Akira
My head was spinning. My body ached in constant pain. My skin burned as my quills went in and out of my skin, still getting adjusted after all this time, being in this... hellhole. No, it wasn't that. Not even close. No word could describe this place. Hellhole was a sweet word in comparison.
I could hear shackles moving slightly, the chains rattling around like bones. They weren't too far away from me, that much I could tell. I struggled to make my eyes open. In all the drowsiness, I was able to make my eyes open just a crack.
A dim light met my eyes this time. Not bright like usual, which only had helped my insanity earlier. I moved my eyes down to my legs and saw shackles attached to my ankles, they being attached to the floor. They were old and bloody, but it wasn't too recent. They were wrapped around my wrists too and I could feel that dog collar that electrocuted me if I misbehaved, but it didn't feel like it was active. I was laying down too and I wondered how I got here.
That's when I saw a glint of red hit my eyes from the dim light and I moved my eyes forward.
Griffin.
There he lay, breathing evenly compared to earlier, with his eyes looking at me worriedly, but his injuries made me cringe. His left eye was bleeding and bruised from how much he was hit there. His ear was slightly bleeding also from how much he was pricked there with a knife. His right arm was twisted and out of socket. His leg was sunken in, his kneecap shattered.
He seemed worn out, hurting. He was trying to keep a smile on his face but he couldn't maintain it. He was in too much pain. His hair was flat compared to it always being spiked. It was mangled and messy, its brown reddish nature seeming dull and unimpressive.
Oh how I remember those moments. Those hideous moments where he was tortured. His screams that I knew too well. They woke me up from my insanity after being stabbed, death being close to my mind before I was pulled back by his words. Though he had been happy near the end, only because of what I did. How I broke out of those metal contraptions. What I did to save him from being killed.
.:Hours Before:.
Griffin's screams was what woke me. Right when that scientist had picked up that knife had stabbed part of his ear. The man smelled highly of alcohol, my senses overflowing with the scent. He seemed crazed and mad. I could tell he had some sort of connection with Griffin.
I wanted to hurt this man badly, especially now that my insanity had settled. It had been crazy before. I remembered everything I had said. God, I wish that had not happened. I wanted payback, revenge.
I didn't want Griffin to hurt.
"I can't believe you left me, little Griffin. I had so many plans for you. You left me though, and this little puppy will watch everything-" He twisted the knife in Griffin's ear lobe and another yell escaped Griffin. "-that I do to you, because you are mine," he laughed hysterically as he took the knife out of Griffin's ear and put it back down on the tray. He then walked over to me and started to touch my ears to pet them but I growled so loudly at him that he jumped. Griffin slightly smiled at the action. He was trying to make me feel better but it wasn't working.
"Oh, lookey here. It looks like the puppy loves the wyvern, doesn't she?" He laughed and I growled and was only able to extend my quills a short distance because I started to bleed so I recoiled and pulled them back in. All he did was laugh.
My heart pounded in my ears and felt like it was going to burst from my chest as that scientist picked up a hammer, it almost slipping from his hands because he was so drunk, and got close to Griffin with it.
He brought the hammer down and rammed it into his knee. His scream echoed as I heard the bones shatter. No, no, no!! Why did this have to happen to him? What did this man have against him?
I yanked myself, trying to free myself from my restraints but came to no avail. The metal creaked under me as the scientist punched Griffin in his eye to make him shut up and a small whine escaped my mouth. Just why... Why was I reacting so? I knew I liked Griffin but did I.. love him?
Everything just started happening. Griffin started to be punched every single time he screamed, anger rose in me. My growl started to become loud but only Griffin noticed, unlike the scientist, where he kept on beating Griffin up for his own pleasure. I didn’t want Griffin to be hurt... Just as Griffin’s shoulder was put out of place and twisted to where it was ready to break, the scientist grabbed a knife, murderous intent waving off him. No... No! Griffin didn’t have the regeneration like I did! He would die... He would... No.
With how much anger rose in me, I felt the metal holding me down crunch under my hand as I tried to thrust forward again and there was a metal clank when the metal burst apart. I got the rest of myself out in time before the scientist was even able to acknowledge that I was off of my metal table, grabbed a knife off of his torture table, and thrust it into his shoulder blade. The wrong one of course, that wasn’t right above his heart.
