Nonconformity | Henry Creel

Crime and Punishment

Henry couldn't deny the desire to make her wait. Perhaps it was sadistic, but he wanted to draw this all out. Make her wonder about his next move, teeter on the edge of her seat until she couldn't take it anymore. A fair punishment, he decided, for doing the same to him.

It wouldn't last forever. Soon, they'd be beyond such petty games.

For now, Henry would take great pleasure out of watching her come undone for him.

"Children," Brenner's voice pulled him away from his lewd thoughts. Brenner addressed the children with all the condescension he usually did, but there was an added sense of hostility woven in the words. A few of the patients became tense, holding their breaths as though that would save them. Even Henry couldn't help but roll back his shoulders, assuming the posture Brenner had spent so many hours nailing into him with tasers, punches, and all other forms of 'reminders.'

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called you here," Brenner began pacing up and down the line, abandoning the 'fatherly' facade he so often adorned, "Unfortunately, it seems I've become a little too lenient-- enough for a few of your siblings to think they're somehow immune to the rules."

What worried Henry was that he didn't know exactly what Brenner planned to do. Usually the man was easy to predict; it wasn't often when he strayed from routine. Today was certainly one of those days, though. After Two was found in the bathroom, beaten and bloody, stabbed through the kidney, Brenner all but lost his mind. That morning had been spent standing with the rest of the staff, sorting through security camera footage only to find it had been tampered with. He watched 'Papa' become more and more angry, until he eventually called a meeting.

Henry knew who attacked Two. Of course, though, when Brenner had prompted the staff to tell him any and all possible suspects, he stayed quiet. He wouldn't ever sell her out unless he had to, like when Sixteen was searching for that tape from the day she arrived.

Knowing that Sixteen was capable of such brutality, such depravedness, only made Henry more enamored with her. Weeks ago, he told himself he would kill her when he got the chance. The prospect was still alluring, yes, but keeping her with him was even more so. How powerful she was... How powerful they could be together.

"Two among you have been attacked in the last few weeks," Papa's gaze cut to Sixteen, "Sixteen, please step forward."

Sixteen's face remained emotionless as she glanced at Six sidelong. After a few hesitant moments, she stepped forward. Though she hid it wonderfully, Henry could feel her panic. The worry that, perhaps, she hadn't covered up her tracks well enough. One of the pitfalls of caring for someone, Henry realized, was fearing for them, too. His heart clenched uncomfortably in his chest as she separated herself from the group.

Brenner offered her a soft smile, one that sent irritation down Henry's spine, and then he continued, "As the rest of you might have noticed, Two is absent from today's meeting. The reason being yesterday, he sustained a stab wound to the stomach, a broken wrist, and multiple other injuries. Unfortunately, this isn't the first attack of its kind."

The children were visibly confused, having had no inclination of the violence taking place behind the scenes these last few months. All they ever knew was brief power outages and panicked guards.

"Four weeks ago Sixteen, too, was attacked in a very similar manner," Brenner eyed every single child with accusation, "And a man, Vincent McLaughlin, was killed not even a week ago. Now, I know I didn't hurt anyone, and nor did the nurses or the guards. Conveniently, the cameras were also inoperative at the time of these attacks. The only people who could possibly affect the cameras and attack someone with such force is... one of you."