The Walls Have Ears: Memory #4

It had been almost a month since she lit my arm on fire.

I was fortunate to have my arm heal, but the area around it was still burned. When my arm went back to normal the next day, all that was left was scarring.

The burn marks went up my left side, to my shoulder all the way up to my neck.

She didn’t try to see me once, but today she felt it necessary to pester me.

She stood in front of me, demanding that I play a game with her. I refused.

“You’re my friend!” she hissed, “You have to play with me!”

It was too late before I spoke. I had held in this anger towards her. I couldn’t control my words.

“Friend?” I demanded, “I am no such thing. I am your slave, here by force. I will never willingly be your friend!”

She stared back at me, almost like she was hurt.

She didn’t really have feelings, monsters don’t feel.

“I. Hate. You.” I said, slowly dragging out my words.

She looked down at the floor, “It’s because I’m a monster, isn’t it?”

I had to pull myself together when I heard her words. How many people have called her a monster? Was I any different? No, I was just like her.

We were brought up differently, but I no longer cared.

“You are a monster,” I hissed, “And you are a killer! You have no feelings!”

I found myself screaming at her, and I noticed once I stopped to breathe that she didn’t cry.

She looked like she had heard all of that before, and I felt terrible. Not for very long.

“Suck it up,” I hissed at her, “You have slaves. I am number ninety-six for crying out loud!”

Her expression didn’t change as she stared at me. Her eyes didn’t once change colors.

“You’ve killed almost a hundred people,” I stated, “And you almost killed me!”

She cocked her head to the side at the last thing I said.

“You promised,” I hissed at her, “And you broke it, I will never be your friend, so get away from me!”

She shifted her weight as she stood there, “How can I be better?”

Why did her words pierce through me?

“You can get away from me and never speak to me again!” I shouted, “Better yet, let me go!”

Fear spread across her face.

Before I knew it, I felt something rough collide with the back of my head, and I barely moved forward. That was when I felt something pierce my neck, and I fell to the floor before blacking out.

…

When I came to, I felt cold.

I wasn’t usually this sensitive to the temperature unless I was in my human form.

How many days had it been?

I shifted my weight, and I heard the familiar sound of metal rattling.

The chains that bound me connected me to the wall.

I was angry, starving, cold, tired, and I was in constant pain.

They must have figured out that they couldn’t hurt me when my demon arm was out.

Then I thought about the needle they stuck me with, they would send someone in three times a day to force the liquid into my neck, and I would ache everywhere.

My insides felt like they were tearing, and I didn’t know what to do to make it stop.

It didn’t take long for the door to the pitch-black room to open, and a stream of light nearly blinded me.

“Look who’s finally up,” it was a deep male voice.

“Do you see that?” the other man asked.

“Why yes, David, I believe I do,” he said.

They were clearly having more fun than they should.

I let out a low groan as the one called David pulled me up by the chain that bound my neck.

“That fucked up arm is gone,” he said, looking at his companion, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

The other man smirked as he dropped the folded blanket he was carrying.

“Oh, I was hoping for this,” he said.

That was the first time I was tortured.

David and his pal Jason, whose name I find out while he is ripping out one of my canine teeth, began to visit me every day until I was human again, and they would start all over again.

…

A loud splat and the feel of liquid on face woke me.

I opened my eyes as much as I could, okay one eye because that’s all I could manage.

There was a bowl with food right in front of me.

It was month four, and they knew what day to come in on, the one day out of the month where I was utterly human.

I forced my hand forward to reach for the bowl only to have my hand crushed by a boot, and laughter filled the room.

“Look at this,” Jason spoke, “I think he might be hungry.”

“Really?” David asked, “I thought he just ate?”

“Did he?” Jason asked.

He didn’t hesitate to pick up the bowl and dump it over me, and I felt my stomach growl painfully.

I hadn’t eaten since the day before yesterday.

There was a loud knock on the door.

“I bet it’s that runt again,” Jason hissed.

Runt? Who was he talking about?

I used my hand to wipe the food from the floor, and I was quick to eat it. I was reaching the point of starvation, and I didn’t care if I had to eat insects. I just needed to get something in my stomach.

The large door opened, and all I heard was Jason’s harsh voice.

I couldn’t hear his exact words, but was pretty sure he told the ‘Runt’ to ‘fuck off.’

