Different Meeting

He can't be...

AN: Ok, so there is slight gore ahead. Still not going to truly reveal if Sebastian is dead or not until the next chapter though.

The floor was cold. The chains hurt. The room was dark.

Ciel huddled in a corner, balling himself up in his thin night shirt as he fought the sting in his eyes. It was too quiet here, the air smelled putrid. "Sebastian," he whispered, voice cracking but still determined to be heard.

He expected the demon to appear. To open his eyes and see that all-knowing smirk he wore. He wanted to hear that it was nothing but a dream, just a nightmare, and that he'd get a hug of reassurance from Sebastian.

But it wasn't a dream.... This was real. And the demon was nowhere to be seen.

"Sebastian," he called again, a bit louder, and hearing no other answer then his once voice. No answer. "P-Please...Sebastian, stop i-it, your scaring m-"

"Oi! Shut it," came a husky, scratched shout, making the child flinch. The sound of boots came from a little ways behind Ciel, making the boy quickly dart to the other side of the cage and hug himself against the bars.

There was a loud bang against the top of the cage, making him cover his ears and lower to the floor once more. "Ha, what's wrong, kid? Speak, what's wrong, cat caught your tongue?" Something else above him squeaked and a hand grabbed his hair, pulling his head up. Ciel closed his eyes, not wanting to see who it was even if he could, not wanting to believe that this was happening.

The monsters, he thought suddenly.

Had they...no, no, he's alive!

Ciel was yanked out of the cage and thrown to the cement floor, the chains rattling with his growing panic. A large boot then stomped on his stomach as fast as it disappeared. Air vanished from the boy's lungs, making him gag and pant for breath. "Johnny, hand me the whip. I think it's time to start training this brat, what do you think?"

There was a snicker, followed by a sharp crack against Ciel's thigh. The attack itself made him yelp before the pain began to set in, a stinging sensation that made him whine. He was given little time to adjust to it before two more whips landed on his bruising belly and chest. Leaving long streaks of arising blood.

He screamed, balling himself to be as small as possible but every crack of the whip landed on him. Non-stopping. Merciless.

It was only until Ciel could feel blood running down his back that it finally stopped, a pair of meaty, calloused hands grabbing a hold of the chains on his wrists. "Get up," the man snarled, tossing the boy against the cool metal of what he figured to be his cage. The whip marks burned and stung terribly, making tears freely flow down his face.

"Sebastian," he whispered once again, leaning his aching thigh against one of the bars.

"Who the hell are you pleading for," came a different voice, sounding younger and more mocking. "Go sit down, let me take over."

Fear stilled Ciel's body despite having the urge to flee, to run just from the approaching sound of shoes. Not boots. But he didn't take the chance as he felt his body being further pressed against the cage by a thin hand on his shoulder. Another pushing up his night shirt, exposing his backside to the cold air.

"No, stop it," the boy pleaded, quickly turning around to only freeze in place once more.

There was a burning light at the end of an iron rod, dully illuminating the man. He wore dirt-littered clothing, his skin seemed to be tanned as his teeth were a dark yellow. "Ha, you really think you can start making demands," the man smiled roughly, turning Ciel back around. But the child struggled away from him, loosing his footing and stumbling to the ground.

"Kert, help me," he grumbled, pushing down Ciel's hips with a hard stomp of a shoe. The other man came quickly to grab the boy's wrists together and lift up the night shirt again. "Quit fighting, your making this harder for us all, brat."

Something hard and warm then pressed into his back, the warmth growing hot, hot growing into a fiery pain. Ciel let out another scream, his nails digging into the man who held his wrists together. His back arched against the floor, desperate to escape the pain. He could hear how his skin simmered and sizzled, smell the horrid scent of how it burned.

Then, the rod was gone, having to be ripped out of his back and leave the searing sensation of the imprint. But he couldn't tell what it was, still feeling how the pain surge in the wound.

Before he knew it, Ciel was tossed back inside his cage, he knew by the harsh bang of the opening being shut and locked. He outstretched his hands and gripped a hold of the bars as hard as he could.

That's when his body shut down.

Ciel opened his eyes to find himself lying in cold snow, the breeze causing his eyes to water. "Young master," he heard, and looked ahead to see Sebastian. The demon was running to him.

The boy quickly got, his feet quickly becoming numb by the cold, but he pushed himself until he reached Sebastian. He hugged the demon tightly, feeling his embrace being returned. "You're here," Ciel cried, burying his face into the comforting scent. "I was so scared. I thought that the monsters...no, forget about it. You're here, that's all there is to it, right? Come on, I want to go, Sebastian."

Ciel looked up with a shaken smile, blue eyes making contact into weak red. That's when he noticed.

Blood soaked Sebastian clothed chest, the red liquid running from the corners of his mouth. The demon's body was even struggling to stand up. "Young master," Sebastian soothed, cupping Ciel's cheek to keep him from looking anywhere else then his face. "I'm sorry."

The demon then collapsed onto his knees, holding the boy close. "I'm sorry for making you see this poor state of mine." Ciel shooked his head, expression blank and unreadable as more tears ran down his face.

"No...," he said before grabbing onto the demon's shoulders. "No, no, no, Sebastian you're suppose to stay with me! You promised, please!"

Ciel's eyes shot open, his chapped lips gasping for breath. It was a dream, he realized as he made a move to sit up but he hissed in pain when feeling the burn sharply arise at his back.

Despite not being able to see anything, his vision became blurry with fresh tears.

No...no, he's not dead!

...He can't be....

The boy covered his eyes, biting his trembling bottom lip. "Sebastian...Sebastian...Sebastian," he chanted, his entire body shaking. "Please, don't leave me alone. Don't leave me...you promised." But his begging didn't earn him a warm embrace of the demon, didn't get him a pair of warm, red eyes, and it certainly didn't get him that familiar chuckle.

How could they...kill you?