Brokenly, Restored

#321

     I whimper at another loud noise that echoes through the building. I'm huddled up in a corner of the cell, shivering. I just want to go home. Where is home? I want to see my family again. Who is my family? I feel so confused and lost here. Tears start to slide down my already wet face. My skin is a sickly shade of green, but I don't think it's suppose to be like that. I don't know how long I've been here. It feels like forever. I don't like it.

     Footsteps in the hallway outside make me jump and shrink back into the wall. I'm shaking by the time they get to the other side of the stone door. They open the door with a set of keys, all their padded armor making them look really scary.

     "We're moving you to a different cell. Come on", they gruffly bark at me. Shaking, I slowly get up and walk over to them. They immediately grab tightly onto my arm and slam the cell door shut. They pull me down the hallway, and I stumble a few times with how fast they're walking. The person towers over me and doesn't look at me while we walk.

     I'm very lost and confused after the first few minutes of walking. All the twists and turns are hard to keep track of while we're underground. At least I think that we're underground. The man leads me up a series of ramps before taking me down another hallway. I shutter a little as I see all the obsidian lining the walls. These are the cells meant for the most dangerous people here. I've only heard rumors from other 'numbers' about this place. I stumble again, making the guard growl at me. It makes me flinch away and trip even more. They huff in exasperation and start walking a little bit faster. When they suddenly stop, I almost fall over with their grip on my arm.

     "We only usually have groups of two, but this one's a bit of a special case. Maybe this can help find the errors in our most promising project. Hopefully you don't get eaten", they say, not really talking to me. Three different keys have to used in a specific order to open the obsidian door. What kind of number has to be kept behind so many locks? And what do they mean 'eaten'? I doubt that I taste very good. I'm nothing but goo. The cell door comes grinding open, but only enough so that I can be shoved in. This time I fall flat on my face when I trip over my feet. I yelp as the ground smacks into my fragile body. Ok, that hurt.

"Is that a kid!? I know that five year olds were taken here, but there hasn't been more of us for years!", a voice suddenly rings out. Before I can even see what's going on, a pair of arms are hoisting me up off the ground. I yelp and struggle at their touch.

     "No, it's ok. We won't hurt you, right Matt?", they say, seeming to be talking to another person. I roll around to look up at them. At first, I'm confused. Their face looks perfectly normal, with a very bright color of blue eyes. He's at least four years older than me. But then I see the little swoop of feathers on the top of their head. They also grow down the back of his neck. Similar feathers give him a silky tail. "I'm sorry if I scared you, my name's Choco", he smiles at me.

     "Choco? You have a name?", I ask in confusion, tilting my head.

     "Oh yeah! That's what Matt says I am. A cross between a human and a make believe animal, a chocobo. Matt actually remembers his own name, isn't that cool?", Choco laughs.

     "Matt?", I ask again. Choco looks behind him, sighing before setting me down. Choco walks over to a corner of the room, and I finally see someone standing their. He faces the corner of the wall with his hands at his sides.

     "Don't mind him. Matt sometimes does weird things. Right now he's counting the lines in the obsidian", Choco explains, pulling on Matt's arm and bringing him back over to me, "He might seem a little........ off, but Matt really does mean well". Matt's face is blank, almost like he's dead. His skin is pale and his one eye is a dull brown. The other side of his face is encased in mental with a glowing blue eye. Matt has one metal arm and leg, the rest of him looking human. His shoulders are broad and he looks strong. He wears a simple T-shirt and sweat pants, just like all the other numbers trapped here. But I heard that a few have clothes linked to their abilities......

"Hi Matt.....", I awkwardly wave at him. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. Matt looks at me blankly, his blue eye making me uneasy. He slowly crouches down to my level and holds out his robotic hand. It kinda makes me nervous to have him so close. Sparks start jumping between his fingers, taking the shapes of different animals. "That's so cool", I giggle, smiling with glee. Matt's human eye seems to clear for a moment, and a small smile breaks out on his face.