Unchained

An Awful Week

It's been an awful week. An awful week of people hating me. An awful week of bathroom and dish duty.

An awful week since Hugo lost his arm.

I went to visit him in the clinic the first few days, but I was turned away. Apparently he was in "critical condition". On the fifth day since the accident, I was allowed to go in.

Hugo sat on a small white bed that seemed plumper than our normal bunks. He was playing some game with his remaining fingers when I walked in. Must be boring here.

As soon as he saw me he jumped, "KODIAK! Am I glad to see you! Oh boy, you are a sight for sore eyes!"

I take that back. It must be really boring if he is that desperate.

"Nice to see you to buddy, how's the arm holding up?"

"It's okay-ish. I only lost my arm up to the elbow. They said they can't replace my arm, so I am going on permanent vacation!"

"Wow! That's cool Hugo," I said nicely. Permanent vacation? What did that mean? Before I got to ask any questions, my time was up. I was escorted back outside and went to my bunker.

~*~

Now it was the end of the week. Everyone got to leave their stations and work four hours only to meet in the middle of camp. The five leaders stood on a large platform along with... Hugo? My mind started racing.

Why was he up there? Where were they taking him? What is this vacation thing?

Aubrey raised her hand to silence us. Her hand was first parallel to her chest then she raised it to be parallel from her shoulder. Everyone but Hugo mimicked  her movements. He used his other, erm, only arm.

"Today we join together to say goodbye to our friend Hugo," Aubrey stated.

"Goodbye everyone! Nice knowing you people!" Hugo exclaimed.

"Anyway," Aubrey continued, "Goodbye Hugo."

Fane who was next in line stepped away. "Yeah, bye, gonna miss ya, Man. You always brought smiles 'round camp, and-" he started tearing up.

The next three leaders: Shreya, Helena, and Camden each stepped up and took their turns saying goodbye.

"Goodbye Hugo," I whispered softly along with the entire camp. This was my fault. Hopefully he will enjoy his so-called vacation.

Fane and Aubrey each took one of Hugo's arms. Well, Fane just held onto Hugo's shoulder.

Aubrey called out, "Night is coming early, go to your bunkers." She and Fane left leaving the other three leaders in charge. As people started leaving, I saw Aubrey whisper something into Hugo's ear. It must've been awful. Hugo's face changed into something I had never seen before. The smile on his face vanished.

He looked sad. Then mad. Furiously he yelled, "KODIAK! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU DID THIS TO ME! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

I stood there stunned forcing my feet to move towards my bunker.

The words kept repeating in my head like a broken record player.

You did this to me!

Those nightmares are not real, they are fake.

Do not step out of line, Newbie.

That night I decided I would march up to Aubrey and giver her a piece of my mind first thing in the morning.

I yawned, sleepiness taking over me.

First thing tomorrow, first thi-

Chubby hands, baby feet toddling near a stream. A girl, maybe a few years older than me, holds my hand as we step over a patch of flowers. She puts her bag down onto the grass, and takes out a small red notebook to sketch some pictures.

I, not being interested, look over to a tall tree. The breeze blows softly as a few leaves float by, and I try to grab them with my pudgy fingers. The girl watches me as she sketches a picture of me trying to catch one.

I am not careful. I do not see where I am going. I trip over a small branch and fall into the stream. The girl grabs her bag and jumps in after me. She flings me onto the bank as the water begins to swallow her up until her shoulders, neck, chin, forehead cannot be seen. The last of her short auburn hair disappears.

The perspective changes.

I see the baby sitting there stunned. Its features distort and I realize what had happened. The water was dangerous? The baby knows not to go near it, but it doesn't know where its home is. It starts crying. Later, it falls asleep from exhaustion. I see a woman arrive from behind. She picks up the sleeping baby, and with tears in her eyes, she looks around. The other child was not to be found. She cradles the baby and leaves.

~*~

I got up early to get to the House of the Leaders to give Aubrey a good bashing. She deserves it after everything she put me through. I exited my bunker and got myself pumped up.

"C'mon man, you can do this."

No, no you can't.

"She's just a girl. A girl isn't scary. They aren't tough."

Um, no. Do you hear yourself right now? You sound crazy. Women not tough? Yeah right!

My brain kept shooting down every insult I could think, so my self-esteem would plummet.

"Maybe I shouldn't disturb the leaders. They are very busy people. Especially Aubrey, ya know, being the head and all."

You're a wuss.

Either I was just being a really kind person or my brain is right and I'm terrified of Aubrey.

I'm going to go with the latter.

When I reached the House of the Leaders, everything seemed quiet. Too quiet.

I peeped through the small window to see if there was anyone there, but I couldn't make out anything. Suddenly, the door opened and someone grabbed my arm. Helena looked so relieved to see me. "Kodiak! I am so happy you came. Fane could really use a friend -- go!"

Confused, I pointed at the next door. She looked at me as if I was stupid. "Yes! Go to his room!"

I opened the next door and crossed the hallway to where his room was. Before I entered, I took a breath preparing myself for the worst.

I wasn't prepared.

What do you think is going to happen?

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~EverFaith03