The Story Of Soldiers

Chapter 34

It must be close to lights out. Kaze was given his third meal of the day what felt like ten minutes ago.
With a heavy sigh, trying to calm his rapid heartbeat, and tries to go to sleep.

---------

Kaze hardly slept. The thought of his team worrying drove him insane. Did they even know what was going on? Were they safe? How long had it been? Was he going insane?

Questions bounced around his head like a game of pong, heart racing and ears ringing as he paced.
Tears piled in the corners of his eyes, mind racing.
He needed to see them. He couldn't go any longer without seeing his team. He needed to see them. He needed to be sure they were safe.

How could he possibly keep them safe trapped in here? Kaze had already lost so many people he loved. Anything awful could be happening to them right at the very moment he was trapped in this damned room.

Fuck solitary confinement. If there was an attack of their base, like the attack on any of the other bases, Kaze would be fucking useless. His team would be picked off and killed one by one.

Worst of all, he would have failed at protecting them, and would lose more people.
Kaze couldn't let that happen. He needed out.

-----------

Kaze shivered violently, biting down on his nails for what felt like the millionth time.
The anxiety had grown a thousand times worse, the feeling settling itself in the pit of his stomach.

Out of fear, Kaze had curled up against the wall, his heart hammering frantically in his chest.
He doesn't even know what he'd been thinking about, his mind flicking between thoughts like an impatient person through crappy TV shows.

Kaze tangled his trembling hands into his hair, chest heaving crazily.
He let out a heavy, body-shaking sob, anxiety flaring wildly in his chest.

Tears flooded his eyes like an ocean, head leaning back into the wall as he sobbed.
Kaze walked forward, tears falling freely from his eyes as he shivered and bit down hard on his hand.

The blood seeped out of his newly opened wound, the marks circles of teeth that had dug into his flesh.
It must be night by now. No one would come. Kaze wasn't sure if that thought comforted or terrified him.

Three. Three days. How long had it been? Had it been that long? Was this punishment almost over? How much longer? Did they forget, or did they just not care?

That last option seemed the most plausible. Who would care for him? Kaze was just the stupid bloodline carrier of him.
No one in their right mind would ever even think about caring for someone so disgraceful and disgusting as Kaze.

Kaze rocked forward, soft whimpers and cries falling past his lips involuntarily, shaking violently.
His head hammered, his heart pounding in his rapidly rising and falling chest, biting into his arm to try and silence himself.

Blood oozed from the bite mark, fine trails of red dripping down his arm.
The door opened, though it didn't reach Kaze's consciousness as tiredness tugged at him, tears and blood all he registered.

"Shit!" A yell came from the door, Kaze glancing up dully to see Diaz's frantic expression.
"888, what the fuck happened!? You're bleeding!"
Diaz took a brief breath of air, feeling it leave him much quicker than it came.

He sighed. "888, what happened to your arm and hand? Oh, come here."
Diaz grabbed the trainee, Kaze stumbling hazily to his feet as he let Diaz lead him through the halls and to Doctor Robinson's office.

"Robinson, 888 is bleeding. He's in need of medical assistance," Diaz said quickly.
Robinson rolled her eyes.
"As if I can't see that. Move, if you would."

Diaz nodded and moved to the side, looking down at them with concealed worry.
Robinson lifted Kaze's injured arm gently in her hands, running a hand over the bites and making the boy flinch.

"God, what have you done to yourself?" Robinson groaned, sounding annoyed but with a hint of worry.
Kaze looked at his arm, blinking obliviously with his teary eyes.

He sniffled and wiped at his eyes harshly with his free palm.
Robinson grabbed a bottle of alcohol and a bunch of wipes, taking off the cap and tilting the bottle so the alcohol would spill onto the wipe.

Robinson took his arm again, pressing the wipe to the bite on his hand with very little ceremony.
Kaze hissed, flinching. He would've pulled away if the doctor didn't have such a grip on his arm.

After a minute or so of keeping it pressed firmly against the bloody wound, Robinson pulled it away, blood staining the white of the cloth.
Robinson threw it out, getting another one and pressing it to the other bite on Kaze's arm.

"Honestly, why bite yourself?" Robinson sighed, "You need to learn to control yourself."
Kaze nodded. "Yes ma'am."
Robinson wrapped his arm and hand in bandages, the room deathly silent.

Robinson finished and went to wash her hands, not letting up her lecture about controlling his emotions and so on. Kaze didn't really register what she was saying, only catching a few words, the rest going in one ear and out the other.

"Go to your dorm," Diaz said sternly, "We'll need to speak about...this, some other time. It's near lights out. I'll come with you, so you don't get into more trouble."
Kaze smiled slightly and nodded as he followed Diaz out the door.

The walk up the stairs seemed much shorter than it had ever been before, Kaze more grateful than ever to do so and for the chance to stretch his legs, which had started to cramp a bit.

"Be careful next time," Diaz hissed quietly, voice echoing in the dark halls, "I don't want to have to do this again. I hope you understand that, 888."
Kaze nodded again. "I do understand, sir. I'm sorry. I'll do better."

Diaz nodded at the boy's determination. "I'll be holding you to that. Good night, 888."
"You too," Kaze whispered as he watched Diaz disappear down the hallway.

He opened the door and was almost immediately tackled to the floor.
"Where were you!?" Kira cried, arms wrapped around her brother.
Kamlyn approached, sitting beside his siblings with concern in his eyes.

"Tum kaha the pagal!? Hum tumhare liye kitna chinta kar rahe the."
"What did happen?" Kamlyn asked softly.
"Yeah, we all wanna know dude!" Kai exclaimed.
"C'mon, tell us," Kahsbi practically begged.

"Where were you?" Colleen chimed, "Ace was sayin' how he heard that you snuck out or some shit."
"Yeah, we didn't know whether to believe it or not," Jay spoke up.

Aayan cleared his throat.
"Let's all calm down. Kaze looks more tired than usual. He'll tell us in the morning, won't you?"
The rest of his team looked at Kaze expectantly, making him shrink under the now too familiar feeling of anxiety.

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed, "I'll tell you all tomorrow."
"Okay," the rest said mostly in unison, before retreating to bed.
Kaze laid back in bed, head pressed into the pillow as his thoughts raced.

He was hoping he'd get away with playing it off as nothing and that it'd all be forgotten, but with Ace, that stuck-up asshole, probably already spreading rumors about Kaze, that wasn't an option.

Kaze let out a heavy sigh, turning over, happy to finally be back in the familiar dorm in his familiar bed, surrounded by his very familiar team.
Kaze barely stops his mind from replacing 'team' with 'family'.

"Kaze?" A whisper comes from beside him, Kai's familiar accent. Usually, he found it mildly annoying, but at that moment, it had become almost unusually comforting.

"Yeah?"
"You alright?"
Kaze blinked for a second, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll tell you all tomorrow, I promise. I'm just really tired right now."

Kai narrowed his eyes slightly, "Okay then. But if you want me to kill Ace I will, my dad taught me how to hold a gun."
Kaze stifled and laugh.
"No, but thanks. I don't think you could do that. I don't want you to get in trouble or anything."

Kai smiled at his brother's concern.
"Yeah, I was just kidding," he laughed, "You don't have to worry."
Kaze grinned back.
"I'm glad. Night."
"G'night."