Winter Sun(Anthony Fahy) (Note that the author was 16 years old when he wrote this story.)

Beep….Beep….Beep. Rolling over to find the alarm clock, Jed removed his blankets to get ready for another day of torment in school. Slipping into a dirty pair of wranglers and a black WWE tee, Jed walked down stairs to come across his mother sleeping in her own waste, and his father lying drunk at the kitchen table. Taking a moment to gather his sense about it Jed opened the front door and stepped out into the freezing air of winter. Thinking he would take the short way to school so he would not freeze his ass off, he cut though his yard and turned down one of the many side alleys. Hoping he could make it though the alley before Mike and his friends got there, made Jed quicken his pace.

Walking though to the other side of the alley he was full of relief. The school was only a few blocks away. Before he could take another step something hard hit him between his ribs... Stumbling on to the ground he only had a brief moment to see that Mike had been waiting here till he came out. After he was finished beating on Jed, Mike picked up a nearby rope and began tying Jed in it.

“What are you doing?” Jed started yelling franticly, hoping someone nearby would come to his help, but instead of help a man he'd never seen before walked out of the other alley to help Mike finish… "Sorry Jed, I never intended for this to happen. I only wanted to have fun." Passing out with fear, the only thing Jed was aware of was that he was being carried off somewhere.

Waking with a head that felt like it was full of lead, Jed barely remembered what happened earlier that day. Finding the power to stand, Jed lifted himself off the floor to scan his surroundings. Seeing that there was no hope of escape he fell back to the floor with thoughts of what was to come. After what seemed like hours, the door was slammed open without notice. Jed pushed himself to the far wall in fear he was going to be beaten worse then he ever was. Watching a young and very beautiful woman walk in to the room Jed felt a small relief of pressure. Looking up into her face he did not notice the steel pipe that was about to get him in the stomach till it was too late. Turning over on the floor Jed wrapped his hand around his stomach in hope to stop at least a small amount to the intense pain. Trying to fight being lifted, he was hit again across his back which knocked him completely out.

Opening his eyes, Jed noticed that he was strapped down to a hard cement table in the middle of a dark camber. With the pain still throbbing in his back and stomach he knew that he had no chance to get out of what was going to happen. Laying there motionless, Jed barely noticed when the young woman he once thought was so beautiful entered with an escort of 5 heavy muscled men. No matter how hard he tried, the look of her face still transfixed him. He rested there without fight while they began to brutally beat him. Looking from one person to the other he noticed that they stopped striking at him, and lay silent in a state of shook. Wondering what got them to stop hitting on him he agonizingly moved his head from side to side trying to get a small look of the person.

Straining to hear the padded foot steps that were getting closer he did not notice that he was being unchained from the table. Slamming hard against the cement wall, Jed smeared the blood out of his failing vision. Hoping this newcomer would do something about this, Jed laid his head down on the cold wet floor and tried the get some rest.

Waking with a hard blow to his lower abdomen Jed wrapped himself into a ball trying to forget the tremendous pain he was in. Knowing today would be just as bad as yesterday, Jed started to plead for his freedom. Hearing a hard laugh in the chamber he was in the day before Jed knew it was of no use to plead for his life or even his release. When they entered the room, where he knew he would be tortured again, Jed completely broke down and started begging for his life inbetween sobs. This only made the man now in front of him laugh harder.

“Today will be your last day of pain my boy. That I promise you. It will be Mike who does the job, for he will be part of my underground alliance." Hitting the wet and blood stained table, Jed noticed Mike walk up to him with a sick expression on his lean face. Pulling Jeds face up toward his, Mike spoke in a low cracked voice, “I truly am sorry”.

Hitting his head hard against the table, Jed nearly went out. Waiting for the first blow of Mikes massive weapon, Jed closed his eyes and started to pray. But it never came. Opening his eyes slowly Jed saw that Mike was no longer standing over him but he was walking over to the man who had proclaimed his death. When Mike stopped in front of him, they said a few words that Jed could not hear and before he knew what was going on he grabbed Mike by the throat, ripping it out with his other, throwing Mike aside as if he was nothing but a burden he was happy to get rid of.

Seeing him start over toward him, Jed knew that it was over for him. When the man started to pet him and rub his hair, Jed thought something was going to happen to him that he never thought was going to happen. But when he told his man to unchain him and get him something to eat happiness filled his every muscle.

After Jed finished eating the remaining food on the enormous platter that was brought to him, he stared at the strange and bloodcurdling man that once threatened him.

“What is going to happen to me?” Asked Jed.

"Well, we will be letting you go home. Unless you want to stay here?
So you will be leaving soon. Never tell any one of this or you will be found and killed."

Watching the door open into the bright sun of early winter Jed felt tears of joy roll down his face. It was over, and he was free. He had lived to see the beautiful sun once again.

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