Ghost Bird | ✔

Thirty-Seven

Silas

Storming out of the room angrily, I don't pay attention to where I am going, I just know that I need to leave. I refuse to believe that there is nothing that we can do to save Sang. I know that there is more than this. I can feel it, that there is something about to happen. Something big.

Anger clouds me and surrounds me to the point where I have no clue where I am.

I clench my fists and close my eyes. Tipping my head back, I take a deep breath, trying to clear my head and calm down.

And that is when I feel it.

A pinprick in my neck. A needle entering and piercing through the skin to find the vein.

Darkness crashes down on me, hitting me like a tidal wave and I am pulled under by the waves.

***

Sang

"Sang!" Cecile shrieks. "I have your toy!"

My toy...?

The boys!

I bolt upright from where I was sleeping on the floor and move to the edge of my cage, my hands gripping the bars that make up the wall.

"Cecile!" I cry. "Did you really bring them?!"

"Close enough," She remarks. "I got the big one."

Somehow, she has him slung across her shoulders as she carries him. Cecile is large, tall with huge muscles that ripple with each movement, but this boy is even bigger. She must be incredibly strong to be able to carry him.

She unlocks the cage and drops him in with a thud.

"Have fun!" Cecile laughs, locking the cage once again and leaving me.

But I am not alone this time.

I scramble over to the boy and check his pulse. Relieved, I find that he is perfectly fine and just asleep. Leaning back, I sigh, thankful that he is okay. He smells like the ocean, you know. His smell fills the room and calms me.

He stirs and I lean over him to see if he is waking up, not sure what to do in a situation like this. Mother never taught me how to nicely wake someone up.

"Aggele?" He murmurs, his voice husky as his dark eyes look at me with a bit of confusion.

"What? I'm not angel," I say, slightly weirded out.

With a groan, he sits up and holds his head.

"Are you okay?" I ask nervously.

"Fine," He mutters. "Just pretty sure I'm seeing things."

"Like what?"

"An angel who insists she isn't an angel and looks suspiciously like Sang Sorenson."

"You know my name?!" I exclaim. "Was Uncle telling the truth, then?"

"Uncle? Your name?!" The boy echoes. "You really are Sang Sorenson?!"

"You really aren't insane?!" I say in a slightly mocking way before sighing, "Sorry, I'm tired. I didn't mean to make fun of you. My name is Sang. Who are you?"

"My name is Silas," He replies with a grin. "Nice to meet you, Sang. Where are we?"

"Honestly, I have no clue. I was taken here by Cleopatra, who has seems to have disappeared. Cecile, the woman who brought you in, says that I am supposed to be trained to be the Wolves secret weapon for whatever reason. She brought me in here to torture me, saying that I would have to kill for them. I told her I'd rather die. Cecile was glad that I displayed some spine and told me that I would start training. I refused, saying that I wanted to speak with your team. I didn't think she'd kidnap you; I thought she'd refuse and give me a better option. But she kidnapped you and here we are," I finish.

"That's a lot to take in," Silas murmurs thoughtfully, sitting up.

"Are you Greek?" I blurt before cursing the fact that I am never around others, or at least not enough to pick up on normal social cues.

Silas grins, puffing his chest a bit with pride. "Yes, I was born and raised in Greece."

"That's so cool," I gush. "I've always wanted to travel."

"Well, where have you gone so far?"

"I stayed in the same house, only going outside once until my mother sold me. I was bought in an auction by a gang, the Wolves. There, I spent a few days until they shipped me here, to this unknown place," I tell him.

Silas winces, "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up such a hard story. I'm sorry for not thinking."

I shrug. "It's okay. It's a bit dark, but it is my life. I wouldn't trade it for another."

"Not even a good home?" Silas asks, looking me in the eye. "A home where you were allowed freedom?"

"No," I tell him honestly. "I wouldn't know what to do with the freedom. Besides, my life has never been that bad. I know that there are others who suffer far worse lives than I do."

"You can't really think that way," Silas says softly. "Listen, Sang. I'm here for you. You don't have to be perfect, Aggele. Just be honest."

"I am being honest," I argue. "My life is far from great, but I can't complain."

"Why not?" Silas questions with a raised eyebrow.

"B-Because," I stammer, unsure. "Just because I am all alone doesn't mean that my life is bad!"

"You aren't alone anymore," Silas rumbles, looking me dead in the eye.

The look in his eye stops me. I can see that he is telling the truth. That he is serious. That he won't be leaving me any time soon.

A lifetime of pain and suffering, it takes a toll on you. It leaves physical, emotional, and mental scars. Some never fade. The relief of never being alone again, it opens up the scars. Emotion threatens to overwhelm me as I sit there with Silas. It is as if a weight has been lifted. I'm not alone anymore. A tear escapes, dripping down my cheek as I slowly break down in front of this boy I just met. I quickly wipe away the tear, not wanting to seem so weak.

"I-I've been alone for so long. Alone with my fear," I say, choking up. "I'm just so scared. What if, one day, it all goes too far? I'll be dead and gone as a teenager and no one will ever remember me. I'll be forgotten. I-I just, I just want to not be so scared and alone."

"Why didn't you just leave?" Silas asks softly.

"I-I couldn't. Mother, sh-she would kill me if I tried to escape again. The first time I did, I was beaten and she cut off my toe before locking me in a chest in the closet for two days," I answer, tears dripping and slipping down my cheeks as I look at Silas, trying to not fall apart. "I just want... I don't even know. I want to not be this way. I don't want to live in fear. I don't want to be lonely anymore."

By now, I am sobbing openly.

"Please," I sob. "Please... Help me."

Silas wraps me up in his strong embrace and I smell the ocean as I sob, salt water tears falling on the boy of the ocean.

"I won't leave you, Sang," He promises, rubbing my back in a comforting motion as I cry. "You'll never be alone again."