Forget Me Not

A Chapter by Taylor

First Chp.

I flinched at the sound of a whip, which was then followed by an ear splitting scream and a sob. I snapped out of sleep and groaned quietly. I peeled my eyes open only to be greeted by more cold darkness that seemed to be suffocatingly thick. I frowned, where am I and who made that noise? I took a deep breath, my limbs felt stiff and my neck was aching horribly. How long have I been lying down here, and where is here why am I not in my own bed? I moved my fingers stiffly as I tried to loosen the cramped muscles. Mother would have a salve to loosen my muscles, but where is she; surely I am not that far from the others? I felt something dry and flaky on my palm. I drew my left hand closer to my face and sniffed. Is that blood and dirt, why was there blood on my hands?! I closed my eyes and tried to focus through the haze in my head. Where was mum, what had happen and am I alone? A feeling of dread washed over me, I couldn’t be alone they never leave me alone. I tried moving my right hand; it tugged at something firm and wouldn’t budge, my wrist felt raw. A painful lump appeared in my throat. I pulled at my right wrist gently again when suddenly another snap and scream cut through my concentration. I grimaced against the sound, who was that? I tried to pushed off the ground and felt a wave of agony flowed across my back spreading to every limb, blinding me with pain. I bit my lip hard and the taste of blood covered my tongue, I spat it out of my mouth. That did not feel right at all. I swallowed the large lump in my dry throat, the scream didn’t come from too far away; I just need to turn my head over. I stiffly lifted my head and turned it to the other side, my neck disagreed horribly and I stifled a cry. Through black lines, which I am now guessing are bars I saw another girl. The low lit lantern illuminated a small circle of light making only her visible, the darkness seemed to swallow up the rest not letting any reach me. She wore a ruff material dress, mostly yellow, brown and some other dark colour. It really looked like a potato sack that was in desperate need of a wash. Her long dark hair hung limp over her shoulders as she struggled to get up. I focused on her back and realized it was blood flowing through her dress and running down her sides. She was chained to the far wall with her hands bound under her. A sickening feeling hit my stomach, “I have to help her” I whispered as I slowly got onto my hands and knees.

I felt a presence and let my eyes shift to a shadowed man who stood over her with a whip. The man raised the whip again and lashed at her wounded back. I grimaced as the whip tore into her back, cutting the fragile flesh. The whip was strange; it had more than one strap, and at the end of each was yellow glowing crystals sharpened to points. I saw a smile flash in pleasure as she screamed and crumbled to the ground. Had this happened to me? I searched through my memory. A sudden flash of memories hit my minds eyes and I felt myself go rigid. I looked at the poor girl again and jumped slightly when I realized she was looking at me. Her eyes were a dark blue, almost black in this light. She was young, her cheeks were dirty and tears rolled down her face in waves. The light in her eyes was growing dim as if he was snuffing out her light with ever hit of that dreadful weapon against her skin. I swallowed the lump in my throat down, I know this girl she is…my friend, I struggled to recall her name. It was some kind of flower? Rose, Daisy? I felt a tightness in my chest. The pain was excruciating as I pushed on my knees and stood as straight as my back would let me.

