The Message

Character: Dorei "Twyce" Losom
Game: The Secret World

 --
"So, now it's come to this."

Twyce opened her eyes at hearing the voice. Lorton stood in front of her, his head tilted to one side. He looked taller than usual and Twyce soon realized why. She was no longer tied to the chair, but on the floor, though her wrists and ankles were still bound. Quickly, she pushed herself back against the wall, as far away from Lorton as possible.  If there was one thing she had learned between in her times of consciousness- it was that this man was someone she wanted to stay far away from, especially when that woman, Sibley wasn't present.

He laughed at her actions, a smirk crossing his features. "I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted. Do I really scare you that much?"

She didn't respond. She wouldn't incite him if she could help it. Hopefully her silence would persuade him to leave faster.

"You know, Dorei." He said, crouching down so they were nearly eye level. "You really should answer when I speak to you. After all, you're stuck here now. It would do well to get on my good side."

His words, "stuck here now" caught her attention, but she forced her expression to remain neutral. What the hell did he mean by that? Had Tenji refused to cooperate, told them to keep her? The very thought caused beads of sweat to break out on her forehead. That couldn't be true though. He wouldn't do that to her, she refused to believe it.

Lorton smiled. "Oh, so that caught your attention did it? Well, it's true. There is no 'rescuing' in your future. I will be deciding your fate, on behalf of the Templars."

Twyce's thoughts began to race. Lying or not, this didn't bode well for her. He wasn't pressing for information now, like he had been before, so something had to have changed. But what? Tenji saying screw it? Or had the Templars decided letting her go would be too much of a risk? Regardless of the factors at play, it really did boil down to one inevitable fact. She was at this lunatics mercy. It had always been that way, but something in his voice told Twyce that now it was much more serious.

"So, that being said." He stood back up. "I now have a decision to make. Obviously killing you is one option. I do realize the difficulty of that with your...unique situation, but it's not impossible. What are your thoughts on the matter?"

He waited, but she remained silent. He could kill her for all she cared, it certainly was one of the more attractive options out of the current possibilities.

"Still no reply." Lorton said and shook his head, looking regretful. "Perhaps you can't hear me."

He reached down and grabbed a fistful of hair, yanking her upwards. To alleviate the pain from his grasp, she stood up, but it did little to help. The weeks of little food and water had wrecked havoc on her body, make it difficult to keep upright. Her legs were shaking under the weight of her own body.

"I said, 'what are your thoughts on me killing you?' I expect an answer."

She glared at him, her lips pressed tightly together.

"Stubbornness," Lorton said, in an almost wistful tone. "I'd hope you realized now is not the time for such antics."

His grip tightened, causing her head to tilt backwards. "Perhaps I need to remind you of the situation. You're only hope here is for me to take pity on you. You are not a damsel in distress, no one is coming to save you. There will be no daring escape. You are alone. Now, once again, would you like to die?"

"I'm not going to play your sick game." She finally spat. "Do what you want."

He laughed. "Aren't we big and tough? All of this and you are still showing your claws, I suppose I should be impressed."

Twyce tried to look away from him, but he kept her head still, giving it another forcible yank.

"It's a shame to waste so much spirit..." He looked her over, his free hand running a finger along her cheek. "You just need to be tempered is all."

"Go to hell." She spit in his face.

Lorton wiped at the saliva dripping down his cheek, his expression unreadable. Letting out a small sigh, he shook his head. "Well, that wasn't very smart, was it?"

Before she could react, he grabbed her jaw, his fingers forcing their way into her mouth. Twyce gagged and instinctively tried to close her mouth, but Lorton stopped her with his newly established grasp. The pain was considerable, the tendons in her jaw stretching well past their normal limits under the weight of his hand.

"I could break your jaw you know." He said. "I wonder how quick you'd be with your smart ass responses then. One quick tug, and no more talking."

On the word tug, he gave her chin a violent jerk, causing her to cry out in a mixture of both pain and fear. His other hand was still gripping the back of her head, preventing her from moving. Slowly, but surely, she felt him applying more and more pressure to her jaw. The sides of her mouth began to crack, the action too much for the parched state of her lips. Despite her every effort to stop it, a single tear slid out of the corner of her eye.

Lorton's gaze narrowed, his voice cold. "Getting the message now?"

All she could do was to attempt a nod, which ended up being nothing more than a slight twitch of her head.

"Good. Now, apologize."

Twyce stared at him, unsure of how he expected her to form words. Seeing the hesitation, he gave another jerk to her chin. This time, a distinctive 'pop' could be heard. White hot pain shot through her jaw, like a knife embedding itself into the bone. She let out a choked gasp, her legs buckling.

"I'm waiting."

She wasted no time. Twyce responded with a garbled 'sorry,' the word barely recognizable.

Lorton nodded approvingly. "That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

He finally released her, his hand sliding out of her mouth and letting go of her hair. She crumpled to the floor, one hand cupping her chin tenderly. Pain radiated across her jaw, a persistent throbbing present. She kept her head to the ground and trying to calm her breathing. He hadn't broken her jaw, but she was pretty sure he had dislocated it. She could close her mouth, but her bite felt off

"I think we learned something about each other today." He said. "Along with a valuable lesson for you."

A soft knocking sounded. Twyce heard Lorton walk over to the door and pull it open.

"Sibley, welcome back."

Twyce glanced up. The woman. The one who looked so much like her sister. She took an awkward step into the room, her hands crossed against her chest.

"What happened here?"

"Dorei and I are bonding." He replied. "She's come to realize that manners are of utmost importance."

Something indiscernible flashed across Sibley's face, but Twyce couldn't tell if it was disgust or fear.

"You have a message for her, don't you?" Lorton asked. He looked over at Twyce. "Sibley just came back from meeting with your friend, Tenji."

It was hard not to show the surprise on her face. Still holding onto her chin, Twyce finally sat up. A message from Tenji and they were telling her about it? It could only be bad news then.

Sibley looked at him in surprise. "Lorton, I don't think it's necess--"

"Just tell her what he said."

She sighed, shaking her head. "He asked if you knew where his green jacket is?"

Twyce scoffed. She couldn't help it. His stupid jacket? Out of all the messages he could have sent, he asked that? Was it some sort of code she was missing? At this point, she didn't care. What did it matter, Lorton had it very clear she wasn't going anywhere. The reminder of the conversation caused her to wince. Lorton's gaze never left Twyce, and had she been paying more attention she might have noticed the light that changed in his eye.

"No response?" He continued to stare at her.

"No." She mumbled, trying to keep her jaw movement minimal.

"Speak clearer, we can't hear you."

There was just a hint of edge to his voice, but Twyce recognized it immediately.

"I said no, I don't have a response." Each word caused a fresh wave of pain to wash over her.

"Excellent. Sibley, when you see the Dragon again, you have your message." Lorton nodded. Clapping his hands together he smiled broadly. "I think today has been very productive."

Sibley remained silent, her lips pressed together in a thin line. Giving Twyce one final look, she left the room.

Lorton continued to smile. "We had a rough start today Dorei, but I think you picked it all up rather quickly. We will continue tomorrow."

He was waiting. Twyce nodded numbly, unsure of what else to do, just wanting to get rid of him. For once, luck was on her side. Lorton turned and left, leaving her alone once again.