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Young Writers Society


12+ Violence

The Monster Inside of Me (Unfinished)

by N0R5KI


Note: The asterisks are changes in perspective. The main characters in which we get to see in their POV are: Patryck, Paul, Tord, Tom, and Edd. Usually, when there is a perspective change, the character has recently been interacted with. Example: If Patryck is talking to Tord and there is a perspective change, it will most likely be going into Tord's POV.

I shot up, my breaths heaving. No. No, no. Where was he? He had to be safe, no? He had to...he was with his subject. His project. Anyways, I had told my partner to make sure he would be safe whilst doing those stupid experiments. He assured me he would be, but after the nightmare I just had, I couldn’t be sure. What did I see?

A monster. Deep purple, eyes black, just like his subject. Its body was large, claws extended several inches. It roared loudly, making him step back in fear. I tried to yell out to him, but to no avail. Then, the monster attacked him, ripping him to literal shreds, his body becoming coated in a deep scarlet liquid. Then...I woke up.

I soon found myself to be running to his experimentation room. I burst through the door, relieved to see his subject alone, his arms strapped to the chair. He looked at me with annoyance in his nonexistent eyes. I walked closer, being wary of him. He seemed alright, his body fully human and his hair only mildly unkempt. I wondered if he had been experimented on in the past few days. I knew he was supposed to be off the list until he fully recovered, but I still had a feeling he might’ve been used anyways.

After a while, I received a message to give him some food. Of course, he declined at first, but soon ate due to the fact he knew he wouldn’t be able to eat for a while. I then saw his experimenter enter the room, his hair extremely out of place and his eyes weary.

“Tord, are you okay?” I asked quietly, trying to show as much respect as I could.

“I’m fine, Patryck.” He replied with disdain in his voice. I decided not to continue on with my questioning, knowing how angry he could become in such a short amount of time. So, I simply replied with an ‘Okay’, and I left the room.

************************************************************************************************

I was most definitely not fine. I had spent all day trying to find ways to make Subject #1824 listen to me. Of course, he refused to be called that, and he only answered to ‘Tom’. How stupid. If he shall be my subject, he shall listen to me, and he shall be called by whatever name I choose. However, for the time being, I will call him by his name simply so that he will cooperate more easily. Anyways, after Patryck had left the room, I began to approach #1824, keeping my eyes on his. I made sure to take note of his scowl. He obviously hated me. However, he’d have to do more than shoot me a dirty look for me to feel threatened. Then again, almost nothing he did scared me. Almost. The thing that did scare me…

was that...thing. That beastly, horrifying thing. It brought so much fear through my veins that it can almost top what happened that day three years ago, when I almost died in an explosion. I hated having to see that thing, yet I knew I needed to in order to complete my experiments on serums and effects of them.

I had spaced out for a moment, being brought back to reality by #1824 kicking my leg. I shot a glare at him, and he only chuckled.

“Ha, doesn’t feel so great when you’re on the side that’s getting hit, does it, Tord?” He spoke with a sharp tongue, as if I were going to be scared of him. However, I just coolly replied, “Well, Thomas, I wouldn’t know. After all, I haven’t felt a thing. Perhaps you should try harder the next time you try to go against me.” I then kicked his leg back, harder than he had kicked mine. He winced, and I stepped back so he could not reach me. He flailed his legs for several moments before stopping, looking at me with an even angrier expression. I laughed until I saw that all too familiar purple aura start to emit from his eyes. Once I saw that, my body froze, my laughter stopping suddenly. I then stood back.

“Hey, listen, Tom...I’m sorry. Don’t...don’t get angry. Please. Please, I’m sorry.” Yes, I hated apologizing to #1824, but I hated that monster even more. Thankfully, he calmed down after a few insulting remarks. I could handle that, as long as that beast remained caged.

After a few minutes, I felt it would be better if I were out of the room. So, I went off, opening the large metal door. #1824 spat at me as I left, remarking how he loved when I was nowhere near him. I only sighed and nodded, closing the door behind me. I then shook my head, running my hand through my hair as I took in everything. I took in the fact that I had the perfect specimen for my serum tests, yet he was my enemy. He was the person I had to live with for years before I could finally escape the horrid life with him. I truly despised him, and that’s what made my testings so much easier, so much more interesting. I began to ponder how he would react to the serum tests I would put him through tomorrow, how he would act once I got to inject more purple substance into his body. I knew the substance was the reason for his monster form, yet I still felt like I should give him more. What would it do to him? Would it make him stronger? Weaker? I had no idea, yet I was dying to find out. Though I knew I would end up getting hurt, my curious mindset wouldn’t let me drop the subject. Several parts of me told me to just let #1824 go, just let him return to his old life. However, that burning curiosity inside made me keep him here. That everlasting hatred made me hold him captive. It was like I had no choice but to keep him in my base. After all, I really couldn’t fight myself.

My pondering was interrupted by my commander, Paul. He tried to alert me about some sort of quarrel outside in the main corridor, but I wasn’t interested.

“But...Tord, the fighting needs to be stopped, or else...one of them could be killed…!” Paul tried to reason with me, but again, I wasn’t interested in the slightest.

“Oh, well. They shouldn’t have been fighting in the first place.” I simply shrugged. “Maybe seeing a bit more death will teach them.”

“But, Tord, I’m asking you as your commander to please, stop them.”

Before I could answer, a gunshot was heard. At that, I gave Paul a look of disinterest, starting off to my room as he ran towards the sound.

