Wren

Part 10

(Next day)

Wren spent his time making paper cranes. Lots of paper cranes. It was the only thing he knew how to make, and he didn't have scissors or pencils or anything, so all he could do was fold the paper. He sat in his semi-circle, surrounded by the delicate birds of all different colors.

Matteo hadn't changed. He was cold and indifferent, but when something got him angry, he would take it out on Wren. Like today. He'd come storming into the room, angry at his father. They'd had a disagreement over how a part of their work should be handled, and Matteo had been chastised in front of a room full of people. He stomped over to the corner.

He crushed some of the beautiful birds under his feet as he grabbed a fistful of wren's  hair, forcing him to look up at him. 

"The hell are you doing, you little Worm? Sitting here making a mess of my room while I'm stuck at work being scolded by my father?" He shoved Wren, releasing him to crawl away and mash himself into a tiny trembling ball in the corner.

Matteo dug out a cigarette and lit it, taking a few puffs before he was ready. He approached menacingly again, and roughly pulled Wren from his cowering position. He shoved him to the floor and got over top of him, pinning him down. He moved Wren's arms up and held both slender wrists with one of his own large hands. The other, he used to take the cigarette from his mouth. 

Wren struggled and begged, knowing what was coming. He'd been through this on the first night.

He screamed as he felt searing pain on his collarbone, tears pouring from his eyes. "Please! Stop!" He continued to beg, but Matteo ignored him.

Wren could smell his burning flesh as he squirmed under Matteo, unable to break free. It was a few more minutes before he was satisfied. Matteo threw the cigarette butt down and got off, storming away and leaving the door open. 

Wren didn't get up. His body was in shock, adrenaline coursing through him. The pain was unimaginable. He just lay there, blank eyes staring off as the pain washed over him in waves.

There was. . . a lot of smoke. 

Wren sat up, the pain overcome by fear. There was a fire in the room. the cigarette butt had landed near one of Wren's cranes and had ignited it, quickly spreading to all the other paper around. The smoke was so thick that as soon as Wren tried to call for help, he couldn't. He doubled over, coughing, and tried to smother the fire by slapping the paper with his bare hands. It burned, but if he couldn't put it out he would die chained to the wall. The fire was burning the actual carpet now, and slowly but surely spreading across the room. Wren continued to use his hands until he couldn't take the pain anymore. 

It was hopeless anyway. There was no stopping it. All Wren could do was brush the fiery bits of paper away as far as he could, and press himself up against the wall and cough the smoke from his lungs. But the carpet itself was on fire, and slowly burned its way towards him. He couldn't escape. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * *

Matteo was at the bottom of the stairs, talking with Dace about how his father had embarrassed him in the business meeting that morning. Dace suddenly stared at the stairs, seeming to hear something. 

"Hey, I'm talking to you. What's the matter?" Matteo teased. 

Dace hushed him, taking a step closer to the stairs. "Did you hear that? It was like. . ."

A muffled scream. Both men immediately launched up the staircase, Matteo in the lead. As they neared his room, smoke was floating around the hallway form the door he'd left open. 

"Shit, shit, shit!" Matteo felt fear rise up within him. The screams were bloodcurdling.

They rushed into the smoke head-on, making their way blindly over to Wren's corner, where the animalistic wailing was coming from. They grabbed towels from the closet and the comforter from the bed which had miraculously not caught fire yet. Matteo started to smother the fire, trying to get to Wren as Dace ran to the bathroom with the towels, soaking them and throwing them on the part of the fire that was spreading towards the living room area.

The smoke was too thick to see much, but they finally got the fire under control. Wren wasn't making any noise. . .

Matteo was finally able to reach him, and the smoke started to clear because Dace had flung open the glass door and all the windows in the room. 

He gingerly pulled Wren into his arms, terrified. Wren was unconscious, soot streaks all over him. His legs were badly burned, and so were the palms of his hands. He was wheezing. Matteo rocked him back and forth, panic overwhelming him.

Dace flung open the last window and turned to see Matteo holding Wren in his arms. He felt shock settle in as he took a few hesitant steps toward them, his eyes glued to the boy.

He saw Matteo start to panic, and rushed to his side. "Hey, It's okay. I'll call Leo and everything will be okay. He'll fix him." He fished around for his phone, having a hard time dialing because his hands were shaking so badly.

Leo picked up immediately. "Hey, buddy! Can't remember the last time you called me--"

"There's been a fire. Wren's hurt really bad--" Dace's voice cracked. 

Leo hung up. A few moments later, he rushed into the room, skidding to a stop beside Matteo's hunched form, his medical bag in stuffed with first-aid for burns.

"You have to let me see him," He tried to coax, but Matteo wouldn't budge. 

"It's all my fault," He whispered, his arms wrapped around the boy's limp body.

"Matteo! I'm not worried about who's fault it is. Wren will die if he doesn't get medical attention right now. So let go, and let me help him!"

Matteo hesitated, then nodded and released Wren's body from his grip. They laid him on a blanket Dace had grabbed, so he wasn't on the burned carpet. All of them had tears dripping down their cheeks as Wren whimpered when Leo had to pull the fabric of his burned pants away from his legs.

His skin was gone. (A/N: I won't go into detail but it's bad.) He grabbed the hot chain that was still around Wren's ankle, glaring at Matteo. He quickly fished out the key and passed it to Leo so he could get it off. The burns were much worse in that area, where not only flames had burned him, but also scorching metal. Leo cried as he cleaned the wounds and applied antiseptic and bandages.

"We need to get him out of here, he needs an oxygen mask. I have one in my infirmary." Leo gestured for Matteo to carry him. He couldn't; he was too shaken up. Dace stepped in and scooped Wren into his arms, following Leo out of the room. Leaving Matteo on the floor, his shoulders shaking as sobs overtook him now that he was alone.

                           Part Eleven Coming Soon