The Story of Midnight

Chapter 26

"We who think we are about to die will laugh at anything."

― Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

***

You know how they say that in your most traumatic moment, your life flashes before your eyes?

Mine didn't.

The agony that spread through my body was too much for me to remember my life at the moment. I just wanted the blows to stop raining down on me, but, of course, that didn't happen for some time. The Commander wanted me to feel pain, what real pain felt like.

"It's not over yet, demon-girl." He said through gritted teeth as he looked down at my broken and bloody body.

I relished at the sudden halt of punches and kicks, but it was short lived.

The crowd went crazy over watching the demon getting pushed to death's door.

I was too dizzy to understand how the Commander made me kneel to face the crowd and grabbed my wrist forcing my right arm behind my back.

A jolt of panic swept through my body.

He was going to dislocate my shoulder.

I hissed in pain as he tugged at my arm; slowly forcing it further back, the bone threatening to snap out of place.

"No one is going to help you," The Commander whispered.

My eyes shifted to where Cloud's body was from what I remember before I was rendered blind.

Was he still alive? Was he pretending to be unconscious? Is he planning to somehow save me from this?

More important, what was I doing? I'm letting the Commander win, but I couldn't possibly do something about it. If I made a move to attack him with Haze, he wouldn't hesitate. Also, I didn't want to have my shoulder dislocated.

But he could do more, a lot more. The bastard could easily take my life in front of the villagers. Again I asked myself: was I afraid of death?

I couldn't contemplate on the question since the Commander tugged at my arm again; carefully making sure that I felt what it was like to have your arm being ripped from its socket. At least he didn't have mercy on me enough to simply just slice my arm and be done with it. He let me keep the limb.

"What would happen if I," he pulled it further, making me scrunch my eyes closed, my body stiffened as I started to pant slowly," were to snap your arm out of your shoulder? Or, even better, break both?"

I was a bit relieved, surprised, and annoyed that my limb could extend that far without popping out of place yet. Strangely enough, I wanted the connection of bone and tendon to just tear already. It would save me from the Commander to continue his sick way of teasing me, but it would leave me disabled for I don't know how long.

I could only imagine the pain a dislocated shoulder could bring.

The Commander moved my arm in such a way that made my eyes fly open and a gasp to escape my lips.

"Looks like the demon you keep isn't going to help you either." He finally let go of my arm. I grit my teeth together as I clutched at my shoulder; digging my nails into my jacket and possibly my skin too.

The crowd booed when the officer released my arm. They really wanted to see someone getting their bones broken. What a strange form of entertainment these people have...

I carefully tried to move my fingers to make sure the tendons really weren't torn. It was still intact.

I tried to not focus on the pain by taking in deep steady breaths. As I did this, I heard footsteps moving and stopping to my left.

The sound of a blade being drawn made the crowd wild again.

I think the Commander crouched to my level and placed the weapon against my throat, in a position that was ready to slide nicely through my neck and spill blood; easily ending my torture.

"Is this how you want it to end, demon-girl?" His voice held compassion, which surprised me. It wasn't mocking, it was true empathy.

And what did I do in the face of death?

I laughed, of course. It was weak, but it showed how...satisfied I was.

Murmurs of confusion started to flow around the villagers at my reaction."I'm happy that I was able to live, able to breathe. I'm happy to have been alive, but I think eighteen years is enough, don't you think?"

I turned to gaze at the person who would soon take my life and free me.

I think we shared a moment of understanding as prey and hunter. The hunter has finally chased its prey long enough, making it exhausted. The prey soon realizes this and stares into the hunter's eyes knowing even if it managed to escape, the hunter would come back again. That's when they share a mutual agreement: the prey would give up its life and accept its fate so in return the hunter would live to see another day.

But, of course, his reward comes at a price.

The prey would have a family or something that it has left behind, something that proved it existed. Would its existence have mattered to its family? Maybe, or maybe not, but to the hunter it meant more, it meant life, meant living. It would get to eat knowing he ended a life to make sure others got the chance at survival.

I smiled, no, it wasn't the usual smiles I throw at the Commander just to annoy him. This time it was a genuine smile, one that told many things depending on how you wanted to look at it.

The sword slowly glided across my throat.

Guess I would finally go to where Alycia has gone. I would finally get to apologize for being responsible for her death, for not letting her see the world she was meant to see.