The Stinky Life I've Accepted

Chapter 15: Pieces Back Together

Marvel

Estriel breathes deeply, clutching his head in one hand. I watch through the glass as the kid is placed on the cot, drool slipping his mouth as he sleeps on, oblivious to his surroundings. 

The room is a white, padded room, with a see-through mirror. There is not a door in sight. A cot stands in one corner, now bearing the boy's weight. 

The men throws a blanket over him and places a pillow under his head before they leave, a few of them walking up to us. 

"I'm sure he's an absolute now, Dr. Fretta. The way he acted? He didn't even notice anyone walking in the room. He just kept on trying to destroy the desk. Let's just put him out of his misery." Estriel groans, and we tense at the words. 

He's probably right. The scene we just watched was more than just a feral acting out. It was...inhumane. 

"No. We won't put him down until I see his eyes only reflecting an animal's eyes. When he wakes, I'll check. Until then, he'll stay in here for ours, and for his safety. You know it took three packages of bandages and gauze to wrap those hands up from shredding the wood. And don't even start on the splinters we found in his gums." She huffs, peering in. 

"I still don't get how he threw us out of his mind like that. No one has done it before. And then how he reacted? It doesn't make sense." Dexer murmurs, tapping his chin. 

"I have a theory to that." Dr. Fretta begins, her eyes never straying from the boy. 

We wait for her to speak as she collects her thoughts. "I don't think those walls were put up on purpose. I think...I think that whatever life he's must have had instilled a lot of suffering, pain, and fear. The life he had among his past pack, perhaps. Even maybe his own family. You guys can't seriously tell me you haven't thought of it. When was the last time a rodent shifter has truly been accepted by their pack?" We hesitate, and Estriel looks up to stare at her, his eyes flashing. 

"So he was definitely abused, then." He voices, and Dr. Fretta nods. "It's the only reason I can think of for his mind to have built those walls. I think that when he finally left his pack and became rogue, his mind unwillingly and unknowingly built those walls to hide...no...to smother those memories, the life he's lived. Even from itself." 

We just stare at her, pieces falling into place. 

"I think that when we went in, and took down those walls for the few minutes we did, some memories slipped out when he became aware and threw us out." 

We shift in silence at the theory. "And hence, the reaction. Who knows how long he's relived those memories? How long he has been a rogue? I bet you they haven't relived themselves since he's became a rogue. And when the walls came back up, they were stronger than before. That type of trauma is..." Dr. Fretta trails off, rubbing her temples. 

"Even when they slipped, the connection already broke. If we had fought back and stayed connected, we would have been able to see for ourselves the memory, or memories, he witnessed. How many, how long they were...I wish we could have been able to see them, even for a split second, just to understand him a bit better." I mumble.