𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 - 𝘋𝘌𝘈𝘛𝘏 𝘊𝘜𝘙𝘌

14 ~ anchor

TW: blood and gore

Newt

Trapped. Again.

Donna was so controlling, I almost preferred being enclosed by the Maze walls than being tucked under her wing. At least in the Maze, I had my own free will.

It felt like any time I would turn my head away from her, she was over my shoulder, muttering in my ear. "Whatcha looking at?" she would say huskily, and every time, I would answer "Oh, nothing."

I had to give her credit for her acting skills, though. She managed to pass off her controlling nature off as a caring, worrisome instinct. When I would question her about keeping me on such a short leash, she explained that I was still a young boy, and that it was her duty to "protect" me from the rest of the Cranks in the Palace. This tactic, I assumed, was how she persuaded Sheldon and Steve to be so enamored with her.

In my opinion, the rest of the Cranks were harmless, for the most part. Sure, some might have their moments where they would freak out and go feral, but the guards would handle it in a few minutes with minimal damage. Otherwise, the sick people would sit in dark corners, wallowing in their misery.

It was Donna who was most dangerous, I thought. She was the one who went around stealing food, water, even the clothes off people's backs like some high school bully, and she would force Sheldon, Steve, and me to do the dirty work for her. (Posie managed to hang back each time, though I wasn't sure how she wasn't caught and punished by Donna.)

The worst part was Donna's short temper. I contradicted her for the first time when she ordered us to "teach this girl a lesson". The girl in question couldn't be much older than me, and she was alone. She was clutching her breakfast to her chest like a lifeline, looking up at Donna, pleading. I took pity on her, of course, and said, "Why can't we leave her alone?"

The mood instantly shifted. Posie, who was lurking in the shadows, glanced at me urgently, a reminder of what she had said in my room some nights ago. Sheldon and Steve looked menacing; how dare someone question Donna? And Donna herself had turned slowly from the girl to face me, her anger heightened. She was not used to being refused.

"Because," she explained in a venomously sweet voice. "Look at the size of her plate, and look at the size of that girl. She doesn't need all that, she's half dead already." Behind her, I saw the girl wince. "We must do the things needed in order to survive. Every clan for themselves, Newtie."

My nose scrunched at the nickname, and the phrase. She didn't mean it, I knew that. She was a selfish being, she didn't actually care about her "clan". She only cared about herself.

"You said she was dying," I said calmly, not breaking eye contact with her mad eyes. "All the more reason to let her keep her food."

Donna smiled sympathetically, although the way she bared her teeth was not sympathetic at all. They were dirty, menacing. She would kill someone with those fangs of hers one day. 

"Newtie," she began. "Aren't you hungry?" She stepped close to me, close enough where I could smell her. It wasn't pleasant. "Aren't you starving? Couldn't you eat a horse right about now? Just imagine, Newtie... these teeth..." She reached out with a long fingernail and pulled my upper lip up over my gums. For some reason, I didn't pull away. " - sinking into flesh. It's what you want, isn't it? It's what we all want, in here. In the Crank Palace, we all want flesh." Her voice was warm, hypnotizing in my ear. She grinned. I grinned right back.

"Flesh does sound good right about now..." I admitted. My voice sounded far away, as if I was stuck inside my own head and couldn't reach myself. Somewhere to my left, I heard Posie take a sharp breath. But all I saw was Donna, waving a hand over the terrified young Crank girl as if she were presenting me to an all-you-can-eat buffet. My blood rushed in my ears, my fingers and toes curled. My mouth salivated. Donna's words had gotten to my head, certainly, but I didn't care. All I saw was the food, sitting there helpless on the ground.