Riveted Dreams

The sound of birds chirping awoke me from my slumber. I stared, wide-eyed, at the leaves above my head, at the light brown branches that shuddered in the wind. It was scary, not knowing where you were. However, it was even scarier not knowing how you got there, in the first place.

Normally when I woke up, I came face to face with one of my attackers. But not today. Today was entirely different, apparently. How did I get here? Where am I? were the questions running through my confused mind. My eyes scanned the surroundings around me, never once finding the gross, cracked brick walls or the feces stained cement floor.

What the heck had happened? I cannot seem to remember a thing. Which isn’t very comforting to a person. When something happens, they want to know immediately what happened, not be unable to remember. Unless, of course, it’s the death of a loved one. But in this case, it is very different.

I rose to a standing position, only to fall to my knees. Clearly my legs were still tired from my body being held up for so long. Either that, something had happened. “But what?” Anger seeped into my words, my hand coming down on the ground with an unleashed fury.

Blades of grass tickled my palm, which only appeared to anger me further.

It was evident that I had either had my mind erased or I was drugged. Either was possible, and both pissed me the hell off. Why would someone willingly take another’s memory? It’s selfish. Absolutely selfish. To think, that person could have wanted the memory. Like me!

“Dang it!” I snarled, slamming my hand against the ground once again, a hidden rock cutting into my palm. It wasn’t deep, so no blood formed, but it still hurt.

Screw this! I thought angrily and hopped to my feet, forcing my legs to steady themselves before they gave out on me once again.

A small gust of wind blew, the air cold and chilly in the spring weather. The leaves above made a small rustling noise in the process, my ears twitching at the noise.

Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be too angry. After all, I am out of that dreadful place, right? My nose twitched at that moment, smelling the fresh air that I hadn’t felt in a month.

Instead of being negative, I should have been being positive this whole time. I’m free, for crying out loud. The grin on my face matched exactly how I felt at that moment. No longer angry, but absolutely, positively happy.

If my legs would freakin’ cooperate! Once again, I rose to a standing position. They trembled under my weight but otherwise held. Good. Stay that way, dammit. I walked forward, taking note that my legs got stronger as I did so.

After a few minutes of walking, I found myself able to do so normally. I felt accomplished. My legs started up faster of their own accord, it seemed. I ended up running, trees passing by in a blur of green and brown. I barely saw what was going by, and what was coming up, but somehow I was able to dodge everything. Well, almost.

A few branches were able to slap into my face, creating scratches on the already bruised skin there. It was inevitable, dodging things, that is.

“Nikkina,” the male said with an eerie smile. Half of his face was hidden by a black mask, only his lips and eyes showing. Those lips were changing, forming into a sneer.

My mind went blank, red appearing in my vision. Anger. Rage. It all formed into one. My body was thrown forward, jerking to a stop by the chains holding it. A fierce growl ripped from my lips, the male jerking backwards in surprise.

“My, my, you’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” the male grinned lustfully, eyes roaming over my body.

I felt practically naked against his stare. Dirty, like a whore. “Let. Me. Go,” I snarled.

“Not a chance,” he whispered. “It’s not everyday we get a full-fledged demon in our clutches. We will break you, Nikkina. You will become ours.”

That had been the first day I was there. I’d woken up furious. They’d somehow been able to get their hands on me, and everyday they’d beat the living shit out of me. Unfortunately for them, they were never able to break me.

I wonder if I was the one who killed them?

Long silver hair, lean build, blue crescent moon on forehead. A headache slammed into me, pounding against my head, making me cringe. Who was that man? Why was he suddenly in my mind? Odd…


My heart thumped against my chest. My arms trembled against the wall. Show no fear, show no fear! my conscious yelled at me. I steadied my arms, my muscles straining against the resistance.

“Nikkina. What are you going to do, huddle against that wall all night? It won’t change the fact that I’m going to place this branding iron on your stomach and mark you as ours. It’s going to burn through your flesh and scar you for life.”

A whimper slipped through my lips, my body officially giving into the fear. Tears fell from my eyes, racing down to my chin, where they fell, landing on the floor. “Please,” I whispered. “Please don’t do this to me. I’ll be good, I promise.” My lip trembled, body soon following its movements.

The man holding the iron smirked. “Do you really think begging will stop us from marking you, girl? I don’t think so.” He came forward, and I jerked backwards, attempting to escape, failing miserable. He laughed.

The T-shirt I wore was stuck to my body from perspiration, but he was able to lift it up with ease. Without a single hint of hesitation, he placed the iron on my flesh, burning it. Screams, loud and ear shattering, bounced off of the soundproof walls.

The pain was absolutely unbearable. But it wasn’t the pain that made me pass out. No, it was the scent of burning flesh.

When I woke up the next day, my shirt was torn and blood was on my body. A scab was slowly forming over the painful wound. The blood made me sick; vomit poured from my lips, flying onto the floor a few feet in front of my body.

My hands trembled and ached from being clenched so hard previously. The brand on my body was shaped in a small snake coiling around my belly button. It was sickening to look at and even more painful. Before I knew it, I was passed out again, body slumping forward, being held back by the chains.

Uncharacteristically, I touched the hidden scar that ruins my body. Although it may ruin my body, I refuse to let it ruin my spirit. My spirit is my own and I will never be broken!

Up ahead, my eyes sought out the blurry houses coming into view. Wait a minute… Blurry? Immediately, my fingers touched my eyes, where I felt wetness. It was apparent that my eyes were leaking. Ignoring it, I continued on ahead, toward the village that I will hopefully make new friends at.