No Longer Dead

4

Let next day, I walk out of my bedroom when I wake up to take a shower. When I turn on the shower, I take off my brown t-shirt and stare at my reflection in the mirror. All these scars I don't remember getting...I just remember pain...which is weird since I don't feel any pain at all.

I turn around and turn my head to look at my back and wince at all the grotesque scars lining my back. I bite my lip and stare a bit longer at them; my eyes following the pink lumps down to my waist and along my hips. I lift up my arm and look at the scars on my side. The many scars right next to each other that are jagged and look very painful makes it look like I was whipped by something.

Was I?

I furrow my brows and try to remember something that could have happened to me to cause all of these scars...

I felt something stab my back as the whip slashed across it and I scream out in pain.

I gasp and back up into the porcelain basin sink with my eyes widen.

What was that?

My breathing heavy, I close my eyes to think harder.

"Now, Toby." The man says as he approaches me. "I understand that you don't feel pain."
"W-where did this come f-from?!" I shout at him.
"Let me talk, boy." He snarls. I glare at him before I launch myself towards him to strangle him. The guards grab my arms and pull me back and I struggle under their grip. Seeing as I'm a twig compared to them, I eventually give up. "We need to try a different strategy to get you to stop with the murderous thoughts."
"Th-that'll never h-happen." I snap.
"Oh, but we'll try. After this, you will tell us more of your story and you won't fight us. Until you show signs of not wanting to murder me, we'll stop with the treatment." He says.
"What's th-the treatment?" I ask hoarsely.
"Bring the cuffs to the hook, gentlemen." The man ignores me. The guards do as they're told and they hook my handcuffs to a hook in the wall...
...I was given a sharp slash across my abdomen and I look up and glare at the guard who did this. He held a whip in hand and my eyes widened at him.
I squirm to be free of my trap, when I feel more of the slashes. I don't feel their pain, but I can still feel them.
Tears burn in my eyes as I feel them whipping me harder and harder. With each whip, I'm sent turning my body so they can whip my sides, my back, my neck, anywhere they can touch with their whips. One of them whips my leg and I feel it touch my skin instead of the fabric of my jeans, so I'm guessing it ripped them.
One whip, however, felt completely different from the others. I felt something stab my back as the whip slashed across it and I scream out in pain.

I let out a shriek and I stumble to the floor. I cover my face with shaking hands and I feel all the color drain from my face.

Mom bursts the door open and when she sees me on the floor, she quickly rushes to me and wraps her arms around me.

Whatever she felt yesterday regarding her fear towards me vanished in that second when she saw her only son terrified.

"I-I-I-I'm a t-terrible h-human b-b-being!" I burst into tears causing my stuttering and shaking to get worse. Mom gently rocks me back and forth and shushes me.

"No you're not, Toby. You're my son. My son is not a terrible person." She says calmly.

But I can hear the lies in her tone...

******

That night, I lie on my bed staring up at the ceiling wide awake. I gently nibble my lip to shreds before wiping away some blood that drizzled down my chin from my lip. I look at my hands and stare at the scars on my fingers. There are some on my wrists, but I can't remember how those got there.