His screams were more pleasure to me than anything else. Blood gushed out the wound as I started to twist the knife but I wasn’t even able to make a 90 degree turn before the door was thrust open and guards pushed me away from him, pinning me down, the knife dropping out of my hand. I felt a needle stabbed into my neck and I immediately felt my mind unwind and blacken out.
Now I was laying here, looking at Griffin and chained to the floor below me.
"Are you okay?" I asked Griffin and he gave a small smile for me to make me feel better.
"I'm fine, Akira," Griffin said almost confidently. Almost.
"Who was that man? You knew who he was... didn't you?" I asked quietly, even though I knew that all of the scientists were watching us.
"He was..." Griffin tired to make a decision of his words. "He is a man from my past. He..." I could tell he didn't want to continue so I just nodded and he understood. "Right now, I am just glad you are back." That's when he gave a true, genuine smile and lifted the arm that worked and put it on my cheek. There was still warmth that flowed through him, and it made me smile.
"I'm happy that I'm back,” I said quietly and looked down at myself. I looked like I had for days. Why did I think that would happen? That I would change? Blood was still all over me. My muscles were torn and I had a few bruises on my face from beatings that made me go insane. Made me remember my father, especially one memory... constantly.
It was when I was young, probably about five. I remember I broke a doll, one of my mother’s. It had been a glass doll and my father had gotten so mad at me. He kept on repeating that it couldn’t be fixed. My mother had already left by that time so everything that was left of her was the only thing he had, including the glass doll. I remember him taking the doll into the library and it never exited the library, nor did I ever see it in the trash or even on the shelves of the library. It just wasn’t there. I always asked Dad where it was and he acted as if it didn’t exist.
Thing was, I always knew the library was important and that what he said, how the doll couldn’t be fixed stuck in my mind for the longest time and I had locked it away until now. Everything seemed to be coming back, old memories that I had locked away.
“Akira?” I jumped a little and looked at Griffin.
“Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts,” I told him and he smiled as he rubbed my cheek.
“It is fine... I just do not want to lose you again,” He said and I looked down in embarrassment. “What? What is wrong?” He asked, his grip tightened slightly on my cheek.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled and he narrowed his eyes. There was only silence in the room. He heard me clearly.
“What for?” He asked and I looked down at my hands that were chained so that I wouldn’t have to look him in the eye.
“For...” The words wouldn’t come to my mouth. “For going... insane, for breaking...”I mumbled and Griffin brought my head up, almost a jerk.
“Do not think like that. It was their fault, not yours. Just as it was their fault for making you this way, these quills in your skin.” What...? Did he not feel pain? I knew they were sharp... But what else was he saying?
“Don’t you feel the pain? My quills poking you, scratching you?” I asked and he shook his head.
“Not with these scales,” Griffin told me and I went wide eyed. I slowly lifted my hand as much as I could and put it against his cheek, where the scales had stopped on his face. They mostly resided on his jaw bone, one or two sticking on his cheek. Griffin didn’t wince as my hand resided on his cheek and a small smile crept up on me.
“Wow,” I muttered and Griffin smiled. It was nice to see a smile instead of pain.
“Do you know what I meant before?” Griffin asked and I narrowed my eyes. “You are beautiful, Akira. These monsters made you this way. It is not your fault. Do not feel like you are not beautiful, because you truly are,” Griffin smiled and a blush rose on my cheeks to where my face grew scarlet. I didn’t see how I was beautiful. Canine teeth, long brown tail, long black hair, long claws, more of a canine instinct, healed quicker than the normal human, and porcupine quills. I didn’t see what was attractive about me.
“I don’t consider myself beautiful,” I muttered and Griffin’s smile faltered. “No man has ever liked me. I’m either too bossy or too... much like a dog,” I muttered and Griffin took his hands and suddenly brought me close to him, ignoring the chains. I could hear his heartbeat as my head laid on his chest and I looked up at him.
“Akira, I like you.” I felt like my heart skipped a beat. He what? “I... I love... you. I love you,” He muttered and I stared him. It was almost in that moment I knew that was true about my feelings as well. I don’t know what it was, it was just...
“I love you too,” I smiled and Griffin seemed stunned as well.
