I Was Free Once

Chapter 3

Everything hurt.

My back, my arms, my heart… You name it; it hurt. My wings were stained with my own blood and the feathers were singed from the fire whip. I could barely move all because of the asshole warden we had on this floor.

That bastard.

I could hear many people descending the stairs. It was time to eat. I could smell the slop they serve coming towards me. It made me sick. I hated the food, but at least I would have something to eat.

“Let’s see,” said the server, to me, “Slave 2708, correct?”

I nodded.

“Oh, I’m really sorry, but you’re not marked down for any food this week. You can have water, though.”

“What did you say?”

“I said you don’t get anything but water. I’m sorry; it’s what the warden has written down.” He put the water through the bars.

“That damn son of a bitch. What is he trying to do, kill me? I’m weak as it is! Can’t you slip me even a little bit? I’m hungry!”

“I’m sorry,” he said, walking away.

“Shit. That rotten bastard. He should rot in hell.” I reached for my water, but found I was restrained from doing so by the chains holding back my arms. “Damn it!” I yelled, kicking the water in frustration.

I hoped someone would beat that bastard’s ass so he knew what it felt like.

That same routine of no food continued for quite some time, not just that week. The server was nice enough to hand me my water, so I could at least drink. Beside that, the warden continued to return almost every day just to fulfill his sadistic wishes on me. Then one day, that son of a bitch came into my cage with a plate a food. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the fact that he had food with him. He actually had real food, not the shit we got.

I have a bad feeling about this.

“Hungry?” he asked, waving it just out of my reach. “Too bad you use naughty words. You could be eating right now.”
“I’ll curse as much as I damn well please. I have to eat, or I’ll die.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you won’t die. We never let our slaves die. You’ve been drinking water full of nutrients every day, so you can’t die. But, until you apologize for those nasty words, I don’t see food on your schedule, ever.”

“I’ll call you a bastard until I die!”

“Well, I’m starving. I think I’ll eat my food right here.” He sat in front of the mirror and slowly ate every bite of his meal, savoring each mouthful. After he was done, he said, “That was delicious.”

“I hate you, you son of a bitch.”

“I’m sorry. Did I just hear you curse again? You know what I feel like doing now that I’m done eating? I feel like taking out my anger and stress on a random slave. Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Slave 2708, come on down!”

He unchained me from the wall and walked me towards the post. But, instead of stopping at it, he brought me over to a wall with chains and shackles hanging all over it. That wall was hardly ever used. But, I could have care less. It was just like the post, only I would be more vulnerable.

“You know what?” the warden screeched, as he chained all my limbs so that my back was easily accessible. “It seems that you’ve grown indifferent to the whip. Is that right?”

“So, what if I have?” I asked, while hanging there.

“Well, it’s just that there’s no sense in using it, if it has no effect.”

“So, why don’t you just leave me the hell alone then?”

He continued, ignoring what I had just said. “The fire was a nice touch last time. But, I really don’t feel like being exposed to the smell of burning flesh again. It made me sick. You know what I would like to smell, though?” He paused for a few seconds, and then whispered in my ear, “Burning feathers.”

“No,” I replied. “No! Please, no!” I looked towards him in disbelief. “You can’t. Please! Not my wings! Anything but them!” I was trying everything to free myself from the wall, but I was so weak that I could hardly move my own body.

“Maybe this will teach you what you didn’t learn when we first broke you. Maybe you won’t mess around anymore.” And with that he set my wings on fire.

“YOU SHITHEAD!” I screamed. I tried flapping them to put them out, but it was hopeless. After a while, I gave up and just closed my eyes as my gray, feathered wings burned down to nothing. Finally, I felt cold water splashed on me. I opened my eyes to see two bones where my wings use to be.

Damn it.