Jessie hesitated before answering. "Yeah, he was…but the bastards left him in bad shape."
Mark sensed movement and strained to lift his head. What did they plan to do to him now? Thirst overwhelmed him and his tongue felt thick. He'd give anything for a drink of water. Maybe they would give him one. If nothing else, it would prolong the fun they were having. Mark's last memory had been of the cult milling beneath him. Chanting and drumbeats had echoed in the warehouse, but they had seemed distant and disorganized. Someone had wondered aloud about breaking Mark's legs but Snake Eyes had told them no, because things would go too fast then. Mark hadn't been sure what he meant, but was thankful that he didn't have that added misery.
He arched his back in a futile attempt to relieve the strained muscles and pressure on his hands, but that movement intensified the pain in his palms. Mark couldn't help uttering a deep moan. The smallest movements sent shards of agony through his hands and so he stilled, his breathing rapid and shallow. Blinking, he tried to focus on the blurry forms in front of him. The room was lighter and a slow glance to his left showed sunlight beginning to spill into the room. The pink and gold looked beautiful and he tried to block out everything except the sunrise. His last sunrise.
How long had he been here? It seemed like days had passed since he had gone to bed, and he wasn't sure what time they had come for him, but his impression in the van had been that it was around two or three a.m. Very few cars had been on the streets. He guessed it was now almost seven. There was a sudden lurch and the cross swayed. Mark groaned, dropping his head and closing his eyes. The pain in his hands became exquisite. He whole being; his awareness telescoped down to the his palms. Nothing else existed.
"Hurry! He's in here!" Jessie pointed the way for the paramedics as they exited their squad, then motioned for Lily to follow her. The paramedics rushed in ahead of them, loaded down with their supply boxes. The first one stopped abruptly.
"What the hell?" He turned to look at Jessie. "What happened here?"
The second paramedic looked beyond his partner and his eyes widened. "Jesus Christ!"
"No, he's Mark Taylor and he needs your help," Jessie snapped and pushed the man firmly towards the cross. She turned and grasped Lily's elbow. "It might be best if you stand over here, okay?" Lily began to protest, but Jessie put her hands on the other woman's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "We have to stay out of the way for now. It's going to get crazy in a minute, with a whole slew of people running around."
"But I feel like I need to do something." Lily shrugged Jessie's hands off and crossed her arms.
"I know. I do too, but we have to let the paramedics do their job, okay?"
Lily let out a deep breath and swiped at a tear at the corner of her eye. "You're right. That's the most important thing. I'm fine."
"Thank you." Jessie turned to see more help pouring into the room. "Come on." She put her hand on Lily's back. "Let's get a little closer." They moved to where Jim stood, his arms crossed, his expression hard.
Jessie watched silently while the firemen rigged ropes and first lifted the cross out of its stand and eased it down onto the floor. Even though the men did their best to be gentle, the cross jolted slightly as it met the cement, eliciting a strangled moan from Mark. Her stomach twisted.
Jessie tried not to focus on him, and on the horror she felt every time her gaze was pulled to his limp figure, but found it impossible to look away. She had a constant taste of bitterness in the back of her throat and swallowed audibly.
"You okay, Jessica?" Jim searched her face, concern in his eyes.
Jessie nodded and cleared her throat. "Yes. I just…this is…" She gave up, unable to form a coherent sentence about what she was feeling at that moment. Her revulsion at what was done to Mark almost overwhelmed her and her throat tightened. She crossed her arms. Lily rubbed her back, and Jessie felt grateful for her presence and silly for any jealousy she'd felt earlier. It was trivial now.
Jim looked at the flurry of activity and nodded. "I know what you mean. I think this ranks up there as one of the sickest things I've ever seen."
At that moment, something caused Mark to start thrashing his head, his back arching. His mouth opened and a hoarse series of protests mixed with moans poured out. Jessie hurried closer, feeling a need to do something. Jim and Lily only steps behind, but they had to stop short of reaching him as the paramedics surrounded him, and two more entered the warehouse, muttering curses and dragging a gurney behind them.
Lily's face was still wet with tears, but there was a desperate note of hope in her voice as she said, "He's going to be okay, right?"
Jim sighed. "I wish I knew."
One of the paramedics stood arms outstretched and bellowed, "Stop! Everybody just stop for a second!"
All activity ceased and they turned to the paramedic for direction. Mark quieted as well, his head turning weakly from side to side.
"Listen up. We all want to help him, but we have to do this right, okay?" The paramedic scanned all the members of his team, "We need to be very careful because we don't want to cause more damage. Do not pull the nails out. They need to do that at the hospital. What we have to do, is somehow get the nails separated from the wood while keeping his hands and feet as still as possible."
Another paramedic nodded and spoke up. "I think the eight inch bolt cutters will fit in between the victim and the wood. They shouldn't have any trouble cutting through these nails."
The first one nodded. "Good idea, John. Let's try it."
Jessie watched the one called Luke turn to a toolbox and pull out the tool. He moved to Mark's left arm. "Mark? Can you hear me?"
Mark's eyebrows raised as his head turned towards the voice. "That's it, buddy. I'm going to insert a bolt cutter beneath your hand here, and snip that nail. It might hurt a bit, but I need you to try and hold still and not pull away. Do you understand?"
Mark opened his eyes and turned his head, looking up at the ceiling. For several seconds his eyes roved the upper reaches of the building before drifting closed. His lips began moving but only a whisper of sound came out. Luke leaned closer and turned his head to hear, holding his hand up for quiet from the rest of the crew. His eyes squinted in concentration then an expression of disbelief washed over his face as he sat back slowly.
"What did he say?" Jim stepped forward and Jessie realized that Mark might have told the paramedic something important that would help them catch the bastards who had done this to him.
Luke looked at Jim. "I…I think he said, 'Our Father, who art in heaven.'…and then he started saying something else. It might have been a prayer too, but it's all mixed up and jumbled."
"Oh." Jim sounded non-plussed and crossed his arms. Out of the corner of her eye, Jessie saw one medic make the sign of the cross.
The paramedic motioned for his crew mates to hang on tight to Mark's arm and then he leaned in, cutters in hand. "I need some more light!"
Someone aimed a bright flashlight on the trapped hand and Luke spoke once more to Mark "Okay, here we go, Mark."
He wiggled the tool into the slight gap and took time to assess his placement, peering into the tiny space he'd squeezed out between wood and flesh. "Looks good. Hold him tight!" His forearm muscles flexed as he exerted pressure on the handles. The nail snapped with a soft pop accompanied by a low moan by Mark.
Luke backed away and allowed another paramedic to ease Mark's arm down and Jessie shuddered at the agonized cry that the movement elicited from Mark. She turned away and in her haste, bumped into Lily. "Excuse me," she choked out as she side-stepped the other woman. Jessie didn't know where she intended to go, but she knew she couldn't watch any more of this. Lily's hand on her arm stopped her.