I swallowed the pain down before speaking, “Stop that right now!” I yelled my voice wavered with fright as it carried as much authority as I could muster. My echo bounced through the darkness until it finally fell silent, and then the man slowly turned his face to me. I gaged, his eyes were a sickly yellow colour. His face had scares everywhere; a few seemed recent and had been infected, turning the skin green in some places. His long oily black hair clung to his forehead and hung behind his wide shoulders. He looked at me thoughtfully and stroked his black beard not seeming to notice the maggots that crawled through the twisted hairs eating his left over meals. I watched in horror as a maggot fell from his beard onto the floor. “Tell me your name” he demanded.
"Why are you doing this” I pushed down the disgust and forced myself to speak, “you have no right to treat a daughter of Eve like this”. The man rolled his eyes and to seemingly make a point he hit the girl on the back again she cried out in pain then went silent again. “Now tell me your name or I’ll keep whipping her, not that I wouldn’t enjoy it but it is about time I had my lunch”. I can’t let him think he can just push me around, “what’s your name?” he sighed and pulled his whip hand up again. “Ok ok my name…my name is Althea…” I felt my stomach twist in on itself. My last name, I can’t remember my last name. I looked up in horror to see him smiling at me. “Hmm come on tell me your last name” I looked down at the girl at his feet. Her eyes were pleading at me, I shook my head sadly. “I…I can’t remember” the man laughed harshly making me jump. I grimaced at the sudden movement. He smiled at me; his teeth were yellow and rotting. “I’m almost done with you then”, he patted his whip fondly, tears swelled into my eyes and I wiped at them weakly causing myself more pain. I gasped and fell onto my knees. “Althea…” I looked to see the girl trying to sit up, her tears fell onto the dirt floor. I reached out for her with my free hand, “Oh no you don’t” the man’s boot came down hard on my hand. I groaned as he grinded his heel into the joints of my fingers. “No touching or talking, if I hear one word come out of your mouth I’ll whip you till you can’t move” he shoved his boot off my hand and I pulled it back as fast as I could and whimpered slightly. He looked back at the girl, “that should be enough for one day, without Althea’s healing hands, you should be out in no time” he smiled menacingly then grabbed the lantern, turned to the cage door and pulled out a skeleton key. Healing hands, what is that supposed to mean? As the door swung open it squealed with a high pitched whine. No one could get out silently even if they tried. “I’ll see you two for your last whippings tomorrow” he laughed evilly. “Don’t worry you won’t remember a thing when I’m done” he hung the whip at his side and cracked his knuckles before disappearing down the long hallway. I cradled my injured hand and got as close to the bars as I was able. I let my fingers softly touch the cold bars. I looked back at the hallway and the light that had been there a second ago was gone. He must have left? I felt through the bars and tried to find the poor girl. Though as I suspected she was nowhere in my arms reach. She moaned, I let a sob escape my lips before biting them hard to hold back the tears. I heard her moving in the darkness before going still. Tears started falling down my cheeks, I searched through my mind, searching for memories that I hadn’t lost. I remember…My name, my mother’s and my. I frowned, I couldn’t remember my father’s? Maybe I didn’t have one. I concentrated in the darkness for what seemed like forever looking through my mind for memories that I held dear. There were very few memories I still remembered like the feel of the sun on my skin and that I was part of the Light. A creation of Elohim to help protect the humans from the Darkness and its most recent right hand man the Dark King, I remember that every colour of the rainbow was turned into a man and women. I smiled sadly, I wonder if I’ll see the rainbow again? I looked over where the girl should be, I remember her name now. Her name was Bluebell, pretty strange for a human to have that name. Usually that would have been a girl’s name in the Green’s community. There were more friends but I couldn’t quite remember any of them. I knew they were from each colour we had been… I closed my eyes, something was nagging me, we all had something important to do, something that only we could do. I sighed, I’m sure it’s nothing they can’t handle. I felt my body relax against the floor. I yawned, so tired, I crawled to a corner of my cell, the wall was damp and rocky, so I laid on the stone floor. At least it was smoother, I yawned once more and fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

I stayed that way for a long time, waking every now and again but I never felt hungry only the demand of water was called by my body making it hard to swallow. I opened my eyes slowly, not that it really mattered it was so dark it was as if I had my eyes closed every second. I shook my head, what had woken me up? I moved my tongue across my lips to try and moister them. Then I saw a glow coming from the tunnel, I reached through the bars to try reach Bluebell. She must have woken and seen the glow for her next comment came out in a sudden burst each word folding into another. “Althea don’t leave me please I won’t make it without you, please I’m begging you don’t leave me” I knew tears were welling up in her eyes and felt some of my own. “Bluebell I’m sorry, but if I can’t get through this without remembering you, remember for me, you were an amazing friend I’ll always love you and so will Elohim” I couldn’t remember if we had been good friends but if this was the last moments we remember it would be nice to believe we were good friends for at least these last few seconds. The fear of what was to come hit my chest hard. I let the tears run down my cheeks. I don’t care; I won’t remember soon, I looked up to see the man smiling at us with his yellow teeth. “Say you’re good byes girls it’s time to forget, well except you Bluebell” he spat out her name like it was poison. “Seems like your no use to the Master so I just get to whip you until you, well drop really” he smiled menacingly at her. My eyes widened in horror. “No you can’t do that I won’t let you” I pulled against my restraint to get closer to Bluebell. “Althea shoot your flames maybe they’re” I looked at her in confusion. “Flames, what flames?” her expression fell as she struggled against the chains. “Don’t worry…just” tears streamed down her face and she forced on a smile.
“I wish you a happy thirteenth birthday” I frowned confused at her. “My Birthday?” Bluebell nodded. “Yea I forgot to say it to you because, well you know with the whole kidnapping thing” she stopped struggling with her chains and watched me sadly. The whip man rolled his eyes at us, “ok that’s enough love you’re making me sick”. He shoved the key into my lock and I pulled away from the bars and closed my eyes.

