The Earl's Return

The Bluest of Bruises

Ciel's POV

It's been two years now since I was taken. Since they died. Since my birthday. Today the cult plans to leave me here as a present. Somehow word of their meeting place got out to the public and the police are being sent to check it out. I am the last of the children that were here when I was brought in. The last of my family too. 

The men and women decided having old blood gets boring anyway, so they're letting me go with my life. I couldn't be happier. They always did something for me on my birthday, but it wasn't exactly nice. They'd beat me harder or renew my brand, but never was it something that could put me at ease. That would be why I doubted them.

The day has finally come and I haven't seen a single cult's-man. After hours of waiting for someone to save me from these depths I gave up hope once more. Maybe their nice little gesture....was just a gesture. I allowed my eyes to fall closed ready to sleep when suddenly the door swung open. 

A bright light filled the room and I winced in silence as the light began to engulf the room along with voices and footsteps. The lights traveled around the room and one lit me up. I weakly raised a hand to cover my eyes, but the attempt failed as all it did was hurt my arm. I held my right eye closed so they wouldn't see that I was now a freak of nature.

"They're all dead." One muttered. He gagged in the presence of the smelly corpses and rotting skin now covered in maggots.

"SIR! One's still alive!" A younger voice hollered as he rushed to my cage. The door was open, but only to tease me. One of my mates left the cage as an attempt to escape, but he was killed in the middle of the hall. I never near it and stay in my shackles with the key sitting in front of me covered in dust and blood. They tormented me. I knew I couldn't get out so long as they were alive, so no matter how much access I had to freedom...I waited for permission or death.

I gave up, but they arrived. The man looked for the door and saw it wide open. He got down on all fours and dirtied his clothes with blood and dust crawling to me. The man saw the key and picked it up. He unlocked my shackles and picked me up. I was carried like a baby koala as he crawled out of the small space.

 A wave of people rushed to me as he jogged out to the blood red hallway. I leaned onto his chest feeling that if I didn't I'd fall. The man panted as he sped up his jog to a high speed race through the halls. Twisting and turning through the maze of corridors. He was obviously lost. I looked up and over his shoulder reading the number on the wall . It was small but it stood out as a slightly different shade of red. The higher the number, the closer we are to freedom. The men and woman tortured me everywhere you could think of. Eventually my blood helped paint the red halls.

We were in hall eighty eight now, so he should only need three more halls. They used to tease me and say that if I were ever to get out alive, hall ninety-one was the last to take before freedom's arms embraced me. Of course I would doubt them, but the air smelled so much better up here.

"Take a right." I whispered. The man jumped, but he listened. "One more right." I rasped out once more. Surprisingly I was right and I felt air brush my face. Sunlight illuminated the hall passed the man as he continued to race out. A few seconds later and I filled my lungs with clean air and my eye with cloudy, but real sunlight.

The man gently set me onto the softest object I've felt in a two years. I squeezed my eyes closed at the bright white that blinded me for a second. I was pushed into an even whiter space where someone covered my mouth with a mask. I breathed in it's contents and fell asleep once more. I had little energy and I haven't had food since last week. 

LATER THAT DAY

I blinked my eyes open slowly and my left eye tried to shut. It was too bright. I haven't been in the presence of light in years, can't they chill with this exposure. I heard quiet whispers behind a thin surface and sat up to catch sight of the cause.