Chapter 6: Blurry
The first few minutes are excruciating. The pain seems to radiate all the way from your arm to the tip of your tail. Every strand of fur hurts, every muscle hurts, everything just… hurts. He won't stop twisting your arm. The large bear is careful not to break it. Every time it seems like your bone will snap, he stops and releases his grip. Your arm straightens out and throbs dully, then he grabs it again and continues his twisting. It hurts so much. Tears fall down your cheeks and make your vision blurry. You hate showing him how much pain he is causing you, but you just can't stop.
His foot is on your tail. Grinding it into the sidewalk, causing the hairs to bristle and fall out. Pebbles crush themselves into the tenderness of your tail as his foot moves. Small stains of red begins to adorn your fur and the sidewalk. It looks like someone crushed strawberries.
Your head lolls to the side as the pain continues to increase. Twitching feebly, you succumb to the torture. After a few minutes of twisting, grinding, and random punches to the gut you realize that you don't feel the pain anymore. Everything is going numb. You don't hurt at all. It is nice.
'No, this isn't right.' You think groggily. 'I should feel something. He is hurting me so much. Why don't I feel anything?'
The bear cackles as he wrenches your arm behind your back. He slams you roughly agains the brick wall before leaning towards you ears. They twitch as you feel his hot breath. "You're falling asleep. Can't have that can we?"
With a violent twist, he bends your arm behind you. Pain rockets through your arm to your shoulder blade. You cry out as all the pain that has been fading comes back multiplied. You bite down on your tongue to try and stop the screaming. A metallic taste fills your mouth. Disgusted, you spit red liquid onto the sidewalk. You feel like your arm is being torn off.
"That's better." He says with a chuckle. "My partner isn't here yet huh? Bad luck for you. Bet you wish she had caught you instead."
Your face rubs against the brick wall as he talks. The tender tip of your nose begins to bleed as it scrapes agains the rough surface. You force yourself to ignore the pain. Telling yourself that you have been through worse, you try to block it out.
'This is nothing. I can handle this.' You think as the blood drips down your face.
Your tail is stepped on roughly. Tears mingle with the red liquid on your fur as you feel it being pressed into the ground. It just hurts so much. Your mind flashes back to when you were a cub. Your tail is bleeding and your mother tries to stop the flow of blood landing on the floor. Your place a paw on your throbbing arm to try and soothe it before your mother can notice the deep cut. Sniffling, you tell yourself that everything will be okay. Your mother will help you. She can make the blood stop. She can make the pain stop. She can make… him stop.
Your dual colored eyes snap open with shock as you are jostled out of your memory. Your ears twitch a couple times as they hone in on a strange noise. Footsteps are quickly approaching, but you can't figure out whose they are. The police officer notices them as well and quickly lifts his paw from your tail. Sighing with relief, you force yourself to turn your head. The snap your neck makes causes you to cringe. Gritting your teeth, you roll your neck to the other side to loosen it. Your arm twitches automatically, wanting to rub the sore muscles and relieve you of the pain. The polar bear's strong grip causes your soothing touch to become only a dull wish.
Your vision is blurry because of the sweat, blood, and tears but you are able to make out a vague shape. It is much smaller than the bear. Your eyes tell you that it is slender and furry. It appears to have a long tail that swishes when it talks. Your ears desperately try to make out what it is saying, but all that you hear is a high pitched ring.
'Come on. I heard the footsteps.' You think angrily. Irritated with your currently unreliable senses, you try to focus on what is happening.
The police officer begins to talk with the newcomer. His voice rumbles deep within his throat and causes your fur to vibrate with fear. His paws tighten on you as he speaks, as if he is proving that you are his prisoner. You wince as one claw grips you too tightly and causes a red bead of liquid to form on your arm. The polar bear stops talking abruptly when the smaller animal begins. You can see his ear twitch slightly and his grip loosens. It as if he is considering something but you can't figure out what. Hope flutters in your chest as his grip releases you. He is still too close for you to make a run for it. The pain coursing through your body assures you that you would collapse after a few feet.
The blurry image begins to walk towards you slowly. You blink a few times to clear your vision but nothing happens. For a moment you wonder whether liquids are blinding you or just fatigue. Swallowing a hard lump in your throat, you take a few wobbly steps backwards before collapsing on the ground. Growling under your breath, you bristle your tail when the newcomer grabs your pounding arms. It doesn't release you though, and instead helps you to your paws. Although you don't want to, you find yourself leaning against them for support as you hobble away from the intimidating police officer. Glancing behind you with disgust, you notice the police officer walking glaring after you. It is as if his eyes are sapping your strength.
Trying to ignore the shivers being sent down your spine, you shakily place one paw in front of the other. Your tail drags limply on the ground, leaving behind a faint trail of blood. You flinch every time it hits a rise in the sidewalk or bumps into a stray rock. After a few minutes you realize that you no longer feel it. In fact, you no longer feel your feet moving, or your harsh breathing. Everything begins to fade. The last thing you remember before you slip into oblivion is a faint voice.
"Don't worry… I got ya' Stripes."