The Carrow Chapter 2

            I feel like the stomach ache is killing me. It feels like a large fish is flopping around uncontrollably inside me and is constantly biting the sides of my starving, empty stomach. The pain is dizzying, and I can barely get my chores and work done with all of this going on. Luckily, the professor is sleeping, and when he sleeps, he sleeps longer than a normal person because he stays up for days, absorbed in a new experiment. Now it has been two days of sleep for him; the longest he ever slept before was four days, but that was because he hadn’t slept for over a week. At least now, I am able to recuperate somewhat, and have some time to myself.

            I wander around the outside of the house, enjoying the quiet naturey sounds going on around me. For the time being, all his outdoor machines are off because there was a small electrical break out last night. It only affected some of his deadly appliances. However, usually security around me would double whenever the Carrow sleeps, but this time I am lucky. Of course I didn’t bother to wake him up about it. It is the first time I ever feel safe outside, out of his clutches, and I didn’t want to waste this chance.

            I hear a buzzer go off. It’s actually the sound of our doorbell, and it meant that another delivery man was here, probably with new products. I walk toward the front gate and see a man wearing postman clothes waiting patiently outside with a large package. I shout through the gates, “Don’t touch the fence, there’s an electrical field going around it.”

            “I know,” he responds. I nod; I’m not surprised because most of the delivery men are warned about our estate.

            “Just leave the package out there, I’ll get it later,” I say, instead of telling him that I’m not allowed to open the gate on my own. Only the Carrow could do that, for obvious reasons.

            “I thought you didn’t have any power,” he says. My ears prick up; I don’t remember mentioning the small power outage at all to him.

            “How did you know about that?” I ask.

            “Oh it’s been happening all around the area,” he says. I nod and we say goodbye. I turn around and begin to head back toward the house, then a thought pulls me up short.

            Even though I have never been outside the professor’s property, I do know that we live deep in a forest, and that the nearest neighbor we have is about a two hour’s drive from here in a small town. Which means, there are no other places near us with electricity. I think the delivery man lied. Small power outages like this one don’t happen all around the area. 

           

            As I am repainting the front doors, the Carrow’s voice comes up on the speakers, “Good evening Syren. How is everything?” I shrug. Great, now he’s awake. My short vacation was over. “Anyways, bring me my dinner would you? I’m hungry.”

            I sigh as I drop my brush on the ground, leaving a paint stain on the rotting wood. Even though it looks dirty and old anyways, the professor always likes to keep his floors “clean,” so as soon as he sees me drop the brush carelessly like that, he triggers a trap door beneath me and I fall in, screaming like a girl, completely taken by surprise. After about maybe thirty feet, I land on a hard cement floor and instantly feel bruises forming all over my body.

            “Who said you could dirty my floors like that, huh?” The Carrow growls, I stiffen. He hasn’t had his meds for two days now because he’d been sleeping, and now it’s too late to grab some for him because it’s only unlocked in the morning.

            “Sorry sir, I’ll clean it up right away,” I say, keeping my head low.

            “A simple apology like that isn’t going to work on me, Syren, just bring me my dinner, I’ll figure out a proper punishment for you later.” He says lazily, as if trying to come up with a new way to torture me suddenly became troublesome.

            I head up the basement stairs and reach the kitchen, pulling out a slab of steak and placing it in a pan. I don’t bother to wash it properly because I know the professor would never notice the difference. It made me want to eat it though, the steak I mean. As it sizzles in the pan, I begin to salivate in my mouth but hold it in. If I made the Carrow extra food, he might give me his leftovers. While I wait for it, I eat an old banana. Half of it is full of blackened spots but I’m too hungry to care. When the meat looks cooked I dump it on a plate and pour some barbeque sauce over it, but that’s all I do. It looks gross and not cooked right, but I give it to the professor anyways, he doesn’t seem to mind.  But he doesn’t bother to leave any leftovers for me either.

            I pick up his empty plate and begin to head out of his lab, but then I stop because I remember something. “A delivery man came by earlier today. There’s a package outside the gates.”

