In The Flesh(Teeth)

14

"I will fall and rise above,And in your hate I find love
'Cause I'm a survivor, Yeah, I am a fighter." The Fighter by In This Moment

________________

They'll take me back.

They're coming for me.

Tommy said they would.

I never though that I would be so scared of anything. Before this, I was not daunted by the world. Things made me nervous and anxious and uncertain, but never petrified with fear.

The nape of my neck prickles and the top of my head feels like ice. My knuckles are white as I clench my fists. The muscles in my arms stand out, the bones of my hands prominent.

I am stuck in forever, looking at nothing. Silence fills my ears and my world is blurred. I feel the irresistible urge to vomit and my thoughts are drawn to the Pit. I don't remember what happened to me, but I know that I don't want to return. Something bad happened down there in those six months, and I hope I never remember. Except I'm afraid that I'll remember all too soon.

"Seven."

A quiet voice shatters my panic.

I look up and a familiar face greets me: blonde hair, glasses, green eyes.

"Are you going to sit there and go Christian Bale on me, or are you coming for the mush? 'Cause I heard there's cherries and peaches in it today, and I am not going to skip out on peaches because I had to wait for you to get over your shit." he says in one breath.

"You!" I say anti-climatically.

He stabs his finger in the air proudly.

"Me!" he exclaims. "I, who have sinned! I, who have led this young man to the Pit, where he became an alien!"

"What?"

His mouth stretches from ear to ear.

"Lemmy. I suppose you have a name, Seven?"

"Alex."

"Nice to meet you, Lexi."

"Don't call me that."

Lemmy looks at me without fear.

"We're missing the peaches, Lexi. Move that ass." he says, stepping away from my curtain and gesturing before him.

X

"What do you want?"

He pauses, peaches midway from his mouth.

"To bask in your awe-inspiring presence?" he offers.

"You took me down there. You work with them. Are you taking me back down?"

He sets his spoon down.

"Do you mind? Peaches and I are having a moment."

I wrench his spoon away from him and slam my fist down on his hand.

"What do you want?" I repeat.

He opens his mouth, eyes wide.

"Is there a problem?"

Tommy's voice floats over my head. I release Lemmy and look at him.

"Nah, man, we're just chilling," Lemmy answers.

Tommy turns his gaze on him. Pure ice fills his eyes and Lemmy shrinks beneath his glare. He stands, holding his bowl like it's glass.

"I'm taking my peaches elsewhere, before you barbarians beat them out of me." he stage-whispers.

He walks away, but returns moments later. Tommy looks at him as he approaches.

Lemmy offers him a shit-eating grin and points enthusiastically at me.

"My spoon, caveman."

I hold up his desired object with a skeptical look. He reaches for it and sashays away with his spoon.

"What the hell was that?" Tommy asks, sitting in Lemmy's previously occupied spot.

"He took me down to the Pit." I say.

He raises an eyebrow and grunts in reply.

"You start work again today."

"Where?"

He looks at me meaningfully.

"With the sacs."

I rub my hand down my face.

"Did you cut open another one this time?" I ask suspiciously.

He blinks innocently.

"No, that's your job this time."

X

"Are you crazy? Are you trying to die?"

"You sound like a woman. Did they perform a sex change down there?"

"Shut your trap, you barbarian." I hiss.

Tommy tucks the sharpened spoon into his pocket and shushes me.

"Keep it down. I can't think with your tittering."

"You want to cut open another sac. You're trying to die a horrible death."

He stops walking.

"I want to save those people in there. They don't deserve to be damned bloody Caprisuns. They're people, too."

And we continue without a word, following the procession of people into the room.

The room is just as I remember, with the bulbous gray sacs bobbing gently from the ceiling. We are both in Row A today. I'm pretty sure Tommy had a hand in the choosing.

I slip back into my old routine of checking the sacs for damages and drips. Tommy makes sure the liquids are making it into the membranes.

Half-way through this, Tommy stops in his steps and listens for others.

Quiet murmuring between the others fill the silence. Tommy reaches into his pocket and checks the adjacent rows before pulling the spoon out.

"Are you going to shank it?" I inquire.

"No, you're going to."

"No way, man."

He waves the spoon at me.

"You're already dead anyways, kid. Might as well make it worthy."

I weigh his words, then take the spoon from him. I lift it in front of my face.

"This is a shank, Tommy. As in, not suitable for cutting shit?"

He crosses his arms and bobs his head at the sac in front of him.

I swallow and extend my arm. I switch my grip and slice quickly across the surface.