36. Max

W e stop outside the fourth maze, and honestly, for the first time I'm worried. Everything that Draven said to me on the way here has stuck in my head and the look on his face, was a lot more serious than the times before.

He gives you an impossible choice. He will use something against you.

Draven's words run through my mind and for the life of me, I have no idea what Pothead could offer me that would cause me to not choose myself. What could he possibly know about me, offer me, or even have on me that would make this impossible? Everything in my life from the attack is redacted. My entire life, other than that is clean. So, I guess this should be easy .

"Hey." I turn my head to Draven, smiling so as to try and relax him because right now, he might actually look worried. "You know you don't have to do this right?" he reassures me.

I nod once. "I know, but I got this." I shrug. "What's the worst that could happen? Everything about me is hidden. So well…" I step toward him, poking him playfully in the chest. "Even the great Draven couldn't find it."

Winking, I face away from him, turning to make my way to the maze when I'm dragged back. His hand coming to my cheek and pulling me into a possessive kiss.

"Be strong, be aware," he whispers against my lips.

Pulling back slightly, I press my forehead against his, "I promise. I'll be out in no time."

"I'll be by the exit waiting." He juts his chin to the back of the maze. Tapping his chest with my hand, he releases me, and I begin my accension up the stairs to maze four. One way in, one way out. Not like the others where there were multiple exits, and it's not as big as the others either.

"Well, well." The maze attendee smiles, shifting his gaze from over my shoulder to meet mine. Was he looking at Draven? Did he see him kiss me? "I didn't expect to see you get this far." I recognize him from Midnight's Maze.

"Honestly," I snort, "neither did I."

"Good job though, glad you did, anyway… Welcome to The Deciding Factor. There's one room, one hallway leading to said room and one person in at a time, unless the previous person chose to stay." He pauses, opening the door. "You'll have as long as it takes to get yourself out, or until the next person comes in. Understood? "

I nod. "Yes."

Leaning forward he opens the steel door and I walk into pitch black, jazz music playing in the distance. Of course, he would play that kind of music, fucking dickweed. Widening my arms, I feel on either side for a wall, for something to keep me balanced so I'm able to make my way into the depths of despair.

My hand hits the damp wooden wall on my right and I use it as a guide to follow.

"Call to me… Don't hesitate, Max."

Draven's words play over again in my mind. Taking a deep breath, I begin my descent into the Hellmouth. The smell of antiseptic and bleach flows into my nostrils, the closer I get to the main room. The fumes stronger with each step and if this is all I have to deal with… piece of cake.

The fuck is he doing in here to warrant that much cleaning products to be used? A spotlight pops on in front of me and I raise my hand to shield myself from the brightness.

"Well, well." The voice comes over the speaker. "Come on in... Max."

The lock clicks in front of me, the electronic whirring out and the door slowly creaking open as the music lowers to a gentle hum. I wrap my fingers over the end of the door and slowly push it open and that's when I catch a glimpse of him.

Sitting in a black swivel chair, rouge lighting fills the room but the only thing I stare at, is the look on his face. It's one of pure malice, one I haven't seen in seven years. One I've come to know very well.

"Hello beautiful." The look on his face is already making me feel sick, and my face automatically screws up in disgust .

"Don't call me that." My words utterly uninterested. "What exactly do I do here?"

I watch his eyes roam over the entirety of my body and even though I'm dressed, the way he's looking at me makes me feel violated, just like those men before him.

My gut is telling me something doesn't feel right, and for some reason, I can't put my finger on it. Uncrossing his legs and widening them, the corner of his mouth curves into a disgusting grin.

"Come on, Max, you don't want to play a little before then?" Lifting his hand in a half circle motion, gesturing me to look around.

The moment I do, the red light becomes brighter and I notice the walls.

Whips, chains, and all kinds of BDSM equipment line them. Crops, vibrators, latex; everything you can possibly imagine. On the left wall is a St Andrews Cross, the other a desk. I look to the right of me and there's a stock.

The same kind Draven put me into our first encounter.

A medical table with handcuffs and surgical steel implements line a tray.

"See anything you like, beautiful?" His sick voice filling my ears and I do everything not to grimace.

Crossing my arms, I cock my hip out. "Can we get this over with?" My face screwed up because even after a few seconds, I'm already bored of his shit.

"How Draven managed to land a little prey like you, is shocking."

"How so?" I ask, not really interested in the answer, but I'll play along .

