Humanity's Flame

Chapter One ~ Jay

The cold gun is pressed up against my temple so firmly I can feel it digging into my flesh. It all passes by in a blur, the trees, the narrow pebble path, the man's heavy footsteps that echo in my clouded head. My thoughts seem to move in slow motion not fully processing what is going on. "He must have drugged me" is the only thought that remains clear in my muddled head. He keeps yelling unfamiliar words that should make sense. Why can't I make sense of these English words? My mind buzzes in my unfocused confusion trying to get a grip on reality.

We enter a huge building that looks like a gray blob in my quickly fading vision. We make a few dizzying turns; the man yells angry words at me when I clumsily trip on my shoelace sending me flying to the ground with a thud. The unyielding concrete greets my face hitting my forehead and nose. Shots of a numbing pain briskly travel throughout my face. The man mumbles "idiot" before jerking my body violently upward.

My vision only consists of a mixture of gray, black and a hint of blue all mixed in a blur like an obscure painting. The jingling of keys ring in my ears and before have time to panic he shoves my limp, unresponding body into a small and unwelcoming room. I fall hard on my back, the cold concrete floor sending shivers down my spine. The pain from my forehead and nose bombard my thoughts causing my head to throb. Every inch of my body is telling me to pass out. I won't let myself; I can't. The back of my head rests uncomfortably on the firm flooring. My eyes begin to flutter open as I hear the metal door clang shut and a small click from the outside lock being turned by keys of this prison.

I should be scared and frightened. Why am I so calm? Where am I? I find it slightly amusing that I decided to question my emotions first before worrying about my location. I look up at the hazy grayness that must be the ceiling trying to gain back my sane mindset.

"Try to sleep." A small yet a voice that seemed to hold much confidence piped up from the corner of the room.

My heart begins to race as many unformed questions appeared in my head. I attempt to sit up to get a look at this strange voice trapped in this morbid situation with me, but my muscles are not budging. Panic begins to set in; my arms can't move, my legs can't move. I struggle to form a word, a scream, anything. My muddled vision slowly fades as my thoughts come to an abrupt halt.

"LET ME OUT. YOU DIMWITTED IMBECILE" Shrieked a frail female voice. Bang, bang, bang the sound of her repeatedly slamming her fists into the hard concrete walls makes my head scream in pain. My vision is now sharp and back to normal as my eyes open wide in alarm.

"Wha-?" I manage to croak out, my voice being surprisingly sore as if I had screamed for hours on end. My mind quickly struggles to remember how I got here. My memories come back in blurs like unanswered questions. I can't seem to recall anything before the man shoved me into this god forbidden room. I sit up unexpectedly in consternation and twist my bruised body to face a short little girl. Her face is almost cherubic, yet her eyes seem to hold something darker. She holds my panicked gaze with cold, distant, and eerily understanding eyes as if she knows my fate. The little girl unclenches her battered fists and slowly inches her way close to me reluctantly. "Are you okay?" I ask her motioning to her bruised fists. Her face twists into a mixture of surprise and confusion at my question.

She pauses for a moment to let the surprise pass before answering with another question "All this trauma and confusion...yet you ask about me?" The little girl speaks with the authority of an adult making it hard to estimate her age. I place my hands on the cold ground as if trying to awaken my senses. Maybe this is all a dream. I inhale deeply trying to steady my beating heart; words cannot describe the panic that I'm feeling. What is he going to do to us? Am I going to die today? Many scenarios begin to play out in my head only freaking me out more. The little girl continues to stare at me with her prying eyes which pull me out of my destructive thoughts.