❝Speak❞ - A Memoir (Book 1)

14 - Curse Mark

 Chapter 14

***

Our destination was not at all what I had expected. It was one big dark place. I met several people, but I wouldn’t exactly consider them my friends; I also didn’t believe they were Sasuke’s friends either.

I never did see those three people again, but I didn’t exactly miss them, and I could see that the others didn’t either. One person was especially suspicious, not including the main leader person, anyway, this person went by the name of Kabuto, or so I heard.

I was quite surprised; however, when I was told that I could stay and not be killed for ‘discovering’ the place. I now regret the fact that I didn’t rethink their invitation. I should’ve known that there would be some sort of condition to my stay in the weirdly dark hideout.

I should’ve realized something was wrong when Kabuto kept ‘checking in’. I should’ve see what was going on, and I definitely should’ve noticed that practically every being in the entire hideout had a curse mark. I should’ve known that they wouldn’t have excluded me in those numbers. It much too late now, the deed has been done and there’s no use regretting what can never be reversed.

It happened a few weeks after we arrived at the hideout. I was called in along with Sasuke to meet the leader of the hideout. Sasuke told me he was Orochimaru, and that he had already met him. I had tried to ask him what this Orochimaru person was like, but all he told me was to be careful.

We were soon sent to his room which just happened to be darker than the rest. He was sitting in a large chair with his arms resting on the arm rests. He was very pale with weird purple around his creepy yellow eyes; they reminded me of a snake, then again his name was Orochimaru.

I had the urge to run, but I stood my ground knowing that they’d probably catch be before I could get anywhere.

He welcomed me quite politely, but I could practically feel Sasuke tense beside me. I bowed silently in response. I heard him chuckle from his position and managed to see the eerie smirk spread across his face.  

“I hear you are mute” his voice came out as a hiss and nod quickly so as not to anger him.

“Would you like me to help you with that?” I was surprised to hear his proposition, and I’m pretty sure it showed on my face for he only chuckled.

Realizing I still had to answer his possibly rhetorical question, I nodded hesitantly. I could feel Sasuke stare at me so I looked down in embarrassment. It wasn’t my fault that I just wanted to be able to hear my own voice for the first time in my life, but of course, he wouldn’t understand.

I remember sighing and taking my hair in my hands before an unimaginable pain surfaced on the back of my neck and spread through my entire body like a wild fire. After that I guess I must’ve fainted because even now, I have no idea what happened.

***

I awoke in the room that had been assigned to me. When I looked around I noticed Sasuke was sitting beside the bed in a worn out chair. He raised an eyebrow at me for some reason.

I looked at him in pure curiosity, asking him how long I was out. Somehow, he was able to know what I asked; “2 days”

He must’ve had to have seen the shock that was evident in my face because he chuckled lightly; “I was kidding, it was only a few hours”

I remember frowning at him before the door opened and Kabuto stepped inside. He gave me a pill which he said to be pain relievers, but something told me they weren’t. My instinct was right, they were nothing close to pain relievers, and in fact they were the exact opposite. Instead of stopping the pain, it only increased it, by close to a ten-fold and before I knew it, I was out again. This time, however, I heard a strange high pitched scream loud enough to shatter even the toughest of glass. I hadn’t realized at that time that the scream was mine. I had heard little Ririn’s voice, but I had never thought I would hear it that way, that painful way.