Shatter

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Chapter Eight

The footsteps sounded down the hallway and the familiar sense of dread rose within me.  Across the room, I saw Jaison flinch.

"Number Two," an unnamed guard demanded.

Jaison's stormy grey eyes connected with my blue ones.  I couldn't help but notice the fear that was hidden behind his irises.  He was probably remembering his own experiment.

"Two!"  The guard yelled.

"Here," I acknowledged him, never taking my eyes off of Jaison.

Then there was the suit and Jaison turning away, giving me some privacy and making me feel just a little more comfortable.  Then the rushing in, one guard on me and the other in front of Jaison.  He made no move to get up.  Just as I made no move to fight back.

I let the guard pull me out of my cell.  Behind me, I heard shuffling and muffled grunts.  I turned my head to see Jaison with his arms pinned behind his back, being shoved forward by a guard.  Jaison yelled something about it not being his turn and that this whole thing was bullshit.

We reached the end of the hallway and turned left.  We kept walking down the long hallway.  Eventually, all I could hear was my own footsteps alongside the guards.  Jaison and his guard had completely disappeared.

A moment later, the door to the torture room was opened and a man sat in a chair, gaged and bound.  The boss walked in.  He was dressed head to toe in a fancy suit, something he rarely did.  He flicked his wrist over and glanced down.

"I don't have much time today my dear, you'll have to forgive me," his time was sincere as if he actually thought I would be upset by him cutting today short.  I was more concerned with what they were doing to Jaison.  "Darling, do you remember the guard you meant to kill?"  I remained silent.  "Oh come now, you ended up killing the wrong one and then you killed his son and wife."

"I remember," I admitted.  As if I could ever forget.

"Well darling, you'll be happy to hear that I've given you another chance."

My eyes went back to the man in the chair.  I now recognize him as the guard from what must have been a few weeks ago.  "Here's your options," he said as a set of lights flicked on behind him to reveal Jaison with a gun at the back of his head.

There was a sinking feeling as I remembered the mother and the boy.  But this was different.  He wouldn't kill another one of the gifted, would he?  The guard cocked his gun in response to my unasked question.

"Choose, Two," the boss insisted.

For a moment I considered challenging the boss by picking Jaison.  But the unknown of what would happen if I did chose him, led me to the guard.  It was selfish of me to want to keep Jaison with me.  The guard probably had a mother and father that wanted him while Jaison just had me.  I couldn't do it though.  I was selfish, I wanted Jaison alive.

"The guard," I said softly, less confident than I was with all my other choices.

"Taken a liking to your new roommate?"  The boss asked, his eyebrow raised and a mocking tone filling his voice.  I didn't respond.  If I said yes, the boss would kill him.  If I said no, he would think I was being smart and the punishment would be harsher.  Either way, it was a lose-lose situation every time.  "You know what you have to do."

With the implied command, two guards rushed forward and gripped my upper arms.  One of my gloves was removed by pulling on the fingertip, both guards cautious of my hands.

My eyes flashed over to Jaison who wasn't even trying to hide the curiosity in his eyes.  When he knew he had been caught, he forced his eyes elsewhere.  I swallowed the lump in my throat and hoped he didn't think I was a complete monster after this.

The guards pushed my forward, bringing my eyes to the man tied up in the chair.  His eyes were wide with fear, sweat beaded and caused his hair to cling to his forehead.  His breathing was rough and ragged.  I wondered briefly why it was him the boss had chosen to give me.  Had he gone insane after the incident?

The guards shoved me forward again.  The man flinched away, squeezing his brown eyes shut and undoubtedly gritting his teeth in fear. I let my guard down for a moment, letting my remorse seep into my eyes.  I mouthed the words 'I'm sorry'.  He noticed, softening his demeanor slightly.  The guard to my right grabbed my wrist and yanked it forward.

The man's flesh was cold and slightly damp from sweat.  Then, in one membrane of time, in one instantaneous combustion of life, there was no flesh, there was no bone, there was no blood.  There was nothing but the sound of a human body shattering until it was nothing more than an empty chair with loose ropes.

The guards pulled me away from the empty chair and towards the door.

"Hold on for just one moment," the boss announced.  He strolled forward, his shining black shoes stepping through puddles of dried blood and whatever else stained the floor.  His mouth came down near my ear, not close enough to touch but close enough that I could feel his breath on my neck. "No remorse," he said simply.

"Yes, boss," I responded, sounding robotic and empty.

"You'll have to be punished."

"Yes, boss."

"Take her back."

The guards pulled me away, vaguely I could hear the sound of Jaison and his guards behind me, but I ignored it. I balled my un-gloved right hand into a fist.  I could still feel his clammy flesh under my fingertips.  I could hear the twinkling.  I could see the look of absolute terror.

I told myself that bad situations make bad people, that I wasn't really an awful person, and that I didn't want to hurt anyone.  But my reassurances did little when I was shoved into my cell and Jaison took extra precaution not to bump into me.

I shoved the suit through the rectangular window and dressed quickly.  Sighing, I picked up a small stone, the only one in the cell, and scrapped another tally into the wall.

"All the people you've killed," Jaison said.  It wasn't a question, it was a fact.  I nodded and watched as his eyes wandered the stone wall, no doubt horrified by the magnitude of the markings.  "I heal people," he said.

"What?"  I asked, annoyed that he was trying to talk to me while I was trying to grieve.

"You asked what my gift was," he reminded me.  His green eyes remained locked on my blue ones, it was like he was stuck in this In between stage of having his guard halfway up and halfway down.  "I heal people."

"And I destroy," I said with a tight smile.  "What a great pair we make."

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I didn't update yesterday, so two chapters today to make up for it!!  We are still on track to being finished by April 30th, 2014.  Yay!!!

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