The Carrow Chapter 4

            “Come down Syren. I have something for you.”

            I purposely drop the hammer with a loud thud onto the floor, creating a dent in the wood. I hear the professor curse loudly on the speakers and feel a long rod ram my head into the wall. “Watch it, kid,” is all he says afterwards. I painfully massage my bruised cheek and head toward the lab. I find him waiting for me next to a large stage that he made.

            “What is this?” I ask, studying the strange contraptions hanging off the ceiling above.

            The Carrow chuckles, “You’ll soon see for yourself, eh kid?” I shrug nervously and feel him shove me onto the stage. I clumsily climb onto it and notice what the strange objects really are.

            It’s barbed wire. And the ends of it are fashioned into a makeshift handcuff. There are four of these, one for each of my hands and feet. I can feel my face grow pale and start to panic. Barbed wire is almost as sharp as a knife, and it will have no problem cutting right into my skin.

            “Go on now, put them on,” he urges. His hands are clasped together as he tries to contain his wicked excitement. I gingerly place my hands into the deadly handcuffs while being careful not to touch it too roughly. Now I’m standing with my arms and legs spread out. All of a sudden, I feel the wires snap shut and fasten themselves onto my wrists. I can already feel them cutting into me. Then I’m being lifted into the air so quickly, all the momentum pushes me down and I scream as I feel my skin split.

            “Ah, what a sweet sound. Now all I have to do is turn on the machine and the fun can begin.” I watch him flip a switch and feel an electric current zap through my body. I cry out in pain and drop my head forward. Sweat is already breaking out of my forehead and my nose is running. “You better stay still Syren, because every time you move too much, the machine will zap you. Isn’t that just genius? I love playing with lightning!” I hear the faint click of a box opening and look up. He’s holding a small object between his fingers. It looks…almost like a needle, with wings on it. Then, without warning, I watch him move his hand back and throw the needle forward. It sails through the air and lands in my right shin. I can feel the sharp point of the dart as it buries into my flesh, and hear a tiny trickle of blood drip onto the floor. The Carrow, it seems, has decided to play darts while using me as his target.

            I flinch as I feel the next dart cut into me. He misses another one and it skims across my arm, taking a good chunk of my skin with it. I hear the Carrow laugh hysterically to himself; his mouth is wide open and his eyes are flashing greedily. “Don’t you just love this game?” he shouts, “I’m having so much fun!” He throws a few more darts, aiming spontaneously at my vulnerable body. This time he gets me in the stomach and I jerk violently in the air. The machine senses this and zaps me automatically. I’m guessing that there are about eight darts stuck in me by now. I start to clench my fists to endure the pain more easily, but regret it instantly, because the barbed wire actually digs deeper into my wrists. I try to relax so that it doesn’t do any more damage, but it has the opposite effect on me. I hated feeling so powerless against the professor. Why did he find so much pleasure in hurting me? I was just me. Nothing more, and probably a lot less than what I gave myself credit for. But for some reason, a tiny feeling inside me appreciates him doing this to me. Not because I like it, but because I’m just so glad that no other creature has to go through this. It’s such a terrible fate, nobody deserves it. Except maybe the Carrow himself of course.

            Another dart collides into me. I cringe before I can stop myself and get zapped by the machine. This goes on for who knows how long, until I almost pass out in front of him. I am a lot closer to the ground now since the beginning of the game, and not because he’s been lowering me so that he can aim better. No. It’s because the barbed wire is cutting into me so much that I could’ve sworn my body is hanging off by only a few inches of skin and bones. Finally I can feel myself being lowered. The wires release themselves and I’m carelessly dropped onto the ground. A few stray darts find their way into me again, but I’m too numb with pain to feel anything. I think there are about fifty darts in me now. I’ve lost count, and I notice that the professor only stopped because he’s out of darts.

            “That was great wasn’t it, Syren?” he grins at me. I remain silent. “Wasn’t it?” I grunt in reply. He chuckles and pulls me up roughly. “Why don’t I help you with these?” Before I can stop him, he begins to pluck each dart out. I wince because he isn’t exactly gentle with me. At last, he’s finished and leaves me bleeding from multiple cuts on the stage.