"All those scars he has, that bad fucking attitude. He's weak Max, you deserve a man like me." He leans forward, hitting his chest with vigor. "Someone strong, that can put you in your place and show you what real pleasure is."

"With all due respect—" I pause, "no, with absolutely no respect, like at all, I'd rather cut my own throat than ever let you touch me the way he does." I roll my eyes. "Let's just get this shit over with, I have a final maze to get to."

"Fine," he nods, leaning forward, wrapping his hands on the arms of the chair, he stands to his full height.

He's taller than I remember, but not as tall as my Big Guy.

"Entering my maze, you have a choice, and that choice is always impossible. So, here it is, free the last person I kept here and take on their torture yourself or... leave."

My brow furrows. "That's it?" I scoff, the laughter leaving my throat quicker than I expected.

That can't be it.

"That's it, beautiful."

"Then I choose to leave." I shrug, stepping towards the exit behind him. He holds up his hand, and I stop in the center of the room, still a few feet from him, but closer than I want.

"Hold on, not so fast. You don't even know the best part yet." A dirty smirk crawls slowly up his face, his eyes creasing at the corners and some of his teeth on show.

"Which is?"

"Don't you want to see who it is at least? Before you make your decision? "

"I don't give a shit, as I said I chose to—"

He chuckles, interrupting me further and just being here longer than I need to, is pissing me off.

"I'm sure this will make you care." His voice changing to a more sinister tone, my skin shivering with nerves.

I call his bluff. "Doubtful."

Leaning over, he flicks the handle on the door beside him, the latch dropping and the moment the door swings open, sobbing fills the room. Po drags an oversized steel cage from behind the door and my heart stops beating.

Every fiber in my body shuddering in ultimate fear, because for the first time in a long time... I really am scared. There, in the cage, sits a petrified Sasha, her lips and nose are bloody, and utter fear is etched onto her face like I've never seen before.

A swollen welt sits on her cheek, her arms are handcuffed to either side of the cage, so they're stretched out as far as they can be, giving her little to no room for movement. Bite marks and lashes sit all over her arms and neck, I could almost vomit at the site of her.

"So…" My eyes flick to him and he grins psychotically. His voice taking a more menacing verbiage. "Are you sure Sasha can't tempt you to stay?"

Looking back at her, I watch as the tears stream down her face, creating clear tracks over her cheeks. "Max," she sobs, "I'm s-sorry."

"Sasha, it's ok." I cry, lunging toward her. I don't even make a single step, before Po turns around to face me. His large hand meeting my chest as he shoves me aggressively beside him .

My back instantly connects with the corner of the thick, medical steel table and the burn comes fast and heavy, winding me, sucking the air from my lungs and I heave, all the steel implements crashing behind me.

"She stays until you make your choice." Po laughs, "Oh Max, my God do her screams taste sweet."

"Fuck you!" I shout, spitting at his feet. "Let her go!"

"I'll make you a deal, something I never do." Holding up one finger, he looks at the ground and paces back and forth in front of me. "Tell me a secret, and both of you can go."

"What's the catch?" I stand straighter.

"No catch," he shrugs.

"Bullshit, there's no way it's that simple."

"The other option is you... for her, but if you chose to save her, she has to watch... for ten minutes."

"And if she doesn't?" I croak out, my eyes never leaving Sasha's pleading ones.

"Then I'll kill her." He pauses, lifting the knife from the holster on his thigh, pointing it directly at her.

"No!" I cry, holding my hands out in front of me.

"Then fucking talk!" Watching me while he walks, he stops directly beside the steel cage, tapping his knife on the top impatiently.

"Seven years ago, I was—"

"Raped," he interrupts me. "I'm aware, and I don't fucking care," he scoffs. "You're a weak woman, Max. Allowing all those men to fuck your cunt up so bad you lost the only thing that made you a woman. The act of giving life." Sniggering, he scoffs again. "Pitiful, if you ask me. How pathetic... and by the Governor's son too," he clicks his tongue. "What a very bad boy." He wag's a finger in front of me.

How did he—

"I got that little bit of information from none other than the boy himself."

"How…" My word a mere whisper.

"Max…"

Po's hand crashes down on the top of the cage, causing both of us to jump. "Shut up, you fucking bitch!"

"Don't shout at her!" I bellow. "Just let her fucking go!"

Po stomps over to me, reaching out and wrapping his hand in my hair, dragging me closer to him. His lips brushing against mine, his tongue darting out to taste me and he groans.

"Is that Draven's cock I can taste on your lips?"

