The Forest Behind Bars

Chapter I: The meeting

I hear his familiar screams echoing through the darkness in my mind. My tears are causing the pain. More screaming follows. The eyes of pure madness look down at me out of the shadows. The man matching the eyes laughs. He brings more pain. Wake up. Wake up, Avery.

I peek through my eyelashes; empty hallway, no guards. Good.

I open my eyes completely and push myself up against the back wall into a reclined sitting position. My shoulder aches from sleeping on the stone floor, as usual.

Most of the many cells are empty down here. Except for me and three other creatures.

The surrounding cells are empty. They do not dare to place creatures near me, thinking I might find a way to escape. They are right to fear me. I am a dangerous and powerful being, after all.

My good hearing warns me about them and my head turns slightly. Keys. Footsteps. Three—no, four people are coming this way. Three pairs of heavy footsteps and one shuffeling pair. A new prisoner?

They rarely put anyone here; they must have messed up badly to be placed here in this damp corner of a nightmare.

The big metal door opens at the end of the hall and three guards in uniforms walk inside. One of them holds a torch while the other two hold someone.

Even though my eyesight is way better than any human, my eyes are too weak to strain to see better in this darkness. I wait until they get closer. Which each step they take this way, more details become visible.

A small torch, barely enough to see by, displays the uniforms from the guards. The male guards always wear the same navy blue uniforms and the same black pants. Their hair is all shorn off close to their heads.

They show the least possible details about the guards. Nothing unique about them. I have yet to see a female guard, but with their leader, that has a slight chance of ever happening.

A fluttering noise of feathers from a few cells over diagonally to the right makes me turn my watchful eyes in that direction. The guard with the torch shields the light from the sound as they pass.

They finally come close enough for me to study the newcomer. The guards are shielding him slightly. The glimpse I get startles me. He looks like... The guards shift and he comes further into view. It isn't him. Of course not. He is dead and gone. I exhale a breath I didn't know I was holding in.

The boy has deep red horns peaking through his messy dark brown hair. He has blue eyes and wears a dirt colored shirt with black jeans.

The shirt has a bunch of holes in it, leaving him much exposed to the elements. His pants, too, have seen better times.

His eyes have a wild look in them as he looks around him at the cells.

What crime did he commit? He doesn't look like he could be a mastermind in some grand scheme. He looks... lost?

They stop at the cell across from me, which surprises me. Chief must have some twisted reason for this.

I track every movement they make.

Keys rustle as the guard with the torch tries to unlock the cell. No one has been in any of the cells around me since I came. Not that there have been a lot of creatures, but they never dared placing them near me.

Since I've been here for a while, the lock has become very rusted and the guard struggles to unlock it.

The horned boy's eyes turn to look at his bare feet, like he can not believe what is happening.

''You got a neighbour'', one guards says in that tone. Daring me, trying to lure me out. Searching for an excuse to hurt me.

They are not allowed to talk to me, but that does not stop them. They barely know what I can do. All they see is a turned down woman, who has been in this place for a long time because of a long-forgotten crime. It wasn't a crime I committed, but to them, it doesn't matter. I am powerful, therefore I am dangerous.

The other guard nudges the boy and smirks. ''Maybe if you ask nicely, you will get to share her cell.''

The boy doesn't respond.

I stand up, hiding my actual emotions and tiredness, and walk the three steps to the bars. My legs ache at the movement, but I ignore it.

''I dare you.'' With the same daring tone they used, full of mischief.

They do not really know what I can do. All they know is that I am kept under lock and key and that they get in trouble if they talk to me. They do not know anything at all.

My eyes had been flashing everywhere, taking in as much details as I can, but as I speak they focus on the guard.

After a long struggle, the key-guard triumphantly manages to unlock the cell door and casually reminds the others, "Be careful, talking to it can land you in trouble."

It, not her. I am nothing but an unknown creature. Not even human. They are right, of course, but I am still not an 'it'.

I grin while the two guards share a look, afraid of the consequences of their foolishness.

They push the horned boy into the cell and lock the door again. He falls to the ground and scrambles up on his feet. To his credit, he does not cry out yet. He just looks around with big frightened eyes.

The guards, having done their job, leave the underground prison. Their footsteps fade away and blend together with the silence.

I slide down against the wall again. I sigh and lay my head down on my knees.

Staring into the distance, imagining the forest around me once more. If I concentrate enough, I can hear the birds calling out in a familiar language.

"Help!" a voice calls out. "Please! Let me out!"

I tilt my head towards the cell. The boy keeps yelling for help.

"No one's coming to help someone who committed a crime worse enough to end up down here," I snap after the fifth time.

I might not enjoy the silence, but I also do not enjoy someone calling for help. Reminds me too much of how I ended up here.

He turns his head to me, tears in his eyes. "B-but - I can not stay... I didn't do anything... I can't- I can't stay..." He trails off.

"Well, you are not going anywhere soon." I state. Better to know the truth than to keep wallowing.

He sinks down to the ground and buries his face in his hands. I leave him to it. I do not pay anymore attention to that cell than if it were empty.

I barely sleep, because first, I barely do anything, so I do not really need it. Too much sleep can make you lazy.

If the opportunity ever presented itself, I must be ready to take it and leave this dreaded place behind. But if the opportunity presented itself now, I'm not sure I could take it.

Second, I am afraid of my dreams. I know it is strange, but nightmares hunt down your hopes and wishes and give them a cruel turn. They can break you just like the waking world. Dreams give you hope, but when you wake up, nothing changed. It is still dark and grim. It is a false sense of happiness and safety. I prefer to stay awake in this cold cell. After all, it is better not to sleep at all.

The boy has not yelled anymore; I think he fell asleep.

The silence is maddening. The forest is never quiet. Birds sing, water flows by and bushes rustle as creatures pass through.