Flames of the Past #7: Seeds of Deceit (Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 11

Kai came back to torture Lloyd the next night. He played with the green ninja's head, swiping his knife at him yet never actually striking him. He acted like he would burn Lloyd again, but only burned the wall around him. It stressed Lloyd out, especially with the words Kai had shouted at him.

"You were never a hero!" he'd said. "You don't deserve to be called a ninja after what you did!"

"You hurt us, and didn't even take responsibility for it!"

"You're a brat! You always were!"

The light was back on now, and Lloyd stayed pressed into a corner of the cell. He was shaking, his burnt shoulder was throbbing, and tears stained his cheeks. A fresh bowl of the gray mush and a cup of water sat on the floor in front of him. He didn't touch it.

Instead he held his knees to his chest and stared ahead at nothing. He was afraid. He was hurt. He wanted to go home. He'd already lost track of how many days he'd been in the cell. He should've kept count. Maybe then he'd feel some sense of foundation.

But he had nothing to ground him, and he struggled to keep his mind straight. It was only a matter of time before the darkness returned. He didn't want to go through another night of terror all alone. Alone. That's what he was. All alone.

"All alone," a cackle echoed in his head. It belonged to his capturer, right? Yes... Sleete. Sleete had said that. And he was right.

"I don't want to be alone anymore," Lloyd whimpered aloud. He tightened his arms around his knees, wincing as his shoulder stung. Sitting alone in the light wasn't much more enjoyable than being attacked at night. Alone meant thinking, thinking meant panicking, and panicking meant breaking. Was he breaking? No, of course he wasn't. He was the green ninja. He couldn't be broken so easily.

"You don't deserve to be called a ninja after what you did!" Kai's voice shouted at him again.

"Shut up," Lloyd mumbled, ripping his fingers through his hair.

"You betrayed us, Lloyd!" came Wu's voice. "You are no longer welcome here. You're our enemy."

"No, I'm not," Lloyd rasped as his breathing picked up. His shaky hands moved to scratch at the floor.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Sleete laughed. "Being cast out of your own home? Getting betrayed by the only people you called family?"

"Leave me alone!" Lloyd groaned out.

"All alone."

"All alone."

"All alone."

The knife. The needles. The fire.

"No," Lloyd gasped out, "I don't want to be alone!" He covered his face with his hands, feeling tears well in his eyes. His mind was spinning and twisting around itself; he was helplessly confused. He couldn't make sense of things. He needed someone to talk to. Someone to tell him he wasn't going crazy.

Kai. That's who he wanted to talk to. The real Kai, the Kai that loved him and kept him safe. He wanted that Kai back.

Fear suddenly shot through the green ninja. No, he didn't want to see Kai! Kai had burned him!

"But that wasn't Kai," he argued with himself, only growing more confused. His heart lurched. He only wanted to feel safe and sure of himself again. He wanted—

He wanted his father. Yes, that's who. Would Garmadon come to save him? Would he rescue him from that dreary, puzzling cell? Please, Dad, he begged silently. Please come for me...