Nameless Ghoul

Alone

Itzal was sitting on a bed in what he assumed was some kind of old-fashioned infirmary. Shelves filled with jars and boxes of medical supplies lined the walls of the room. He sat silently staring at his lap, feeling the gazes of the others in the room boring into him. He was shirtless and a human Sister was gently cleaning the wounds on his back as they waited for this Secondo to arrive. Across from him stood Alpha and one of the other two ghouls, who someone had referred to as Omega. Terzo sat in a chair beside the bed, one leg crossed over the other and tapping his foot impatiently.

The door opened and in strolled the man in question. He was taller than his brother and he had a more menacing air. His skull paint was more sinister looking. Alpha and Omega nodded their heads in respect. Secondo eyed Itzal with such intensity that he felt himself squirming under the scrutiny as he looked him up and down with a scowl on his face. He knew he had plenty of scars from his various fights and punishments over the years and they had never really bothered him too much, but now he did not want the attention focused on him.

Secondo walked straight up to Itzal and grasped his chin in his hand, tilting his head up so that they locked eyes. Itzal flinched at the contact and tried to cower away, but Secondo tutted and moved his hand to touch the metal collar. He stroked his fingers along the symbols.

“This is interesting, don’t you think? The Ghoul Council outlawed these almost five centuries ago. I have never seen one in person. I thought they were all destroyed.”

Itzal’s breath caught as he thought about the day he'd woken up wearing the collar. The magic in it prevented him from accessing all of his powers and it also helped to keep him in line. It solidified Santos’ control over him. He had tried everything he could at first to remove the collar, but nothing had worked. His punishments for trying to remove it had become so severe that he'd given up long ago.

“I will consult the others and see what we can do about it. The Council will be most interested to see it.” Secondo walked to the other side of the bed and stood beside the Sister. He went to get a jar of something from the shelves and handed it to her. “Rub this on the worst ones. It should help. I’ve found that ghouls responded well to that ointment in the past, so he might be lucky.” He took one last look at Itzal, nodded to himself, and walked out. Terzo stood up and excused himself, following his brother.

Before the door could close again, a small ghuleh slipped into the room. Itzal looked up and his eyes widened as he recognised Sunshine. She smiled and walked over to him; her pink curls bouncing. A shy smile lit up her violet-coloured eyes.

“Hey,” she said quietly, “I’m so glad you could come. How badly are you hurt?”

If he thought being scrutinized by Secondo’s gaze was bad, Sunshine’s was infinitely worse. He watched as her eyes roamed his bare torso and inwardly cringed as he thought about what she was seeing there. The shame of his existence suddenly came to the forefront of his mind. He had to look away from her as he felt tears welling in his eyes. She must have noticed because she stepped towards him and placed her hand on his shoulder. Again, his body reacted with a flinch. Muscle memory prepared him to be slapped or punched, and she quickly took her hand away. She covered her mouth as she looked at the nurse behind him.

“Sorry,” he said in a quiet voice that he hoped was steadier than it sounded, “I don’t like to be touched.”

She closed her eyes and sighed.

“I just wondered if you needed anything. I heard you were asking for me, so I came to see how you were. If you need to talk or just need anything at all, I’ll be there. Just ask for me, okay?”

He nodded and resumed staring at his lap.

Fucking hell, he was a mess. He was so confused. They were looking after him, but he was their enemy. Surely they knew that?

When the nurse finished, she placed a large dressing over his wounds and cleared away her things. Alpha and Omega guided him to his feet and told him to walk.

“Papa needs to speak with you, but it won’t be until the morning now. You’ll be in the cells for the night. I’m sure your master will realise that you’ve disappeared soon enough and come looking for you. He won’t get through the wards here, though,” Omega said as they walked down a maze of corridors and through several locked doors until they stopped in a hallway of cells.

Itzal had seen The Silence of the Lambs before, and they reminded him of the cells where Hannibal Lector was kept. If he wasn’t so shell-shocked, he would find that funny, he guessed. Omega opened the glass door and Alpha pushed him inside. It closed behind him and he had a moment of panic at being locked in before he composed himself.

“Just call out if you need anything and someone will come,” Omega said over his shoulder as they walked away.

Itzal sat down on the bed, rested his elbows on his knees, and hung his head. Fuck, he prayed he’d done the right thing here. He rubbed the centre of his chest, and realised that for the first time since the bond with Santos had been forced onto him, he couldn’t feel him. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to be truly alone with himself. The wards of the Abbey must have been working as he'd hoped, as the black ache that he permanently felt was gone. It felt nice, but it also felt wrong to him.

He thought of Sunshine and of the way she looked at him with pity when she'd seen him just now. The tears that had threatened to spill then came back now with a vengeance. He slumped onto the bed, wrapped his arms around his torso, and allowed himself to sob for what felt like the first time in twenty years.