The Parasites That Live in The Cracks

11. Mistreated Superhero

Bree

  There was a banging on the bars of my cell door. I must've fallen asleep again… There was little else to do here, and sleep was the only escape that I had. Even nightmares were better than this, because no matter how terrible the dream, I was free. I could run, fight back, see a world beyond blood and dirty gray walls.

  "Here." A man said and slid a plastic red dish under my door. It looked dirty, and not just from the lump of mush on it.

  I sat up and pulled it over, it was full of something that looked like brown mashed potatoes mixed with canned peas.

  "What is this?" I asked, making a face. It didn't smell much better than it looked. Kind of like the time I'd tried to make chicken soup and somehow it both went bad and burned.

  "Food." The man said with a wicked grin as he pushed one into Jamie's cell, then moved on to the others.

  "Well he must speak a different language to call this food..." I mumbled to myself.

  I touched it with my finger and licked it off. It tasted like burnt spinach. I tried not to spit it out, this was probably the only "food" we'd get... Again, even for bad people, how was this not illegal? But then again, maybe we're considered more like livestock, and cows and chickens get fed this sort of stuff. Nice to know my life means so much to these guys... I'm only saving the world from vampires, right? 

⇎

I jumped as the door screeched open. It had only been a week, but the line of vampires filed through again.

  I scooted to the back of my cell even though it was useless. Why fight the inevitable? Oh, probably instinct.

  A brown haired boy stopped in front of my door. Somehow he looked different than the others... His eyes were purple, but they also looked more intelligent than the others. Terrifying.

  I held back a whimper as the bars slowly slid upward, and the vampire crawled under. I had a sudden urge to kick him in the face, but I wasn't sure if he'd make it more painful or something if I fought.

  He moved more slowly and deliberately than the others. Still, when he got to me I tried to kick him away, forgetting my last thought that it might be a bad idea.

  He grabbed my feet and pushed them down, then he pushed me to the floor. Stone scraped painfully against my back, but his grip wasn’t so tight as the first vampire’s. Still strong enough that I had no hope of breaking free. He lowered his head down to my neck. Why did he take so long? Was he more evil than the rest, letting me have more time to think and fear than the rest did?

  I closed my eyes and waited. But he didn't bite. He whispered.

  "My name is Chayton, I want to get you out of here. I can help you if you trust me."  His voice was deep and smooth.

I didn't know what to think, trust a vampire or risk losing a chance of escaping? It is pretty bad in here, is escape and maybe die better than live horribly here until I die?

  "I'll be back in a week you can have until then to decide." Chayton whispered then bit me.

  I didn't scream this time, just squeezed my eyes closed until I fell unconscious, and tried not to get my hopes up about escaping. He's a vampire, just like the rest. For all I know he'll help me out so he can have a private snackbar.

⇎

  Today was the day... The day Chayton would help me escape or at least tell me the plan. Or kill me. Whatever, it'd all be welcome. I'd considered that his way 'out' might be to just kill me because I would be out of here then. Unless I turned into a ghost… Which would still be an improvement. I would haunt the heck out of these people.

  It seemed so long now, waiting for the vampires. They must come later in the day, but I didn't know the times. There wasn't a clock or window in here to help tell the time, for all I know it's been ten years!

  "Jamie?" I whispered to distract myself.

  "Yeah?" He asked, looking over at me.

  "Can we hold hands again?" We'd held hands a lot over the past few... Time periods? Whatever. Anyway, it was a comforting habit for us.

  He nodded and scooted closer to the bars separating us. I scooted closer too and grabbed his hand. Even in the cold, his cool skin was calming.

  Then I heard a snort from my left, a crazy guy who often spoke gibberish. "It's no use... Nopety nope! You know they're coming and they want your love! They'll destroy!" He kept cackling.

  Jamie and I exchanged a glance, wondering what he meant. "He's just off in the head... Just ignore him." Jamie whispered. I nodded. Hopefully I'd escape before I ended up like that guy... 

  “What was your life like before here?” I asked him.

  “Lonely. Nicer than this dump, though.”