As I entered my room, I wasn’t surprised to see several notes on the floor near my door. I had installed a sort of mail slot so my soldiers could send me personal reports and whatnot, but nowadays, I hardly had any time to look at them. I then went to my computer, shaking the mouse until my desktop screen lit up, showing that I had several emails from several different people. I scrolled through them, seeing which ones were important, and which ones could be discarded. My eye immediately caught sight of an email from my old friend, Edd. How did he get my email address? Oh, well. At least it wasn’t my work address. Anyways, I clicked on the email, and my blood ran cold. He wanted to meet up again. He wanted to see me again. But...why? After everything I had done to him and his friends, why would he want to see me? Especially due to the fact that one of his best friends is in my clutches, and he should be more concerned for them rather than me. But, of course, Edd always seemed to have a soft spot for me, so I suppose I could understand his want to see me. However, one thing remained a wonder. What would I do with #1824 during the time I would be away? I could bring him with me, though I doubt Edd would let him come back home with me. Maybe I could create an idea that could let me bring him and allow him to come back here. So, I arose from my desk chair, and I slipped onto my bed, sighing heavily as I thought more and more about my predicament. Sure, I could just leave him here, but I didn’t want to force Edd into not being able to see two of his friends. So, I decided that I had to bring #1824, or Tom, as I should start learning to call him. I knew that if Edd had heard me call him by his subject name that he would certainly not let him return back to my base. He would be too suspicious, too weary. I soon concluded that I needed to switch back to my older self. The one that was fine with Tom’s presence. The one that all of my friends loved. The one that wasn’t a cold hearted army leader. I wanted to go back to that persona of myself, yet I knew it would be difficult, especially after staying in this mindset for so long. However, I knew I had to at some point, so I took a deep breath, getting back up from my bed and returning to my computer before replying to Edd’s email.

‘I’ll see you soon, Edd. Expect a certain black eyed friend to be travelling along with me.’ I hit send, then returned to my bed, sighing as I eventually drifted off to sleep.

************************************************************************************************

I was surprised to get a reply so early, but seeing that notification on my phone made me sigh a bit in relief. Tord had answered, and I had almost started to believe that he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. Wait...Tom was going to be with him? Oh, this was wonderful! After months of living with just Matt, I was relieved to know that finally, we would all be together again. Maybe we could go on another adventure, for old time’s sake. I wonder how they’ve been keeping up? Are they friends now? Are they at least acquaintances? I hope they can at least have a conversation without arguing. Anyways, I soon realized it was getting late, so I figured I should be heading off to sleep. I wished that both Tom and Tord had a nice, warm place to sleep tonight, and then I counted the stars on my ceiling until I dozed off.

************************************************************************************************

I wish I had a nice place to sleep instead of this cold experimentation room. Sure, I had been provided a bed, but it was basically as firm as a rock and as warm as a block of ice. However, it wasn’t like I had many other options when it came to a place to sleep, so I allowed my tired body to slump into the bed, groaning when it only gave a slight bit. I then thought about why I was here. I thought about the day I was brought here. It was a cold, rainy day…

I was sitting beside of my friends, smiling as Edd brought in popcorn for us to eat during the movie we were about to watch. I settled into the couch, finally starting to feel better about things in my life. I had completely forgotten about that stupid commie, and I was starting to feel happier. I looked at Edd, giving him a genuine smile, making him smile back widely, giggling a bit. He looked so innocent whenever he was grinning and laughing. I was glad he was here with me, and that commie wasn’t. I glanced over at Matt, and even he seemed happy, as ignorant and oblivious as he was. I haven’t really paid attention to him recently, yet he seemed happier than usual. I was glad that he was happy, because him being happy made me feel a sense of relaxation. I liked when my friends were happy. I liked when I saw both of their smiling faces. Before our movie could start, however, there was a knocking on the door. Edd willingly sprang up from his seat and hopped to the door, feeling an immediate pang of shock as he realized...it was that stupid commie. He had came back after betraying us, and I was shocked myself to see him. However, I wasn’t willing to associate with him again, so I stormed off to my room.

After a few minutes, I heard knocking on my door, and I had assumed it was Edd, so I called out. “Come in.”

The person I saw was not Edd.

“Hello, old friend.” He spoke with a low tone. I hated it.

“Oh. It’s you. Why are you here?” I asked with disdain, glaring at him. I noticed that he closed my door behind him, allowing him to have no witnesses for whatever he was going to do. I honestly would not have minded if he had killed me. It was awful enough having to be with him again, why should I allow death to faze me?

“I’m just visiting, is all.” He replied coolly.

“I thought you died.”

“I bet you wish I did.”

“I did.”

“Good to know.” He sighed as he moved to my bed, sitting next to me. I responded by trying to get up and moving out of my bed. He stopped me. I looked down at him, and he looked at me with a...pleading look. I huffed, collapsing back onto the bed, glaring at him.

“What do you want? To get revenge and kill me? Go ahead, I don’t care.”

“What? Thomas, how dare you assume I’m here for revenge. No, no, I’m here to talk to you.”

I wasn’t having this. “About what?”

“Oh, you know. About how you almost killed me. About how you ruined my life’s work. About how you-” He stopped, his breathing shaky and his eyes almost watery. He seemed...upset. I haven’t seen him this way since...ever. I had never seen him in an unstable state. Before I knew it...he was crying. Over what, I have no clue. However, I felt awkward just watching him cry, so I motioned him over. He surprisingly ran right into my arms, pulling me close as he cried into my chest. I felt oddly comforted by his arms around me. I sighed softly as I rubbed his back. After several minutes, he sniffled, moving away from me. I looked at him, not seeing a horrible communist leader anymore. Instead, I saw my old friend. I saw the guy that I spent so many nights with, just watching dumb movies and laughing at the cringeyness of it all. I saw the person I spent hours taunting and joking about. I saw...Tord.

“Tom…?”

“Yeah…?”

“I’m sorry…”

I took a shaky breath, recollecting every single thing I knew involving Tord, and I closed my eyes, replying with a soft, gentle voice. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

Then, I saw the purest, most genuine smile I had ever seen in my life.

I looked around, now realizing I had started to cry. Thinking about that day made me feel a sense of regret. I hated it. I liked feeling nothing, yet here I was, feeling my most hated emotion. I soon realized how to make the feeling go away: think about the bad that happened that night. Think about how Tord had betrayed me. How he brought me here. How he made me distrust him more than I would a stranger.