“What does she want?” David stood up to meet Jason at the door.

“You aren’t allowed down here, kid,” Jason hissed.

“We already have one monster down here. We don’t need another,” David chuckled.

“Stop!” I shouted.

They were calling her names, she already got that from me, and I was here. Why were they allowed to talk to her like that?

“Hear that?” Jason asked.

“I think someone wants more punishment,” David stated.

“Get lost runt,” Jason said.

I shut my eyes before a boot collided with my stomach. The next boot met my face, and I was quick to spit the blood from my mouth.

A scream echoed through the room. I opened my eyes quickly to see Jason on fire and David staring as the man fell to the ground. The scream ended almost as fast as it came, which meant he was dead.

I stared up at the small girl who looked furious at David.

He didn’t know what to do, and before I really thought about it, I latched onto his leg when he tried to lunge for her.

She stared confused before she grabbed the front of his shirt, and white fire swarmed him.

It was an instant death. I don’t know how I knew it, but I watched his body burn in less than five seconds.

“Boone!” Eaden cried.

Why was I helping her?

She sat down next to me, and she sobbed.

Why was she crying?

“I’m sorry,” she hiccupped, “Please forgive me!”

What the hell was she sorry for?

I don’t even think I remember why I was mad at her, well besides the whole burning me while I was a human thing.

“Aren’t you mad at me?” I asked her.

She looked at me confused before wiping her eyes, “Everyone thinks those things, you were the only one to say them.”

I don’t think I understood.

“You have to watch the things you say,” she said, “The walls have ears.”

The walls have ears?

“I told you I hated you,” I said, hearing my voice crack.

“You can hate me as much as you want to,” she said, “Just don’t die.”

Just don’t die?

She cried again, and I stared at her.

It was at that moment that I fell in love with her. She cried for me, even when I told her that I hated her.

She tugged at the chain, hoping that it would be the easiest thing to do. Which obviously it wasn’t.

I tried to move, but I couldn’t.

“This is going to hurt,” she warned me.

I braced myself as the shackle around my wrist began to burn, and she pulled it apart.

I stared at my newly freed wrist, and it wasn’t burned like I thought it was going to be.

“One down,” she said.

I rolled onto my back so she could get the one on my other wrist.

It was only a momentary burn, but it didn’t leave a mark either.

“This one might be hard,” she mumbled as she brought her hands to the one around my neck, and even I was nervous.

It was easier to get the scorching metal away from my wrist because of how far away it was from the rest of my skin, my neck was close to quite a few other parts of my body that I didn’t want to be burned.

She hesitated at my neck, and I nodded quickly.

The metal began to heat up, and she tried to pull it apart, the hot metal made contact with my chin, and I tried my best not to show that she burned me again.

She pulled them apart and sat there with a victorious grin.

I had to force myself up so that I sat next to her.

She really came down here to get me, didn’t she?

“Eaden,” I said whispered.

She looked at me and frowned, “Your chin, your eye, you… everywhere.”

I dropped my gaze to the floor, and she was quick to wrap her arms around me.

“I can help,” she said, “I can help!”

I shook my head slowly before feeling the warmth of her fire, and panic filled me.

What the hell was she doing?

I turned to face her, and the white flame engulfed us, but I didn’t feel a thing.

She screamed, and I could feel my body getting stronger. My eye opened, and the burn on my chin felt minuscule.

“Eaden!” I shouted as I moved to wrap my arms around her.

She continued to scream, and I couldn’t stop her. The fire around us got bigger and bigger.

It was beginning to feel cold.

“Eaden, stop!” I shouted, “I’m fine now! You helped me!”

As soon as the word ‘helped’ left my mouth, the fire stopped instantly, as if it were a candle that was simply blown out.

She dropped, and I didn’t let her hit the floor.

What the hell was that?

“Eaden?” I whispered.

She didn’t respond.

I felt a tightening in my chest.

What was going to happen now?

I forced myself off the ground, and I held onto her. I was going to take her to her room, but then I realized I had no idea where she slept.

I had to force myself up, even though it was hard, and my legs didn’t want to listen. I stood up with her still in my arms.

I made my way to my room, and I set her on the bed, and I sighed.

What was I going to do now?

Even though I said all those things, I couldn’t bring myself to hate her.

Maybe I hated myself more.