Left with a Memory

Chapter 9- Outlasting the days

This is a bit of a public service announcement for you guys. As I'm planning out this story, it is continually getting darker and darker, so if it's too much, I'll give a specific disclaimer, but be warned that some really messed up scenes are coming up. Maybe not necessarily in this chapter, but in the near future. 

--------

Marvin wasn't sure how long he'd stayed on that cold operating table, but soon after he woke from his last treatment, he was moved to a cell. Anti must have deemed him as not a threat to let him have control of his limbs again. Or perhaps it was just another part of his game.

The magician started marking the walls. He had to keep some sense of how long he'd been captured. Anti never told him how long he'd been out, but by judging by how hungry he was when he woke, it must have been at least a few days. He made tally marks to signify about how long he'd been there. He'd finished his first week of being kidnapped. It was hell.

Anti gave him food, but it was disgusting. He gave him minimal amounts of water. The drug injections still happened, but they began to knock him out less. It still hurt like hell though. The cell he was put in wasn't what he expected. It was almost like a hospital room. The walls were painted a light yellow color, the bed had fluffy sheets and blankets. The wall with the door had a long horizontal mirror. He assumed it was one way and Anti could see him from the other side. It was almost nice, except for how ungodly tiny it was. Even though he was a magician and he could handle tricks where he had to get out of small spaces, Marvin didn't do very well with being stuck in a small room for too long. He could handle it for the tricks, but living like that, no way.

The room didn't have a clock, but even after only a week, Marvin had gotten used to his regular food schedule. Even though it was only two small meals a day, he knew when to expect them. So when the wait became longer, and longer, and his neither breakfast nor dinner came, needless to say, Marvin was pretty hungry.

Finally the door opened. The magician looked up with hope, but that was soon shot down when Anti came in empty handed. "Bed," He commanded. Shot time. Marvin hated this. He couldn't do anything to fight back, so it was either be obedient and take the drug, or be restrained. His first day being in the cell, Marvin fought his life out to resist the shot. Anti had planned for that though, and had restraints attached to the bed frame. It was the same as the table. Hold his hand up, feet down, blindfolded and gagged. The whole ten yards.

Marvin sighed and laid down on the bed. He wanted to throw up, but his stomach was so empty. "Why wasn't I fed yet?" Marvin asked defiantly. Even though he couldn't fight back, he took every chance he could to show Anti that he would not break easily. He was going to fight back however he could.

Anti didn't seem to be having it though. He glared down at the magician. He didn't respond though. He was much more rough though this time. He shoved Marvin's face to the side. The magician's eyes went wide when he heard the sound of chains. He tried to look to the side, but Anti's grip prevented him. He knew what that was though. "Anti don't! Please I'm not struggling! Please don't restrain me!" He begged.

The glitch ignored his pleas, clamping his wrists together. He grabbed Marvin be the throat and leaning in so he was inches away from his face. His eyes were pitch black. "Shut the fuck up!" He yelled, forcing the gag into Marvin's mouth. He then took quick work of restraining his legs.

Anti stood back and looked at Marvin with a sour expression. "I'm done playing, magic man. You're getting a little something special this time," Suddenly, the man in the black cloak and raven mask stepped in holding a tray. He set it down, Marvin could see two syringes now. The magician closed his eyes when the first one went in. Anti's drug. The two waited a few minutes for his body to react. Like before, the burning continued, finding his core and crushing any power there was. The pain dulled and Marvin hoped it was over and that he'd be released, but of course that wasn't the case.

He looked up at Anti, who was smirking viciously. "Go ahead Plague," He said. The man in black picked up the second syringe, flicking it once before moving to Marvin's neck again. Marvin closed his eyes, no idea what this was going to be like. He felt the needle puncture his skin, slowly moving deeper into his flesh. Marvin waited and wait for the pain, but then it was just gone. He looked back and he was setting down the empty syringe. The two soon left without a word, Marvin still restrained.

The magician relaxed. It must have been a dud. He hoped that, but soon, he felt very dizzy. The room was slightly spinning and he felt his body sinking into the bed. Marvin shook his head, just the lack of food, he thought. But no, this was more than malnutrition. His breathing picked up when he looked down. Black hands were emerging from the bed. Beast like claws grabbed at his sides tightly, pulling on his body. Marvin squirmed trying to free himself fro their grip, but it didn't work. The hands began pulling him deeper. Marvin was hyperventilating at this point. He felt his body sinking more into the bed, darkness covering his body.

This is one of Anti's trick! It has to be. It's not real! He continued to tell himself, but he could feel the sharp tug of claws on his stomach. He kept sinking further down, until just his head was peaking out, then suddenly, his whole body was swallowed. He couldn't breath. There was no air, no feeling around him. Just a constant numbness and loud static in his ears. He tried to cover them, to block out the noise, but he couldn't move his arms. His body didn't feel real. Nothing did. His lungs were burning now from lack of oxygen. He felt himself choking on nothing. The life literally being sucked from inside him. This couldn't be real. He couldn't be dying. Marvin's eyes clamped down and suddenly, the air returned to his body.

He opened his eyes and he was back in the room, still restrained. His eyes widened with terror though. The room was much smaller now, only just barely fitting thing bed and walls were covered with tally marks. He glanced at the ground. A sea of empty syringed surrounded him. He felt so hungry and weak. Everything hurt. He wanted to rip out his throat. The pain from all the needles was too much.

Countless needles. Countless days. How long was he going to stay like this?

Marvin woke up screaming. He fell out of bed, completely disoriented. He took moment to realize he wasn't restrained anymore. He let out a long sigh of relief, relaxing some. Marvin moved so his back was to the bed leaning against it. "It was just a dream," He muttered. "It was just a dream."

He sat down for a good ten minutes before finally standing, noticing the glass of water sitting by his bed. He reached over to grab it, but winced at the sudden pain in his side. It felt like his shirt had grazed a fresh rug burn. Marvin lifted his shirt to look, but his face went pale. He pulled back his sleeves, freezing at the sight. Quickly he stood and removed his shirt completely, looking at himself in the mirror. On the edges of his torso and arm, there were dark red hand prints and bruises, as if something had been aggressively pulling on his body.

Marvin shook looking in the reflection. His gaze moved to the wall behind him and he shuddered. Scratched into the wall was the words "Or was it?" He turned around and there was nothing, but looking into the mirror it was clear as day. His mind filled with that one and only, constant question. Was it?