After talking to Tord for what seemed to be a couple of hours, he asked me if I would like to go somewhere with him. Apparently, I was the only one special enough to go visit it, so I agreed out of sheer curiosity. He got up, walked out to Edd’s car, then drove out to the secret place. As I sat in the passenger’s seat, I looked on at our surroundings. I noticed how we were quickly leaving town, going to somewhere more isolated.

“Tord? Where are we going?”

“Oh, you know. A certain place I like to call home.”

Home? He was taking me to his house? Did that mean he trusted me enough to not destroy his possessions? Did that mean we were friends again? “Oh, so we’re visiting your house? That’s pretty cool. I bet you have tons of games and-”

“No, not my house. My home.” His voice immediately became a darker one, his eyes now threatening.

“Wh-what do you mean?” I couldn’t stop the nervous stutter from escaping.

“You’ll see.” That was the only response I got for the rest of the journey.

We eventually turned into the parking lot for...a pub? What? “Uh...you’re not being serious right now, are you? I mean, this is a pub, and you can’t really-”

“Quiet.”

I went quiet. We then walked into the pub, and I looked around, taking in how much red was in the building. No wonder Tord considered this his home. We sat down, and he ordered me a drink. I accepted, simply because I couldn’t turn down alcohol. After a few drinks, I began to feel light-headed. Weird. Usually, it took a few bottles to make me feel this way, but I had only drank about half of this. What was this? Before I could read the bottle’s label, I felt my vision start to blur.

Then I woke up here. I woke up in this cold room filled with blinding lights, and I was more confused than anything. Then, I saw Tord, wearing a blue coat along with his red hoodie.

“Tord? What’s going on? What’s happening?”

He didn’t reply. Instead, he shushed me, his expression slowly turning into a cold smile. Then, he pulled out a serum filled needle. I recognized the serum, as it was what first brought out my monster side. No. No, wait. That meant he was going to...No. Please, no. Don’t bring that side out of me. Don’t make me feel those terrible feelings it makes me feel. Please, Tord. Don’t hurt me like this. Unfortunately, my pleas wouldn’t escape my mouth, so I was quiet as he slowly injected the needle into my skin. Before I knew it, my vision was blurry again, and then it went black.

What? What happened? Why am I here? Who’s that? Why are they looking at me like that? They look scary. I don’t like them. I don’t want them to be here. I need to defend myself from them.

************************************************************************************************

I hadn’t anticipated for Tom’s monster side to come out so quickly. Almost immediately, I saw a horrendous purple beast emerge in front of me, its eyes as black as the void, its teeth razor sharp, its claws ready to kill. Honestly, I was terrified. However, I couldn’t show any weakness, so I just glared up at it. It didn’t seem to like that, as it soon began snarling its teeth, moving its quadruped body into a defensive position. I slowly approached, holding my arms behind my back as to not show how shaky they had become. The monster took this as a sign that I was going to attack, so it got into an attacking position as well, which absolutely petrified me. I didn’t want to move. I couldn’t move. Then...it tried to attack me. Luckily, I avoided the blow, and I was able to escape the room. As I watched it through the glass, I was surprised at how much calmer it was when I was nowhere near it. It was almost like an incredibly large dog when it was alone and calm, but with me...it was a killing machine, and I hated it, especially since I knew that the next time I made it come back...I had to stay in the room with it.

I waited for almost an hour until I saw Tom return to his normal form. By then, my nerves were mostly calmed, and I had regained my intimidating expression. I walked in, and Tom immediately snapped at me.

“Why did you do that, you stupid commie?! I could’ve killed you!” He seemed...concerned for my wellbeing, which was...surprising. He looked saddened over the fact I could have died, which was oddly comforting.

“I’m sorry, Thomas. I was only experimenting, and-”

“Only experimenting? Tord, let me repeat. I could have killed you!”

“I know, but it’s fine because I got out of the room, and-”

“What if you hadn’t? Tord, you would have been dead and it would have been my fault!” He was now crying. I hated seeing him cry.

“Tom, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He slowly nodded, tears falling from his face as he wiped his tears. “Just...tell me the next time you plan on doing that. Please.”

“I will. I promise.”

For the next few months, I always warned him about the injections. However, he seemed to get more and more distant each time I did it. Nowadays, he seemed to hate me, which I just had to put up with, as I couldn’t just stop my experiments to please him.

However, I wish I had.

Today, I had decided to go and talk to Tom before giving him his injection. I wanted to know exactly how he was feeling. As predicted, he glared at me. He snapped at me. He let me know that he hated my presence. However, I stood my ground. I was determined to talk to him.

“Thomas, I-”

“Tom. My name is Tom.”

“...Right. Tom, I have decided to postpone your injection as to allow time to talk to you, and-”

“What? Pfft, okay. Like I’m going to talk to you after what you’ve-”

“Tom. Let me finish.”

He looked at me with a bit of surprise before muttering, “Go on.”

“Now, I want to talk to you because you have seemed to be more...distant lately.”

“There’s a reason for that. You know I don’t like the injections, and yet you give me them anyways. You know I hate becoming that...thing. You know I hate-”

“I know, but I-”

“Let me finish.”

I looked on quietly, allowing him to continue.

“As I was saying, you know I hate you coming in and experimenting on me. Yes, I know that’s why I’m here, and yes, I know I should be used to it by now, but I’m not. I’m not used to this, any of this. I’m not used to this room, I’m not used to Pat coming in here and giving me meals, I’m not used to you being here all the time, I’m not used to…” He took a long pause before answering. “anything.”

“I know, Tom. I know it’s hard. I know it’s challenging. I know it hurts. I know it’s awful. I know you’d rather be home with Edd and Matt. But...you know what else I know?”

“What…?” He looked at me with helpless eyes, as if I was his last chance at feeling hope.

