Frozen Torture Part 1
I felt people moving me but my body was too exhausted to look or even move. They have weakened me beyond anything. I stayed wherever they put me and did not open my eyes until about an hour later. Again I really cannot tell the time, I just take wild guesses. They placed me back in the same room from before and left the restraints off probably because how weak I am. I heard Charlie doodling something in the corner so mustered up some strength to turn and see him. He was looking at me in a way that looked like he was studying me. My mouth had zero moisture and it did not feel good to talk. My lips were cracking and starting to bleed.
“There is a glass of water by the door for you.”
“Okay,” I responded dryly.
“What happened to you?”
“You would never believe me and there is not much to tell”
“You would be surprised. Try me.”
I described exactly what happened and the pieces beforehand. He seemed interested and closely payed attention to what I was saying. After I finished speaking, he got up and picked up the glass of water. I did not tell him to do anything but he helped me sit up and then handed me the glass. One drink of water and my stomach turned to knots. This was the first time I could actually analyze my body. My left hand was severely discolored and twisted, there were various marks and bruises everywhere, my foot was swollen and discolored, and a lot of other things. It made me all more curious as to what happened in my unknown past.
“Interesting. So that is all you know from the past?”
“For now.”
“Can I see your hand? I can fix it.”
“Why do you help me?” I asked with a confused yet curious tone.
“You seem different. And why do you trust me?”
“You are the only one who dared to speak kindly to me.”
“Yes.”
“This may hurt a bit. Try to stay quiet. We do not need guards coming down to investigate. They hate it when two of the inmates interact unsupervised.”
“I do not even have a scream in me. And I love how you called us inmates.”
“Not be mean but you have no voice in you.”
I silently laughed, “That’s true.”
He took my hand to feel around for the broken pieces. After finding one, he would try to move it back in place which needless to say that hurt a lot. He did it with good precision almost like he had done this sort of thing before.
“Try not to use it too much.”
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem. Try not to let this place get to you.”
“It seems like it already has.”
“I meant your spirit.”
“I can try but I also have to find it before I lose it,” I stated.
“You will find it. Maybe not while in here or maybe you will.”
“What are my chances of ever leaving?” I ask in doubt.
“Depends on the person.”
“Great. You seem like a nice person and you have been here for a while.”
“I have my reasons.”
“I have nowhere to go if I leave.”
“You will find it.”
“Hopefully. Did they say anything about me?”
“To be careful but honestly I did not listen and I never do. I like to make my own thoughts on people before listening to others.”
“That is a lovely trait that will get you farther in life.”
“Thanks. Try to stay out of trouble. They will leave you alone more.”
“I literally do nothing wrong and they do this to me.”
“You are something special to them.”
He went back to drawing on his bed. I sat there moving my arms, rolling my shoulders, moving my head, and basically anything because I could finally move. It felt good to move but bad at the same time because every part of me hurt. The weakness taking over my body. I could not remember the last time I had eaten anything. I removed my shirt to wrap around my hand. My chest was many different shades of purple, black, and blue. You could also see my ribs too. Charlie sat there with a shocked expression on his face.
He came back over to where I was and began to gently trace a bruise on my side, “Who has hands that big in your life?”z
“Charlie, I have no idea. How bad is it?”
“They are bigger than my hands.”
“You are so tiny.”
“True. It looks like the hand of a monster.”
“Could it be my father? The man in my images.”
“That is a possibility. When is the last time you have eaten?” he asked tracing my ribs.
“No idea.”
“Maybe to get you to speak.”
“I have nothing to speak about.”
“I know. Strange.”
He talked to me about everything that has gone on here. From what he is saying it seems like no one ever gets to leave. We chatted like old friends as he told me these stories. Who knew I would find a wonderful friendship here. Wherever here is. My mind was now showing me an image of the same man before holding a pale blue boy. He had zero color to him. He was not alive. This man was still screaming and the women still crying. I looked down to see a pool of blood gathering on the wooden floor below me. Looks like I was huddled in the corner. The man was now on the phone. Were they my family? I could barely pull out any features before I got back to reality.
“How often are these flashbacks?”
“They vary. I could go days without one or I could have a day where I have serval. They all last different amount of time and show different things. Different pieces all mixed up that I have to piece together.” “Do you mind telling me what it was about?”
“Every time I tell you one, you have to share something about yourself.”
“Deal.”
He sat against the wall besides me as I began to explain the strange image. He listened well and respectfully. His calming hand was placed on my knee.
“Do you think they are your family?”
“I think so. I almost am positive the man was my father. I wonder if that dead boy was my brother then.”
