The Story of Midnight

Chapter 25

"Don't you see? The catastrophe is me. My very existence is an affront to everything that is natural and good."

― K.J. Wignall, Blood

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I woke up to the sound of muffled chanting and with a throbbing headache.

At least he didn't smash my head against the wall; he got creative this time.

I took in deep breaths to steady my senses.

The voices continued to repeat a phrase over and over. After I gave myself a few moments to make out what was being said, I became struck with dread.

Kill them, kill them, kill them, kill them.

My hands and feet automatically moved, but they were bound to a thick wooden post that was somehow stuck to the stone ground.

The waves quickly came to me, almost eager to be found again by someone that knows of their existence.

Cloud was tied up just like me a few feet across from me. He was awake too. I also noticed I wasn't blindfolded anymore.

We were on some sort of stone platform a couple feet above the ground with a few steps in the middle of the structure.

I don't think the Commander was planning on hanging us; I didn't see any structure that had ropes falling from them...

The Commander's booming voice startled me as he called for silence.

"I've said before that I would bring these traitors out again, I didn't want to keep them in Silent Edge for too long, they might die." He said in a mocking tone.

A rumble of low laughter surrounded me.

I quickly thought about the statement he said. Then the answer came to me: he planned this; he knew he was going to get his way eventually. But the question was what was he was going to do.

"Now, everyone will see how helpless these two really are."

Zephyr, come on!

Nothing.

Damn it, Zephyr! Now isn't the time to be doing this!

Still no answer.

The Commander walked up some steps and stopped when he was in the middle of the platform; wooden posts at each side.

"Who wants to go first?" he asked.

I could tell he had a wicked smile on his face. The crowd became silent; eager for a response.

None of us said anything.

I just wanted to yell profanities at his face; something I've wanted to do for a while now. The people grew impatient, shouting things at the same time, making it hard for anyone to hear what they were saying.

The Commander raised his hand to silence them.

He turned towards the crowd and said, "We'll save the best for last."

The villagers cheered as my uneasiness grew.

The officer walked over to Cloud. I think he said something to him, but I couldn't tell what it was over the excitement of the animals waiting to see their prey fight for its life before they could eat it.

The Commander drew a knife and cut Cloud's ropes; freeing him. Cloud fell to the stone ground then tried to lift himself up, but he wasn't making much progress.

The Commander planned all of this, the lack of food and water, chaining us to a wall so we wouldn't have control over our muscles; weakening us.

He turned his head to look at me. I could only imagine what sort of expression he showed me, one of triumph and satisfaction.

The bastard was going to pay, even if it kills me. He'll pay for all of this.

His attention was brought back to Cloud and he lifted him up by the collar of his jacket.

His knife lay forgotten, for now.

The crowd's cheers intensified at the sight. I couldn't shut my eyes and look away. Even if I did it would've been useless; I could still see with the waves and I couldn't even lift my feet off the ground; they were tied to the post.

This is the only time where I would curse my second sight.

The Commander slammed his fist into Cloud's face then dropped him to the ground and started to kick his stomach relentlessly.

I grit my teeth at the sight and the noise the crowd was making.

I wanted to help Cloud. He didn't deserve this.

How many times was I going to remind myself of this?

My hands shuffled around clumsily, trying to find some sort of weak point in the ropes but to no avail as I watched, powerless to stop it. I felt my eyes sting when the first drop of blood stained the ground.

Damn it Cloud, do something! Don't just lay there, helpless; fight back!

Frustration motivated me to keep finding a way to save Cloud, but helplessness weighted me down; mocking me and showing how worthless I was, how I couldn't save a life again.

These emotions intensified when I heard Cloud's screams, the shrill sounds making me feel like knives punctured my heart and his coughing and gurgling of his blood made the blades twist.

The sound of hitting didn't stop for a while, and when it finally did, I really thought the Commander killed Cloud; his body remained motionless, but his heartbeat was weak.

The villagers cheered at the sight of his bloody frame.

And now it was my turn.

His footsteps came closer to me, ready to show everyone how defenseless the demon really was. The Commander's hand suddenly lifted my chin making me stare into his eyes. The crowd became silent, wanting to hear what I have to say.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time, demon-girl." I knew there was a sadistic grin on his face.

"Go to hell."

He laughed and used his knife to cut the ropes. Even during the time the Commander took to entertain the crowd I still couldn't move my arms or legs; they felt so lifeless.

Before I would fall to the ground the Commander took me by my jacket collar and slammed me to the stone floor. The air left my lungs as my back protested against the sudden blow. I was completely blind now, but that didn't matter. I could only think of how I was going to survive this.

"I won't go so easy on you." He hissed venomously.

Pain exploded from my right cheek followed by more blows to the stomach. The Commander didn't stop his ruthless attacks; they were fueled by rage making the pain even worse.

Each blow made me dizzy as agony spread through me like stab wounds; the pain instant and electrifying.

Too many hits to the head. Felt like I was going to pass out and never open my eyes again.

I suddenly had a strange sense of déjà vu, which almost made me laugh but the Commander would've taken that as mockery and as a result dealt stronger blows.

My body throbbed in agony. I just couldn't defend myself; I was weak from all the torture I've gone through.

Where was Zephyr? Was someone going to stop this? Was I going to die?
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