Wicked Games (Student/teacher)

Chapter 24

The sound of a muffled voice could be heard in the foggy blur of what was now Hayden's mind. It sounded like someone was calling her name. She thought it may be Alex and so she held on to whatever kept her in this drowsy state as tight as she could when suddenly she was woken by cold water being thrown at her. She took a deep breathe when she came to, the icy droplets stabbing at her numb skin as they slid down her chest. The chains rattled above Hayden's head as she tried to pounce on Alex who held an empty bucket and wore a delighted smirk. She yelled at him and tried to break free with all her strength until she eventually gave up. She looked like a wild animal with a bloodlust. Alex just stood there staring. Hayden began to sob out of frustration. The sudden outburst had warmed her abnormally cold skin. "Why are you doing this?" she whispered. "To teach you a lesson," he replied. "Why? What could you possibly gain from all of this?" She began to sob out of sorrow now. "I need you to forget about him. You need to see that I'm the one you really want." She looked up at him and spat, "You're sick, Alex and there's nothing you can do to me that will make me 'want' you." An angered look overtook his calm features which told Hayden that she would regret her words but she didn't care, she had nothing more to lose.

It felt like days since Hayden saw Alex. The only time she was aware of his presence was whenever she would fall asleep and he would throw ice cold water at her to keep her awake but she only caught glimpses of the door shutting or him walking away. She knew what he was doing, she had studied it briefly once. He was trying to deprive her of sleep to the point where she lost all rational thinking.

Hayden's skin stung from the usual ice cold water being lunged at her. Her toes barely touched the ground as she hung on to the chains languidly. "Let's answer some questions, shall we?" Alex asked cheerfully. "I have an idea," Hayden sneered, "why don't you go to hell?" Alex's smile broadened, "Haven't you realised? You're already in hell. Now, back to the questions." Hayden rested her head against one of her raised arms, "Why don't we negotiate?" Alex's curiosity got the better of him when he asked her to elaborate. He didn't have what it took to drive someone to the edge. The proper way of doing it was to ignore the individual's pleas and only accept the information needed. Alex was weak when it came to Hayden. Hayden tried to concentrate on his face but she found it challenging to concentrate on anything, much less Alex. "Why don't you get me down from here and give me some warm clothes before I die and I will answer your stupid questions," her tone revealed her irritation. "No can do," he said, "What I will do though is ask my 'stupid' questions until I am satisfied. Now, what is your name?"

Sleep seemed to wrap itself around Hayden but she fought it off, not wanting to be soaked again. Her teeth chattered from the cold. Hayden found herself hoping that she would die, whether it be from starvation or hypothermia she didn't care. The door flung open and Reed entered with caution. "Reed? Reed!" she screamed with relief. Tears ran down her cheeks when she realised it was all over. He held her cheeks in his hands, his thumb brushing away the tears as they fell. "You're here. You're alive." He nodded and placed his forehead against hers. She opened her eyes but he was gone. She had hallucinated her rescue. Not only was Alex torturing her, but now she was torturing herself.

A few hours later, Alex entered with a set of keys and a pile of clothes. Next, he brought in a bucket of water and a cloth. He walked towards Hayden with the bucket after shutting the door. He dipped the cloth in the warm water and wiped her face and neck. She kept her eyes on the grey floor as she couldn't stand the sight of him anymore. Alex unlocked the thick, metallic cuffs which sent Hayden crashing to the floor. Her body had barely moved for days and so she found that she could hardly move. Alex placed a warm sweater over her torso. "You can put those on yourself when you can move again," he said, gesturing towards the pants and socks. He gathered his things and left her. During the next few days, Hayden slowly regained body heat and feeling in her limbs. She paced back and forth when her legs could move properly once again. Alex would leave a small bowl of mashed potatoes for her everyday with a portion the size of Hayden's fist. Hayden noticed her ribs were beginning to protrude. Soon, Hayden realised that Alex stopped visiting altogether and only came to leave her food once a day while she was asleep. Hayden forgot what it felt like to hear someone else's voice. She longed to hear Reed or her parents. She felt anxious and on edge most of the time and felt depressed whenever she would think of her family and friends. A painful emptiness filled her unsatisfied stomach. Hayden found herself rocking back and forth as she hummed the only rhythm she could think of. To fill the silence, she would often sing to herself:

"Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home..."

Alex burst in one day with determination. He blindfolded Hayden and turned the light off, filling the room with total darkness. She was chained to the floor and couldn't move to take the blindfold off. The next day he placed noise cancelling headphones over her ears. She shivered with fear. Hayden imagined an evil presence in the room. She couldn't hear or see anything but she could feel the movement of her new guest beside her. Some part of her knew it was an hallucination but it still scared her. She found that all she could do was cry every time she imagined horrific things taking place around her. Hayden was grateful when Alex removed the blindfold and headphones and turned the light on. He left her alone a while longer but she was relieved that she could see her surroundings. Hayden felt numb inside and out. She had no strength left to fight to keep her sanity, and so, she felt it slipping away from her with every hour that passed.

Alex entered the room with a needle containing a colourless liquid. He lifted her sleeve so that he could wipe at her shoulder with a cold liquid before inserting the needle. Hayden felt drowsy and couldn't think clearly. Her state of mind was chaotic enough before Alex began injecting drugs into her system everyday. She thought they were used to make her susceptible to commands. Alex's last form of torture was what really pushed Hayden over the edge. Alex asked her questions and told her lies until he fully manipulated her into doubting her own memories, perceptions and sanity. She had little left that could help her rationalise anything. She couldn't trust her own feelings or memories and so she only trusted what Alex told her.

Hayden slumped against the wall while she stared into nothingness. There were no more chains or games, just the grey walls. The door swung open and Reed marched into the room. He was bruised and had wounds that were barely healed all over his body. "Hayden!" he said before he crouched down beside her. She took no notice of him and continued to stare at the walls when he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "Hayden, speak to me," he pleaded as he stared into her eyes. She looked straight past him. Reed knew that Alex had finally broken her. "Leave me alone," she said, maintaining her stare into nothingness. "What are you talking about? Now's our chance, let's go!" She looked up at him when he held her face but her eyes were different, they were cold and lifeless. "You're not real," she said as she moved his hands away from her. "Hayden, forget whatever he told you, I'm real. I'm here, now let's go!" Hayden looked at him with her numb, distant look, "He told me that he was keeping me safe from you. He told me that you were lying to me and that you tried to hurt me. He said that he would come back to get me and that you couldn't hurt me anymore." Reed ignored the nonsense he was hearing and grabbed Hayden by the arm. She was frail and cold. She made no effort to stop him as he dragged her by the arm. His fears were confirmed when Alex caught them. "Well done, Hayden," he said to her, "As for you, you'll be going back into your cage." Reed glowered at him, "What makes you think I'll be doing that?" Alex held up a needle, "If you don't, I'll be forced to use this on her and, well, you wouldn't want to find out what it would do to her in this fragile state." Reed obeyed and watched as Alex locked the cell and left with Hayden.