Page 3 of Buried Secret 295
“I fucking shifted yesterday!” That didn’t mean to come out, but seriously, everything screams out in pain. “It hurts to breathe. I thought I was a goner.” I say the last part quietly, as it feels too fresh.
“Damn, you were gone for four dinners, so I figured you did something impressive.” His breath changes, and I know he is starting his push-ups. “Don’t be a bitch about it. How many times have we defied death? Let’s go.”
He knows how to get under my skin, that’s for sure. I groan and flop onto the floor as I start my push-ups, each one more painful than the one before, but I push on. Crunches, Russian twists, shadow boxing, then pretend to jump rope. This is our morning routine every day. “So, four days, huh?” I say as sweat drips down my nose and my breath comes out winded. “Didn’t know you cared. Did I miss anything?” I don’t tell him I find it very romantic that he keeps track of when I am gone. There isn’t a lot of romance to be had in a place like this.
“Nah. I had a new fight…” Anxiety fills my chest. Yes, he is still here, but how he hesitates has me thinking the worst. “They stopped using beasts from this realm and have moved on to the ones from hell.” My chest constricts a bit. They push you harder each time. It keeps the crowds coming back. “I can’t see out of my left eye anymore.” That part comes out quietly.
I clear my throat and nod. “It didn’t heal?” We are only allowed a small allotted time to heal. My hand reaches up to my shoulder to feel the mangled flesh from one of my first fights. The monster’s teeth latched onto my shoulder before I had time to react, ripping apart my muscles and skin. I got lucky that day.
“Not enough. I can only see shapes out of it now.” He says, sounding disappointed.
“I am sure you will somehow pull it off. Maybe get an eyepatch and become a pirate?” I try to joke and hear him laugh. I decide to change the subject. We sneak personal questions once in a while. “How old were you when you came here?”
“14. No idea how long I’ve been here anymore, but long enough.” He doesn’t have to finish the sentence to know his time is almost up. We both feel like we have been on borrowed time, trying to stay alive for the other one. I don’t see us surviving much longer with them switching things up on us. I am terrified that somehow they will decide that I will have to become a breeder now that I have shifted. That’s something I won’t voice out loud. I would rather die.
“I was 13. It was my birthday.” My awkward chuckle rattles through my cell as I walk over and sit down on my cot. “Nap time.” My throat clears, and I shake my head.
I hear him whisper through the small hole, “One day, I want to hear that story.” I don’t tell him that nobody wants to listen to that story. If I tell anyone, it would be him. It feels like it was so long ago, yet I can still remember it as if it were yesterday. I can’t remember what my siblings even look like anymore. My mother and even Marcus are fading from my memories. When I finally close my eyes, it doesn’t take long before I fall asleep. Even in my dreams, I can’t escape the facility.
“What’s your real name?” The goon I nicknamed Egor asks. He is lame. He walks with a heavy limp; his right leg drags as he walks, which keeps him from being in other areas of the facility. His only place is now at Dr. Vic’s side. Whoever hurt him, they were my hero; I wish they could have finished the job. Maybe living as Egor is a punishment worse than death. The mad scientist’s lab is probably the only place for him. He is limited and could easily get overtaken by any fighters here.As fighters, we look for weaknesses before the fight begins. The sooner your opponent is down, the sooner you can end them. Egor, I could take him out within three seconds. Kick right knee; as he falls forward, use momentum to knee his face, particularly his nose. Follow up by right palm to push the broken nose back, hopefully colliding with his brain matter. He has a tiny brain, so it might not work, but it should.
Dr. Vic requires protection and extra hands for his experiments in the doctor’s lab. The guards usually rotate, yet Egor is always here. I don’t think he is too upset about that fact. I’m pretty sure that he enjoys punishing us all. Maybe it’s his form of revenge, or he enjoys inflicting pain on others. I’ve killed the man so many times in my head. Each time is more beautiful. Sometimes, I like to blink my eyes dramatically when sitting up and act like I squish him with my eyelids.
“Salem.” It’s that answer or 295. 295 is the safer answer, but sometimes they want to trip you up. It doesn’t matter because whatever I said is the wrong answer. We are only in the beginning stages of this session. They look for any reason to run the electricity. So, I might as well say the name I can no longer use. The name now seems foreign, and I feel like it never belonged to me the longer I am here. Salem is gone. Salem had to die in order for me to live. 295, crawled out of Salem’s remains for me to survive. She is a part of myself that I had to cut away. Salem couldn’t survive. I am now 295.
Volts of electricity fire off into my skull, and my teeth grind together, biting the sides of my tongue as my body goes rigid in my restraints. My molars feel like they crack slightly when the electricity stops. I feel blood pool in my mouth as I begin to focus once more. “Oops, I forgot your bite guard.” He smiles too wide for it to have been an accident. I growl and grit my teeth together, flashing a bloody smile at him before blinking twice, squishing him.
