Page 10 of Starving Butterfly
It’s cold and dark. Fear rattled my brain as I huddled in the corner, the small, tattered sheet wrapped tightly around me. I tried to speak, but my throat was so sore from the screaming. They left me here in the dark after biting one of the bad men. The door creaked open, and light spilled into the room around a tallman. I screamed, covering my face with the sheet as panic coated my senses.
“Oh shut up you brat,” the bad man spat as he shoved the tall man into the cell next to me. I watched with one eye peeking out, and the man turned towards me. I yelped when I saw the long, jagged scar over his eye. Shaking and cowering, I watched as the badman chained the scarred man to the wall. He beat him with the same stick he beat me and laughed before slamming the iron bars shut. Once the lock slammed into place, he walked out and shut the door, submerging us in darkness again.
Scarred man pulled against the chain and yelled out in anger. I watched, still huddled in the corner, too afraid to say anything.Think, little butterfly, what would you do if you couldn’t get to Reyna or me.Uncle Cole’s voice was a reminder to be strong, and yet I didn’t feel so strong. I unfolded myself and wrapped the blanket around my body as I walked to the man. “What’s your name?” I whispered, although it sounded broken, like that stupid screeching cat at night. He looked shocked as he stared at me and reached a hand out to touch the bars I was in front of before he yelled.
I jumped back and stumbled, my breath catching in my throat as I scurried back to the corner that was my little safety bubble. The sheet was now gripped in his hands as he looked it over with his good eye. My chest heaved as my heart slammed against my ribs as I tried to force myself to slow my breathing.Gabriella, breathe. Look at me, it’s okay.Cole’s gray eyes stared at me as he wiped my tears and smiled, and I started to see him clearly. I blinked, and the memory faded; it wasn’t Cole’s hand wiping my tears, it was my own dirty hand. I cried softly, wiping away the tears. It was yesterday that everything was so perfect, and today it is the worst. Or so I thought, truth was I didn’t know how much time had passed. I just hoped that Malic and Joshhad found Reyna and everyone was safe. It would be okay if they were safe.It’s okay, little butterfly.
“Little girl, come here.” The scarred man’s voice was deep and gravelly like Uncle Cole’s, and yet it was different. I stared at him as if he could see inside me, and he just stared back. “Say please.” I told him. He smiled slightly, or tried to smile. It looked like a creepy clown, smile, but after a moment he cleared his throat. “Please, come here.”
I swiped at the snot as it ran down my nose and nodded. The man held the blanket towards me again, and I was hesitant to grab it. Like he would hurt me if I took it. I didn’t want to be hurt again. My arms were still sore from the bad man’s hand as he squeezed to pull me in here.Scarman nodded towards the blanket, and I reached out to grab it. A scream broke from my lips when he gripped my wrist, and I tried to pull away.
“Let me go!” I screamed, and he pinched his eyes shut.
“Say please.” He repeated to me, and I looked at him with wide, fearful eyes.
“Please let me go,” I whispered, and his hand loosened, releasing me. He looked pained as I backed up from the bars; he just waited. His scarred eye reflected in the small beam of light from above. I huddled into the blanket again, my teeth chattering as the coldness sank in. I retreated to my corner and stared at him. He just sat there in front of the bars, watching me. His eyes closed as if in thought, and I looked at him.
“How long have you been here little girl?” He grunted.
“I— I don’t know,” I sniffled, wiping my nose on the back of my hand.
Metal creaked and the large door opened, spilling in light. The bad man looked between the two of us. Then he walked over towards Scar, who growled like one of Reyna’s dogs and dropped a metal tray in front of him.
“Eat up pig, boss wants you ready for tonight.” The bad man said before turning and leaving.
I watched with curious eyes as Scar began scarfing down the oatmeal-looking stuff. My stomach growled loudly as my hunger got the better of me. I hadn’t eaten since Reyna’s, and I couldn’t remember if we had breakfast or not. He glanced up at me then, his silver eye catching the dim light from above.
“Have they fed you?” His voice sounded rough. I shook my head no, just watching from my huddle. Scar continued eating, glancing my way every few minutes. I didn’t say anything more. He took the metal tray and set it at the bars that we shared, then turned towards his own corner. The thick chains scraped against the ground as he retreated. “Eat.”
