4 Leaf Clover - ᴹˣᴹˣᴹˣᴹ

4.

࿐࿐࿐ 

The room was drab, the walls were made up of bricks that had murky paint over them to make it appear as something it was not. Clover's eyes were irritated as he opened them, a piercing pain rattled his eyes incapable of adjusting for a few minutes. The lonesome light in the room was luminous, the intensity set to max level. Clover rubbed his eyes a few times, only to acknowledge he was lying down in the room.

He proceeded to sit up, his entire body aching in ways he couldn't deal with. Clover's face crumpled up with discomfort, a whine fleeing from the confines of his lips. The worst of it came from the rear of his head and his ribcage. The shooting pain at the back of his head felt so intense as he sat up, that he believed his head might just explode. Stinging, aching pain with a side of brutal headaches. The pain was so profoundly embedded that he recalled how the pain formed.

Clover took a glimpse around the room again - the pain seemed to shrink into the background as his mind began running at every possibility. Had he been knocked out and brought to a location where he was going to be bartered? Had he already been sold and now was someone's property? What had transpired that night?

Abruptly, a racket echoed throughout the room causing hysteria to soak Clover's body. He refused to negotiate with that gentleman again, refused to ever glance at him. Things had been going nicely for Clover and now one man had shaken his life up permanently. Clover refused, even the thought of that man stepping into the room had him nearly convulsing with dread. He retreated to the far corner of the room, observing the handle as if the turn of it signified the end of his life.

Clover swore the handle moved in slow motion, something about the end of his time pushing the earth unhurried. At the end of his life, Clover desired the minutes to endure a little longer so he could contemplate what had become of him, his life. Perhaps he started pondering about home, his parents and what if he never left. He would be wedded by now, and the pressures of having heirs would be sprung upon him. But would it be more harmful than death?

"Clover?"

The voice didn't belong to that miscreant of a man. The man he had partially trusted. Rather, the unknown voice was more amiable and inviting. Clover had never heard such a tone from someone, perhaps from one of his old teachers, but it was as if this individual was approaching him with caution. Clover was inclined to peek at the unknown individual, he was bewildered about why he hadn't been battered yet.

His countenance was what caught Clover's attention first. He was youthful and handsome. His skin was a warm beige, the light illuminated him and brought him to life. The man had eyes that stood dark, but not soulless, rather they held the reflection of the light like luminaries. He had no facial hair, that's how Clover concluded he was on the youthful side, and it gave away a full view of the mild careful smile. Clover took a peek at the clothes, noticing a polished gold and silver badge on his left breast.

"Clover," He voiced again after Clover skimmed over him, "My name is Officer Manna, how are you feeling right now?"

Clover took a second to register what was occurring. He wasn't entangled in this room because he was going to be bartered and this man wasn't his buyer. He was at a police station or put somewhere with the aid of the officers. The man who fooled him, who tricked his friends, was not here to taunt him. He still felt ensnared, he still sensed that this wasn't the end, that this couldn't just conclude like that.

"Do you need any water...space?" The Officer asked Clover, beginning to back away towards the exit.

"Where am I?" Clover needed the confirmation.

The Officer selected to squat down in front of Clover, yet still managed to maintain his authority. He examined Clover intently, attempting to devise what type of mental condition the young boy was in after the events that occurred. He determined that Clover was genuinely lost after what happened - after all, when the officers started to move him to the station, Clover was in and out of consciousness.