In White Robes

Chapter 8 - Puppeteer

"Fix his fur, Koko," said the Devil and then he pointed at me. "He's looking a bit scruffy. Work your magic." No, I wanted to say, don't work your magic. Don't touch me. But I remained still, not daring to look back at Koko as he stroked the top of my head gently. I assumed I was getting some kind of treatment.

"He's quite good at working with hair," the Devil added, looking into my eyes now. "You're in safe hands. And be grateful"--he threw his hands up in the air and smiled, a sign of glee almost--"you're the only one who will get this treat. Enjoy it, Kay."

"Why do you keep calling me by my name?" I firmly asked. It was a strange thing for him to do. He really did not follow the rules and I supposed that was because he was the leader around here. He could do whatever he chose to do and not be punished.

But my question had stunned him. He looked off to the side, as if looking into another dimension, totally out of it for a moment.

"I believe you and I have more of a connection than anyone else here," he then said, "I would rather not call you by a number. You are a person, after all." Ha-ha. He'd called me a person and that made my insides boil. A person would typically have freedom. They would not be held in a facility against their will.

"A person?" I spoke, no longer able to contain these feelings. "How can you speak so casually to me when I'm one of your prisoners? One of your many prisoners? What the hell is your problem?"

I felt Koko's hands fondle my head harder, and I winced in slight pain.

"Language," he growled.

I still refused to look at him; I just let him do his thing with my fur, making me completely vulnerable. When I realized this, I feared him even more.

"You've changed quite a lot, Kay," the Devil continued talking. I was so, so ready to scream. "It's only been a few months and you're turning into a solidified talker. You went from being so docile and so quiet, to this. I don't know if I like that."

I sunk my teeth into my lip, frustrated and drawing blood. "I don't give a damn about what you like. You're a monster. Do you think this is a game? You think this is okay? Huh, you fu--"

Koko tugged at my head again, this time much harder and much more painful. A thread of sharp agony ripped through my eyes, tears now sitting in the sockets.

"What did I just say?" Koko hissed. "Watch your language."

The Devil started grinning. Like he saw my anger and mocked it. He acknowledged my pain and took pleasure in it.

"What are you smiling at?" The words in my mouth turned rotten and bitter. All I could see was red. Red, clouding my vision and highlighting this Devil behind each ounce of my loathing.

"Return to your room," was all he said, and this was when I snapped. The thought of going back to that room, though it was a common thought, was now so horrible in my eyes. When I was so close to the headmaster, so close to the Devil, so close to finding out what was going on and when I could leave.

But clearly my body didn't yearn for answers. Not for words and not for pity, but for blood.

Before I knew what was going on, my body shot out across his desk, my hands outstretched for his face. My claws had unsheathed, now pointed toward his eyes and I wanted, so desperately, to tear them from his head. I wanted to rip his limbs in half, string them apart with my bare hands, and watch as his body fell in a bloody heap of gore.

I wanted him to taste death.

This was my chance to show him how fed up I was with being locked away.

My chance to show him I was not afraid of him.

And just as quickly as this feeling had come upon me, it vanished, when Koko took me by the neck and I felt myself be lifted into the air. Time slowed for that moment. I was able to see clearly within the Devil's eyes. Behind what I thought was emptiness, there was sadness. His golden irises spelled out a message that I could not entirely perceive.

Then time and my senses flooded back to me as Koko slammed my body on the face of the floor. The smell of blood swelled inside my nose, and my vision was thick and blurred. I could still feel his hand on my neck, holding me down, restraining me.

"That was your last warning," Koko said to me, although I could not hear him very well. With just one hit from him, I was already blacking out. "I will take him back to his room, Master."

My eyes fell into darkness.