Who's the real Monster

Waking up I turned my head to see that neither Ed nor Matt were here. The door was already closed, it must be passed lights out. Slowly sitting up every muscle in my body protested against the action. All of me hurt. Noticing that both my clothes and bandages were covered in blood. Those two must've cleaned and covered my wounds while I was knocked out.

Looking down to see three sets of trays close by the bed my stomach growled in hunger. Ignoring both my stomach and the food I made my way into the bathroom. Taking my time to get undressed I was very careful about unwrapping the bandages. My eyes stayed down, there was no way I could stand to see my reflection any time soon or ever. Completely naked I turned the shower knob all the way for hot water. Taking my sunglasses off I walked into the narrow tub letting the water fall on me.

Memories of what Nurse Ratchet did came to mind. Digging my fingers into my upper arms I repeated the words, "It's not real." Slowly sitting down I let the water continue to pour down on me until it began to get cold. When my body became numb to any sensation I got up and turned the knob in the other direction. Reaching for my sunglasses I was thankful for the towel on the bathroom rack.

Taking a minute to breath I looked around while saying two other words, "Never again." I dried myself off quickly as the shakes began, from either the cold or my nerves. Keeping the towel around I walked into the rest of the room to get some clean clothes. Opening the closet to find three more sets I grabbed one and went back into the bathroom. No way am I letting those creeps get a free peep show.

Closing the door behind me I dropped the towel which was a mistake. My vision instantly floated to the mirror. Inhaling sharply I saw my curly hair that had just reached mid back was all gone now. Before the incident I had cut my hair into a pixie style. Now it was all gone. The cuts Nurse Ratchet left on me were barely scabbing over. My vision moved to the rest of my body. I had lost so much weight that you could see every bone trying to poke out from under my skin. I had never been so disgusted of my body until now. Finally taking my eyes off the mirror I put the clothes on quickly. Repeating those words this time with anger, I looked back up at the mirror grabbed the dirty clothes to wrap around my knuckles. Fully covered I began punching until my reflection could no longer be seen all the while saying those two words over and over again.

I only stopped when the mirror was completely broken. Exhaustion finally sunk into my bones as I took the clothes off my hands and went back into the room. Making a bee line for the trays I couldn't wait to put something in my stomach at this point. Shoveling the gruel down my throat I barely had enough time to breathe. Finishing the last tray I grabbed the bloody towel to throw onto the floor. Noticing something small move slightly under the pillow, it must've moved as the towel fell. Knowing that there was probably some guard watching me I crawled into bed to get under the blanket. Tucking my head underneath I read the note, "Dear Z, we hope you're feeling better by the time you wake up. Matt and I cleaned your wounds as best as possible. Use the gloves for bathroom purposes. Be careful with the forearm bandages. If you're feeling up to it tomorrow we'd like to see you in the morning for breakfast. P.S. You've got a beautiful smile. I'd love to see more of it some day :)" Cute I thought while feeling another small smile begin to form.

The sound of something banging on the door soured my mood. That Thing was still waiting for me outside the room. With a deep breath I tucked my head out to yell, "Bang all you want you're not getting me anytime soon." It banged once more and then stopped. Feeling a headache coming on I tucked my head under the blanket again.

The headache continued to get worse as a whisper seeped into my mind, "Z, Z, come to me." Thinking to myself "Not tonight". The voice pleaded, "Z I need to talk with you, something big happened." Realizing that the voice was familiar I asked Eric? "Yes it's me, I need to talk with you. Now", he said with extreme urgency this time. Replying "Be there in a minute".

Getting my body to relax was harder more than ever. Finding my center to astral project was even worse. Quickly making my way through the vents I rushed to Eric's room. Looking down at him I thought "I'm here". Watching Eric go into the bathroom I followed right behind.

Asking with an exhausted tone What do you need to tell me?

Eric replied Something very weird happened this morning.

Impatient I thought Get to the point.

Eric replied I felt and heard something out of the ordinary this morning.

You called me here just for a noise and feeling?

It was the Thing. I heard It think for once.

Are you telling me that the Thing that's still outside my door waiting to eat me can think?

Yes...

A brief silence fell between us. I had to ask I feel a but or an and coming.

He sighed before thinking And that Thing tried to break out to save you.

Dumbfounded I thought What?

That Thing tried to save you. I think it felt your pain as it's own.

How? Why?

I have no idea. The guards and scientist have been using me to test that Thing's compression on the English language and to figure out if it's actually intelligent.

Stunned I asked What did it say?

Hurt, pain, protect Z, save now. Those are the only words I could make out.

A form of dizziness hit me hard. I asked Why did it want to help me?

I have no idea Z. What I do know is that Thing has been acting differently since you got here. The Director and Colonel are going to take me to see It later today to figure out why It tried to escape.

Has It ever tried to escape before?

I'm not sure.

What are you going to do when they take you to It?

I'm going to lie through my teeth if that Thing thinks.

How do you know they won't find out?

I've lied to them before. My dad taught me and my brother how to play poker from a young age.

You're going to bluff?

That's all I can do right now.

Why are you risking torture for me?

If I didn't know you enough I would've gladly thrown you under the bus the second I heard It trying to save you.

What do you want in return?

What you want. What we all want. To be free.

Good answer.

What's the escape plan?

From what I've seen of this building there's a monitor room that can disable our collars. Not sure if it disables the bombs or not.

Decent start. Do you have a back up plan?

I think better on my feet.

You still need a back up plan.

If anything I could cause a scene to get all the attention on me if not cause a Code Black to fight that Thing and see who wins.

If you cause a Code Black that Thing will eat you.

I know.

You don't care.

What's the point? That Thing has taken everything from me already, might as well die by It's hand as well.

It's taken everything from all of us.

All the more reason to get revenge.

Is it really worth your life?

Yes.

What about Ed and Matt?

We barely even know each other.

Both of them care about you.

I know and they shouldn't.

Why do you think so little of yourself, your life?

Do you have any idea of what I've done while being on the run?

I know enough.

I've killed people before.

You had to.

Do you really think my life is worth theirs?

I can't answer that.

You were just trying to survive. I don't blame you for what you did on the night that you got caught. I probably would've done the same. I may eat meat, yet I love animals.

Taking a good look at him I asked Aren't you tired?

Yeah I am.

You should get some sleep. I'm going to check out Anderson's office. If things go sideways warn me.

'Code Red' good for you?

Yeah that'll work.

Get some sleep, I'm leave you be.

Just be safe out there.

A sense of warmth I haven't felt in a long time filled me, even in this form. I would be tempted to touch his shoulder or hug him if I could. Eric caught that train of thought to nod in response with a small smile of his own.