Aurore

8- I've Made a Mistake

"He's had his punishment. Let him go. Besides, if he's a Special, we want him on our side. We don't want him hating us."
I heard Stewart speak to the gruff man that had been responsible for all the pain I'd endured.
"I'll send him back up."
I flinched as the door opened. I stared at the wall, the wall that had splatters of red on it. I didn't want to think what is was from.
"Come on." The man said.  He grabbed my arm and forced me up, but he grabbed a deep cut on my arm. I cried out in pain.
"Come on!" He said. He led me through a maze of rooms and finally, we were at the elevator. He put me in the elevator and smiled smugly and I stepped in.
"Pleasure having you here." He said. I glared at him and didn't say a word. The doors closed, and I leaned back on the wall for support. I could barely stand alone.
I slowly made my way back to my room. People looked at me funny as I moved. Apparently, I was the first to experience General Stewart's new floor. My hatred for General Stewart grew every step I took. Every time I thought about what he'd done to me.
I finally got to my room and laid down in my bed. It hurt to move. I had cuts, deep and shallow al over my body. I had lashes on my back and I knew my ankle had been sprained. I had boils up one arm and a long cut from my wrist to my elbow on the other. After some time, I finally fell asleep for the first time in what seemed like ages.

When I woke up, i turned over and saw Andrew doing homework.
"Andrew?" I asked.
He smiled and came to the bed.
"Hey!" I say up and swung my legs over the side of the bed.
My head throbbed.
"What the hell happened?" He asked, glancing at me arms.
"The new general, he turned Floor 0 into a torture chamber." I said.
"You're joking." Andrew said.
"Does it look like it?" I pulled my shirt off and showed him my back.
"No." He stood and found the first aid kit and opened it, coming back to the bed.
"Can you lay in your stomach? I'll take care of those wounds."
I smiled gratefully. "Thanks."
I laid on my stomach and gripped the pillow tightly as he began cleaning the cuts.
"You were down there for three days." He commented.
"It seemed like longer."
"You came back on Friday night. I had been out with Shasta and Kyle, when I came back you were asleep in your bed. It's Sunday morning. Did you sleep at all down there?"
I shook my head. "I didn't get a chance."
"Why'd you go?"
I shrugged. "I crossed General Stewart the wrong way. He asked if I was a special. I told him I wasn't but he didn't believe me. He got angry and his men took me to Floor 0."

"I have a feeling we won't like General Stewart."
He said.
"I hate him." I said.
Andrew said nothing. His phone buzzed and he glanced at it.
"Kyle is coming over."
I sighed.
"Does he have to?" I asked.
"Jason, he is your brother. Don't you care about him at all?"
I shrugged. "He doesn't care about me at all. Why should I care?"
"He does care about you. You're flesh and blood."
I shrugged again. "I guess." Then, we heard a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Andrew said.
Kyle entered.
"Hey! You're up!" He said, but frowned when he saw my back.
"What happened to you?"
"I don't want to talk about it." I said. I stood up and went to the bathroom, turning on the faucet to the water and splashed it on my face. I heard them talking, likely Andrew explaining to Kyle what happened. I ran my arm under the water and grimaced. It pulled the cut apart.
I stayed in the bathroom until I heard Kyle and Andrew stop talking. When I walked out of the bathroom, I groaned inside; Kyle was still there.
"How're you holding up?" He said softly. Not wel. Not well at all, actually.
"Fine." I lied. Before he could say another word, his phone rang, and I rolled my eyes when I saw his caller ID said, "My Hot Babe", complete with a seductive image of a blond haired, blue eyed girl. Last week it was " My Baby Blue" with a brown haired girl.
He picked it up and held it to his ear.
"Hey, Babe. Oh, really? Ugh... I want to... But Jason..."
I rolled my eyes.
"Go. I'm fine." I said. He smiled and mouthed thank you. Without another word, he left the room. I laid back in my bed.
"Are you tired?" Andrew asked. I nodded tiredly. After sleeping for three days, I couldn't believe I was still exhausted.
He nodded. "I'll let you sleep." He began to leave but I stood and stopped him.
"Please don't go. Please don't leave me alone." I pleaded.
He slowly nodded understandingly.
"I won't leave. I'll be right here."
With that, the dark cloud in my mind finally took over and I fell into a terror filled, nightmarish sleep.