The Monster Behind the Mask

Chapter Five - Trapped - Part 2

Nova

Black. That is all there is. Until white spots my vision. It slowly moves across my eyelids, like a bacterium in a microscope. It is like a parasite. Living in an organism, taking all that the body gives, while hurting the corpse in return. It is a selfish being.

The bacterium stops moving. It remains motionless. It has died. It no longer can cause pain, or disease.

Then my eyes shoot open, and the bacteria remains. But it is no longer a microscopic parasite. It is a herd of parasites. Its a block of stormtroopers.

I sit up quickly. Fire darts through my head. Dizziness overtakes me.

The block of stormtroopers spins. I lean my head forward and something pushes back against me. A fog appears as I exhale. I dont pull away. Instead, I allow the fog to grow until I can no longer see past it.

I sit back slowly. The fog remains, except for two circles, one from my nose, and the other, from my forehead.

It is glass, and it separates me from the stormtroopers. I sit above them, watching like a vulture would watch its prey. But I do not feel like a vulture. I feel like they Prey.

At the head of the block of Stormtroopers stands a tall, black, hooded figure. He stands with his legs wide, and his hands clasped behind his back. He looks powerful. He looks dangerous.

He must be speaking to the stormtroopers, because they look on, at full attention.

I hate him.

I wish I could take the thought back. It is not the Jedis way to hate.

Kylo Ren looks up from the troops. He faces my window. His gaze is aimed toward me. The black, hollow, eye sockets of his mask seem to glare into my brain. He sees me.

Kylos attention shifts back to his men. He turns from them and storms off, fuming. The black cape flies behind him in a fury. Kylo disappears into the doorway of a hall. I suddenly feel anxious. I dont like the idea of not knowing where he is. He could be on his way here.

The thought makes goosebumps flare up across my arms and legs.

I sit in silence, staring out at the loading dock. If Kylo is coming to me, it is inevitable. I do not feel fear, but I feel worry. I worry about what he might do when he gets here.

The seconds stretch out into minute. And the minutes into what seem like hours.

My stomach eventually begins to call out to me in strained gurgles. I cannot remember the last time I ate. The trip to the temple was only supposed to last a day, so I didnt bring any food with me. I regret my decision.

I do not expect to be brought any food. Kylo Ren doesnt seem like the type to keep his prisoners alive voluntarily for very long.

I hear a click behind me. The doors to the room open. He has arrived. I brace myself for his cold metallic voice and angry stance.

Instead of the angry footsteps I expect, I hear the humming of an engine.

Curiously, I turn around. A black and red tube with wheels approaches me. I squint through my blurry vision and recognize the machine. It is a droid. The droid has handcuffs attached to a tether on the top of it.

I look past the droid and see two stormtroopers in the doorway. They face me expectantly, holding a blaster each. I am supposed to put my hands into the cuffs. I guess I scared them into taking precautions with me. They are afraid of what I may do.

I smile a bit to myself. At least they think I am scarier than I feel.

I kneel in front of the droid and clasp the cuffs around my wrists. As much as I do not want to go with the troopers, if I resisted them, I would probably have to deal with Kylo next.