Codependent

Chapter 93

They had left me alone for two days in a row, I was hungry, thirsty, confused and angry. I felt the need to socialise but also to crawl into the corner and stay there forever. I was confused about why I was here, the base I've spent half my life. It was destroyed when the avengers saved me, but they rebuild it, apparently.

But I didn't get why.

I spent the time in my cell mostly meditating, to clear my mind, pass time and heal my body, and it worked. I was alert and thinking clearly and all my wounds were at least closed, but my illusion seemed to fade more every time I looked at my skin.

I was still wearing my suit, but they stripped me of all the weapons they could find so I couldn't kill myself, as if I couldn't if I wanted to. But this time being there was different because I had something to look out for, something to go back to, and a part of me liked that, it motivated me to just keep going, but another part hated it because I wanted to give up.

I haven't seen Steve, or Stanley and I thought about them a lot, about everyone, how they would be doing, and I missed my ability to make illusions because I could use a good movie to pass time, but I stayed patient.

I heard footsteps coming closer, I knew it was for me because they had me pretty isolated so when they walked here it was to me. I couldn't hear anyone if they didn't scream but mostly I had nothing usual to listen to or someone to talk with, I hated how clever that was.

As I predicted some people walked up to my cell and opened it, I had already stood up ready in the middle of my room and stretched my arms out when they oped the door so they could chain my bracelets together again. I walked with them cooperating quietly and it seemed that threw them off as they kept giving weird looks to me and each other.

This base was definitely more crowded than the temporary one, a lot of people could be heard as we kept walking through doors, only now I saw how isolated I was from the rest. The people there didn't look good, mostly adults who seemed to be losing their minds, not even looking at us as we passed their cells. 

A constant noise could be heard coming from everywhere and it made me sick and sad to my stomach. We walked up to a wall of bars, the cage, I took a deep breath praying to every god once again but disappointedly they let me in there.

They took off the chains but not the bracelets and closed the door again. I wanted to think about what would happen but I didn't need to, I knew exactly what was asked of me without saying a word.

The whole staff seemed to be standing around looking at me as if I was a beer they wanted to drink and it disgusted me but I mostly ignored it. I waited while looking around taking deep breaths hoping for the best but that seemed to be working against me as the door on the opposite side opened and they pushed Stanley inside making him fall to the floor.

He looked up at me and I saw his freshly beaten bloody face with blood still dripping out of his mouth onto the floor. I looked at him sadly, he didn't deserve to be here.

"Celene, you- you're okay, thank god, I thought-" he said in distress as he stood up weakly, he seemed to be in pain but the staff started to yell and it threw him off.

"Are- are you okay?" he asked and I nodded softly looking at him with sad eyes, I couldn't fight him. There was a man standing in the corner, one of the bigger guards, who seemed to notice I wasn't moving, and neither was Stanley, and he took his whip out and slammed it into my back making me groan almost falling over feeling my whole back tingle from the hit.

The staff seemed to love this and they started cheering and I sighed stepping closer to Stanley, looking him in his eyes seriously, he seemed so terrified and concerned it broke my heart.