"I'm surprised you know what his cum tastes like…" I smirk, even though his grip on my hair is dragging the follicles from the root. "Are you jealous that he fucked my throat instead of yours?" I smirk again.

The blade is at my throat before I can even register his arm moving. "You, or her, Maxine ? The decision is totally yours, but if you leave her here," running his nose over my neck, he breathes me in, "she will suffer a fate worse than anything you can think of. Trust me on that."

He grins against my cheek, and all I want to do is stab him to death, to show him that neither of us are weak but I can't, I have to make sure Sasha is ok first.

Opening his mouth, he slides his flattened tongue up the side of my face, his thick saliva resonating against my skin like a bad fucking smell.

"If you leave her here, I will rape her, Max. I'll fuck her so brutally that when the coroner finds her, they will vomit. Her melanin enriched body will be reduced to a boneless mass of skin and broken bones. "

My heart is beating so fast I can't control my own breathing. Just the images of Sasha being hurt, hearing what he will do to her and knowing I'll never leave her, all blending into one.

"I'll use her for as long as I see fit. Sasha will be my little plaything until her mind is so unimaginably fucked up, she will wish for death, beg for it." He briefly pauses. "And that's when I'll kill her."

The cold steel of his knife presses further into my skin, so I keep as still as I can, not moving even a millimeter.

"I'll even make sure her pathetic fucking mother finds her too. In fact, she won't have to because I'll deliver her body to her myself." He chuckles. "I'll make sure she doesn't get off as easy as you did."

The thought of him hurting Sasha is what breaks me. Knowing he could hurt her worse than anything I ever had done to me, scares me… no, it petrifies me.

"I'll stay," I whisper, not a single hesitation, I would lay my life on the line for Sasha every single time.

"No!" Sasha cries from the cage. "No Max! Don't you dare do this!"

"Excellent!" He laughs, shoving me away from him and clapping his hands with excitement.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a long key and pushes it into the padlock, unlocking the cage. Crouching down, he removes the bindings from Sasha's wrists, dragging her out. The moment she is free, she scrambles from the ground, running towards me and wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.

"I'm s-sorry, when he marked me Friday, he asked me to keep it a secret. I didn't know it was because of this, because of you. He—"

Pressing my hands to her shoulders, I push her back. "Sasha it's fine, you need to go sit in the corner now, ok." I look at her pointedly. "You need to watch, for ten minutes and then you're free."

"Max I, n-no… I can't do that," she shakes her head. "Y-you can't let him—"

"Sasha! Now!" I shout, pushing her away from me. I'm not angry at her, I never could be, but this is her life we're talking about. Resting her back to the wall, she slides down it, hugging her knees tightly to her chest.

"Get on your knees, Max." He snarls from behind me, and I follow his command. I hear the whipping sound of something being snatched from a wall.

The sound of water flowing begins to rush from behind me and my eyes widen, a heady swallow fills my throat and I know what's coming. My breathes become quicker, and I fight with myself to try and minimize them but it's no use. I know what he's about to do, I remember the feeling all too well.

No, not again.

"Are you afraid?" He crouches, one leg resting behind my back. I know he wants me to be. He gets off on the fear.

"No." Turning my head to face him, I snarl. Trying my best to look unafraid. "So do it."

A tight, rag covers my mouth and nose, leaving my eyes free. Yanking the back of my head onto his thigh, he leans over me and winks.

"I want you to see this." In a split second, water rushes over the rag so fast, it's impossible to catch my breath. The ice-cold liquid flowing into my mouth and down the back of my nose, keeping all the oxygen out. Blocking me from taking even a single breath .

I reach up, trying to claw at the hand behind me, desperate for air, for even a small amount to make its way in… but it never comes. Pulling the hose away and snatching the rag from my face, he pushes me forward onto all fours, and all I can do is cough, sucking in all the air I can.

The kick to my stomach is what surprises me, it comes out of nowhere and the air is yet again stolen from my chest. Clutching my stomach, I wince, the pain radiating through my entire midriff.

"Draven's little pet." His laughter bouncing off the walls. "I was waiting for him to become obsessed with something and funnily enough, he chose you." He continues, circling me like a wild animal. "It's weird, he's never cared before, never been interested this much in his prey."

I finally open my eyes and look up at Po as he circles me. He's not talking directly to me, but more to himself.

"Watching how he stalked you was the most fun I've had in a while. How can someone like you mean something to someone as dead inside as he is?" His laughter bubbles up again and I screw my face up.