I looked at him with wide eyes, but quickly rushed over to the tray. I scooped up the gray-looking slop with my hand and shoved it into my mouth. The taste was funny, like spoiled milk, and my stomach tried to jump up my throat. I kept shoving it in my mouth and swallowing it despite its flavor.
When the tray was empty and my stomach hadn’t growled as loud, I went back to my corner.
My eyes felt heavy, and as much as I tried to watch Scar as he took his chain, rubbing it against the floor, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I drifted off into a fitful sleep.
Loud banging woke me,followed by Scar shouting, “Little girl! Wake up little girl!”
I blinked, trying to breathe, but the air was dark. A thick smoke filtered in through the window above, and my chest tightened with every inhale. Panic speared me as I looked at the bright eye of Scar. “Put your blanket over your mouth, anddon’t breathe the smoke.” He sounded urgent, and I coughed profusely. My hands fumbled with the blanket to form the knot to hold it to my face like a cowboy and Indian game. I could barely see anything around the smoke; I heard Scar banging and making a racket. “Help.” BANG, BANG, BANG.
There was no sound, though; no creak of the metal door, only the smoke as it filtered through the window and settled around us. My chest hurt and squeezed like one of Uncle Cole’s tight hugs, except it didn’t stop. My eyes burned as I blinked and tears spilled from my face. I coughed really hard, trying to catch my breath, but there was no fresh air.
“It’s okay, little girl just keep breathing.” Scar coughed out. I could hear the chains rattle back and forth, but there was no use. We were trapped. Scar’s outline was visible for a moment across the bars, and he stood on his tiptoes trying to get a better look out the window. “Looks like a big fire.” He spoke, and I nodded, coughing into the blanket again. My eyes felt itchy, and it was hard to keep them open. I could hear Scar talking to me, but it sounded fuzzy. Wheezing, I curled into the wall, hoping that the one fire class we had last year was accurate and that the smoke wouldn’t be as bad on the floor. Heavy breaths left me as I continued to wheeze, coughing. A tiredness crept over my body, and I barely registered the difference between my blinks and the pounding against my head. “Don’t fall asleep.” I briefly heard Scar say, but my body already took over and my eyes closed on their own.
Rough hands grabbed my arm,yanking me up. A fitful cough filtered past my lips as I tried to rub the dirt from my eyes.
“Get up, you little bitch,” the bad man’s voice hissed. I jerked away from him, stumbling. My knee scraped against the hard floor. The burn raced up my leg as blood bloomed across the broken skin. I hissed out, the pain catching me off guard.
“No please.” I cried, crawling away, but the bad man grabbed the back of my shirt, hauling me upright. I saw Scar lying face down in the dirt across from me, but when I tried to yell out, another coughing fit took over.
“Come on,” the bad man grabbed my midsection, and I was hurled onto his shoulder as I coughed out some black-looking goop. So exhausted from the hacking, I hadn’t noticed we were passing through the thick metal door. My body jolted as he pounded up several steps. I tried to hit him and kick him to let me go, but it was no use.
Squinting against the harsh light, my eyes watered as we passed through the next door. This door led into a big fairytale-looking area; I had to blink a lot so my eyes wouldn’t burn from the light. There was music floating through the air, some pretty dance music that was at the theater the school took us to one time. I missed my school. I miss my friends. Worst of all, I missed Reyna.
The bad man walked us through several halls that I couldn’t keep track of: left one way, walked all the way down, right another, and another set of stairs. It was just too much to remember with my head hurting. At least I had stopped coughing as much, and the air in this fancy place smelled nicer.
The music got louder, and the bad man shoved through a set of doors. The room was large; I saw several bookcases lining the walls, along with other doors. There was a man playing music at the piano in the middle. He looked familiar, but I had never met him before.
“Ah there is the little guest,” he smiled at me as the bad man shoved me forward. I froze to the spot. Finally, free from thedirty hands of the bad man, I looked at the stranger. He seemed nice, but something just felt wrong. I didn’t know how to explain it, but I had goosebumps coating my skin as the music stopped and he stood walking towards me.
