Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (Book 4)
Savage Vengeance (Book 5 - this story)
VIOLENCE WARNING: The two stories in the Savage Gang saga, and especially the second story, involve a gang practicing extreme violence toward everyone — women, the elderly, the protagonist, etc. The stories contain mature sexual content and violence as well. I am placing this warning on all chapters, including those without such violence, so you can choose whether to continue.
CHAPTER 43
A smack to her face and a hand pulling her hair awoke Beth Harper. She opened her eyes, and winced a moment later. She turned from her side onto her back, and toward the pressure on her hair, as she tried to take the weight off her sore ribs and her throbbing shoulder.
Where was she? Beth fought off the desire to fade back into unconsciousness. She forced her eyes to focus as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Beth lay on a cot in a small, dark room.
She saw a face close to hers. It was the face of the man holding her hair, looking down at her. She first noticed the man's mismatched eyes — one brown, the other pale blue eye, with an orange discoloration in the outer corner of the iris. A square jaw and a dimpled chin dominated his features. He had the outline of a snake shaved into the stubble covering his head.
He smiled at her. A malicious, gleeful smile. She would never forget the smile, or the man's face. They would haunt her nightmares forever. Maximus Savage.
Her costume was gone, she noticed, replaced by what might have passed for a hospital gown, if it weren’t so tattered. It was dull and brown, with tears in places, just like the blanket balled up at the end of her rickety cot. The gown barely covered her, stopping well above her knees and hanging off one shoulder.
She didn’t dare move again, both because of her pain, and the hold on her hair. Her eyes darted about in panic, taking in the square room. The room wasn't much longer than the cot, which rested against one wall. The walls and low ceiling looked to be chiseled out of the rock, and the air was dank and musty. Behind Savage, she could make out a metal door. It was more like a gate with bars on it. She was in a cell.
“You’re probably wondering where you are, Sapphire Angel, or whatever your name is,” Savage sneered, leaning in as he pulled her hair, bringing her closer. She winced before he released her hair.
As she became more alert, memories trickled back to her. She remembered Savage destroying her, and the gang bringing her to the prison after a long journey. She remembered the eyes upon her as the gangsters dragged her past the cells. Sapphire Angel recalled one face in particular. Gregor, the sadistic brute from Colorado. Or perhaps it was someone who looked like him.
But most of all, she recalled the gangsters stripping her and taking her costume. They had done it in front of the prisoners. This had been the ultimate symbol of her fall — from indestructible and radiant heroine to a frail and vulnerable woman. A beaten woman. A fallen angel.
Beth shrank away from Savage as fear and dread filled her. Wherever she was, she was far from home, starting up at the man who had destroyed her. She hadn’t been able to handle this man with all her powers. Now she was powerless and injured. She had never felt so completely at someone’s mercy as she did now.
Savage must have read it in her eyes.
“That’s right,” he said as he glared at her. “You should be terrified, Sapphire Angel. But not because of what I’m going to do to you. You should be scared because this place is now your home. Your ultimate punishment. This is what happens to anyone who tries to stop me and my men. Even the mighty Sapphire Angel, America’s heroine.”
He said the last words with derision, as if it were a joke.
“Where… where am I?” she asked, her dry voice cracking, and barely a whisper.
“You probably figured out we’re far away from your pathetic city,” he said, his smile conveying pure delight. “I’m not telling you where you are. But people don’t escape this place, and this cell is too strong, even for you. So you’re stuck here, even if you miraculously would heal to full strength. I’ll be heading back to your city, where I’ll have free rein.”
Sapphire Angel stared up at him, blinking, as his words sunk in. She had failed her city. She couldn’t speak.
“I just finished taking care of some things here,” Savage continued, “but I needed to get one last look at a so-called superheroine, reduced to nothing.”
He laughed at his comment without taking his eyes off her. The enjoyment Savage was getting from this was obvious. His attitude reminded her of his demeanor during their fight. She remembered the anger in his face as he dealt punishment — punishment intent on causing pain. Blow after blow, she had experienced sensations she had never felt before. Her necklace had always protected her from any blows, but Savage’s power had been too much. Too much for the necklace to overcome.