  “Isn’t anything?” 

  “Yeah. Good point.”

  A door squealed open, and the line of vampires filed in. The horrible beauty I’d once seen in them no longer existed, only pale features filled with malice, sharp eyes of a predator, terribly wretched beings.

  A short, black haired woman stopped in front of me. Where was Chayton? My heart sank a little. Was it another way of torture? False hope, just to be crushed? Destroy my soul?

  As I glanced around, seeing if he was peddling lies to another prisoner, I saw him. He had been at the end of the line, and walked up behind the black haired vampire, pushing her away. She let out an inhuman growl and tackled him. They tussled for a second before a guard came in and broke them apart with a metal bar.

  I couldn't understand what they said next, it was in another language, but it ended in Chayton being sent away.

    The black haired girl took her place in front of me, and once again a vampire drank my blood. I could feel the blood being forcefully pulled out, leaving the rest of my body weak and numb, cold. Deathly. The very warmth and life being sucked from my body. 

⇎

  "Jamie?" I asked quietly, the moment I woke up, and looked towards him.

  There was silence; he was asleep. Good. When he was asleep, there was obvious relaxation in his features. His brow no longer furrowed, fists unclenched, jaw loosed. He was so tense most of the time, and even now, looking at his hands there were round cuts where his fingernails had punctured the skin.

  As I looked at his sleeping form I realized how much he reminded me of Alex... I missed my brother, despite what a pain in the neck he was. Alex would probably be home by now, and have learned about all the awful things I did, that I was in prison… Would he want to come visit me? Would Mom and Dad let him?

  That brought me to think of my parents, my mom... My dad, who I'd never said goodbye to... Who would just come home to a life without me, and hear all the horrible things I'd done.

  I burst into tears thinking about that.

  Then I heard a whisper from behind me. From the wall.

  I flung myself around, nobody was there. Then I heard it again.

  "What's wrong?"

  I stared at the wall until I noticed a small vent near the floor. With a dim light coming from it. I’d never paid much attention to it, it was too small to fit through, but obviously something had to be on the other side. Someone was on the other side.

  I got down on my hands and knees and whispered into the vent, "Who are you?"

  "It's me... Chayton."

  "Chayton? What happened yesterday, or whenever that was?" I asked, wondering why he hadn’t spoken sooner. Wondering so many things about him.

  "Well, all you need to know is that I broke some rules trying to get to you so I get to starve for a few weeks..."

  "I'm sorry... I got you in trouble... Why were you even trying to help me?" I resisted the urge to ask if he was even helping me, or helping himself.

  "I've been back here the whole time, I heard your story. I don’t agree with this system and want to get you out of here..." There were good vampires? Or just another way to get my hopes up. 

  I was quiet, thinking. "Would I have somewhere to go if I did escape? And aren't you risking your cover by telling me this?" Better test him I guess, find out if he's for real. Not that coming up with a lie wouldn’t be easy, I knew that as well as anyone, but maybe I would find something out. Know something, anything.

  He chuckled. "Yes, I can provide you a temporary or permanent home. And no, the others are out feeding and on the cameras I look like I'm asleep."

  "Okay."

  "You know... You taste good."

  I covered my face with my hands. How do I trust a vampire who says I taste good? There it goes! He'll help me escape just to kidnap me and turn me into his food storage! What if he's kidnapped others? What if he turns me into a vampire too and I become a monster, and can never love anyone but another monster? How could I ever even like one of these blood-sucking, parasitic jerks? 

  "Yeah sorry I shouldn't have said that... Or thought that... Or know that... Honestly, I don't have a choice though, sorry."

  I sighed. "Okay... I guess it's just natural for you." Lies! All lies. How can he be sorry, and how could I have said it’s okay?

  "Yeah..." Chayton was quiet for a minute. "I used to be here too... As a human I mean..."

  "So you know how it feels..." Strike some nerves, maybe. Because that's smart when the vampire is going to help you escape, right? But that also means… They might turn me into one of them too.

  "Yes, I know." He replied tersely.

  Neither of us spoke again. I wondered… How on earth could I escape this?