Chapter 11

11

 

"HOW COULD THEY!?" I roared, vengeance burning in my eyes.

My fist lurched into the wall behind me, bruising my hand. But I didn't care. Pain had succumbed to fury, and I felt nothing but a hellish rage burn up inside me.
I reached for the bars, yanking them as hard as I could.
"GET US OUT NOW!" I let out a shrill, fury stricken scream, frightening the other angels.
I had turned into a monster. An uncontrollable beast. Driven by destruction.
"SHUT UP AERYN! You useless jerk! There's no way we're ever getting out of here if you keep screaming! You're scaring everyone!" 
A voice barked at me. At once I turned my head, looking into the eyes of Artemis. He was in the cell next to me and only bars separated the two cages. 
My eyes flickered with anger.

"WELL, YOU DO SOMETHING THEN!" I yelled, clawing at him through the gaps in the bars, "SAVE THE GODDAMN WORLD LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! GO ON!"

He moved backwards, with a look of alarm. 
"You're crazy!" He yelled.
It was the truth. I was crazy. Maddened by evil men. Then again, so was he.

"But don't you see?! WE ARE ALL MAD!" I growled. "We are all stuck in these prisons, God knows for how long, begging for our lives, clawing at the bars, tearing ourselves apart because we have been driven to the edge! The bloody edge Artemis! We are hopeless, futile creatures; violence and insanity are the only things keeping us from death. So shut your mouth and get real. This is not the world it used to be."

He looked at me, stunned.
I turned away, fuming with anger. He remained silent, as did the rest of the angels. 
Their eyes, I felt, locked onto me.  Whispers and murmurs began to waft around the cages, slithering into people's ears and out again. The more they talked, the more agitated I became; knowing that my words had hurt somebody innocent.
I turned around, opened my mouth again and yelled. "Don't you understand? I'm on your side! Call me insane all you like, but you know that we are-"
The scared looks on their faces stopped me in my tracks. Their eyes faced upwards, wider than the moon, looking scared to death.

Puzzled, I looked back. My eyes suddenly filled with resentment. The white-coats were back. But with a new threat. Handcuffs swung carelessly from their belts and fingertips, like a pendulum of restraint.
"Hello again," one said, his eyes narrowed down, "how are you feeling?"

At once, I lurched towards them. My aim was their demise. My fist hurled towards their faces through the bars like a bullet, fired with deep hatred, but it wasn't enough. Two men grabbed my arms with muscles like iron, and the other kicked me back through the bars, forcing me down kicking and screaming.

"LET ME OUT, YOU FILTHY TRAITOR!" 
Again I yanked on the bars, but that only gave them what they wanted. They winked at each other and dragged my arms through the bars. I twisted and resisted, but they were stronger. A sharp pain pressed on my wrists, cutting deep into my skin. 
I cried for help as blood poured down my hand, dripping onto the concrete floor.

"If you would have stayed still, putting them on wouldn't have been a problem! When will you learn your lesson? Never fight back!" The man behind me said, locking the shackles tight.

I turned around and screamed at him. "I will NEVER stop fighting back! You hear me?! NEVER!"
The white-coats cackled with a vicious laugh, cuffing the rest of the angels. They cried and begged for mercy, but I would not. I was not going to plead for my life. I was not going to submit to them. I would not give the white-coats what they wanted. Maybe that's why I suffered so much. They locked the cuffs tight and spat in our faces. I spat back with disgust and hatred; I was not to be challenged. 
"Why you little-" one man snarled, wiping his face with his sleeve, "I'm going to make sure you pay!"

"Oh, I'll bloody pay alright! I'll pay you back for all the damage you've done and I WILL DESTROY YOU!" I growled.

He looked at the other angels, then back at me, his face painted with annoyance.
"There's always one isn't there. There's always one who can't keep their mouth shut! At least the others have some common sense left in them."

I cried again. "I don't think they do. You've drained the life out of us; we're all practically insane! You-"
He grabbed my throat through the bars and clutched hard. A breathless squeal escaped my lips as I struggled to breathe.

"Don't push it, boy." He warned, his eyes piercing through me. I thrust my hand through the bars and slapped his face harder than ever. The man fell back, furious and stunned, clambering to his feet. "I warned you!" 
As he spoke, the other two brought out another syringe, laced with a sedative.

"Don't let them touch you!" I screamed.
But Artemis was jabbed in a second, sending both him and the others in a frenzy of panic.
He squirmed for his life, finally collapsing on the floor. Screams turned to silence and everyone watched in horror. 
I did wonder though, why they hadn't jabbed me instead. Maybe it was all part of their little game; a devious, deceitful game that we all had to play. I knew I had something coming later on. If only I knew what it was...and when. I looked at Artemis, not happy, but not sad either. Maybe this was karma; maybe after this, he would learn his lesson. It would put him in his place, once and for all. But it was a shame he had to be taught like this. 
And as they unlocked the cage and dragged him out, the other angels screamed and cried, hoping to wake him up and help him escape. But he didn't wake up.

And like he said: 'We're never going to get out of here if you keep screaming.'

 

 

Author's Note

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