“I know that you’re strong. I know you can handle this all. Tom, you were able to lift a harpoon gun and accurately fire down a giant robot in record time. You were able to stop me, for the time being. Aside from that, you’ve been on countless adventures where you’ve cheated death. You’ve done so many impressive things that I only wish I could do.”

He smiled at my reply, tears starting to gently fall down his face. “Tord...you really mean that?”

“Yeah. I do.” I replied as I moved closer, gently cupping his cheek. He leaned into my touch, his smile barely noticeable. I then quietly whispered, “I also know...that no matter what, I’ll keep you safe. I don’t care how hurt I get in the process, I’ll keep you safe.”

His smile faded. “Tord...can’t you see? That’s the problem...I don’t want you to protect me, I want you to protect yourself. I want you to be happy and safe and secure. I want you to-”

“Tom. It’s alright. I’ll be fine.”

“Not if you don’t-”

“Tom.”

Silence.

“I’m sorry, Tord.”

“It’s okay, Tom.”

He sighed, looking away from me. “So, are you going to give me that stupid injection now?”

I took a deep breath, my leader persona yelling at me not to do what I was about to do. However, my moral self told me otherwise. “No. No more injections.”

Before I could hear his response, I left the room.

************************************************************************************************

What? No more injections? This had to be a dream. Tord would never give up his experiments for me. In fact, he often put me through more experiments when I complained. I thought I was asleep, living in a fantasy. Any moment now, I would wake up in the cold bed in the corner, my headache returning and my body aching. I would wake up and see Patryck’s figure offer me some sort of breakfast, which I would try my hardest to refuse. I would then await Tord’s stupid experiments, putting my body through more pain than the day before. However, I soon came to realize that this wasn’t a dream, as after several minutes of thinking, Patryck soon walked in and offered me some soup for lunch. It looked delicious, yet I couldn’t show him how happy I was to receive it. I stalled for a few moments before eating it. My assumption was correct. This was absolutely delectable. “Who made this?” I asked curiously.

“Tord did.”

I stopped. “What?”

“I said, Tord made it. He’s been trying to work on his culinary skills recently. Do you like it?”

I nodded while taking another bite. “Mhm. It’s really, really good.” My mind had wanted me to lie and say it was terrible, but I couldn’t lie. Maybe it would have hurt Tord’s feelings to know I didn’t like his food. Maybe he would have cried over it. Oh, no, now I’m thinking about Tord crying. That makes me hurt.

“...and so, he decided to make it for you!” Patryck smiled happily, though I had no idea what he just said. I was too busy focusing on Tord’s emotions.

“Oh, that’s...sweet.” I smiled, trying to act as if I knew what he said.

Patryck nodded, then allowed me to finish eating before taking the bowl and leaving the room. Again, I was left in my thoughts. I was often in this situation, as Paul never took the time to see me, and Tord often left for the whole day after giving me my injections.

Speaking of, I wonder what Tord was doing now…

************************************************************************************************

I regret everything I have ever done.

I told my best and most cooperative experiment that I would no longer use him in experiments. Why? Oh, because my stupid emotions got the best of me again. I wish I didn’t have to feel things. My life would be much easier if I didn’t have to feel stupid things like...love. Was I even experiencing love? I wasn’t quite sure. However, I did know that I hated what I felt, and I wanted it to stop. I did have a solution for making it quit, but I was strongly advised not to do it. What was the answer?

My memory eraser gun.

If I used it to forget about Tom, then it would be so much easier to just inject him and move on. It would be so easy to yell at him and attack him. However, I couldn’t force myself to do it. I couldn’t make myself let go of those precious memories from so many years ago, even though they probably meant nothing to him now. I bet he even resented those memories. Perhaps he wanted to forget, too.

I was startled by a loud buzzing noise. I looked around before realizing it was my phone. After reading the caller ID, I became hesitant. It was Edd. He had been wanting to see Tom and me, yet I never took the time to actually go and do it. However, I could take a phone call, so I answered.

“Hello?”

“Tord? Is it really you? Oh, thank goodness, I thought you wouldn’t answer. I’m so glad you did, though. I mean, I was worried sick about you. Are you okay? Is Tom okay? Where are you guys? Where-”

“Edd, calm down. I’m fine. Tom’s fine. Please, calm down, your voice is doing that thing where it gets all fast and I can barely understand you.”

“Right, right. I’m sorry, I just...hearing your voice...oh, it’s so sweet…”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, Edd, you’re too kind…”

I heard a faint giggle on the other end. “Thank you, Tord!”

“You’re welcome, Edd…”

“So, how’s Tom? Can I talk to him?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” I then head off to Tom’s room, opening the door and handing him the phone, informing him that it was Edd. He almost didn’t believe me.

“Edd? Edd, yeah, it’s me. Yeah, I know. I miss you too. Where am I? Uh...well...I’m with Tord, at his house. Yeah, cool, right? No. No. No, I’m here because he invited me…”

I didn’t listen to the rest of the one sided conversation. I instead looked around, counting the tiles on the ceiling. After counting all 672 of them, I had realized that Tom was crying, laying on his bed and just talking away with Edd. I looked down, feeling a pang of regret. I had separated them for several months, and this was their first time communicating since then. I guess it just goes to show how much Tom actually cared for Edd. How much he missed him.

I wish he cared about me that much.

After about another hour of hearing Tom being happy over someone else, I was almost feeling sick. I felt such a strong pit in my stomach. Such a horrid, terrible pit. I knew it had something to do with Edd, so when Tom finally brought up visiting, I deadpanned, “No.”

“Wait, what? But...he said that earlier you said-”

“It doesn’t matter. Now, I say no.”

“Tord, please. This is Edd we’re talking about!”

“I know it’s Edd we’re talking about!”

“So why are you being so mean all of a sudden? He didn’t do anything to you! If anything, you should be very thankful that he’s even letting you back into his home after what you’ve done!”