            “Go get it, I’ll open the gates,” he mumbles, still entirely immersed in his research. Yes, the gate would be open by the time I get there. I have tried to escape this way before, but I was met by a high wall that comes out of the ground whenever the gate is open, forming a tiny dead end at the entrance. There was no hope of escaping after all. The professor had everything mapped out accordingly already. I bend down to pick up the package and notice how heavy it is. There is the sound of clinking glass inside and some movement from the liquids inside them. Probably more poisons. I think of my poor stomach, which is still hurting like a chiznut and steel myself for the long walk back. If only I could get my hands on some stomach medication, but of course the professor would never give them to me.

            I drop the package on an empty table in his lab with a loud thud. The Carrow spins around angrily, “Watch how you treat that! Can’t you read the word fragile all over the sides? Geez!” He gets out of his chair angrily and shoves me away. Tired and unbalanced from the long walk carrying the box, along with the biting pains of my stomach, I collapse on the floor, grimacing and twitching from the pain all over. I feel him kick me in the stomach. I cough loudly and automatically curl up into a fetal position. Then I hear the sound of the box opening.

            “Look what you did. You broke two capsules!” The Carrow shouted. I look up at him, trying to look as vulnerable and sorry as I can, hoping that he would pity me for just one day. But no, he never pities anybody. “I’m going to cut open that stomach of yours and pour in more of that berry poison. You want that?!” He yells at me again. I shake my head as hard as I can. I hated it whenever he cut me open. He never puts any anesthetic on me either, so I can feel every tear in my skin, and every finger of his as he probes around my internal organs. Not only is he a crazy scientist, but a sick surgeon as well.

            “Maybe not today, Syren, but I will do that eventually. For now I don’t want to waste the rest of that poison. Perhaps I should just…” I wait for it. “…Pluck the rest of your toe nails off? That should teach you a lesson.” My eyes grow big and wide. My heart beat speeds up. Getting my nails yanked off hurt like a flapperdink the last time he did it. Now the pain would increase tenfold on my toes. But it’s better than experiencing more of that poison I guess.

            I begin to whimper. The Carrow kicks me again, this time in the shin, and I let out a tiny yelp. “Be ready at midnight, we will do this outside. I want all the creatures of the night to hear you scream. Hopefully the wind can carry it out to town.” He laughs out loud, his voice sounding nasally than ever.

            I shiver as I head down to my room, but it’s not from the cold. Of course I’m scared. The pain was excruciating last time. “Oh and Syren,” the Carrow’s voice comes out of the intercom, “finish painting that door will you? And clean up that mess.” I sigh. I thought I was going to have some time to myself before midnight, but at least I have something to distract myself with now. I trudge all the way back to the front door and pick up the old paintbrush. The paint is already dried and crusted over the bristles, but I ignore it and continue painting. As I’m working close to the door hinge, I see something abnormal sticking out of the inside of the door frame. I glance quickly around me, checking if this was out of the camera’s range. It was. I carefully slip my fingers through the crack and pull out a folded piece of paper. It feels old and crinkly, already beginning to yellow. My back facing the camera, and right arm continuing to paint the door, I unfold it with my left hand. There is a short message written on it. The first few words already catch my attention: Syren, if you are reading this, hide this paper somewhere your father will never find it. On the back are instructions. Use it to find the map. From there, you will continue to follow the directions and escape. Be careful. Liam is waiting. I love you. -Your mother

            My hand begins to shake. This was written by my mother. The mother I can’t seem to remember. Even after her death, she is still protecting me. But who is Liam? The only person I know is the Carrow, and the delivery man, but every once in awhile, there’s a new delivery person. Who knows how many we have gone through. I turn the paper over. Go to the attic. Look for a black cloak. The map is in there. The attic? I couldn’t just waltz in there. Like I said, there are cameras everywhere. That means that the Carrow is always watching and recording everything I do. I’ll have to be very careful about this. But there’s one thing I’m sure of, I couldn’t get it tonight. Not while the professor is awake. I’ll have to keep him up as long as possible so that he will sleep for a week straight next time. There is only one way I know that will work for sure.

            I’ll have to make him really angry. So angry that he’ll have to create a new machine to experiment on me. The last time he spent so long on a machine, was when he installed a bunch of weapons, claws, and rods all over the house. They are like extensions of his hands because he controls them all from his lab, and is always picking on me with them. I’ll have to make him angry enough to build something even bigger than that…but what? I finish painting the door and begin to scratch the paint off the floor. The paper crinkles softly inside my shirt pocket, reminding me of the map. I shouldn’t waste time on this. Suddenly I know what I need to do. I clench my stomach as the pain shoots through my body, the poison spreading to my lungs. My body wavers uneasily and I hold the wall for support, but it’s not enough. As I try to stand up, my foot kicks the bucket of paint over and I watch the dark brown red paint seep through the cracks in the wood and all across the front porch.