The necklace. His comments about the strength of her cell showed he did not know the necklace was the source of her powers. Not that it mattered. Her necklace and her costume were gone.
As she thought about her lost items, more details of the fight came back to her. She remembered him throwing her into the water and nearly drowning her. She remembered the look in his eyes as his gaze feasted on her wet costume clinging to every curve. As she thought of the humiliation, tears welled up in her eyes. But she fought them back. She wouldn’t let him see her cry again.
Savage seemed to sense her internal battle, and tilted his head back and burst out with a loud, deep laugh.
This man was pure evil. She remembered his taunts during the fight, even after the outcome had been decided. She remembered his cruelty, as he had battered her, over and over. He had enjoyed it. What bred such viciousness? Was it her status as a famous heroine, and his desire to shatter that status? He hadn't just wanted to defeat Sapphire Angel. He had wanted to injure and destroy her. And he had succeeded.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Sapphire Angel had experienced nary a challenge in her career, at least in combat. She had suffered the occasional setback, and a bump here and there from a lucky blow. But a single opponent had never overpowered her in a straight fight. Until now. Savage had injured her so badly she couldn’t stop his men from stripping her costume from her body. The memory came back to her of Savage’s men removing it, piece by humiliating piece, leaving her naked on the cold floor.
Where was her costume now? The loss of her items — especially her necklace — made clear the difference between her and the monster standing over her. Savage was a human wrecking ball, all on his own. Without her necklace, she was nothing. A fraud. Unworthy.
Had her dreams foreshadowed this? It seemed so.
Savage cackled for several more seconds before staring at her. He kept his gaze fixed on the beaten woman, his brow wrinkled, almost as if he were trying to bore into her soul.
“I gotta say,” he said. “You look different without that shiny costume. Maybe just because you got your ass kicked.”
She knew why she looked different. It was because the power of her items no longer protected her identity.
He laughed again before continuing.
“I warned you,” he growled. “If you had just left us alone, your punishment wouldn’t be so rough.”
Sapphire Angel turned away, staring at the wall. As she wondered how long she had been here, the mundane realities of her situation came to her. People would miss her back home. Her friends and family would worry over her disappearance, and her coworkers and boss would wonder what had happened to her. Her life as Sapphire Angel had interfered with her life before, but never like this. She would never get home again.
Beth tried to sit up, but winced. She wondered how much damage Savage had done. She had suffered broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a knee injury. It was too much to believe, given how indestructible she thought she had been. She sank back onto the cot.
She had one question she needed answered, even though it didn’t seem to matter.
“My… my costume? Where is it?”
Savage laughed again.
“Gone,” he said. “I gave it away. You won’t need it here, anyway, unless the warden planned to have you play dress up. Some prisoners might have liked that.”
Beth swallowed hard. Sapphire Angel was so much a part of her that the thought of her costume — her necklace — being gone forever chilled her to the bone. The power of the necklace only worked for her, so it could serve as only a trophy for someone else. Beth wondered if Savage had really given it away, or if he planned to sell it. Many people would pay an exorbitant sum for her costume.
Beth fought back tears again as her eyes misted over. The loss of her costume, and most importantly her necklace, brought a finality to her situation. It meant Sapphire Angel was finished.
Savage rose from the cot, looking down at her. “Before I go, I have one question. What did it feel like?”
Beth’s face twisted in confusion. What kind of question was that? She couldn’t keep the confusion from her face. It hurt like hell.
“I don’t mean the pain, you dumb bitch,” Savage said with a sneer, as if reading her thoughts. “I mean, what is it like, being an all-powerful, revered superheroine, a goddess, the biggest superstar in the country and maybe the world — and then having me crush you?”
Beth looked up at him, her mouth open, but didn’t speak. She shook her head.
“Has anyone ever beaten you in a fight before?” he asked.
Beth still didn’t answer, turning away from him again. His hand shot out, wrapped around her throat, and squeezed. She pawed at his hands in a weak effort, but his grip tightened.
“I asked you a question, bitch! I’ll only ask one more time,” he snarled, leaning over her. “Has anyone ever beaten you in a fight before?”
