How Could You Forget The Sun

XXVIII

ANA’S POV

After discovering that Eyeless Jack had been caged in the same cell that I was, we had taken to talking ourselves out of our misery. It had been five days now that we had been starving. The only thing that there was to drink was a single, 6 ounce, cup of water brought to us at morning and night. It was barely enough to keep us alive.

Eyeless Jack had been trapped for now nine days, and he was wasting away in front of me. I had offered him one of my kidneys to eat, knowing that he could only eat kidneys, but he had refused. Apparently, he did not want to cause ‘Anastasia’ harm. I scoffed at the idea, but I respected his wishes.

Now, I was huddled against his cold frame for some kind of warmth. It was especially damp, and I was getting close to hypothermia. He was undead, so he did not have much warmth, but I was ever thankful that he offered to share that small bit of warmth with me. I felt bad for him, with food practically hugging him and yet unwilling to eat it.

I had double-checked with him every day to make sure he did not want a kidney to satisfy his hunger, but he kept refusing. I frowned at this. On the day we had met, he had been so eager to take my kidneys. Now, he was refusing to even talk for long about it. Thinking about it, I cuddled a bit closer to perhaps make him feel better.

He was completely silent, and had been for the most part. He spoke only when I asked him a question. Since I was not talking, he was zoning out and trying to ignore his hunger. I sighed out, tired and without energy. It had been so awkward between us.

I mean, it was normal to not have anything to come out when you were not eating, but I was not used to constantly wetting myself because I had nothing in my stomach or intestines. Eyeless Jack seemed used to it, only sighing when it happened to him. I, on the other hand, did not speak for the rest of the next few hours in embarrassment.

“Jack?” I asked.

“Stasia?” he mimicked.

“Will I die before ZALGO even gets to me? Does he want me to die from torture first?” I wondered, feeling very faint. I wondered if this was the feeling people got before they died.

“I don’t know,” Eyeless Jack sighed. Then, he stiffened. “Why? Are you feeling alright?”

I shook my head from where it was buried in the crook of his neck. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around me and placed his forehead on top of my head. I leaned into the embrace, making a rumble in my chest akin to purring.

Footsteps in the echoing chamber made us raise our heads and for Eyeless Jack to push me off of him. I sat, miserable and completely ready to die, as I waited to see who was there. It was the damned elf boy, BEN. I was really starting to hate that blonde-haired Link look-alike.

He unlocked the cell door and walked over to us. I hunched more and drew myself away, shooting daggers at him. Eyeless Jack growled warningly, clenching his scalpel in his fist. BEN raised his hands in defeat. He rummaged in his knapsack a bit, as if looking for something. Meanwhile, he ignored the evil looks he was getting.

“I have food,” the elf boy explained. He then proved so by pulling out a cup of warm soup for me and a bag of kidneys for Eyeless Jack.

I nearly lost my stomach when Eyeless Jack ripped the bag in half and the kidneys spilled out. He sunk his teeth into the closest one, growling viciously in something close to ecstasy. I winced at the thought that he was turned on by kidneys and guts. Instead, I kept my stomach with some trouble and ate the soup gratefully: Chicken Noodle.

“You’ll be out of here soon,” BEN promised, sitting down with us. Lowering his voice, he added, “Trin is here, trying to get you out of here.”