            “What are you doing Syren?! Do you want me to do more than pull your toe nails off tonight?! Get in my lab NOW.” Then the Carrow’s voice cuts off angrily. I feel the edge of my lips curve up slightly. Yes. This is just the beginning of a long and tormentous week. But I have to endure this in order to keep him awake as long as possible. I need to create a chance.

            Using the wall as extra support, I slowly make my way toward the lab. Again, I am too slow for him, and a large claw grabs my waist and picks me up. All the air is knocked out of me as the force of the claw collides with me and squeezes my body. I am hanging loose from the claw as it carries me down the stairs and dumps me at the Carrow’s feet. He kicks my face and I feel my nose begin to bleed.

            “Do you know what’s in those capsules?” He is referring to the new ones that just arrived today. “Poison. Yes, my boy, they all contain painful substances that will make you break out with hives, make you have massive headaches, make you lose your sense of smell, hearing, anything. You name it, son. And I think I might just use one on you tonight.” The professor begins to make this annoying clucking noise with his mouth and searches through the crate of capsules. I see fluids of all colors, some of them even look harmless, but I know better. Finally, the Carrow pulls out a capsule with a bright orange liquid swishing all around it. “You see this, Syren? Now feel it.” He shoves the glass in my face and rubs it all over my cheeks. I yelp. The capsule is burning hot.

            “What’s in there?” I croak.

            His voice lowers into a whisper, “This little orange thing, will make your heart burn for hours. You will feel like everything in your body is on fire, and you can’t do anything to stop it.” I watch him grin evily. His eyes seem to be glazed over with insanity, and I swear I can practically see steam oozing out of the capsule.

            “No…” I mutter. Despite my plan to piss him off, I feel scared. Out of everything he has done to me, what I’m most afraid of is fire. Ever since the day he pushed me into an open flame, I have been terrified of it. Now I get to experience the feeling of my organs, bones, and tendons burning into a crisp. The Carrow takes out a needle and sticks it into the capsule, allowing the needle to absorb it all. After it’s filled up, the professor slowly comes close to me and pulls my shirt up. I hear the small sound of my mother’s note move with it, but the Carrow’s excited, heavy breathing is loud enough to mask it. Finally he jabs it into my chest, where my heart is supposed to be, and lets the poison travel through the needle and into my body system.

            The next thing I know, fire itself is living inside my body. The burning sensation of it is coursing through my blood and veins. It runs all over, down to my toes and up to my brain. My sight begins to cloud. As the orange poison mixes with the other poison in my stomach, it’s like a great nuclear bomb explodes in there. I can actually see the skin in that area begin to bubble up and blisters are starting to appear on it. Suddenly, my entire body writhes uncontrollably and my limbs begin to jerk violently in all directions. Hot tears erupt out of my eyes, and I can hear the blood rush out of my ears, and my nose is bleeding even more heavily than before. It’s enough to make my world spin, and there is fire everywhere I look. 

Author's Note

Please read the next chapter!

Reviews

[_]

sick...just sick oh my gosh i hope syren finds a way out!!!!!

[Coyote Poetry]

The carrow is cold and heartless. I like the way the story is flowing. Four day of sleep gave the son a brake. You have create a terrifying tale with this story so far. A excellent chapter.
Coyote

[kathrina]

Yikes! That was scary.
I really like this story so far. I can imagine what is going on which is good.
Nice job. :)

[Myrmidon]

hm. now im anticipating his escape. and excited for it. cant wait to see how you develop the story after he escapes. but i guess ill have to see what you write for how he escapes too!

[Sylvia E. Lioness]

So sorry for Syren. So so sorry for him. Poor boy; at least he has a chance now.

[Hachamecha]

You know what? The torture methods i put before are too nice...
:)

[Lizzy]

Wow!

[Ice Girl]

I love it! Keep on writing! =] I didn't realize that Syren was a boy. Sorry.