I opened my eyes to the sound of a painful moan. I moved slightly and felt something warm flow all across my back. I slowly got to my feet, no pain, I frowned why was I expecting any? I shook my head and felt my back with my hand, they came away covered in pink gel. I looked down at myself, I was wearing a very dirty white dress, I grabbed at the material. The dress hung near my feet, more brown then white. "What is this?” I looked at my hands them up to see a wall in front of me, a strange blue stone glowed, embedded into the walls surface and beside it was a lantern its flame low giving only a small amount of light. The moaning went off again and I turned to see a girl across the small aisle from me. Her dark hair clung to her cheeks which were wet from tears. I felt sad, maybe I knew her. I frowned, I couldn’t remember anything about her, actually I can’t remember much at all. I felt fear tighten across my chest and I look a deep breath to loosen the sudden tension. I went closer to my cell bars. “Do you know where we are?” I whispered softly but even that sent a slight echo into the dark hallway to my right. She moaned loudly with sadness again and I jumped back in shock. Had I said something to offend her? She continued crying not looking up.

Eventually the echo of footsteps reached my ears. I put a hand to my head, the girl’s cries and moans had given me a pain in my temples. I moved desperately to the bars. “Hello…hello is somebody there?!” I watched hopefully as a handsome man came through the door, he held out a lantern lighting up against the dimness. I smiled, “oh thank you um I need some help” he smiled. His teeth were perfect…almost too perfect to be real. He looked like he was in his late thirties if early forties. His eyes were a strange swirling yellow, a nagging feeling tugged at my brain but I brushed it aside. Suddenly he seemed to waver a bit in my vision but then turned back to his normal self. I frowned and rubbed my eyes, “how may I help you?” he came closer to the bars holding his lantern out near my face. I flinched slightly away from it, “I just want to know why I’m locked up, did I do something wrong?” he laughed hysterically as if I had said some big joke. He bent over in his laughing fit and again he seemed to waver in appearance. “I’ll tell you what, if you just tell me your name I’ll tell you why you’re here” he wiped a tear. I frowned. Shouldn’t he know my name, since he is holding me in jail? “Why do you need to know?” "I need to know if I’ve done my job now tell me…what is your name?” I swallowed the lump in my throat, which was surprisingly dry. I searched through my memory, which seemed too had vanished. It was like I was looking into dark water with my minds eyes. There was nothing to be found within its waters. Tears came to my eyes and I quickly brushed them away. “Tell me the truth or I’ll whip you again” I looked up at him in shock. “What did you just say?” he tilted his head still smiling with his perfect teeth. "I said nothing dear, now your name please” I closed my eyes wearily and clenched my fists; I must know my name I must. I looked deeper into my mind searching for anything; I must know my name shouldn’t I? The pain in my head suddenly sharpened then went back to a dull throb. I slowly opened my eyes and looked down at my feet, “I…I don’t know” I looked up to see the man smirking. “Well then, I’m done with you” the girl across the aisle wailed loudly. She started choking on her own tears as the man opened my door. “What’s wrong with her?” I gestured towards the girl. She seemed about my age, if the age I’m guessing is right and totally innocent why was she in this dark place? I had tried to speak to her several times but it was as if she could not speak, all she could do was wail and cry and try choking out words that’s never came. “She plotted against the King, very bad” I nodded wearily; she didn’t seem very capable of plotting against anyone. “Now to the important business, you’re here because you were sold as a slave, nobody loves you or is looking for you and you are never going to leave” I felt my muscles tighten. He grabbed onto my arm with an iron grip. His perfect smile sat on his even face as if it was plastered there, “and now that you are ready, you can go work”. Again he wavered in my vision but this time it seemed like the perfect looking man was melting like wax and the ugly inside showed itself.

My scream was heard faintly in the main mines above, though it was only thought to be just another pick axe against metal.