To that, I gave no reply. I couldn’t. Instead, I found myself just walking out, locking the door in the process. However, in doing so, I made a horrible mistake.

I left my phone with him.

************************************************************************************************

I couldn’t believe it. That stupid commie locked me in here! All because I wanted to see my friend! That’s it. He’s officially ruined my life and brought me here to die alone. However, I do have something that could totally ruin his life. I have his phone. I thought about how easy it would be to call the police and have them send him to prison, or better, give him the death sentence. Oh, I’m so glad my emotions are finally pushing away from him, because now, I can think about him being killed without feeling guilty.

After a few moments of thinking, I decided to call the cops. I called and calmly asked them to visit my location. After tracking me down and realizing I was in a Red Army base, they immediately sent officers here. I laughed a bit as I ended the call. Finally, that commie would get what he deserved. He would get exactly what he deserved.

************************************************************************************************

I was sitting with my partner, Patryck, and I had believed that today would be an easy day. First, we would patrol the lower offices, and then we would check with the prisoners, and then we’d basically be done.

However, life had other plans.

I had heard the police sirens before Patryck had, and I quickly tried to alert him. After he realized what was happening, he was panicking more about where Tord was than getting himself safe. I shook my head as I scooped him up. If he wasn’t going to care about his life, then I had to be the one to do it. He shouted at me to put him down, but I wasn’t about to let him die. I started running towards the base’s safe area, where I presumed Tord would be.

He wasn’t there.

It was at that time that I felt like panicking. Where was he? Why wasn’t he here?

“Paul...where is he? I’m scared...I want Tord here…”

I sighed softly, looking at Patryck, who was now sniffling and starting to cry. “I don’t know where he is, Pat. Don’t worry, though. He’s strong. He can escape from the authorities. He’s been in this situation before.”

“Yeah, but those were far away from the base! Now they’re here! They’re gonna see the experiments! The weapons! The-”

“Patryck Danielewicz! Calm yourself! We’ll be fine, Tord will be fine! Our army men will be fine!”

By now, Patryck had been full-on panicking.

“Okay, okay. Yeah. Fine. We’re fine. Yeah. Okay.”

“Deep breaths, Pat.”

After several minutes of calming him down, we heard the door open. We looked over, praying it was Tord, or even Tom.

It wasn’t either of them.

Instead, it was Yuu, one of our trusted soldiers.

“Commanders, we have a problem.”

“Yes, Yuu? What is it?”

He hesitated. “Red Leader has been captured.”

************************************************************************************************

I was absolutely terrified. Yes, I have been caught before, but knowing that they now have access to the base freaks me out more than anything. They’ll see my experiments. They’ll see my inventions. They’ll see...Tom. Wait. Tom. My phone. He...he did this. He had to have done this. I can’t believe it. He went and betrayed me. He went and ruined my life. How could he have done this? By the time I was placed in the officer’s car, I was near tears. I had trusted him. I had cared for him. I had done my best to make sure he was safe. Still, he went and told the police where I was. He went and basically told them to kill me.

After a painstakingly long car ride and a bunch of absolute nonsense, I was placed in my cell in prison. It would have been fine, had they not brought up a death sentence. That thought terrified me. I didn’t want to die. I wasn’t ready. I pleaded for them to torture me instead, yet to no avail. I was scheduled to be killed in three days. When asked how I would like to be executed, I chose a firing squad of my own men. If I needed to die, I needed to die whilst looking into the eyes of the people I trusted. They surprisingly obligated, and they called the other officers to bring in several of my men.

Seeing their solemn expressions shattered my heart more than Tom ever could.

************************************************************************************************

It had been two days since Tord was captured, and I have been spending my time with Edd and Matt. I had thought I would have been happier now that Tord was behind bars. However, I still had this deep pit in my stomach. I still felt...regret. I felt as if I should not have done what I did. I tried to force myself to forget about him, yet I couldn’t. My thoughts were interrupted as I noticed Edd walking into the house with tears in his eyes, a newspaper clutched in his fist. “Edd, what’s wrong?” I asked with concern.

“I-I-It’s T-Tord. H-He’s...he’s gonna…”

“What…?”

Suddenly, all of his words came out at once. “Tord’s gonna die tomorrow and it’s my fault because I didn’t shelter him like I was supposed to and I let him go do that stupid army stuff and I-”

“What? No, Edd this...this isn’t your fault! It’s mine! I let this happen! I’m the one who called the cops on him!” At the time, that felt like the right plan of action. However, now knowing that he was going to die made me internally scream at myself, made me hate myself so, so much. I wish I could have told the cops it was just a joke, or that I hadn’t called at all. I wished so many things, but nothing happened. Reality stayed the same, and Tord remained in prison, going to be killed tomorrow. It was my fault this was happening. It was all my fault, and I had to do something to stop this. Soon enough, I realized that I could stop this. How?

I could save him by using that horrible monster inside.

************************************************************************************************

I sighed, looking up and counting the tiles on the ceiling for what seemed to be the millionth time. Yep, still 760. I wanted my life to just be over already. Checking the clock, I realized I had about 16 hours until my execution. Why couldn’t this just be over already? It’s not like anyone really cares that I’m dying. Well, except for my parents. I bet they care a lot. However, I hadn’t seen either one of them these past few days. Did they just not want to see my dead body? Did they escape from the police and are now on the run? I spent quite a while pondering on my parents and their whereabouts, and when I looked back at the clock, I realized I had only 14 hours left until my time was up. I then spent my remaining hours thinking about whether I should sleep or not, and what I should make my last words.

Soon enough, it was time. I was standing in chains, my loyal soldiers holding their guns against my head. I was taking shaky breaths, tears starting to fall down my face again. I heard the cocking of the guns, and then...Boom.

I opened my eyes and realized that I was still alive. I looked around, taking sight of the large, purple monster that was now in the room, and I realized something.

Tom had come back to save me.

