-Warning-
Blood
Voices
Violence
Abuse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wilbur! Get back here!" Techno shouted as he darted down the cobble street.
"You gotta catch me first slowpoke!" Wilbur yelled back.
"Phil said we have to stay together!"
"Do you want to hold my hand then?" Wilbur shot a grin and Techno chuckled at the burnett's remark.
They laughed as an old library came into view. The building sat in the center of the town next to the great hall, beside the busy markets and closer to a quiet neighborhood. The boys stood in awe at the historical sight, their mouths gaped open. The corners of their lips lifted and they walked up the stairs to go through the large wooden door. The walls were decorated with books as ornaments. Techno could only dream of the knowledge kept behind those doors of ink and pen. The library was big enough to hold every book in existence.
"You're doing that thing where you look like a nerd." Wilbur teased as they walked down the halls of books.
"Shut up." Techno chuckled, playfully hitting Wilbur in his side and pretending to be annoyed; its harder to be mad when its true.
"So what kind of book are we looking for?"
"I was thinking a book on war might be interesting."
"Nerd or psychopath..." Wilbur's voice trailed off.
"You're one to talk."
The boys wandered the building until a title caught their interest. Books that drew their attention forward a few sentences in. A chance to steal them from the world outside, to a world full of magic. The book closed this world from them and the only way in was to turn the page.
Techno's fingers caressed the book's spine as he searched for a new world within the pages. History of past battles always interested him, it could have been because of his father. He had always told those kinds of stories when he was growing up. His mother always hated how that was her son's bedtime stories but his father saw nothing wrong with it. Techno was taught how to fight when he was young, whether it was by hand or sword. A book with war was something that had always seemed more exciting or intriguing. Techno plucked a book from its shelf and went to find a comfortable place to sit and read. Wilbur sat next to him, holding a book of famous musicians.
"Nerd." Techno whispered under his breath before returning to his book.
They hadn't realized how late it had gotten until the librarian lit the candles around the room. They sighed, tired in the warm and dimly lit building, and were returning their books back on the shelf.
The librarian slowed to a stop beside them, the candles illuminated her gently aged features as the corners of her mouth wrinkled into a smile.
"You boys can take your books home if you'd like, people hardly come here anyways."
"But they're your books, how could we take them? Aren't you worried we'll ruin them?" Wilbur looked down at his books.
"Not at all, I can tell you boys will treat these books with care." The woman smiled. "It's late, you boys should start heading home before it gets too dark." The lady's eyes held in the embers, they were gentle and wise and looked as if they held the contents of every book.
They said goodbye to the nice lady and began their journey home in the gray evening, strolling down the cement rivers where lanterns lit the path. They talked while they came to the edge of the town. A wooden cabin came into view, a light string of smoke escaping the chimney.
"Excuse me young man," A voice called from behind them. "I'd like to speak with you, both of you." The boys swerved around to the lord of the town catching up to them. He failed to hold back an evil smile in the evening light.
"What- what are you doing here?" Techno began to back up beside Wilbur. "Get Phil." He whispered once he reached him. He looked worried, trying to find ways to defy him before nodding reluctantly and sprinting to the house.
"Well then, I wanted to talk to you more anyway," He chuckled like it was all a game. "So, about that beast that raised you... it's true isn't it," He took a step forward, "I remember that day well- the day your mother ran away with a monster. That filthy creature swept her away, she should've stayed away. I didn't notice that the monster had a child, not until I saw you," He laughed humorlessly. "And here I thought the job was finished! Done with! Gone!" He pulled out a small knife and began stalking towards the boy, a maniacal grin stretched across his face.
"Stop! Stay away from me!" Techno screamed and backed up, trying to create as much distance between him and the danger as possible.
"Get away from him!" Black wings sliced through the air, sending a gust of wind to the man. The man tumbled back, colliding into the frozen floor. "I warned you to stay away from my boys, I won't repeat myself."
Phil was hovering a few feet in the air in front of Techno, his back turned from him. His voice echoed in the forest, sounding like a crack of thunder. The man's tongue was tied, nothing came out believable, then he stood up and retreated to wherever he crawled from. The man ran like a mouse in an open field with an owl above his head. Phil landed, his eyes could have started a forest fire just by his stare.
"Techno, go inside," Without hesitation, the boy ran to the house. Minutes passed before Phil came back inside. His fist was dripping blood, Techno didn't know whether it was his own or the man's. He kept silent, knowing now wasn't the time to ask questions; he'll ask later when things cool down. "Pack your things, we are leaving in the morning."