“You... You do?” Griffin hesitated. I nodded slightly and he smiled. My heart was beating as fast as it could, even at canine speed. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and it was like everything was back to normal. It was odd. I didn’t feel like I was really here in XL. It was like we were in our own world again, like those many nights ago. I felt so comfortable, so relaxed, in his arms.
Happiness flowed through me as we laid there. I was surprised that the scientists let us lay there that long. Maybe... did they even know we were here? I brought my eyes up around the empty room and saw the cameras and the window where you could see somebody actually watching, instead of one of those black windows.
There stood Sam, watching, like a hawk.
I could see a sympathetic look in his eyes, as if almost regretful. That stayed there for awhile until he noticed I was looking at him, Griffin also, taking in what I was seeing after a while.
I hadn’t seen Sam since the day we were captured. He seemed different though. I had a feeling he was still the person we found him out to be: the son of a scientist. I don’t think any scientist either. Possibly the head scientist, the one in the charge of everything. It seemed this way because he had more items that the usual given scientist, such as Hiraku. Sam seemed to have more freelance clothing items, nothing even close to just a white lab coat. Though that sympathetic look he gave seemed like the Sam we knew at the mansion, though this was just a guess. I only got to know the man and found he was pretty cool. I should’ve kept to what I thought originally.
A growl rose to my throat but Sam leaned forward and pressed a button for a speaker.
“Now, we don’t want that, do we? We wouldn’t want you joining some of the others in battling against each other, now would we?” Sam said, venom filled in his voice. He knew how to lie. It was just too obvious that he was.
“Will you give us answers, Sam?” Griffin asked and Sam pondered this for a moment before he shrugged.
“Depends on the question.” He was stiff, I’ll say that. His arms was crossed and his eyes now only showed coldness, though, I had a feeling there was still sympathy.
“Does Hiraku or Alkako know we are here?” Griffin immediately asked and Sam shook his head.
“I took you two out. Thought you needed a break,” Sam told us and I stared. How did he get past the rest of the scientists?
“How were you able to take us away? And when are there allowed breaks?” I spat and Sam sighed and looked at the door in his room.
“They’re dealing with their own problems right now,” He put simply, sounding bored. “So it was easy to get you both on stretchers, chain you up here, and if they come looking for you, well, they’ll just take you back to your room. It’s a little bit nice to see the coldest and hardest people the consist in the club chained up,” Sam smiled and a small canine whine came out of me and Griffin sshed me a little and Sam narrowed his eyes.
“Of course, you don’t like being called that, do you, Akira?” Sam smirked, a small laugh escaping him. “Anyways, I only let you on a break because I saw what they were doing to you and saw that since you stabbed Alkako, you would get punished anyways. You eventually get tired of seeing torture done to those who-” He stopped himself mid-sentence and my eyebrows raised in curiosity.
“To those who what, Sam?” I asked and he didn’t answer. All he did was stare at me.
“Why are we here, Sam?” Griffin asked, trying to change the subject.
“Why are you here in the labs, you mean?” He asked and Griffin nodded. Sam sighed. “Ela asked me the same thing the other day. You all are here for a reason. We want weapons,” Sam seemed bored, as almost uninterested in the topic of having weapons of mass destruction. “Akira, you are being made into our main weapon. Your insanity was only a side effect of what would happen. It’ll most likely happen again... if this situation doesn’t get out of hand,” Sam strained his voice, it giving anger. I looked at Griffin and he shrugged as well. This was the most information we had gotten out of anybody.
Before we were able to finish asking questions or even have Sam continue, Sam stormed out of the room, apparently hearing something that we couldn’t in this soundproof room.
At the moment, we both knew this was the most time we would ever have with each other, so we cuddled as best as we could with these chains and stayed that way.
--------------------------
Hope ya'll like :DD WW-chan will continue on from here and hopefully, everybody else will!! Tomorrow night, at midnight, is the deadline for the last bit in being in XL and then we will start a new point in the story line and in this next one, possibly the actual plot line will be revealed! *evil laughter then shot* This was after the whole fighting thing, btw, I think. Not sure ^-^;; I totally forgot about that part that you guys decided to add in ^-^;; Sorry ^-^;;
Anyways, comments appreciated!
~Anime-chan
