The Lightbreakers of Orpheus [5]
A Sci-fi flash fiction
[5]
Mark was strong. Mark was resilient. He was trained for high stress levels. The shrilling voice had drilled this message into his brain. He was ready for combat; he was ready to spill the blood of the invisible enemy. He was immune to the blinding light flashes. He was ready for pain and hardships of a soldier’s life.
He wasn’t ready for complete silence and solitude. Since his unsuccessful attempt to self-terminate, he had been strapped to his bed and taken care of coldly and mechanically. No voice spoke to him, not inside his brain nor outside it. No warm hands touched his skin. There was nothing but countless minutes of darkness. If this was torture, it was a fairly effective one. Countless minutes locked in the darkness of his thoughts. Mark was a prisoner in this heavy, unwanted blob of meat his body had become. He could feel the strength returning to his limbs slowly, yet he was held down by straps. And what was the point in moving anyway?! His future held only darkness and pain; the enemy might proceed with the torture anytime.
***
“How’s it looking out there, Derek?” Doc Benton once again asked while strolling through the hospital hallways. The elderly physician rarely left his “castle” as he called the huge, abandoned building.
“Bad. More dead civilians than usual. We have our hands full,” Derek, the Captain of the local unofficial Gravedigger crew said. “The Government and its new friends have the upper hand.”
“Who would’ve thought, huh? Just when it seemed all those Rebel scumbags had to do was sneeze to win. All their tech wonders helped them nothing, against a couple of blinking bright light bulbs,” Doc gave a laugh.
Derek didn’t laugh. The Government’s photoflash weapons were no joke. The war was becoming more brutal by the day. He had avoided taking the side of either party.
“Speaking of light bulbs… you’ll have to find a home for our patient, the former Lightbreaker. He doesn’t need the hospital bed anymore. And it would be easier for you to take care of him in your own home.”
Derek nodded. He was exhausted, running to the hospital between gravedigging jobs. Ever since the incident with the syringe, he wouldn’t let Anouk take care of the patient, for her own safety. She still visited while Derek took care of him.
“Dad, can I see him while you two talk?” Anouk rushed to them in the hallway. “I’ve been disinfected and everything. Please?” The girl was still catching her breath after running. Derek couldn’t refuse her huge blue eyes.
“Okay, but…”
“I know, I know! I won’t touch him. I’ll just sit in the corner.” Anouk ran off before Derek had replied.
Doc Benton chuckled.
“You’re trusting the promise of an eighteen-year-old girl?”
“I would trust Anouk with my life. She’s already proven herself as a good Gravedigger, at her young age,” Derek replied.
Doc merely rolled his eyes and shook his head smiling.
***
Mark knew he wasn’t alone. He felt a soft gust of air hitting his face along with a familiar scent. Somebody was there with him. The one who took care of him, before he grabbed the syringe. The one with the soft voice. Obviously, this enemy wouldn’t come near him anymore. Still, it was here. Mark stirred, trying to get its attention. Enemy or not, he needed its touch. He could not see. He could not hear anything. He needed a proof he’s not locked in the prison of himself forever.
Mark moved his hands and feet frantically, despite the pain. He released the air from his lungs through his mouth, and he heard a frightening sound. He heard himself making the sound of pure despair.
The one observing him rushed nearer; he felt the weight of somebody sitting on the bed near him, he felt his hands being released from the tight leather straps. Two warm hands held his. Mark could not explain the reaction his own body had; it shook while he kept making unarticulated sounds. His body remembered crying as a child. Something wrapped around his body but not to control it or hold it down. Mark had almost forgotten what a human embrace felt like. His breathing calmed down. It felt good.
I love where it went!
Mark is becoming human again?