Project Micro

Chapter 11- Bonding and Flashbacks

     I kept running, harder, faster, desperate to escape. I kept sprinting, pushing myself to the limit, anything to get away. I took a sharp turn, bumping into the wall as I pushed against it to try to escape. I was suddenly grabbed by the arm, and I shrieked and squirmed to escape the iron grip. My kidnapper held up a syringe filled with a royal purple colored liquid. I yelled, called out for help, pleaded and begged as the person injected the serum in my arm. I whimpered in pain, still straining to flee as I slowly started to feel woozy. I blinked a few times slowly in exhaustion, still weakly pleading as my vision blurred. I caught a glimpse of glowing purple eyes as I fell forward, blacking out.

      "No, nu-oh...." I whimpered, hugging my knees and shrinking down against the soft ground under me. "P-please..." I quivered, covering my head with my eyes still closed as the memory repeated in my mind over and over again. "Please, don't..."

     "Hey... Hey, wake up." I felt someone gently nudge me, and I started fully awake, wide eyed as a rumble of thunder sounded at the coincidental timing. "Hey hey hey, shh... It was just a bad dream..." I felt Seto stroke the top of my head as I trembled, slowly regaining my bearings. I realized that my face was stained with tears, and I had been crying as I shivered in Seto's hand, laying on my side. I emitted a small canine like whine, ducking my head back into a fetal position as I hugged my knees tighter, starting to cry again. "Shh, it's ok..." Seto cooed softy, starting to pet my head again. "It's ok, you're safe..." I shrank back from his touch, the memory still fresh in my mind. How come I've never remembered that before? A-and that man who... who kidnapped me...

     Seto pinched the back of my shirt and gently lifted me up from his hand and up to his eye level, gazing at me in concern. I looked down to avoid his gaze and hugged myself, shivering with each sob that escaped me.

     "It's ok." He said softly, lying back partially against the wall, gently hugging me against his chest. I buried my face in his cloak, letting my tears flow free.

     I hate crying. I hate how it makes me weak and dependent, how it reveals just how fragile I really am, which means that I can't even take care of myself. I squeezed my eyes shut as my head started hurting again, and I was bombarded with another flashback:

     "Hey look! It's the freak!" A voice sneered, making me look up from my book in time for the bully to snatch it out of my hands.

     "Hey!" I protested, jumping up in failed attempts to get the book back. "Give it back!" He sneered, easily holding high above my head.

     "Or what? You'll tell on me?" He narrowed his eyes. "You know better than to do that, right?" I shrank back with a whimper and nodded mutely. He held the book down and skimmed it, making a disgusted face expression. "What kind of (meow) do you even read? This is so lame!" He drawled, tossing the book carelessly to the side and into a puddle. I scrambled to it as he walked off, heading to his friends and leaving me alone once more. I kneeled down and carefully pulled the book out of the muddy water, feeling tears gather in my eyes.

     "What did I do to deserve this?" I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut as I swept water droplets off of the cover. "I'm only ten, and my father left me, and my mother..." I stopped myself with a shaky breath and stared down at the book's cover, reading the faded Greek letters before hugging it. I sniffled as more tears fled, and I quietly cried for a few minutes when I heard footsteps approach me, and someone shoved me from behind. I fell toward with a cry of alarm, landing in the puddle and getting my blouse soaked.

"Why are you hugging a book?" One of the bullies asked rhetorically, then pretending to gasp exaggeratedly. "Oh wait, because your mommy's dead and your daddy hates you." I stayed silent, trying hard to not show my emotions. One of them grabbed me by the hair and tossed me a foot away, making me loose my grip on my book.

"Why don't we teach you a lesson?" One suggested threateningly, kicking me in the ribcage. I screamed in pain, scrambling to grab my book when they surrounded me. I was trapped, like a wild animal, picked on because of who I am...

"No no no no, stop, make it stop!" I screamed, frantically trying to squirm out of Seto's embrace. I was partially blacked out, still replaying the lost memory in my mind as he kept his iron grip over me, forcing me to be still. "Please!" I sobbed helplessly, trying to push away from him. "Plea... Please...." My struggles slowly ceased as I regained control from my fear, and I stilled as I recognized the light pattering of rain outside.

"Shhh... It's ok, you're ok. You're safe." Seto spoke softly, petting my hair. I whimpered and leaned my forehead against his wrist, taking soft hiccupy breaths as tears trailed down my cheeks.

"Please.... N-no more..." I whispered in a high note, trembling. He leaned over me and wrapped one corner of his cloak over me, embracing me with the warm soft silk. I made no move as he hugged me against his abdomen, gently rocking back and forth. The gentle swaying motion helped me a little, as well as the silky fabric, but what helped the most was how determined he was to help me calm down and not cry anymore, and to feel safe. I stayed still for a moment, starting to relax with the reassuring motion, then I slowly reached forward and grabbed Seto's thumb, pulling it closer to me and hugging it for reassurance.

Everything that was going on around me, the gentle rush of air everytime Seto breathed, the light pattering of rain, his heartbeat, his warmth, the soothing rocking back and forth,his soft skin, and his clothes that offered themselves like blankets radiating heat... I focused on them all and my own breathing, which slowly turned from gulping in air to shaky breaths, then breathing through my nose as I gradually calmed down, letting my fragile body go limp in Seto's arms. Then after a while he broke the hug, only to gently rub my head with the tip of his pinky.

"That's it... You're ok... You're safe right here, with me. I won't let anything hurt you..."He assured me in a gentle tone as I looked up at him with my tear stained face, sniffling as I still hugged his thumb. I didn't say anything however, so he stopped rocking on his heels and leaned back against the wall, instead starting to hum softly. My head no longer hurt after about another minute, so I let go of Seto's finger and snuggled into his cloak, curling up in the curve of his abdomen. He continued to pet me and hum as I yawned silently, ignoring the faint rumbles of thunder outside as it continued to rain. He then gradually stopped petting me, instead shifting his arms around me in a protective embrace.

I'll admit, this was the most comfort that I had ever received before, and let alone from someone I hardly know. But it was... Soothing. It made me feel protected, like nothing bad could ever happen to me. Like everything that was scary before suddenly seems a whole lot less scary.

I yawned quietly and shifted my weight, brushing my cheek against Seto as a small wordless way of saying "Thank you", and I closed my eyes, going fully limp and starting to slip into sleep. My last thought was, 'How pitiful it seems that I've grown to be fully dependent on someone to where I can't even calm myself down' before I lost feeling and fell asleep in the warm reassuring embrace.