Dr. Vic moves forward, wearing his blue surgeon’s mask and cap. His ice-blue eyes observe me. I swear they can see more than what’s on the surface. His eyes seem to see within your body as if they can see his experiments changing you. “After today, you never say that name out loud again. It will only exist in your memories.” He clicks his tongue and tilts his head, pausing with a thought. “Maybe in your memories.” He lets out a chuckle. “I suppose I will never know. According to your brain scans, we have succeeded in many spaces.” He says it as if it brings him great joy.
The man is a natural comedian. He should headline, maybe make it a new hobby because the man needed a hobby. His thumb runs over my lips before stroking them twice. Then, with a shake of his head, he places the leather strap between my teeth. “There will be no teeth breaking on my watch.” He chuckles and moves back slightly, tilting his head and studying me like a puzzle. “I’m adjusting the meters on the side of your skull to get an accurate brain reading. Your pain receptors are quite interesting, and I need to ensure they are accurate for the records.” He pulls off one sticky node in my hair, adjusting it slightly. “Now then. What is the name you will not be using after today?”
I close my eyes and breathe through my nose. I try to calm myself down and slow my heart rate. My eyes meet his. “Salem.”
Dr. Vic turns his head slightly and nods to Egor. The volts travel throughout my body. They steal your breath along with any rational thought. When it’s over, I lay there whimpering. “You, my girl, are most curious indeed.” I can hear pencil scribbling on paper. “What’s your name?”
“295.” My voice feels like sandpaper as it leaves my throat. When this session finally ends, blood flows from my nose and ears.
The room distorts, and I feel like I am in a fog. The room has soft edges in my vision, and it looks like I am in a cloud. A giggle escapes my lips as I always wanted to walk through a cloud. Or maybe I fall through one, or it feels that way when they release me, and I crumble to the ground. Everything around me is muffled, and I try to focus on what they are saying, but I can’t control my head or the rest of my body. They scream at me to stand up. I tilt my head and look down at my feet. As I move my head, I realize I am lying in a heap on the floor. I try to will my body to cooperate and stand, but I can’t seem to make my legs twitch. My arms seem to work as I try to crawl forward. However, walking seems impossible. If I can’t walk by tomorrow, they will dispose of me.
They kick me, causing me to hiss and scream out in pain. Don’t they know I am trying? Even if they do, they don’t care. They finally get tired, and two guards drag me back to my cell, and every bump feels like agony up my spine. My muscles keep spasming through my body, and I think they might have damaged my nervous system. They place me on my cot and leave. I smile—my corner. My eyes look at my favorite spot in this place. “295?” I strain to hear, but I listen for more. Like a glutton, I need to hear my favorite sound, 203.
I pull myself up, thankful my arms work so I can put my back into the corner so the sound amplifies slightly. My head leans to one side, and the cool metal feels terrific. “I’m back. Did you miss me?” It feels like I swallowed shards of glass. Every word hurts. My voice sounds wrong to my ears, but maybe that’s all the electrical current making me think so.
“Fight or Dr. Vic?” he asks.
“Vic and Egor. He used the electricity on me and found my brain waves interesting.” I don’t know why that amuses 203. His chuckle makes me at least smile.
“Yeah, your brain is interesting, alright.” I like to picture what he looks like. Every day, it changes, so maybe if I see him one day, I will know him. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of versions of him live in my head. Today, 203 has brown wavy hair and kind brown eyes to match. I didn’t think that was correct, but I enjoy making different versions of him in my head. “I’m glad you came back.”
“Me too. Glad you’re still here as well.” I lower my voice even lower. “You are the best thing about being here.”
He snorts out a laugh. “Gee, thanks. I’m pretty sure that list isn’t tough to get to the top of.”
It hurts to talk or think, so instead, I sign off. Tap, Tap, Tap. I hold my breath, waiting for the return. Tap, tap, tap, tap. I reach my hand up and run it over the wall. Sometimes, I pretend he does the same. We are face to face, with our hands touching. The wall isn’t there in my mind. I love you. That’s always my last thought as I close my eyes.
Chapter four
The loud sound ofa baton smacking the metal bars has me jolting upright from my dream. It’s not a sound that I am unfamiliar with, yet it is one I always dread and one that makes my heart leap into my throat. I didn’t think I would hear it again so soon. Dr Vic usually gives me a week or two before I am taken down to the fighting ring below. I glance over to see one of the guards glaring at me. His brow is sweating as he hits the metal bars once more with a loud thud. “295! Dr. Vic requests you, so get your ass out of bed.”