(R)Evolution ~ Book 2 (Watty Awards Round 2 Finalist)

14) Playing with Fire

They left her alone with only her thoughts for company. The image of Carl’s hate filled face leered at her; as she watched as her mind slowed down to give her a detailed view of the knife that sliced open Collins’ neck, his blood a vivid red that seemed to be everywhere. His eyes went wide, as he tried to comprehend that the man who was taking his life, was one of his dearest friends. Reve watched in numbing horror, as life slowly ebbed from the man she had come to love.

The anguish of loving and losing was more than she could bare.  But she refused to give into the beast; Collins had been her anchor to her humanity. The saving grace of her life, and now all that was left was a huge ragged hole where he should have been. She sank into the despair that now enveloped her, wondering how she would cope without him.

Reve fell into a fitful sleep, awakening sporadically. Each time the image of Collins dying would hit her and she would sob anew. The draconian and grey left her to her mourning. It was two days later, when they approached her cell. She awoke, to find her eyes were puffy and sore from the relentless crying. Her body ached due to lying in a cramped space, but she ignored these discomforts as she watched the grey alien warily.

It thrust an image into her mind, none to gently and she gasped at the sudden intrusion. The being instructed her to follow it.  She stood and stretched her limbs, waiting whilst the cell door was unlocked. Despite her sadness, she was intrigued. It headed out of the cavern and down a small dimly lit corridor leading her to only knows where.

A horrible, gut wrenching smell hit her. Reve pinched her nose, and tried to ignore it, shying away from the beasts memories of human flesh. The grey projected another image to Reve, one that made her empty her stomach and left her gasping for breath. The grey seemed to be devoid of human feelings, and watched on in detached interest as it sent another image.

Reve was revolted at the images it sent and tried to erect a mental barrier to ward them off. Sensing her displeasure it carried on walking and headed right, the corridor opened up into a huger cavern, much larger than the one she had been in. Here the air was warm, but the smell was thick and cloying. It invaded her senses and the beast rose up again.

It was a serious tug of war between them for ownership of the body. The beast wanted nothing more than to follow its basic urges. It wanted to smash and tear, and bathe in blood. Its strength had only increased since Reve had allowed it to take over and it was a fight of wills. Reve dug deep and used her memories of Collins and her mother to keep her tethered to her own mind; she fought the beast down and chained it to the dark recess of her mind. She felt mentally drained, but a sense of satisfaction swept through her as she claimed what was rightfully hers.

The self-satisfaction evaporated quickly, as she realised where the alien had taken her. She’d been so absorbed in the battle of wills that the screams of pain never registered. But they did now and she had to swallow down bile as she took in the scene before her.

The warmth was coming from huge open vats that were suspended over huge fires; which contained a milky red substance. It was if she was seeing the grey alien’s projections in much more vivid detail. Humans were suspended along the wall, tied up as a pig on its way to the slaughterhouse.

Four huge draconians stood at the back, as one pulled a human off the rack and began to use its claws to dismember it. The shrieks were loud enough to pound at her ears, the agony and fear was tangible. She watched in horror, as they sorted out the intestines, liver, spleen and various other internal organs into piles, as the man now lay dead with his ribcage wide open. The aliens having removed most of the organs threw the dead body into one of the nearest vats, the liquid quickly making short work of what was left of the carcass.

Another draconian, reached for another human and the process began again. Reve’s stomach tried to empty, but there was nothing left to vomit. The grey showed her that the internal organs were classed as a delicacy amongst the draconians and would only be eaten by the highest ranking members. The milky red substance was food for lesser ranking individuals and this was the ‘processing centre’.

Reve held onto the wall for support, her breathing was difficult as she began to hyperventilate. The grey seeing her distress, led her back out of the room. It allowed her a minute to calm herself down, and then proceeded onwards.

Reve had never truly been frightened before, and the feeling of terror sent her mind reeling. She swore to herself that she would never give in to the monster inside of her again, nor would she willingly be a part of whatever it was they wanted from her.

She motioned for the grey to carry on and they headed up a slight incline into a corridor, the smell here was fresher and much cleaner. Reve greedily gulped in the air trying to remove the smell of death from her nostrils. They carried on walking until they reached a huge room. The lights were low, and the smell of musk was everywhere. He led her to the draconians, by Reve’s count there were five huge males, these were leaders by her guess. They stood tall and proud, their chests puffed as they looked on. The others were smaller, and didn't hold as much presence as the others, but they were still deadly. They watched Reve approach, as she felt as if she was being led like a lamb to slaughter.