Chapter 12

12

 

We stared across the room. Our eyes locked onto the metal door. Would he return? What would they do to him? Where was he?  Questions like that kept us all on high alert - our breathing as fast as ever. Though nobody made a sound. Perhaps the doom of one was enough to bring another to a deadly silence. I sat restlessly, my skin prickling with fear. I may have hated him, but this was life or death, so I felt as sympathetic as anyone...and I didn't want to be next. My face tried to remain emotionless; in contrast to the others, whose expressions were just a picture of disaster.

"Guys, calm down. He'll be fine. He claims he's the best at training, so he'll just throw a punch or something and come back." I said, not even convincing myself.
Everyone looked at me with hope and despair. They relied on me to feed them what they wanted to hear. But I couldn't do that to them forever. I wasn't the chief.
I stood up firmly. "Okay, you want to help him then?! 'Cause I honestly don't think that boy is getting out of there alone!"
All angels turned their heads and trembled.

"We have to scream. Distract them. Save him, even if I don't want to! Every angel counts here - friend or foe. So come on!" I ordered, latching onto the bars again.
They did what they were told, and soon every single angel emitted screams and barbaric yelling across the prisons. We wouldn't stop; we cried and shook the bars and caused chaos within.  But among the outburst came a distant cry. At once, we were silent again, our ears pricked up.

"What was that...?" Someone whispered.
It sounded again, louder this time.
"That's Artemis." I mouthed, breathing heavily. Panic and tears flooded their faces, their arms extended in desperation. I called out to him, abusing the white-coats with nasty curses. 
Ten full minutes of screaming was only enough to trigger a reaction. But at last they returned. The door burst open furiously and slammed against the wall, revealing Dr Reed and two others. They marched through the corridor with Artemis in their arms, throwing him into his cell.

 "Artemis!" The entire prison cried. He was limp and bleeding, with no response to anything around him. His breaths were slow and heavy, but he was alive.
I reached through my cage. "Hey, wake up. You're back with us. You'll be fine soon." 
He groaned painfully. My eyes darted downwards as I noticed something; a thick bandage wrapped around his wrist. It was glowing slightly.
"What...what did they do to you?" I asked nervously.

"You're about to find out!" A voice from behind me cackled. My head spun round as a hand lunged towards me, yanking me hard by the collar. I twisted and turned, squirmed and spat but it wasn't enough. 
"LET ME GO! VERMIN! DEVIL! MONSTER! YOU'LL GO TO HELL FOR THIS!" I screamed with all my might as they jabbed me with another syringe.
"I'm sure I will..." Dr Reed said slowly, an evil grin passing his face. My body felt weak and lifeless again - a disturbing déjà vu.  The last thing I heard was a couple of screams. Then it was black. Darkness settled around me, muffled voices echoing in my head. Where was I now? I couldn't open my eyes, but I felt myself dragging across the floor. 

Concrete scraped my shoulders. I whimpered as it stung my neck and back too. They must have heard me, for one of them grabbed me by the face and pressed my cheeks in. 
"Quit whining," I heard them say, "you're not even there yet."

My eyes remained shut, but my mouth didn't. "D-Don't tell me w-what to do," I hissed, unable to raise my fist. 
"Oh boy! You are gonna get it!" One sneered. 
He threw me back onto the floor and yanked me into another room. I was forced into a chair and strapped down from chest downwards.  My eyes snapped open in panic.

 "What are you doing?!" I yelled, twisting my arms beneath the buckles. It scraped against my beaten skin, ripping my clothing apart. 
"Anymore of that and you'll have nothing to wear," I heard someone say, a fiendish laugh following after. My head darted sideways. That bloody white-coat stood beside me, snapping his gloves on. 
"Now, are you going to be a good boy for me? I won't be long, in fact, you won't even feel a thing!" He smirked.

"LIAR! LIAR!!" I resisted, jolting under the straps. He came closer, adjusting his glasses and pulling out a syringe. "Keep still, or I'll hurt you."

I jolted harder against the buckles, tearing at them with all my might, desperate to get out.
He grabbed my throat. "Will you stay still?! WILL YOU?"
I choked and gasped for air. My eyes narrowed. "Never."

He sighed in irritation and growled. "Fine. You want to do it the hard way?!" Suddenly, out of the corner came two more white-coats. One had muscles like iron, the other stood with a whip in his hand.  I stared at them, my eyes burning in panic.  They walked over to me, meeting me eye to eye. At the click of a finger, one gripped my head and thrust it backwards. Another click and the other hurled the whip to my face. It lashed across my eye, burning my flesh. Blood splattered my face. Tears shot out of my eyes. I let out a blood-curdling scream that echoed through the room.

 "NO!!! " I cried, "NO!!"
My whole body shook in pain, my eye numbed by his torturous ways. 
They yelled at me over and over again, but I couldn't concentrate. My eye bled like a waterfall, spraying all over my hands and armour. The pain electrocuted my entire face, forcing my mouth open with a harsh cry. "Finished fighting yet?!" Dr Reed snapped.

 The other two let go of me, and I lay dazed in the chair, sweat-heavy and drenched in blood and tears. He asked again, but all I could do was cry until my throat couldn't take anymore. His assistants grinned, stepping back a little. I stared hard at the ground, breathing harshly. He mocked me, smiling as he walked over to me.  "It's not like you to cry. I thought you were strong.” I glared at him, my bloody hand gripping my eye.

"Now that you've learned your lesson, I can get on with it." He said, shoving the syringe in my arm. My mouth opened again, but I forced it shut. I stayed strong. I was strong. This syringe couldn't hurt me. He pushed it hard and grinned, then pulled and retrieved a purple essence from my body. "Two down, one hundred to go."

I looked at him in anger. "What do you need that for?! How do you even know about it?" My voice cracked. The other two chuckled. "We need it to make our race stronger than ever! We have been searching for your kind to hunt down this essence. It has the ability to make anybody withstand severe damage, so we MUST have it!"

I spat on their shoes. "Filthy b******s."

Dr Reed looked at me in disgust. "Well, we don't need you for now. Send him back." They undid the straps and grabbed me by my arms, dragging me through the doors. I couldn't kick or scream this time; only watch as they hurled me back into my cage and grabbed another victim. They too put up a fight. They too got thrown into that room. I just lay on the floor with my eyes closed, blocking out the screams and holding my glowing arm, knowing that a hundred more would lose their voice fighting a hopeless battle.

Author's Note

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