The blond slammed the bottle on the tabletop once he'd emptied it. The water spray behind Joshua stopped.
"Wanna beer, kid?" he asked with an alluring grin, stood and went to an old fridge nearby. Opening the larger, bottom door, he retrieved two bottles and returned to the table. He opened both with a twist, then approached Joshua with a glimmer of lust in his stare.
"You don't have to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you...not really. But the others might wanna have some brutal fun with ya," he gave a slight snicker then put the bottle to Josh's lips. "Drink up, now," he commented as he turned the bottle up slightly, filling Joshua's mouth with the full flavor of an imported dark beer.
He had three choices, either spit it back at the man, swallow, or choke on it. Choosing to swallow, he thought it better for his situation than to spit it at the man and gain his unwanted attention, or choking on it.
"That's a good boy," the man smiled almost tenderly at Josh and placed a hand at the back of his captive's head, which he used to pet Josh with. "Drink it all," he said as he turned the bottle up further, which forced Josh to have to swallow furiously. "Can't have you wasting it...that's alcohol abuse, kid," he teased.
"You gave a good fight, baby. I was rather surprised with ya." The man winked, then leaned closer. "I love a good fight," he whispered directly into Josh's ear. "Ya hungry?" he asked almost in the same breath.
Joshua nodded as best he could and decided to pick his battles rather than be obnoxious and earn something he didn't want. He wasn't up for a beating or unwanted pleasures either, but he
was
hungry.
The blond grinned, "Name's Casey, kid." He moved to the far side of the fridge and lifted a lid off a large pot on a hotplate that Josh hadn't seen until then.
Meanwhile, the brute that had hosed him down cut his hands free. With a cruel grip, he took hold of Joshua's arm and dragged him to the small table not far from the vile faucet from which the offensive hose was attached and sat him down rather roughly. With the blade of the knife under the chin, he lifted Josh's head until their eyes met.
"You try anything stupid, and I'll bleed ya dry, kid," he barked ominously.
"C'me on, Stan. Let the kid alone, will ya?" the blond rebutted. "He's being compliant. Can't you see that?"
Casey brought the large bowl of stew to the table and set it down before Josh. He then sat across from the boy in the only other chair provided there.
"Eat up, baby," the man waved a hand at Josh with a small smile.
"I'm goin upstairs, you guys. I think I've had enough of the stench in this room, for now," one of the others stood and started up the steps. The other two joined him, leaving Casey and Josh alone.
Josh hadn't noticed a stench in the room. He breathed in long and silently to be sure he hadn't missed anything, then decided the man was talking about him. And it didn't matter to him at all. None of the fellows that had raped and kidnapped him had a pleasant aroma either. Even Casey had a sort of rude odor, as far as Josh was concerned. His only reason for being so compliant was for a hot meal and trying not to be brutalized more than he already had.
Scooping up some of the stew with the spoon provided, Josh shoveled it into his mouth. It was too hot and scalded him right away, so that he spit it out as quick as he had taken it in.
"Aww..." the man grimaced. "I shoulda put some ice in that for ya," he said as he stood and went back to the fridge.
While the man was busy getting some ice, Josh wished he at least had a glass of water to cool his scalded tongue with.
"Can I have some water?" he asked meekly.
Casey turned abruptly at hearing Josh's voice the first time since he had been awake. It was mild and demure—a marked difference from the yells and screams that had issued from the boy the night before. Quite frankly, Casey found Josh's voice to be kind of erotic and inviting.
"Sure, baby, but would you rather have a beer instead?" he smiled gently at Josh as he asked.
Josh shrugged, "I guess so."
The man replaced the old metal ice tray into the freezer, opened the other door and grabbed another beer. On his way, he stopped by the larger table, got his beer and ambled to the smaller where Josh sat. He dumped a couple large pieces of ice into the bowl and set the two beers down as he sat.
"There, stir that up until the ice melts. It'll cool it down so you can eat it."
Joshua looked up at the man with curiosity, then did as Casey had said. He also lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long drink, realizing how much he had wanted it rather than water.
Soon, the ice had melted and Josh took another try at the stew. It was still warm. He shoved it into his mouth and savored the taste of something he'd not remembered ever eating. It was familiar, but he couldn't recall how or when.
"I can tell you like it by your expression, kid. I made it. Just for you. Want some crackers with it? Bread?" Casey asked.
Josh shrugged again. His attention was on the stew he was devouring at a face pace.
"You should slow down or you'll get a tummy ache, kid," Casey said as he stood and went back to the counter by the fridge. He reached up to a cabinet door, which he opened and retrieved a pack of saltines from a box.
