make you think he were wearing contacts lens to change the color of his iris. Exquisite vibrant Emerald green surrounded the small black orb that was his pupil, and the outer circle was vibrant Sapphire blue. The two colors interlaced where met in the center. It was an amazing combination and blend, but it couldn't be real. They didn't appear like they were genuine eyes colors. To everyone else in the room they gave off a eerily strong impression that they were devastating kind of weapon that dealt catastrophic effects if provoke. Suddenly, the young man's soft lips pulled back into a genuine smile that left them feeling all warm and fuzzing inside before a melodic calm heavily accented voice echoed within each of their minds. “I knew you would come.”