What?

Chapter Seven

The chill in the room got to me and I shivered. Hesitantly, I grabbed the clothes off of the dresser and proceeded to put them on. They were baggy. There was no doubt about it. The short sleeves of the shirt almost reached my elbows and I had to roll up the shorts a couple times before they stayed on my waist. The feeling was one that I wasn't all that used to. I normally just wore my uniform to sleep either because I would probably be woken up by an alarm or because I was too lazy and tired to bother with changing.

Even after I put on the clothes, I was cold. I glanced at the bed and went over to the bedside table with the candle going instead. The candle's flame did very little to warm me. My eye followed a drop of water onto the bedside table. I ran my fingers through my ebony-black hair. That was also weird. My hair gel was completely gone and my hair stuck to my head because of the moist shower water. It wasn't uncomfortable. It just isn't what I normally would do with my hair. 'Man, I want to get my hair up again,' I thought.

I stopped at a small knot in my hair. Pulling at it gave me an instance flashback feeling of when Slade had grabbed my hair. It still was fresh in my mind. 'Why had I let him do that? Why had I ducked away in the first place? That was stupid, absolutely stupid. And I did it anyway. What's wrong with me?'

My logical part of my mind answered rudely, 'Well, here's an answer to your question. Slade thinks you're the 'perfect apprentice'. Do I need to go into detail, 'cause I think that pretty much sums it up?'

'Hey, whose side are you on?' I argued back.

'Your's of course, but I'm just pointing out the obviously painstaking truth that you refuse to accept.'

I growled back not wanting to continue the inner argument. Once again, I stared at the bed... and the 'S' emblazed pillow. 'I am not sleeping there tonight.' I bent over and blew out the candle. I went over to a corner of the room and slowly sat down. The floor was cold, so I rested by head and back against the wall and side of the dresser. For a second, I could still feel that backbend. It hurt.

If this was just observation and dinner, my life had literally just turned into a torture chamber. Is Slade's whole thing to scare me into doing everything he asks? I thought he said 'I'd learn to like it'. Didn't that mean he'd make it so I'd like it here? What does he plan to do with me? Is he going to have me plan thefts? Is he just going to beat me everyday? Am I going to get out of this?

As I my mind drifted, I found myself calculating how to get that controller away from Slade. Maybe I could find away to sneak out and tell the... no. He tag me somehow. Maybe he'd leave the controller somewhere and I could...no. He probably will carry it everywhere he goes for a while. What if I got that old guy to... who am I kidding? I can't order him to do anything and he probably wouldn't go against Slade's back. I sigh as I figure that my chances of getting that thing are very slim.

I want to go home. I want to be in my own bed. I want to be in my own room with my own clothes and my own stuff. Even the clothes I wear now aren't mine. I want a window, some form natural light. It's so dark that I can barely see my own feet. I pull my knees up to my chest and hug them tight.

This, this is what I have to look forward to the rest of my life? To be an item of Slade's? I'll be used to do what needs to be done and then put away into storage. Not to mention, I'll probably be mistreated. I already have been.

Where are the Titans? Why haven't they found me? They can get past Slade's decoys, right? Are they all right? Are they looking for me? Are they asleep building up the strength to search? I have no doubt that they're still looking for me. They wouldn't give up on me that quickly. I miss them and the tower.