************************************************************************************************

Protect Tord. Save Tord. Don’t let Tord die. Tord will help me if I save him. He can’t help me if he’s dead. Help him to help me. Scary soldiers. Stay strong for Tord. Tord could do this. I can do this.

************************************************************************************************

I watched in awed silence as Tom slinked around the soldiers, snarling at them. His tail flicked about angrily, his eyes narrowed, his claws showing that they were ready to attack. I soon realized...he was after the soldiers. Immediately, I knew I needed to stop him. “Tom! Stop! They’re not the bad guys!”

He snarled, glaring at them, approaching them.

“Stop! Please! These are my soldiers! Don’t hurt them!”

Of course, he didn’t listen. Perhaps it was his animalistic state of mind, or he simply did not want to listen. I gulped, knowing I only had one option left. I had to start Operation: MT.

I took a shaky breath as I whistled, grabbing Tom’s attention. I then clicked my tongue, as one might call a dog. His ears perked up, and he turned to me. I continued clicking, and he eventually trotted over to me, his tail now wagging slowly. I began chirping and clicking, and he slowly began responding to me. After a while, he was calm, and I had even trained him how to sit and stay. I guess you can teach an old monster new tricks. Anyways, he allowed me to get on his back, and off we went, running away from the prison. My loyal men followed after me, not to stop me, but to protect me.

After a while of running, Tom seemed tired, so he stopped near a large area of trees, falling onto his side as his body slowly began reforming back to its normal human form. I looked around the trees, noticed how there seemed to be no people around, then told Tom to follow me. He reluctantly agreed, and off we went into the forest. As we walked, we became lost in how absolutely stunning the nature around us was. I looked around, taking notice of two boys sitting atop a large tree. I smiled at them, waving a bit. The shorter one waved back, and the taller one just nodded his head. I smiled more, when all of a sudden, I felt a pain in my stomach. I looked at Tom, and I realized his arm had clotheslined my stomach. Before I could ask why, I realized I was about five steps away from stepping off of a waterfall. I immediately jumped back, yelping a bit in surprise. Tom only chuckled.

“What, you afraid of waterfalls or something?”

“N-No! I’m afraid of falling off of waterfalls and plummeting to my death!”

He clicked his tongue. “Ah, well, that’s a much better fear to have.”

I didn’t want to tell him that I actually did have a fear of waterfalls. I’ve had several nightmares where I’ve fallen off of one and left Tom alone as I watched him from the stars. I wondered why my dream self wore clothes that I didn’t even own, but perhaps it was an article of clothing I had seen somewhere and thought that it looked nice. It was a pink sweater with stars on the sleeves. I also wore a star necklace. I often thought about why my dream self was so obsessed with stars. In the meantime, however, I’ve just decided to call him Starboy.

While I was wasting time thinking about my nightmares, Tom was sitting near the edge of the waterfall, looking at the pool of water below. The sky was clear and starry, making the pool look like it was filled with stars. I wanted to look down into it longer, but my fears didn’t allow me to. Instead, I sat on a nearby rock, looking up at the actual stars instead. They all shone in their own special way, and I soon found myself getting lost in the sheer beauty of it all.

“Hey...Tord?” I noticed that Tom was now sitting closer to me, sitting on the ground beside of the rock.

“Yeah?”

“It...sure is a pretty night, isn’t it?”

I sighed. “Yeah...yeah, it is…”

He took a shaky breath, as if he were going to say something. However, he said nothing. Instead, he just looked back up at the stars. I soon followed suit, and we stayed there for what seemed to be hours until my phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey, Tord. It’s Mom. I just wanted you to know that I miss you a lot, and i want you to come home. Please. I heard what happened in the prison, but I don’t know where you are. Please, come home, son. I miss you.”

“I...I will, Mom. I’ll be home soon. I’ll bring Tom, too.”

“Okay, sweetheart. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

I hung up the phone, and then I explained to Tom that we needed to go back to my base. He exclaimed that we shouldn’t, but I insisted we did. After walking back, I quickly located my parents, running to them and hugging them close. “Mom...Dad...I love you guys so much…”

“We love you too…”

************************************************************************************************

As we entered the base, I noticed Tord run up to two of his soldiers, apparently his mother and father. Upon closer inspection, however, I realized that his parents…

were Paul and Patryck.

************************************************************************************************

I couldn’t believe it. He had escaped again. Oh, I knew he could do it. I knew he could get past those stupid cops. I knew it! I whispered to my husband as Tord pulled away. “See, Paul? I knew he could do it…”

“Pat, you were sobbing thinking about him being caught and killed, you didn’t know anything.” He chuckled a bit.

“Oh, shut up, honey.” I smiled and pulled him close.

He laughed a bit and hugged me tightly. I hugged back, loving the fact that we were safe, and my son was free again.

************************************************************************************************

I am anything but safe right now. I had escaped the death sentence using a monster. The government will be after me more now than ever. They’ll want to kill me, they’ll want to experiment on Tom. I don’t want anything like that to occur, so I have to go into even more hiding than I am now. There’s only one place left for me to go, a place where they’ll never find me.

Edd’s home.

It would be easy to hide there, as long as no one there reported me to the police. I knew Edd wouldn’t, he wanted to see me safe. I knew Matt wouldn’t, he’s too absorbed in his own life to interfere with mine. Tom, however...I couldn’t exactly trust him anymore, even after saving me. Though I didn’t really trust him, I knew I had to bring him with me. So, I walked over to him, sighing softly.

“Ready to go?”

“Go?” He seemed confused. “Go where?”

“Home.”

“...Tord, last time you said that, you brought me here and you-”

“I know what I did, Tom. I’m sorry for it, too.”

“So...where is ‘home’ now?”

“Edd’s home.”

“Wait, really? We’re really getting to go there?”

“Yep. All you need to do is swear on your life not to report me again, or else I’m getting killed, Edd’s getting scarred for life, and you’re getting all the blame for it.”

