Dog Blood

questions to ask,” he says. He’s right, I have a hundred questions ready. He knows I won’t ask any, but he still waits for me to speak. Wish he was close enough to kill. If I just had one hand free I’d have wrapped these chains around his throat and garrotted him before he’d known what was happening. If I could I’d smash his head into the wall, or burn him with the lamp or break the glass and grind it into his face or…
    “My name’s Joseph Mallon,” he says, his heavily accented voice sounding composed, calm, and unhurried. “I’ll be working with you while you’re here.”
    Working with me? What the hell’s he talking about?
    “You were lucky to get away from the hospital by all accounts,” he continues. “Now that says to me you were either incredibly lucky or very smart. I’m hoping it’s the latter. You look like you’ve lasted well out there. You’re in good shape.”
    Does he want to kill me or fuck me?
    “I’ll tell you what I know about you, just to get us started.”
    He pauses, and in the gap between his words I almost forget myself and speak. But at the last second I remember what he is and I stay silent, feeling my body tensing up again.
    “I’ve been through your stuff,” he says. “It’s all safe, by the way. I know your name’s Danny McCoyne. It’s funny how we still carry things like wallets around. I guess it’s just habit, isn’t it? Even someone like you, someone who’s so desperate not to be anything like the person he was before, you still had your wallet kicking around at the bottom of your bag. Couldn’t bring yourself to get rid of it, eh? You’ve got no use for it, but there it was, full of useless banknotes, credit cards you’ll never use again, pictures of your family. Lovely-looking kids, by the way.”
    At the mention of my family I automatically try to move and pull against my chains again. He grins. That was exactly what he wanted. I curse myself for being so transparent.
    “That touched a nerve, didn’t it?!” he laughs, looking pleased with himself. “Might explain why a big, hard man like you is carrying a doll and a kid’s clothing around in his bag. Were you looking for someone?”
    I look away, deliberately breaking eye contact and staring up at the ceiling. Undeterred, Mallon gets up and leans over me. I arch my back again, trying to get closer and freak the fucker out, but this time he stands his ground. The light shining up from the lamp on the floor casts strange shadows over his foul face. He grins and leans closer, staying just out of reach. I can almost feel his breath on me.
    “Just relax. You’re going nowhere, Danny McCoyne.”
    There’s a noise outside that distracts him, the dull, muffled thump and rumble of a distant explosion. Mallon walks to the window and pulls the board away slightly to look outside. He doesn’t say anything about what he sees, but the fact that he’s able to look outside and I can’t reminds me again that I don’t even know where I am. I don’t know where this place is. Add to that the fact that I don’t know how long I was unconscious for… Jesus, I could be anywhere.
    “Questions,” Mallon suddenly announces, carefully replacing the board, then sitting down again. “If you’re not going to talk to me, let me see if I can hazard a guess at some of the questions you’re too proud to ask. We’ll start with the basics, shall we? Who am I? Where are you? What are you doing here? How come you’re still alive? How long will you stay alive? What are we going to do to you? Tell me, Danny, am I on the right lines?”
    He’s right, and I need to know all of that and more, but I still won’t answer. I can’t answer. Won’t even look at him. I clench my fists, tense my muscles and grind my teeth, and stare up at the ceiling, doing all I can not to give him the satisfaction of a response. He shakes his head and sucks his teeth. If I stay quiet for long enough, maybe he’ll tell me anyway? Bastard seems to like the sound of his own voice.
    “Not going to talk to me at all this evening?”
    Don’t react. He wants you to react. He’s trying to antagonize you.
    “You know I can keep you here as long as I like, don’t you?”
    Ignore him.
    “I’m thinking you’re uncomfortable lying there like that. If I leave you all night it’s going to get pretty bloody painful.”
    He won’t undo these chains whatever I do. More bullshit.
    “And you’re gonna get mighty hungry. How long’s it