The Flames

Chapter Sixteen

Suddenly, the door opened and slammed loudly against the cell wall. A wild-eyed guard laughed and said, "Looks like you got out early. Ah well, there's no time to start over. We'll have to begin the games anyway."

In walked a young woman. She had long flowing brunette curls, and I would have thought her pretty if I hadn't known what she really was, if I hadn't seen those completely black soulless eyes. She smirked as she looked us over, assessing our physical condition.

"They look good boys," she called to the guards, "I am going to have to fix that." With that, she turned and left the room. I waited until the clicking sound of her heels faded to speak.

"Jayse," I said, "if you know anything about these 'games', or what It's gonna do to us, now's the time to tell us." He shook his head sadly.

The same guard who gave us the blankets now brought a bucket in and set it in the corner. We sat inside waiting for-what were we waiting for?-anything I guess. Maybe anything good.

The woman It was impersonating walked in. Hello children, It said, but not out loud. I heard it in my head, just as clear as I heard my thoughts. At first I assumed I was imagining it. I hoped I was, as this thing was much scarier if It was telepathic. But when I saw the others' troubled expressions, I knew it was really happening.

It's almost time, but we need to get you ready first, the voice in my head said with icy clarity. The door slammed shut behind...her? No. It– all on it's own, as loud as a gunshot in the otherwise silent room. When It saw every prisoner jump, It's black eyes flashed electric blue. It's brown locks stood on end.

Yes, I know that this is going to sound like a horror movie cliché; one of those things people find funny because they see it too often; but what happened next is no laughing matter. A deafening sound filled the small room. Could you even call this a sound? I didn't know, because I couldn't really hear a thing.

My head hurt and blood dripped to the floor. Everyone's noses and ears bled until the noise stopped, cutting off suddenly like someone pushed the off button. A shrill sounding laugh filled my head. Why did It find our distress so hilarious? This is only the beginning, It said, Things are about to get much, much worse for you.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

As I lied on my filthy blanket on the floor that night, I wondered just what It meant. I got my answer the next morning. One of the men remarked to us that they would have to let us out soon, for food and restroom access. He walked to the door which, unsurprisingly, he found was locked. We all sat there for hours, doing nothing. Needless to say we found out what the bucket was for, and I'm sure you can guess. We were all getting thirsty soon enough, so I searched the room with help from Jayse.

I found a tap at one end of the cell which we got to work with some man power. Rust-colored water poured from the tap. Seeing as we were not going to be out of here any time soon-at least, that's how it seemed- we really didn't have any other choice. I let it run until it was as clear as it was going to get, then sipped the water. I motioned for the others to drink. Once our thirst was quenched, we sat down to talk. What else would we do? All in all, nothing new was found out about It. All we really know is that it wants to kill us. Why? Revenge is the only thing we can come up with. It hates us simply for being alive. The question is: why doesn't It just kill us now? If It wants us dead so badly, why keep us alive? That sounds like an impossible question to answer. Of course, everything about this situation seems impossible. I thought the same thing, watching all those horror movies. That seems like so long ago. Wonder how long we'll be in here, I thought. Depends on your behavior, a feminine voice said in my head. "Seriously?" It came out of my mouth, but I had only meant to think it.

"What?" Jayse asked.

"It's in our heads. It can hear our thoughts!" Are you tattling? "No," I said forcefully.

"Who are you talking to?" asked Tom.

"Don't you get it? It can hear us!"

"Of course it can," Jayse said calmly, "It's a demon. I thought you all knew that."

His face scrunched in confusion. "Didn't I tell you that?" I sighed. Just another thing he knew that I didn't.

"Jayse why were you confused when it spoke in our heads earlier?"

"They usually don't do that," he said as if it were common knowledge. See Cole? You are stupid. I'm not, I thought back. It had no reaction. It isn't human; it doesn't have human emotions. It's purpose was to break us inside, and It will mimic our emotions if need be. There was no use trying to fight it. You're stupid, and you're a liar. I am not! I told It. It left my head, laughing like a person It wanted to destroy.

There's no use in pretending it doesn't bother you either. It's not a playground bully. It knows things. It can read a person's true emotions and thoughts. As we settled into bed, or rather on the floor, that night, I made sure to tell the demon some obscene things to make me feel better. It would have no effect on It anyway, I just thought it might help me sleep. I still tossed and turned all night, partially due to the sleeping arrangement, and partially because I couldn't stand the thought of It reading my thoughts.

One thing that bothered me was that It chose today to make it known that It was telepathic. What about all those times I tried to look brave when facing It? It knew I was terrified. I still am terrified, I admitted to myself shamelessly. Like I said to Ben, I wouldn't be human if I wasn't scared. That's the thing that I'm trying hold on to: my humanity.