No Pain: Book 1

Chapter 51: Star

           This is never ending. It should be wearing off now but I can still feel, I feel it more than before. I can feel my splintered bone stabbing into the tissue around it. I can feel the burns sting on my hands, my jaw aching, pain trailing all the way up to my ear. The least amount of pain in my body is the first one, the clean cut across my stomach. Although, that one is bleeding the most and Keller is going to be really upset later about this shirt.

You have to move now, Star talking out loud hurts too much. I get why getting your jaw wired shut would be preferable. At least then it's not hanging, a jolt of pain with every move.

One... two... three... I roll onto my side white hot pain filling every sense. The white overtakes my vision for what seems like an eternity. My vision clears and I pull my legs up to my chest an inch at a time.

Move... Pain... Move... Pain. I give my body a second to recover before I thrust my palm into the ground and push myself onto my knees. I let myself scream for a few seconds while my vision clears. Panting, I try to move again but my body rebels.

No, please don't do this to me now I whine to myself please, just a few more moves. Get up, get up! I push harder, pain erupting in every one of my suddenly working nerve endings as I straighten up. I don't have the strength to hold my head up, it falls back and I sit there, screaming while pain radiates from my leg, my arm, my ribs.

Just a little more I plead with myself. Almost ther–

"You made it farther than I thought you would." Adler stands in the door way. My heart drops into my stomach when I see who's with him.

"Star!" Chase rushes toward me. He crashes into me and knocks us both to the ground, his arms closing around me. A scream rips out of my throat, black swallowing my vision. I want to hold him, I want to make sure he's okay but I don't dare move.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Chase babbles jumping away from me "I didn't–I–I... did you just feel pain?"

"Yes, she did." Adler answers for me. "She didn't want her abnormality, I granted her wish."

"Are you okay, Chase?" I pant through the pain.

"I'm okay." He answers but there's a bruise on his left cheek. "They said you left." I try not to react to that.

"Did he hit you?" I demand attempting to lunge at Adler, the pain stops me short.

"Don't move, Star." Chase's voice is shaky, he just knows I'm hurt, he can't tell where or how bad.

"Don't worry Chase, I'll be better soon." I promise him, trying to mask the pain in my voice.

"You heard her, Chase." Adler snatches Chase away from me.

"No!" The pain holds me down. "You let him go!" I yell.

"You'd wouldn't have to ask if you had your abnormality." Adler laughs at me, something's different about him.

"You let him go, he doesn't have anything to do with this." I force my breathing to slow down, I push myself onto my elbow. A deep ache pressing through my shoulder.

"Threats are really only scary if you can carry them through." Adler laughs at me "and looking at those wounds you won't be carrying any threats for a awhile. Waiting for the bones to heal, weeks of physical therapy just so your arms work right again. Even then, when it rains you'll feel a deep ache, when you land too hard you'll feel a jolt of pain. Not to mention, all of those other injuries you've been collecting over the years, can you feel them yet?"

"Don't hurt him." I order again but he's right, I can't do anything, I can barely hold myself up.

"Why not?" Adler grabs the hammer from the ground "he'll heal the same way you will."

"If you hurt him you are going to wish I'd just kill you." I screech feeling how helpless I really am.

"Another empty threat." Adler yanks Chase forward and holds his hand against the table.

"Star..." Chase whimpers trying to pull free but he's not a fighter, he's not strong, he's just a kid and I'm supposed to protect him.

"What do you want!" I scream "just tell me what you want." I drag myself forward an inch, the new sensations filling my body are too much and I collapse back onto the ground. My jaw has an intense ache making it harder to speak.

"You know how to make this stop, Star." He raises the hammer over Chase's hand. "Just say those magic words."

"Don't do it." I warn again "Don't you dare do it." I push against the floor, black ebbing around my vision. Pressing my foot into the ground I lean into my good leg "If you hurt him what you did to me won't hold a candle to what I do to you."

"Amazing, your body in pain and you still fight for someone else." Adler laughs "but can you get to me before I can break his hand?" He fakes a few hits, Chase wincing with each vibration sending him a new image of his surroundings.

"Even if you get to me, can you beat me now? Like that?" He laughs again. His arm tenses, I throw myself forward but I barely reach him. His arm comes down, he's not faking it this time.

"I want it back!" I scream at him as the hammer clangs against the table, Chase cries out in fear, the sound and image it just gave him startling him as he falls back into the cabinets. He folds in on himself wrapping his arms around his legs as he pushes himself back into the cabinets.

"Was that so hard?" Adler kneels down and pats my head. I glare up at him.

"There's a small problem though..." He sinks his hand into my hair and yanks my head back. "I don't believe you." He shoves my head into the ground and heads back over to Chase.

Chase huddles into the cabinets trying to disappear. I know the feeling, I used to want to disappear. Maybe I should have made him learn. He wouldn't be so helpless now if I didn't baby him so much. If I had just taught him a little bit.

Adler drags Chase to his feet, dangling him there. Chase's eye are wide, his lips quivers "Star," he whimpers "I wanna go home." My heart crumbles in my chest. He isn't supposed to be here. He isn't supposed to be a part of these things.

"I know, Chase, I know."