Numbered

The Game of Fate

There was silence.  Complete, unorthodox silence.  I could feel their eyes burning into mine, reading me.  It stretched on for whole minutes, the both of them trying to study me, and I trying to process all of the sound and distinguish one from another.

“Who are you?”  One of them asked softly, and I shuffled backward, stumbling slightly over my feet, my back pressed against the far wall.  His voice, he was right there.  Right there, standing in front of me.  The door, it-it’s open.  I can feel more light, just pouring into the room.  There’s so much, flowing over my skinny body, searing my sheet-white skin.  I wish I could see the people’s faces, see if they’re like me, or if they’re angels.  I hope not, there’s not a lot I can do to fight back in this condition.

“Shhh,” one of them cooed, stepping closer to me, “We’re not going to hurt you, we’re just like you, see?”  A claw was pressed into my palm, and I quickly ran my fingers over it, making sure it was real, not just an illusion.

But I wasn’t about to test luck, or trust these strangers.  I pushed my back against the wall as I stood up, one hand hesitating as it reached forward.  A different hand met it, and I could feel the large scars running down the palm.

“Are you blind?”  One of them murmured from my left, watching his partner hold my hand delicately.

I didn’t respond, simply dropped the partners’ hand, letting mine fall to my side limply.  There was a sharp pull at the shackles on my wrists and ankles, then they fell still, slipping off of my limbs.  I rubbed my wrists slightly, the feeling of bare hands returned as a lost pleasure.

The action seemed to speak for itself, and he cleared his throat, lightly wrapping his fingers around my forearms, leading me toward the direction of the door.  I stepped cautiously toward it, feeling the air in front of me thoroughly.  I hated acting this helpless, but I had to.  I could hear one of them moving in front of me, guiding me through the doorway.

“There you go,” the partner encouraged, his voice caring and soft.  I hated tricking people like this, but if those five years of silence taught me many things, most revolving about how trust brings nothing but pain.  Without another word, I tore out of their grip, bolting down the hall, chasing the buzz of the portal.

Sounds of surprise echoed behind me, following by their hisses as they transformed, chasing behind me, grunts telling me how close they were.  I swung myself around the corner, easily navigating the memorized route.  The dust was new, but I could still count the amount of steps between each twist in the path.

I weaved my way through the labyrinth, the faint sound growing louder and louder as I charged toward it.  The air behind me shifted ever so slightly, and I suddenly, jumped to the left, the demon about to pounce on me rolling to a stop on the rocky ground.  The sound of my breathing filled my ears, but I was too far to stop already.  The humming reached a maximum, and I could sense the waver in the air.  I didn’t have the time to realize that was my dream of the past five years, I simply crashed through the barrier, my right arm flying up to my head to protect it as the ground rushed up to meet me.

Sound exploded in every direction, with thousands yelling and screaming in surprise or anger.  The two demons leapt in behind me, lunging at my fallen figure.  I rolled out of the way, hearing them hit the ground inches from my head.  Splitting up to my feet, I twirled backward and… hit a wall.  Smooth, right?  Claws pushed me to the floor, and my head hit the ground hard, sending my eyes vibrating in my head.

“Who are you, and why were you in the old castle?  Oh, and answer wisely, it might be your last,”  someone hissed, and I felt fangs brush across the skin on my throat.  I froze, the touch sending memories spiraling through my head, but I fought to push them away, barely managing to.

I laughed bitterly, squirming under their tight grip on my arms and legs.

“To be honest, I thought I’d get a kinder welcome from everyone,”  I replied smoothly, smiling secretively.

“What do you mean?  Who the hell are you?”  Someone from the crowd yelled in aggravation.

I only laughed, enjoying the annoyance I was giving them.

“What’s going on in here?”  A voice roared as someone thundered into the room, their familiar footsteps slapping the hard stone paneling.  Emotions bubbled up inside of me, swelling and expanding, but I kept them locked down.  I wanted to keep playing this game.

“We found this Unmarked in the dungeons of the old castle,” One announced coldly, his clawed hand digging into my wrist, “All chained up too.”

“And why exactly do you have her pinned to the ground?”  He asked, and I could feel his eyebrow lifting into the air at the question.

“She ran,” the other stated quietly, “Seems to be blind as well.”

The air got thick at the word ‘blind’.

“Wow,”  I drew out, “the tension is almost tangible.  Almost just like I could reach out,”  I ripped my arm free from its hold, sticking it up above me for dramatic effect,  “and touch it.”

Then it got silent.  Like, complete, total, suffocating silent.  It blanketed around me, clouding over me as it grew thicker.

“Who are you, really?”  the familiar voice called out quietly.  I beamed, chuckling to myself, and someone snapped.

There was the shuffle of feet, and someone landed hard on my ribs, whipping my breath away.  An arm was pressed stiffly to my neck, blocking some of my airflow.

“I said,” they snarled into my face, their hot breath pushing pieces of my hair out of my face,  “Who are you?”

Game over.  “You mean you don’t remember me?”  I asked, feinting surprise,  “I know it’s been five years, but come on, I’m pretty hard to forget.”  I was mentally congratulating myself as the wave on confusion spread over the crowd.

“What?” he murmured blankly, his arm loosening.

“Do you really want me to tell you?”  I waited for a moment before continuing.

“Hi, my name is Kya.  It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, brother?”

The wall of sound was deafening.