Cruelty

Chapter 1: Be My Guest

You looked wearily at your reflection in the mirror. You had never been this tired before. You have also never lifted 300 lbs of dead weight before either. The exhaustion you were experiencing was justified. Is it really a good idea to be living alone? What if this happens again? If this were to happen again you'd just lay down and die beside them. This had to be a one time deal for your own sake. Collecting yourself and catching your breath- you moved to the man's side and began to examine his injuries. He was burned. No. He was burning. You'd never seen anything like it. His left arm and side were covered in small burning cuts which seemed to be growing.

"What happened to you?... My poor dear, it's going to be alright" you thought as you laid a small kiss on his forehead.

"Don't worry, I will heal you in no time."

"The blinds" he said in a hoarse voice, "Please close the blinds, I beg of you. Please... I cannot be exposed to the sun. Please I will die..."

You nodded- running to draw all the curtains around your home shut. When you had finished your house was cloaked in darkness- safety was now to be had for your guest. "No sunlight will touch you now." you said returning to his side- his burning wounds providing all the light you'd need, "But I need you to work with me. This will be a team effort, alright? I need you to breathe and focus on anything but the pain, okay?" The man's eyes shot open as you spoke. He tried to make some sort of movement towards you but found himself unable to. His form was tense with pain- teeth gritting- beads of sweat mixed with blood dripped from his injured body. He looked as though he was being tortured. How you hated seeing someone in pain.

"You need to hold as still as possible." You said assuredly as your blessed hands reached into his body. The man writhed in pain. "I know it hurts terribly, but it will be okay in no time at all. Just try to relax." You spent a moment collecting the burning material and began your exit. All the while the man gazed at you through his pain with absolute bewilderment. "This part is going to be the worst of it all. I apologize in advance." You'd done this before- many times before- just not with this malady. This ... thing... was terribly new to you. In the back of your mind you wondered what it could be. It was hot, glowing and seemed to be spreading rapidly. This man was very lucky that you'd stopped. You imagined death would have been his only option. "Breath please, my gentle friend." You said sweetly to the man, who could only release a ragged gasp in response. "Here we go. Here we go. This is it!"

His body writhed violently with tears falling from his eyes upon your exit. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and a loud cry escaped his throat. "It will be okay now, Shh, Shh. Breathe, breathe." You said now holding the glowing malady in your hands. It was terribly bright- like holding the sun itself. From it's radiance you could see clearly now the features of the man. An incredibly strong form. Deep golden skin. Daggers in his collar bone?

"I'll handle that next" you thought. A sculpted, very masculine face with ... a squared tattoo across it, strange jewelry ,and dirty blonde hair. "You're a strange looking man.." You ponder silently, focusing the malady into your left hand. "What are you?" Your empty hand lifted his eyelid, nothing but white. Rolling yours with internal annoyance you gently pulled the ball of his eye down, "Green Eyes."

You let go of his eye though it stayed open, following you as you walked away with the malady oozing in your hand. "I'm storing it in one of these jars. They're special. They can hold everything, and will do so until I no longer want them to hold anything." The man laid still trying to reclaim a sense of composure. He heard in the distance the sound of you sealing the glowing muck away. The squeal of metal on glass comforted him in a strange way knowing the malady was finally contained. Through painful breaths he felt relief. However that dissipated when he saw you again. Now with both eyes open, he stared at you like a cornered animal in the dark. You had at once saved and humiliated him. It was an experience he'd never had before. He felt ... confused... or perhaps... scared.