Anesthesia

[23]

Buzz sat there, his clasped fingers hanging between his open thighs and his feet pinned to the ground as he rocked the swing back and forth. The playground used to be one of his favorite places since childhood. He could here the giggles of children and their slow footsteps which, in a way, cooled him down.

Despite the fact that he had faced one nightmare here.

Little Buzz sat there on the wing, his chubby fingers tightened against the chains as the low thudding steps reached his ears along with the voices he feared. The voices which brought a cold shiver to his spine.

"Hey hey hey." His brother exclaimed from behind along with his other friends. "If it isn't my little bro sitting on a swing." He grinned wickedly as he said. "Aw, he's sitting all by himself. All alone." He made a pouty face and pinched his plump cheek.

"Look how he's bored." A friend exclaimed.

"Let's show him what fun looks like, shall we?" Eddie exclaimed towards his friends as he held a rope in his hands, his dark gaze boring into Buzz's white and feeble ones.

Little Buzz could not move. He had sunk into his swing, his whole body trembling as the sharp, prickly edges of the rope pierced his bare skin and held him captive. They held him captive. For a moment, Buzz forgot that he wasn't breathing until his puffed cheeks turned rounder.

"On my mark, Buzzie!" Eddie clutched the edge of the swing and held it up so high that for a moment, Buzz feared that he might fall off despite the rope holding him back. "Three...two...one!" And Eddie let go, leaving little Buzz's swing soar high in the sky, unlike the way it calmed him less and freaked him out more.

"Having fun, FATSO?!" One of the boys yelled as he came back down and was pushed back up again.

Little Buzz screamed as the swing got higher and higher, a swelling rising from the pit of his stomach. His throat was becoming raspy as his scream got high pitched. He sank further into the swing seat and tried to move his fingers but they were tied.

But besides all of these things, he could hear their evil laughter ringing in his ears.

He didn't realize he was lost until a sharp thing prickled his palm which was tightening against the holes in the chain. He winced and looked at his palm. One fate line was trickled with blood. His blood. But less meaningful than his childish bloodcurdling screams ringing in his ears.

He blinked. He could do nothing but blink his wet eyes.