Tom hesitated. “I swear.”

With that, I murmured under my breath, my confidence slowly coming back. “Then we’re going home.”

************************************************************************************************

I almost couldn’t believe my ears. Tord’s going to actually take us back to Edd? This is amazing. I could actually see Edd and Matt again in our home instead of in some old hideaway building like I saw them in days ago. I could get my room back, my stuff back. This was awesome! This is the first time I’ve legitimately smiled ever since Tord first trapped me in this place. I wonder how Tord thought about this situation, but I didn’t dare ask him. I didn’t want to say anything that would make him change his mind, so I quietly got into his car and let him drive us back home. It was quiet, except for when he asked something weird.

“Tom, before I came back and practically kidnapped you...did you miss me?”

What? Did I miss him? What kind of question is that? Of course I didn’t. No, I hated him then. ...Did I miss him?

The stormy night made the whole night sky look like darkness, the low, rumbling thunder shaking the house ever so slightly. I wouldn’t admit that I was scared, but I couldn’t help but shake a bit. I didn’t like thunderstorms. None of my friends knew that, but Tord did. Tord knew I hated them and he teased me all the time about it. I hated when he did that. Yet, there were sometimes he didn’t tease me. Sometimes, he would bring me a blanket or say something comforting to me. It always made me feel better, even though I wouldn’t admit it. Then...that day came when he left. Call me crazy, call me childish, but I...I cried when he left. I don’t know if it was out of sadness or anger, but I cried. I cried all night and I didn’t let anyone come in and help me. At that time, all I wanted was him, and he wasn’t there anymore. As far as I knew, he was gone forever. He would never come back. I took the last blanket he gave me, a fluffy grey one, and I wrapped it around myself, cuddling it until I fell asleep. It still smelled like him. Weird, I know, but it was true. It still had that smoky smell of him on it, and I slept for it for weeks before the smell wore off. Even then, I continued to sleep with it. It still reminded me of him. I liked how it reminded me of him. It made me feel...safe.

“I...Yes. Yes, I missed you.” I could hardly believe I was admitting to that, yet I knew I shouldn't lie to him, especially not after putting him into life-threatening danger and just barely getting him out of it.

He seemed surprised to hear my response, as if he expected me to reply harshly. As if he thought I would reply with a sharp tongue.

“Oh...Oh, you did? Really?” His response proved my point even more. I only nodded in response, hoping he wouldn’t ask any more questions for the rest of the drive back home.

************************************************************************************************

I was truly taken aback by Tom’s words. I was thoroughly convinced he hated me back then. I even thought there was still a chance he hated me now, but that seemed to not be the truth at all. Maybe he even...liked me now? No, that couldn’t be it. This was my enemy I was talking about. My old experiment. My…

My old friend.

Was...was he my friend nowadays? Could I call him that? I didn’t really trust him, but...something told me I could still call him a friend.

Anyways, I didn’t ask any more questions. I just quietly drove back to Edd’s house, mind filled but voice empty.

Tom seemed to appreciate the silence.

************************************************************************************************

I was currently in the mindset that I would never see my friends again. Not except for Matt, but nowadays, I hardly ever saw him. He was always in his room, doing whatever for his makeup tutorials. Sometimes he’d put me in his videos just so he’d have a new canvas. It was fun the first few times, but now it’s a chore, so I’ve asked him to leave me out of the videos for the time being.

Anyways, I felt like I wouldn’t see my friends again because they told me they would be here by now, and now they’re not. Tord is never late like this, so he must not be coming, right?

That’s when I saw it. That’s when I saw his car pull up.

Tord had finally came home.

************************************************************************************************

I pulled up into Edd’s home with newfound nervousness pooling into my stomach. I hadn’t anticipated for myself to be so anxious upon meeting up with my old friend again. The first time I had returned, I was so confident, so ready to do what I needed to do. Maybe that’s why now was so difficult. I wasn’t here to do anything.

I was here to stay.

I got out of my car and let Tom out as well, being sure to keep him in front of me. I knew he wouldn’t try to escape, but I needed to make sure. He ran inside faster than I could say ‘Go on inside’. I slowly walked behind him, silently rubbing my fingers together in my pockets. After I shut the door behind me, I heard Edd’s soft voice call for me, his tone full of question, as if he didn’t really know I was there.

“Tord? Tord, is that you? Is that really you?”

“Yeah...yeah, it’s me.” I tried not to stutter or hesitate in my response, but I knew I had done at least one of those things.

He smiled widely and replied with a gentle tone, “I knew it was. It had to be. No one else has your hair, or your voice, or...or anything of yours. It’s only you.” He grinned, “Only my Tord has those things.” Then, he pulled me into one of the tightest hugs I have ever been a part of. One thing stayed on my mind, though.

He called me his Tord.

************************************************************************************************

Oh, I’m so glad to finally see all of my friends in the same room again! Tom was smiling, Tord didn’t care Tom was there, and Matt was on the couch being Matt. I hugged Tord as fast as Ringo running into my room at night. I didn’t even think about it. I just needed to feel his comforting arms again, I needed to feel his warmth again. It had been so long, I had almost forgotten what he smelled like. Bold, yet gentle. Smoky like a cigar, yet breezy like the air outside. One might think that smell was impossible to put together, yet it was, and it smelled amazing. I could take it in for hours, if only he’d let me. All I had right now was this moment, so I pressed my face into his worn red hoodie and just took it all in. I didn’t care he took my friend away anymore. He brought him back safely, so it’s like it didn’t even happen. I didn’t care he left, because he came back. All of those bad things he had ever done were wiped from my memory. I didn’t care about any of it anymore. He was back, and I was in his arms again. That’s all that mattered in that moment. I felt safe. I was safe, Everything was finally coming back together.

Everything was finally getting better.