His eyes bore down on her, and she looked back in panic. She couldn’t breathe. She tried to speak, but only a wheeze came out. He loosened his grip.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“Lynch’s men… they ambushed me in an alley a couple weeks ago. Well, I think it was a couple of weeks ago. No idea how long I’ve been here,” she said.
She paused to catch her breath, and to build up enough strength to continue. Savage seemed to recognize her struggle and loosened his grip on her throat even more. After a few moments, she continued, her voice weak and quivering.
“They got the jump on me, and knocked me around pretty good. Tied me by the wrists. But I escaped.”
“How about one-on-one? Anybody get the best of you?” Savage asked.
She paused, breathing hard, as his hand continued its hold on her slender neck. Just speaking took supreme effort.
“One time somebody knocked me into an elevator where there was a gas trap. But flat out lost? No.”
This seemed to please Savage. His eyes twinkled with mirth.
“Good,” he said. “So I was the first. Now, back to my first question. What did it feel like? And your answer better be convincing. Don’t hold back.”
He eased his grip, allowing her to suck in more air. Her mind struggled to catch up and to understand why he was asking. Did his ego need to hear it from her lips? Was it one last display of his dominance over her? She gathered herself and spoke.
“I… I don’t know,” she said
Savage said nothing, but his fingers tensed around her throat. Words spilled from her mouth.
“It was shocking,” she blurted out. “Humiliating. Humbling. Confusing. Hard to comprehend. I thought I was unbeatable.”
That answer must have sufficed, as Savage released her and stood, towering over her. He gave one last stare at her lithe form in its tattered gown. She closed her eyes to avert his gaze.
“Farewell, Sapphire Angel. I’m headed back to your city. I’ve got a crime wave to continue, and there’s no superheroine around to get in the way. Enjoy the rest of your life here. Oh, and enjoy your neighbors, too.”
He laughed, turned, and stepped from the cell, slamming the cell door closed after him. She heard the turning of a key, before his shadow disappeared into the darkness beyond the door.
Awake and alone in her new confines for the first time, Beth stared at the ceiling, and the weight of the situation washed over her. There was no hope. She was powerless. She didn’t know where she was. A horde of prisoners waited for her. At least one of them had a score to settle with her. Her life was over. Savage had seen to it. He had defeated and broken her completely.
She finally let the tears flow. They came and did not stop. Soon, she was sobbing, her shoulders heaving. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep.
END OF PART ONE
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (Book 4)
Savage Vengeance (Book 5 - this story)
Dude, I feel like I'm watching the text version of an intense multi-episode streaming series/drama or something! The whole "END OF PART ONE" stuff gave me legit chills; maybe everything from Chapter 1 to here could have been its own novel while the second half also got its own novel, to give off the whole "two-part finale" impression! Though I think I recall hearing that there is at least one more novel planned after this one.....?
Like I said before, if there's one thing I've learned from most superhero flicks, it's that the lower a hero's brought down, the fiercer and better they get back up (look at how the Avengers and their allies went from being Snapped at the end of Infinity War to trouncing Thanos at the end of Endgame five in-universe years later). Still.....the thought of both her costume and her necklace being somewhere out there also gave me a sense of unease. .....What if some people are USING it? What if Augustus Bell puts on the costume and the necklace and becomes the NEW Sapphire Angel?!
......No, who am I kidding? That's never gonna happen. I'd be throwing money at him to put a DIFFERENT outfit on, in that case.
Where do we even go from here? What even happens next? Beth's allies are all just normal people, and even if they have great tech courtesy of Stanley Devor, I don't think they'll be able to find this place easily, much less mount a rescue. And for all we know, Olivia Lockheed's whole dynamic with Sapphire is at an end.
......Justice Seekers? Now's your chance to shine! (cricket noises) ......No? Okay..... Maybe they'll intercept Savage and the Gang when they try to go back to Harrisburg. And then they'll be the "heroes" for a while. And then when Beth escapes the prison, defeats Bell, and heads back, everyone loves them now instead of her and she has to work over the course of several novels to restore her rep or something. And there's also the two random gang members who still have her car and are out there doing God-knows-what with it.
It's fine if there's a break between Part One and Part Two; take your time! I'll be right here as long as this series (and others like it) keeps going! Or until I die! Whichever comes first!