The Prison (Book 1)

Bandages and Ice Cubes

Bandages and Ice Cubes

Something cold and oddly refreshing slipped down my throat. When I came to, the first thing my hazy mind registered was that I was back in my cell, lying in my bunk. The lights were dimmed in the cell, and the most prominent source of light was coming from the catwalks outside. The second thing that occurred to me was that it was probably bedtime in the prison, the place being strangely quiet and all. And the last and most important thing was that I was being straddled by none other than Schneizel, the feared King of the Prison from Hell.

Frozen from shock, I had no choice but to lay very still and listen to the rush of blood in my ears and the deafening alarms sounding in my head. I didn't even dare to so much as breathe under the infamous King's scrutiny.

Why in the name of all that was holy was Schneizel on top of me?!

The King's face was expressionless, not a sign of any emotion in sight, but his piercing obsidian eyes bore into my own with an intensity that left me utterly speechless, piercing through the layers of flesh, bone and meat and peeking right into my heart, or so it felt. His far greater weight pushed me down into the bunk, and I realized I had no hope of escaping by throwing him off so long as he was straddling my hips. And it seemed that, for added measure, he had both his hands on either side of my head. He didn't want me going anywhere, it appeared.

Wait a minute- OH MY GOD I'M ENTIRELY NAKED!

The only barrier between my naked flesh and Schneizel's body was the flimsy blanket that luckily concealed me up to my shoulders. I couldn't understand for the life of me why I was in this position. I recalled the fight that ensued in the cafeteria between that bastard Raven and Schneider, but everything after that was strangely hazy and trying to delve through that layer fog made my head pound.

Who won the fight? I prayed nothing untoward happened to Schneider.

So how did I get here? Did Schneizel—

My heart stuttered, and then began pounding even harder. The possibility that... that... Schneizel molested me while I slept....

Why else would I be lying under him naked?!

As if reading my mind, Schneizel said, "Don't be so hasty to jump to such conclusion, Aiden. Raven fractured your arm. I'm simply nursing you back to health. Nothing more, nothing less." How could someone have such a rich, deep, enthralling voice? And the way he said my name...

Wait, my arm is fractured?

Everything came back to me in an instant. That scumbag Raven. The stupid fight in the cafeteria. Everything. When I attempted to raise my left arm, blinding pain shot up my arm in the speed of lightning and I winced, biting the inside of my cheeks to keep from crying out till the pain subsided.

When my tongue finally unknotted and I summoned enough courage to actually attempt speech, I cautiously mumbled, "Umm...Why am I n-naked? And why do you have to be on top of me in order to n-nurse me back to h-health?"

It was simply inconceivable; being nursed back to health by a murderer.

Just then, I noticed something I hadn't paid attention to before; my left arm was bandaged. I could feel the bandages wrapped around my arm all the way to my shoulder even though I couldn't see them. Did someone like him even know how to apply a bandage? After all, he was someone who from what I'd seen so far only inflicted pain and spread fear.

Schneizel noticed me staring down at shoulder in awe, and he pulled down the blanket all the way to my torso to reveal my bandaged arm. The white gauze bandages were nicely-wrapped and tied from what I could see.