I wake up on the ground, the cement
trying to cool my flushed cheeks. I try to push myself up and my hand lands in
a puddle. I jerk back. What is that? I open my eyes just more than just a crack
and see the red on my fingers.
The liquid fire drips down my hand
and onto my arm. I watch it lazily thinking back on the recent events. Another
great day, I smile a little and almost laugh. And then I do. I laugh so hard my
sides feel like they are about to burst.
This is all so absurd! Why am I
laughing? I should just be crying again. Oh well! I laugh for what feels like a
lifetime before I'm am grabbed by the arm and brought to my feet.
I hear a sickening smack before I
feel the sting. My hand flies up to my face and I feel my left cheek getting
warm, that's going to leave a mark.
I've stopped laughing so hard and
open my eyes just enough to see who smacked me. Stan. I should've known that
Abaddon wouldn't have gone in here and risked me punching him in his smug face.
My brain is still really fuzzy so I
don’t really react when he drags me out of the room. When I am dropped to the
floor I open my eyes which have closed on their own, again. Stan stands
motionless in front of me and my head lolls to the side.
The exit.
It’s right there all I have to do
is go to it. I crawl to the left and try to steady my breathing which has been
slicing the quiet air. I make it halfway to the door when a strong pair of
hands goes around my waist and carries me back to the spot I was sitting
moments before.
I still have the blood caked on my
hands so I busy myself trying to get it off. I look up when I hear the sound of
laughter coming from the right. It was Abaddon with another man.
The second man was a skinny guy but
had the height to compensate causing him to tower over Abaddon. He has flaming
red hair with pasty white skin and pale blue eyes that look too watery to be
useful.
“Gooday cousin!” Abaddon booms.
“Isn’t it a grand day Louis?”
“‘Tis indeed sir,” Louis replies
less enthusiastically.
I lift my head up a bit and stare
at them both in the eye. Louis looks away but Abaddon holds my glare.
“Louis is a spectator today. He will
be watching how we treat lower life forms, and that would be you my dear,”
Abaddon says loudly with a smile on his face.
“He won’t get much of a show if you
think you’re going to break me in front of him,” I say not bothering to face
him.
“Silence!” His voice shakes the
floor a little bit.
“Impressive,” I mutter.
“Why won’t you shut up?” He yells
getting frustrated.
“Why can’t I? This is a free
country after all!” I yell weakly back.
“Oh wait, if this really was the
home of the free I wouldn’t be trapped here, held against my will, and have to
deal with a hard-headed, ignorant jerk,” I spit.
He takes a step closer and slaps me
across the face. I stumble back and hit my head against the wall. I close my
eyes again and feel myself being lifted and carried to another room. When I’m
set down I try to lift my heavy eyelids and see Abaddon’s smirk and Louis’s
wide blue eyes and slightly parted lips.
I chuckle under my breath at his
reaction. It was like he’d never seen anyone get hurt before. He catches me
staring but I don’t look away. He glances at Abaddon and then something strange
happens. Louis’s eyes start to swirl making the watery blue eyes melt a bit,
but then he shakes his head and they become pale and emotionless again.
I sigh and lean up against the
smooth drywall and let my eyes drift to where the two men were standing.
Abaddon walks closer until the toes
of his shoes touch mine. I put my hands on the wall behind me and lift myself
up breathing hard. I make it to a crouching position and Abaddon kneels down
until we are eye to eye.
He slams his hand on the wall next
to my face and leans in close enough for me to smell the mint on his breath.
“Do not make a fool of me Audra,”
he hisses without breaking the stare.
I cough up some phlegm and blood
and spit it on his shiny crocodile shoes. He grimaces contorting his usually
cocky face into one of disgust, as he grabs my hair.
“You will see here Louis, how we
treat lower life scum like her.”
I look up to find his usual twisted
grin planted on his face and then put my eyes to rest waiting for the impact.
He lifts up my body using only my hair and is about to let go when I vaguely
hear a shout.
Abaddon stops and asks in a calm
tone, “What was that Louis?”
“I said stop,” Louis states in a
quiet and firm voice.
Abaddon drops me to the ground and
stalks towards Louis like a predator to prey. The only sound in the room is the
clicking of his expensive heels and my ragged breath. To my surprise, Louis
stands his ground. His eyes are no longer the dull watery color but swirl and
turn into the light blue they are meant to be.