************************************************************************************************

Finally, it seemed that everything was getting better. I was back home with my friends, Tord was safe with us, and everything just seemed...better. I didn’t have to worry about any more experiments, I didn’t have to worry about any more pain, I felt like I didn’t have anything to worry about anymore. I finally felt at peace, and it brought a smile to my face. It was weird, because I was starting to think I couldn’t smile anymore. I thought my happiness was just a thing of the past. I’m glad it’s not, though, because I had forgotten how good it feels to be happy.

I had forgotten how much I missed being at home with all of my friends, Tord included.

************************************************************************************************

After we had all gotten situated, Edd informed me that my old room was, yet again, in possession of Tom. I wondered how that always seemed to happen, but I didn’t say anything about it. Edd told me that I could either sleep in another room that was practically empty or I could somehow share a room with Tom. I almost laughed at how stupid the latter seemed to be, but after some consideration, it was either a really cold and empty room or sharing with my old rival and test subject. After weighing my options...

I move into his room tonight.

************************************************************************************************

I knew I had been living in Tord’s room before this whole situation happened, but the thought of him moving back in, especially with me still living there, caught me by surprise. Still, I didn’t hate the idea of Tord being in the same room as me, especially after our moment at the waterfall. I felt like I could trust him again, even after everything he had ever done to me.

Night came sooner than expected, and it was time for my first night with Tord. I figured we could be like new roommates, where one sleeps on the bed and one sleeps on the floor with a pillow and blanket.

Using that logic, we were not new roommates.

“Tord, what do you mean we both get to sleep in the bed?” I asked, a bit shocked he would even suggest that.

“I’m just saying, it’d be a lot more comfortable. Besides, I like to think of myself as a good sleeping partner.” Tord smiled a bit pridefully, and my mind was immediately sent to the thought of Tord cuddling me.

“Good sleeping partner? I bet you’re as cuddly as a cactus.” I sneered, trying to hide the fact that I actually did want to cuddle him.

“A cactus made out of cushions, maybe.” He chuckled, seeming much too calm about this situation. Meanwhile, my hands were shaking and my voice seemed to tremble just the slightest.

Quietly, I replied, “Maybe…”

With that, we lay together in bed, starting off far but gradually getting closer.

Soon enough, we were at cuddling distance.

************************************************************************************************

I honestly couldn’t believe we had made it this far, but we had, and I didn’t want it to stop here. Our bodies were closer than they had been in a long time, maybe ever. I could almost feel his quickened breaths hit my face, his eyes closed yet still seeming to show emotion. I couldn’t help but stare at his face for a while, taking all of it in. I wanted to just take his hand and hold, just to know how it felt. I wasn’t exactly inexperienced in the field of dating and love, but something about this felt different. It was almost like I was meant to do something with him, but I didn’t exactly know what. Maybe I was meant to hold him. Maybe he was meant to hold me. Maybe we’re meant to hold each other. It was honestly too much for my emotions to consider at the time, so I simply closed my eyes and tried drifting off to sleep.

That’s when he took my hand and held it like his life depended on it.

************************************************************************************************

I don’t know if I wasn’t thinking clearly, or if I was, or if I was meant to do this or not. All I know is that this felt right to do, so I did it. His breath hitched once I took hold of his hand, yet he didn’t let go. That was a good sign. Quietly, I whispered to him, my voice soft, almost too soft to be heard.

“Tord?”

“What is it?” He answered almost hesitantly.

“Are you...okay with this?”

“Okay with what? The fact you’re holding my hand?” He looked up at me, those bright eyes looking right at me.

“Y-Yeah...yeah, that.” I cursed my slight stutter.

Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah...I’m just fine with it.”

With a new boost of confidence, I suddenly had the urge to ask, “Can we do something more than this?”

He paused. “What...do you...mean…?”

Suddenly, my face turned red and I didn’t know what to say. What did I mean? “Cuddling. I...I-I want to cuddle you.”

“You do? Even after everything you’ve said to me?” He held back a soft chuckle.

“Yeah...I’m just...I’m cold, and your hand is really warm, so I-I bet your whole body is warm…”

Tord laughed quietly before pulling me into his arms.

That was the warmest I had been in a very long time.

************************************************************************************************


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Sun Apr 28, 2019 6:45 am
Toboldlygo wrote a review...



Hey there! Happy to be reviewing your work this Review Day!

Right away, I am intrigued. There is a tempo to this piece that sets the stage for a thrilling ride, and I think you deliver on that. It's exciting from the beginning.

One thing that I noticed was that it was sometimes hard to follow. For example, in the first section, you referred to your character's partner and the experiment as "he." Without a name given to the partner and without explicitly referring to the experiment as such, it was hard to follow who exactly was getting fed. I was under the impression the experiment was a Frankenstein-esque being, not alive but still human (or made of humans). This made it confusing to think of him eating, so I didn't know what to make of that.

Even with the asterisks denoting perspective change (which I actually think you should edit to put before the story, instead of having the reader go all the way down to the end to see it in the comment), it was hard to follow. There wasn't really an introduction to all the characters, so sometimes I didn't know who was talking when and what was going on. I wonder if there would be a way to denote this without giving too much away?

Overall, a fun piece. Very well done!

Toboldlygo




N0R5KI says...


Though it has taken an extremely long time for me to reply, I have attempted to fix the mild confusion with a note at the top, as well as extending more on the story. I hope you enjoy it.



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Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:03 pm
N0R5KI says...



Note: The asterisks are changes in perspective.




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Mon Mar 04, 2019 9:57 pm
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Munozutoo2122 wrote a review...



I really love how you managed to use verbs and imagery to describe the fear of the main character. I also love how you manage to keep the reader intrigued and hooked on by the use of your words and writing. I really enjoyed reading this because you provided me with a sense of being in the scene. I actually felt like I was in the scene which is something all writers want to accomplish. I really enjoyed it and keep up the great work.




N0R5KI says...


Thank you so much for the review! I really appreciate it!




It's been many years since I had such an exemplary vegetable.
— Mr Collins, Pride and Prejudice