"Why-"
"Wilbur get your things," Phil stood at the sink and rinsed the crimson away, they couldn't see his face. "Now."
The young boys exchanged glances before heading to their rooms, happy to leave the heavy atmosphere.
Through the night they packed their belongings and by morning they made their way through town. They wore large cloaks, blending into the dreary background. They were almost to the gate when they heard yelling through the town.
"A beast lives in this town- a monster! Don't be fooled by its form! It is nothing more than a trick to the mind!" The lord of the town shouted over the crowd. "I promise to protect you from this monster, but I need your help to catch such a beast!" The crowd yelled in agreement. "We will send this monster away!"
Techno was shaking, holding the box closely to his chest, trying to steady his breathing. Footsteps bled into the screams of the crowd. He couldn't feel his legs, not sure if they were even touching the ground. His nightmare became real. He couldn't feel the air leave his frozen lips, no warmth to remind him he was alive -if there was even air in his lungs to breathe- if warmth would ever embrace his body again, warmth to remind him he was alive.
No matter how much he trembled in the cold, he couldn't shake himself out of the nightmare.
"Stop right there, where are you headed?" A guard at the gate bellowed.
"We are leaving to visit a family friend." Phil was quick to tell. Techno couldn't grasp what was happening. his heart was so loud he didn't know if anyone else could hear it too.
"Be careful out there, you wouldn't want to run into the beast."
"Thank you, good day sir."
Just through this gate and then they'll be safe, they'll be safe-
The guard looked down at Techno, noticing him trembling. The man put his hand on the boy's shoulder. His grip tightened, sending a shock of pain through his arm. Techno stiffened and tried to bury himself in his mind.
"Are you cold, little boy?"
Techno's heart couldn't find the rhythm, he was scared -no, terified. He wanted to scream -to run, hide- to do anything but be here. The man reached up and grabbed the hood of the cloak. Stop. Don't. Run away. Run far away. Don't stop running. You can't stop running. He screamed in his mind as the fabric fell to his shoulder. Everything seemed to slow from then, from the yell of the guard. It felt like he was blinking through time like a picture book. Each page showed a different scene of his life. He saw the people around him, they were screaming yet he couldn't hear them. He watched as they grabbed him, they brought him to a wagon with a cage built in the back and he didn't scream, just clutched the box closer to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut. They pushed away Wilbur and Phil, leaving them to watch. They were crying, why are they crying? The pictures began to move faster. They moved along and he started to hear the people yelling, the horses at the wagon along with their hooves hitting the ground. He heard Wilbur sobbing, he heard Phil yelling for everyone to let him go. He heard his sobs.
"Phil?" Techno gripped the box close. "Phil help me!" His voice got louder.
"Techno! Techno don't be scared!" The wagon picked up a faster pace. "I'll find you! I promise!" Phil's voice began to fade as he got pulled further away into the dreary background.
"Dad!" He pleaded, his voice cracking. Techno reached out his hand for his father. Hot tears raced down his face and blurred his vision. "Dad help me!" He screamed as the town vanished into the background.
The next thing he knew: he was at Brockman.
Tall, empty, depressing, dreadful Brockman.
"You are here to learn how to be normal," They repeated to him, the word 'normal' throbbed in his head like the knell of a funeral for a part of him. What was normal? Isn't it normal to be different? What's wrong with different? Techno always thought that when they said these things. He was swarmed with the word for the next five years until he was twelve. Those years he ate like all the other kids, he talked like them but he was still not normal. No one would treat him like the normal they all wanted him to be. They would taunt him, insult him for not being normal. He tried to be normal and they still wouldn't accept him.
More time passed before a boy his age began to talk to him, a friend. His first friend in five years, he had forgotten how friends were supposed to be. He didn't notice there was a fire until he was choking on the smoke. He didn't even know he was choking until his heart dropped, watching his friend hold the precious box with the lid opened. He couldn't think or move.
Hurt him.
His tusks punctured skin. He couldn't hear until the horrified shouting of people pulled him back. He couldn't feel until the first strike of the wire saw cut through one of his tusks. He felt the cold pain bite his body and send a wave of fear.
Get out.
Run.
It hurts.
He wasn't a friend.
It wasn't your fault.
It was his.
Hurt him.
The cold pain felt like fire as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. His vision focused on the enemy sawing off his tusks. The Headmaster held the gigli saw in a firm grip, making Techno unable to squirm free.
Techno was thrown into a room at the bottom of the orphanage, spitting the last of the blood out of his mouth. He was let out days later but his tusks would never stop growing. His appointments would never end.
It hurts.
It wasn't your fault.
It was his.
Hurt him.