See Me

#10 Explain, Please!

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Another shiver rushes through my body. The room is ice cold, and my thin clothing doesn't help. I think the entire room is made of concrete, but I can't tell. It's so dark in here. How do they keep separating me from everyone else? I can't help but shiver again.
     Coughs rack my body. It hurts my chest so bad that I cough up something sticky into my arms. Is it blood? Cuts and bruises litter my skin. It hurts any time that I move. I don't understand why I'm here. Why are they still doing this to me? I'm always scared, ever since I've been here. I'm tired of never feeling safe. I wish I could feel even a little calm again.
     The darkness around me suddenly starts to lighten. It's getting brighter, wherever I look. A warm feeling starts to build in my chest and I feel tingly all over. I look down with the new light to see the large bruise on my arm fading. A thick and warm cloak is wrapped around my body. The sharp feeling of anxiety slowly leaves my thoughts as my heart rate calms.
     Who am I now?

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I wake up to a slap in the face. Not the most pleasant way to wake up, but there's been worse. I groan, bringing up an arm to shield my face.

     "He's alive. An idiot, but alive". I open my eyes to see Enderlox standing above me with a slight frown. My first words sound a bit like jiberesh. Ender grabs my arm and pulls me up into a sitting position. I'm light headed for a minute before I can see straight.

And everybody's staring at me. It looks like we're in some sort of motel room. Seto sits tensely in a desk chair, Blaze cross-legged on the actual desk. Adam and Jason are seated on the other bed. All the others are standing around the bed that I'm in. Looking down, Brine is laying next to me, still passed out.

     "Heh, what I'd miss?", I joke, my voice horse. Demonlox huffs and rolls his eyes at me.

     "Nothing. It's been a very awkward two hours", Siren deadpans.

     "And there's no WiFi!", Beat wines. He gets a few snorts from that.

"I'm glad your awake, Ty. I'd figured that I'd only explain everything once", Seto smiles, glancing at Adam and Jason, "So, what do you know about all this?". Seto gestures to all the people gathered around me.

     "Yes, please explain why there's a squid with your face!", Adam shouts.

     "I really wanted to meet you some other way....... like in a prank. It'd be funny", Squid smirks, crossing his arms. I give him a bit of a warning glare, and he puts his arms up in surrender. Jason just waits for my answer to Seto. Am I really going to tell them all that's happened? I can't just explain one thing without it relating to something else. My past is full of dark and uncomfortable situations. My life's never been cupcakes and rainbows.

"When I was born, I died", I start. Jason's eyebrows goes up, and all my other selves shift on their feet. "Whatever doctor brought me back right away, but I've always thought it had something to do with everything else. I'm not sure when I first started seeing Enderlox".
     "It was a stuffed animal", Ender interrupts me, facing the ground, "It was a dragon plushie you got for your second birthday. Both us were so little, that we weren't stuck together at first. I just...... was there, after a few days". I didn't know Enderlox remembered that. I don't even remember it. Our eyes meet for a split second before I keep talking. Our audience of four listen with wrapt attention.

     "Piglox was next. That I think was from not cleaning my room. I was eight, I think. No on could see them except for me", Said animal jumps up ont the bed and moves to sit next to me. I scratch him on the ears before looking up again.

"I think everyone thought that I was crazy. My 'imaginary friends' never went away. I eventually was taken to some sort of facility that called about me, when I was ten. They promised to help". This is where everything starts to go bad. I can't help but stop for moment to try and gather my thoughts. The memories are painful to relive.

     "They shipped you off to the white room", Seto says. I meet his eyes to see a shiver rack his body. Blaze cringes a bit. "I was there too. When I disappeared. They gave me third degree burns before they got what they wanted", he explains.

"Do you mean the place we just left?", Jason softly asks. Him and Adam both look horrified at his confession.

     "Not that one building specifically, but another with the same purpose. Each can hold only one of us at a time", Seto corrects. He seems to have shaken away the bad memories. Now I understand why he has Blaze, a Phoenix. Fire proof. Adam looks back at me for the rest of the story, but I'm not sure that he actually wants to hear it. I still start talking again. It's almost a relief for them all to know the full story.

"I was kept in the white room, or somewhere near it, for eight years. It's not a very fun time in any of our memories. I think that they wanted to see how far they could push me; how many of us would appear. We didn't escape until Ghost manifested. And then I started YouTube". The room in engulfed in silence after I'm done speaking. Adam just looks like he took a punch to the face. He's always been very caring towards other people, so much so that he doesn't take well enough care of himself. Jason is looking down with a troubled expression. Seto's deep in thought. That's very much like him, always planning. Blaze is just fiddling with his hands in his lap. My thirteen 'siblings' have by this point settled on the bed or floor around me. It's a painful thing to remember our past. Seto is the first to speak.

     "I'm afraid to say that your stories not that uncommon, Ty", he sighs, "There are a lot of bad people in this world. And some would pay a lot for people like us. We're called Shadow Casters". This is all new to me. I've never heard that term. I don't really feel like talking anymore, though.

     "And you came to save Ty?", Jason confirms.

     "Yes. After the white room and Blaze, I was saved, too. There's a whole hidden city for people like us. They trained me to rescue more of us. This is actually my first mission", Seto says the last part with a chuckle.

     "Why'd you never contacts us? We were all worried about you", Adam interjects. "I.... I didn't want to put you in danger. It's the first place our enemies would look". Seto's words make sense. It's why I changed my name after our escape. Adam seems to accept the reasoning.

"So there's more like us?", I ask Seto again. The idea is strange to me. All my life, I always thought that we was alone in this.

     "There's lots of us. But what I don't get is how many Shadows you have. Most people have one, very few have two, you have thirteen!", Seto points out, "They tried multiple things on me in the white room before burning".

     "With all the shit I've seen today, I wouldn't be surprised if Ty was the Christ reborn", Jason chuckles. Demon mumbles a 'Gross' under his breath. He's not a big fan of churches. Brine suddenly sits up next to me, apparently now fully awake.

     We're not dead, right?", he asks, looking around the cramped room.

     ?Heaven would have free WiFi!", Beat insists, still pouting.

     "No, Heaven wouldn't be in a miniature hotel room with eighteen guys and two beds", Ghost snorts.

"So Ty, how did you come up with everyone's name? Or did they already know them?", Adam asks in curiosity. Seto takes this chance to relax somewhat, opening up a water bottle he had got from the vending machine while I was still passed out.

     "Well, some of them new their names, other times we just followed the pattern. I used the last part when I changed my name", Ty explains.

     "Your real name isn't Ty?", Jason gasps.

     "No. I changed it after escaping. It's actually Tyler Ellis". The name feels foreign on my tongue. Seto chokes on his water, spitting it out.

     "E-Ellis", he splutters out. Blaze also seems unsettled.

     "Yeah..... Why?".

"I-I...... I think I know your mother".