"Fuck you." I force the words out. "Bitch." I laugh hoarsely, even though my stomach is throbbing.

He kicks me again; harder this time, and I swear I hear something crack. Nudging my shoulder with his booted foot, he rolls me onto my back and applies pressure to my neck, effectively choking me, further cutting off my air supply. I grip the underside of his boot with my hands as best as I can, and try to push it away to relieve some sort of pressure against my esophagus.

The black spots begin to dance in my eyes, fluttering back and forth, my vision becoming blurry before the light officially goes out.

Ice cold water crashes against my skin and I jolt awake, I don't know how long I've been out, but when my eyes find Sasha, I know it couldn't have been long.

Hearing Sasha bawl her eyes out, is breaking me in two.

"I knew the moment that motherfucker fell in love with you," Po shouts down at me. "The look on his pathetic face when he fucked you in his trailer earlier!"

He was watching us.

"Are you— jealous asshole?" My words sporadic as I try to breathe, "that he— fucked me?" My throat burning with a deep ache from where he choked me, but I continue to goad him. "Or," I struggle, "that he didn't fuck you?" I laugh with what little energy I have left.

"Shut up!" he shouts. Pressing his boot to my neck again and I don't have the energy to struggle. "Beg for it Max, beg for some fucking air, you whore!" The anger in his eyes is unlike anything I've never seen on anyone before. "What do you think he'll do when I send you back to him thoroughly fucked with my cum leaking out of you?" My eyes begin to flutter. "Scream for me, won't you?"

I won't give him the satisfaction of hearing me beg… or scream. If this is where I'm supposed to die, then fine. I shake my head and he presses down once again. My air supply getting cut off, my arms becoming too weak to push.

The surrounding area of my sight becoming dark, my eyes starting to roll back yet again, when he finally lifts his boot and I'm able to take the deepest of breaths, a coughing fit invading my lungs as fresh, cold air enters my chest.

"Get up, Max, or I'll hurt her." He points toward Sasha, who is absolutely hysterical. It's a wonder how I didn't hear her before now.

"Go stand by the cross, keep your back to me." Crawling over to the cross I wrap my hands around the leather straps, struggling to hoist myself to a standing position and lean against it. "Now take off your top, beautiful." He smiles at me.

I grab the hem of my top and remove it in one swift movement, then I'm pushed roughly against the wood.

"Draven, thinks he's everything around here," Po seethes behind me, pressing his erection against my ass and I grimace. "Let's see how he feels when he sees my marks on your beautiful skin." Bringing his lips to the shell of my ear he continues, "I'm going to enjoy fucking you, Max." His hands snake around my waist, cupping me between my legs. "An unwilling woman is my favorite."

The first crack of the cane against my shoulder blade shocks me enough to make my legs buckle. My nails scratching against the dark wood and I have to bite down on my bottom lip to secure the scream in my throat.

"I'll make you scream, Max; I promise."

"Let Sasha go!" I call with every ounce of energy I have left. "And you can have what you like."

"Oh, I will be, don't worry about that!" The whipping sound on the cane as it slices through the air and connects with my spine brings on a whimper. He breathes into my ear. "But she can go."

"Max?" She questions from beside me.

"Go!" I shout, hoping she will listen to me and do as I fucking say for once. "Get the fuck out of here, Sasha!" I'm loud enough for her to jump in fear, and I watch as she scrambles to the door.

"You tell Draven anything Sasha, and I'll murder him in front of her the moment he walks through that fucking door!" He calls after her as she runs out screaming. "Now I have you to myself, let's see if we can get some screams from that beautiful fucking throat of yours."

Raising the cane, he hammers down whip after whip. The snapping of it against my skin ringing out into the silent room but I don't make a sound. I won't give him what he wants. I can already feel how damp my back is. There's no way I'm not bleeding.

Don't scream Max.

Breathe.

Stay calm.

Don't give him what he wants.

"Scream goddamn it!" He bellows, wrapping his hands around my shoulders and throwing me across the desk beside the cross.

My body rolling over the top and hitting the floor with a heavy thump and crash, knocking everything over. I'm delirious and I just want to scream for him , but I can't. I can't risk the threat of him coming in here and Po killing him.

His anger infiltrating the room. "I know what will make you scream; I saw your medical records, Max. Let's see how this arm holds up."

The pop from my shoulder as he dislocates it, sends an almighty shriek into the room that I'm unable to stop.

No Max!