As he watched, a single tear rolled down her cheek. He watched her dream. It was the same thing.
She had been having this same dream every night. Normally, he would be able to change someone's dreams, but not here, not now. Try as he might to lessen Alisa's pain, her dream only became more of a nightmare. The only thing he could do was to sit back and be there for her to lean on, to cry on.
He was tired, but he could not sleep. He was in too much pain. He was quite sure that he had a broken rib or two, possibly something dislocated in his back. For some reason, every day at roll call, he was dragged in front of everyone and beaten, usually for no reason. He no longer had the strength to fight back.
He brought his hand up to his head slowly in order to feel his hair. Well, what was left of it. The previous day, they had shaved off the hair of everyone in his family, plus Alisa. Apparently, they considered her a Hanson.
But, none of them really minded being almost bald, although he suspected the females in the room weren't too happy about it. Also on his head was now a tattoo. They had all been given one. They were numbered now. According to Alisa, his said "#3169H". The Hanson's held numbers 3160H- 3169H. Alisa was #3170H. He shook his head in confusion.
Why were they doing this? He leaned against the wall, willing the pain away. It worked a little bit. He smiled, then drifted off into his own little dream world.
The next day began with five people being shoved into the room, quite against their will. He sighed. It was so crowded in there even before them. He glanced up at the newcomers, trying to place them.
Duh! There were his former cellmates. The members of "until tomorrow". They were all quite beaten up, a sure sign that they were independent and didn't mind disobeying Kitler's orders.
They all seemed a little uncomfortable. Then the girl who seemed to be in the most pain sat down. K.D. he remembered her as. The other girls followed suit in quick succession. They were obviously tired, sore and hungry.
One of the blonds spoke first. Silver, he recalled. "So, you're all bald now. How nice. They're supposed to do that to us later today. Why they moved us to a higher security cell, I dunno. We only got out of there three times!"
The Australian one next. Jay. "They shouldn't let us in there with bobby pins in our hair. K.D. can manipulate those things all too well."
His mother spoke. "Hello girls. Sorry to sound rude, but who might you be?"
The girls went through their introductions.
Soon, small conversations had been started around the room. Melyssa and Silver were talking to Zac with Jessica, Avery and Mackenzie occasionally interjecting comments. Jay was talking with Isaac and Alisa. His parents were resting, occasionally talking about this and that, and comforting Zoe. Kay and K.D. had gravitated towards him for some reason.
They only stared at him for the first few minutes. Then, Kay spoke. "It's the ears."
K.D. laughed. "Definitely the ears."
He grinned in confusion. "Uh, okay. Whose ears? And what about them?"
Kay spoke again. "Your ears. They make your head look all out of proportion."
He nodded. "Can't wait to see you guys with no hair. Your ears will look big too."
K.D. grinned. "Duh. We never said they wouldn't. We were talking about you."
He chuckled, instantly regretting it as his torso began to ache. "Ah! Damn. I want out of here."
K.D.'s smile could not get any larger. She spoke in a quiet voice. "Soon. I know this place. I can get you out of here. But just you. You'll have to figure out how to get everyone else out."
He leaned closer, his eyes widening as he did so. "How?"
She shook her head. "Not now."
He nodded. "Yeah. Okay."
She grinned again. "I'm a nut. Kay's a nut. We're all nuts. And, this place is an old mental institution."
He raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"
She looked nervous for a moment. "I just do. Let's leave it at that."
He nodded, figuring she didn't want to say anything else. "So...."
Kay piped up. "Sew buttons."
He smiled. These people. "But I don't have any thread, or a needle."
Kay spoke again, a huge gin on her face. "The needle is your sharp wit. We'll spin a thread, or rather a yarn. We're going to make up a story. All of us. Okay?"
He nodded. Kay began. "Once upon a time....."
He walked over to the corner of the room when it was quite dark. He dug a hole in the dirt floor, then did his business. These people didn't even let you out to pee. You had to dig a hole and go, like an animal. He hated this place.
He walked over to the corner he shared with Alisa and sat back down. It was so crowded. If not for the cool air blowing in through the window, they would probably all die of heat stroke.
A fly buzzed around his head. He swatted it away. This place was starting to stink. A shower would feel so good right now. Then again, so would a full stomach.
He'd heard about those people who eat their teammates and the like in order to stay alive. He couldn't do that. He liked meat, but not raw, and not human. Though, he was underweight already. He'd be lucky to get out of here with any fat left on his bones, even the broken ones.
He ran his hand over the top of his head. He was going crazy. He had almost considered eating the flesh of someone else in the room. Wait, that's it.
He could eat his own flesh. He held up his arm, and sank his teeth into it until he tasted blood. Then he winced in pain. What the hall was wrong with him? He felt so stupid.
He only wanted for this to end, and he knew it would. He just didn't know when.
He closed his eyes and tried not to think so much. For once, it worked.
A normal morning of late. A loud buzzing at 5AM. Kitler's voice telling them to get up as it was time for roll call. He dreaded it.
Their guards appeared at the door. With 15 people, though they were rather weak people, you needed more than one guard.
They were marched onto a large field and forced into straight lines facing a podium. Kitler was soon behind that podium.
He began to talk. He told them how worthless they all were. Calling what they did music? Hah! He wouldn't hear of it. Then, he called a number, and the person with that number was brought up to the front of the group to be beaten by Kitler. Usually, his own number was called. Not so today. Today is was #3170H. Alisa.
She walked bravely up to Kitler and said, "Beat me up all you want. I will not cry out."
Kitler smirked evilly. "We'll see about that."
He began to beat her with a short metal rod. With each hit, she visibly flinched, but true to her word, she did not cry out.
Kitler eventually gave up. But not after promising to repeat the day's events soon.
Then, they were all shuffled back to their cells. Alisa was in his father's arms. Had he been strong enough, he would have carried her himself.
Her dream. It changed. No longer did the angels scorn her as she made them what they were. For now she was one of the charred bodies lying on the ground. Each angel that used to be above was now the image of Kitler. Each Kitler now poured on her a hefty amount of gasoline. Then, they each struck a match and tossed it on her already flame-licked body.
He did his best to try to run over, possibly with a fire blanket or something along those lines. But he was glued to the spot. He could only watch as the flames grew. She didn't even cry out.
~ Hanfic ~ Torific ~ Other Writings ~ Moffatts ~ The Babble Zone ~ Webmistress ~ Contact ~ Guestbook ~ Links ~ Cool Stuff ~ Updates List ~ Tori ~ Zac ~ Tay ~ Ike ~ Aspie's Fic ~ Fastimes At Moffatt High ~ Starstruck Fiction ~ HF.C ~ Home ~