The Impossible
an excerpt

Context: Ashton is taking a beating in Matt's place...

Ashton unfolded his arms and tightened his fists by his sides. The first blow seemed to take an eternity to fall. When it did, stars exploded before his eyes. Never had he experienced such pain. He felt as though his back had been torn in two. He stumbled forward, barely keeping his feet. Through the roar in his ears he heard Terrance saying something about needing to tie him up so he would stay still. He spread his feet and prepared to take the next blow. It fell like a rope of fire. It seared through his flesh like a living thing. He again just managed to keep his feet. The blows continued falling. Some wrapped around his sides to catch his stomach and chest in their toturous embrace. His clenched fingers slipped on each other. Blood. He fell to his knees. The world spun in dizzying flashes of darkness and white light. He retched. Once, twice, three times.
“enough.” Hillary’s strident voice cut through the air, cutting off the blows. Ashton lay crumpled on the floor. He knew his back was covered with blood, he knew that he was disfigured for life, but he didn’t care. He pressed his head into the back of his hands, disregarding the fact that his face was getting splattered in his own blood.
“get up you.” Terrance delivered a kick in the ribs. Ashton forced himself to rise, every movement sending fresh torture to run along the wounds in his body. He stood. The room rocked crazily and the floor flew up to meet him. All went black.
Ashton came to in the sensation of drowning. He opened his eyes and shook his head. Bad idea. The world spun around him. When it came back into focus he struggled to his knees.
“Well, glad to see you’ve rejoined us.” He lifted his heavy head to see Hillary on her throne, clearly disgusted look on her face. “You certainly made a mess on my floor. Then I suppose they all do that the first few times.” It was then Ashton realized the nasty smell in the room was his own bile. Disgusting. He reached up to rub his nose and realized that his hand was covered with blood. In fact, it appeared that his face was covered with blood. He looked up to see Terrance standing beside him with a full bucket of water.
“Thanks.” He took it from the surprised piratey man’s hands and dumped it over his head. It washed a good amount of the blood away, lessening the distinctly uncomfortable sticky sensation. He lifted his head and looked around. Matt still stood between the poles, firmly tied. Hillary sat on her throne. Terrance and the four barbarians stood about awkwardly, awaiting orders no doubt.
“I wasn’t out long, was I?” Ashton addressed his question to Matt, but caught Hillary’s look of surprise. He’d never been so bold in her presence before.
“Nope.” Matt shook his head casually as if he wasn’t tied between two poles with his life hanging in the balance.
“You’re awfully bold all of sudden, Mr. Steel.”
“I guess so.” Ashton looked down at himself, surprised to see long red fingers of blood reaching around both of his bare sides. His arms were still streaked and sticky with the red stuff. He realized he ought to still be in pain. Odd. He twisted his back experimentally. Rays of pain shot through his body like grape shot. There it is. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes closed until the wave passed.
“Why so bold, Mr. Steel?” Hillary pressed.
“I dunno. Something he said.” Ashton nodded at Matt. “Something about hell I think. Anyway, I think that I’m supposed to lay down my life for other people or something like that. It’s bloody mixed up right now. But it made sense last night.” He ran his hands through his hair. It was beginning to get long enough to tangle.
“You think you’ve helped?”
“I don’t know.” He looked at Hillary, then at Matt, “But at least I tried. And I’m not hurting him anymore anyway.”
Hillary looked distinctly disgruntled. “Aren’t you?” She turned to Matt, “Are you going to cooperate now?”
Matt wrinkled his forehead like he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do. “Remind me what you want again?”
“tell me how to move the barriers by region! So that I can do it without your help!” She was really losing it now.
“no.” Matt said. Ashton started to clench his fists, but settled for clenching his jaw when pain shot through his arms at the flexing. He’d known Matt wouldn’t buckle, but he almost wished he would. Hillary glared at him for a moment. Then she turned and jerked her head at Terrance. Without a pause for consideration, terrance gleefully hurried around behind Matt again.
“No.” Ashton choked out the words, “Can’t you leave him alone? Beat me again if you have to beat someone.” Terrance looked at Hillary for direction.
“You’ve decided to go all out with this “laying down your life” thing, haven’t you Mr. Steel. It’s commendable. Perhaps we’ll come back to beating you after we’ve done some work on the Asian. Your pain doesn’t appear to change his mind very well.” She nodded the go ahead to Terrance. The first blow cracked. Matt let himself hang limp and swing between the poles. His body rippled when the whip came down and a brief grimace passed over his face. The whip came down again and again, painting red streaks across his back. Matt remained silently hanging between the poles, taking each blow limply. Terrance grew frustrated at his victim’s unresponsiveness. He began to be more creative. The whip reached over Matt’s shoulder to tear at his chest. It snaked around his waist to criss cross around his stomach. Ashton felt tears begin to streak down his face. He hadn’t cried in a long time. Even the extreme pain in his back at his own beating hadn’t driven his eyes to overflow. But this kid hanging between the poles, taking a beating to protect his family. This kid was something else.
“Are you crying, Mr. Steel?” Hillary pursed her lips in mock sympathy. “Hold on for a moment, Terrance, I’m afraid the spectacle is too much for our newest slave.” Terrance snapped the whip back over his head, frustrated at being stopped. He fidgited with the whip, rolling it up and shaking it out again while they talked.
“Is it worth it, Matt?” Ashton stood shakily and took a step toward the kid, keeping one eye on the barbarians all the while. “Is it worth this? I mean, your family’s not going to die, are they?”
“I don’t know.” Matt panted, his bloody chest rising and falling heavily. He looked over at Hillary, “She might kill them just to spite me.”
“Why?”
“Why what, Mr. Steel?” Hillary asked. She was upset at being left out of their conversation.
“Why do you care enough? Enough to die.” He drilled Matt with an intense stare. This could be his only chance to ask.
Matt took a deep breath and forced out the words. “he did so much more. For me.”
“who? Your Jesus person?”
“yeah, that Jesus person. He was crucified to pay for my sin.” Hillary stood, exasperated with their talking.
“enough of this nonesense! Beat him! Beat him!” Her voice rose to a shriek. Ashton turned to look at her. She’s snapped. He heard a crack and spun to see Terrance laying into Matt’s back with his whip as if he inteded to carve his way right through the teenager’s body. Matt’s face contorted in excruciating pain he clenched his jaw against the screams that threatened to tear out of his body.
“Stop it!” Ashton lunged forward but was grabbed by two barbarians. They grabbed his arms and shoulders, not caring for the blood that spattered all over them in their grappling. They seemed to relish the pain they put him in as he struggled. The whip came down again and again. Matt continued to bear it in silence, for a time.
“Stop.” Hillary stepped down from her throne and walked over to Matt. “are you ready help me now?” She waited. Matt’s head hung to his chest, his whole body swung limply between the poles. Only the slow rising and falling of his chest showed that he was alive. As silence settled over the room the sound of his ragged breathing echoed off the walls. “terrance, bring water. I think he has passed out.” Terrance hurried toward the door. Matt’s eyes fluttered. “No.” Hillary raised her hand. “Wait. Are you ready to talk, young man?” Matt grunted. “Good. Will you help me?”
A wheeze escaped Matt’s lungs. He tried again. “No.” he whispered.