            “Clean up for me will you? I have some work I need to finish.” The professor says, and simply dismisses me, just like that. I groan loudly as I try to stand up. But I’m too weak, and fall back onto the stage. I feel so tired…so tired that I could fall asleep right there, even though the Carrow is only a few feet away from me, and can just torture me again whenever he feels like it. And even though I feel like strangling his ugly fat neck, I can’t. Instead, I fall right asleep, and I don’t open my eyes until the middle of the next day. I know I will never forget the feeling of countless needles being pierced into my skin. 

 

            When I do wake up, I find myself lying in the filthy bathtub. The professor probably dumped me here because he didn’t want me stinking up his lab. I slowly sit up and lean tiredly on the tile walls. I’m almost scared of looking at myself, but I know that I must tend to my wounds. As I stretch my arm out, it knocks into something. I pick it up and study the container. It isn’t labeled, but when I open it, it smells like a kind of ointment. The Carrow probably gave this to me to heal faster, but only so that I can start to function and work for him normally again. I open the container and smear a bunch of it onto my arm. It starts to steam and singe my skin and I yell out, throwing the container into the wall so hard it cracks open and all of it spills out. I turn on the water and desperately begin to wash off the cream. I am certain that he planted it there to mess with me again, but I immediately take that back as soon as I see that my cuts have rapidly begun to close and scab. Now I regret throwing the ointment away and hastily begin to gather it onto a paper towel, using the rest of it on the other parts of my body. It still stings and burns but I shut my eyes, trying to bare with it. It’s actually all I can do to prevent myself from passing out. Finally I can’t take it anymore and turn on the water, rinsing myself all over with it. I step out of the bath, soaked and drenched in my clothes. I could catch a cold like this, I think to myself. And start to look for something to put on. If only I hadn’t left that black cloak in the attic. Suddenly I remember the map and the letter, which are still in my clothes and hastily search for them. I take them out, careful about not ripping them in their fragile states. Luckily most of the ink is still on them, but I’ve already memorized it anyways. However it’s the only memento I have from my mother, and I want to keep it.

            I tenderly wrap them up in a dry towel and pat it a little. Maybe this can help it dry. After tending to the notes, I tuck them carefully back under my shirt and search the house for some work. There’s nothing else to do, and I can still move around somewhat. If I had just sat in the bathroom, the Carrow would’ve forced me into doing some meaningless and annoying chore. I walk around the lonely house and stop when I see something queer etched into the side of an old shelf. I take a closer look and my heart stops.

            It says Penny and Brian forever with a crooked heart drawn around it. This was probably written years ago, before the professor turned crazy. And I had almost forgotten that the Carrow actually had a real name. Of course, it’s Brian. Penny must’ve been my mother’s name. The longer I stared at it, the more I wanted to puke. So I open a drawer in the shelf and find a pocket knife inside it. Then I automatically begin to scratch it off, almost like a robot. My face is expressionless, and when I have practically scraped away the entire thing, I thrust the knife in the middle of the whole mess and walk away, not feeling a thing. 

Author's Note

Please read the next chapter!

Reviews

[A. L. Allen]

I can truly feel the completely numbing despair and horror of Syren's everyday life. I can't even begin to imagine what his childhood was like. This is an amazing book, and I can't wait to read more. Post the next chapters soon! I wait in suspense for Syren's escape. :)

[Coyote Poetry]

I had to re-read the first three chapter. The story is amazing. You make each chapter painful and skillfully allow the reader to get into the thoughts of Syren.
I like the way you set-up the location and express the ill desire of the father. Thank you for a excellent chapter.
Coyote

[_]

i would have drowned myself right there while i was In the tub! its so weird to know the carrow was even human

[bethany cullen]

wow ! that was really good! I actually cringed when I read the bit about the darts :)

[Sylvia E. Lioness]

*whistle* You've really got something going here and I really like it.

[nenestarrs]

Amazing description! Again you did a great job of telling this story.

[kathrina]

Wow. :) I get a feeling you enjoyed writing this chapter.
I love it!
Nice job. Post more soon! :)

[Myrmidon]

hm i dunno what i feel about him scratching it off of the self, kinda sad i guess. but i get why. dont think id care very much if i was in his situation. granted i was alive in his situation. keep it up!

[RainQueen]

Even plopped into the middle, this is an intriguing story. Another for the library...Thanks for posting it! ~well done~

[Hachamecha]

haha~
evil genius, you almost need no help from me!
lol XD