“From what you say, I think it is.”
“Oh god. I killed my brother,” I say almost in a panic.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. You still don’t have a clear thought to back that up.”
“What if I did? What if I killed my brother?”
“I don’t think you did based off your injuries.”
“This could have happened afterwards. Guess I will just figure it out at some point.”
“My turn to tell you something. What do you want to know?”
“Previous relationships?”
“Oh, this might take a while because it is way more complicated than you think.”
“I will listen.”
“Well I really only had one relationship in my life. About a year and half ago it started. Cannot even remember his name now which is sad really. These people took it out of me. I was ready to tell my parents two months after I met him and they did not take it well. I was kept isolated in my house away from all the bad until they found a nice brochure for this place. It looked like a nice, beautiful place to send your loved one to get better. I found out the hard way it is not. My family thought they could heal me with a little time. They thought I was evil and was going to bring bad luck to the entire family. Like I said they kept me in my room away from everyone. The only interaction I had with people were when my family would bring me food. No electronics or anything. All I had to do was read books and study information.”
“That’s more than awful. Sorry to bring up a sore subject.”
“It’s okay. It’s nice to talk to someone about it. Especially someone who listens.”
“Always have open ears.”
“I was locked up for a month before being taken here.”
“How do I know I can trust you? That you won’t tell everyone,” He moved his head to kiss me, “That works,” I kissed him back.
He laughed, “I would never tell because I am telling you things that I would never want them to know.”
“Are there cameras in here?”
“Cannot see us from here.”
“Your lips are so dry.”
“I know. I think I am going to take a nap while I can.”
He went back on his bed to doodle and I painfully laid myself out. I allowed my body to rest and to sleep. It was not the most pleasant of sleeps but it was okay. Of course I woke up to rattling on the metal door. Charlie payed no attention to it.
“Wake up,” the same man from before opened the door. Behind him were three nurses and two bigger guys, “Walk over here and do not try anything.”
I slide myself out of bed and tried to stand but any pressure on my foot sent excruciating pain throughout my body. I let a sort of muffled scream and fell to the floor.
“I can’t,” I nearly cried out still on the floor.
“Get up.”
I try to stand again but soon fall to the floor. My body was so weak and brittle. Everything was hurting. There was no way to walk on my foot, “I can’t,” I say even weaker than before.
“Get. Up,” he says louder.
I stood up again and took small painful steps towards the door. Each step sent even more pain through my body. At the door way the two big guys grabbed me by my shoulders.
“See not so hard. Never talk back to me,” he slapped me so hard it knocked me back.
I got one glimpse of Charlie before they dragged me away and he looked horrified. They were taking me down hallway after hallway making me walk. I was blindfolded so it was like walking bind. Eventually they took me into a freezing cold room and tied me down. Whoever was tying me down tightened the one around my ankle. My bare back was against a table that felt like ice. The man took off my blindfold as someone was cutting my pants off. Everyone around me were wearing winter coats and protective gear. Once my pants were off, he order them to pour water on me. The thermometer read twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit. It was below freezing. The thought of death is what is on mind currently. I was shaking from the cold.
“Answer my questions and you will get out of here faster. Okay?”
“O . . . okay.”
“What do you know?”
“I . . . I don’t k . . . know much,” I began to stutter my words, “I . . . I woke up here with no mem . . . memories.”
“Don’t believe you. You know something.”
“Woods. I got mind picture of the woods. And a boy.”
“Good. What else?”
“Th . . . there was crying and yelling.”
“Good.”
“I swear that’s all I know.”
“Tell me more.”
“I . . . I don’t know,” I started to fade between conscious.
“Nurse wake him up,” I faintly hear him yell.
She continued waking me up for the rest of the hour I was in here. This man kept questioning me on what I know but there is barely anything in my mind. I faded out again but the nurse was not waking me. I could faintly make out what they were saying.
“Wake him up,” he demanded.
“Sir, you’re going to kill him. His temperature is below normal. It’s at ninety-five degrees. He is going to die if you continue. And we don’t want to have another problem on our hands.”
“His family left him here to fix him make him better. To make him pay for what he has done. They were going to kill him in the first place. But fine. Guards take him back. Follow me. I need to talk to that Charlie boy.”
They untied me and started to drag me back down the set of hallways. My feet and legs are trailing behind me. My vision is blurred. And I still am fading in and out of consciences. I could feel myself shaking and my teeth chattering. It is so cold. The two men literally threw me into my room making me land very hard into the metal post of Charlie’s bed. I laid there in a ball still not exactly conscious and still shaking from the cold.