Chapter six –part one
Um, just before we start, I thought this chapter was becoming a bit too long so I cut it up into two parts. The other part is only half done but I'll upload that soon. That'll be the last chapter of this story… though I may continue it, I got a few new ideas which I'm going to talk about next time… but for the time being, ENJOY! :D THANK YOU ALL FOR THE NICE REVIEWS, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!
It took very long time for Manta's nails to heal. When he'd woken up he had found all of his fingers strictly bandaged. And a few days later when it had come off, he could hardly bear to look at it, yet he couldn't help that his eyes, as if drawn, stared at his hands. It was horrible, truly horrible what he had done to himself. He had force himself to look at something else as the sight of the damage made him feel nauseas.
Manta never raised his voice towards the doctor again. He became even much more silent than before, only answering the doctor's questions with either s nodding or shaking his head. The only time when he spoke was when the doctor asked him a question that demanded more than a 'yes' or 'no.' He kept his gaze low, never looking the doctor in the eye for more than a second. Faust noted it down in his note book as he continued his experiment.
The pain caused from the unnatural growth never subsided. But perhaps Manta's body was getting used to the hormones and chemicals that the doctor kept injecting him with, as he wasn't as sick as he had been. He never lost consciousness and rarely threw up anymore. Though, he hadn't regained any sort of appetite, yet he ate what they gave to him, scared of what the consequences might be otherwise.
'What's bad can always turn into worse', Manta reasoned, and thus, always tried his best to cleanse his plate. Even if he knew that wouldn't be able to keep it for a longer time.
The doctor gave Manta a criticizing look. He was much too skinny and physically weak because of the lack of exercise, and that wasn't good for the sake of his experiment. Manta needed to stay healthy, at least until the end of the experiment.
Manta glanced for a second at the doctor and then quickly returned his gaze to the floor. He was beginning to hate those eyes, the way they looked at him. It was as if they shredded away all his protective layers and looked into his soul, the very core of his being. Nothing could be hidden away or remain unnoticed. Manta stared intently at the floor. Oh, how he wished that he could sink just right through it. He wanted to be somewhere else so badly, anywhere else than where he was. He wanted to curl up into a ball, shutting out the outer world, those cold and blue eyes. They were colder than ice, and their intent stare could freeze hearts.
…
'This place never ceases to amaze me' Manta thought as he was led into another room which he'd never seen before. The walls was coloured a soft pink which gave an odd sort of 'warmth' to the room. At the window there was a couple of white curtains with needlepoint and a flower pot at the sill (later, when he had a chance to look at it close-up, Manta discovered that it was plastic). But what was perhaps the most out protruding and odd-looking thing about the room, which made it look like something from another world, was the fact that it was full of children's toys, such as skipping ropes, dolls, balls, pieces of Lego just to name a few of them.
None of it seemed to be new, surely nothing was broken but nearly all of the toys showed signs of usage and being slightly worn out. Perhaps that they had been used by happy children at a time, laughing children that was creating entirely new worlds in their imagination that could not be seen nor understood by adults. A shield from reality, perhaps of one with a lethal disease where the parents hid their tears behind locked doors… Manta picked up one of the dolls and looked at it carefully. It had brown eyes and what had once been rosy red cheeks was now a pale face as the ravage of time and usage had worn off the colour. Perhaps there could once have been a little girl who had held the very same doll that Manta was holding now. If so, where was she now? Was she still alive? And if not, what would have killed her, accident or an untreatable disease? Manta stroke the doll's hair with a hand before he put it back into the box where he'd found it.
Manta looked out the window, the days were slowly growing shorter and the twilight sky seemed to be cold. Whoever that girl might have been, he would probably never meet her.
**secret********sublime**message**ahead**save******the*****environment****use***public*****transports***instead***of***personal***cars****
A few days had passed since Manta had been taken to the toy room and he and Eliza had started a rehabilitation program that was designed by Faust and consisted of flexing exercises and lighter muscle training exercises.
"The problem with being bedridden for a longer period of time," Faust had explained during one session which he'd decided to join in, probably to make sure of the progress, "is that the muscles will be dismantled after just a couple of days and lose their power. The same also goes for the agility of the body." Faust smiled as he put his hand upon Manta's head and ruffled his hair slightly, despite of the enormous grow spurt, was Manta a lot shorter than the doctor. But still, he didn't look up. Those cold eyes of the doctor… he kept his eyes fixed upon the floor.
"But we won't let that happen to you, right?" Faust lowered his hand so it rested upon the shoulder instead. Manta felt a nervous twitch in his stomach, he'd never get used to those hands, gloved or not. "We need you to stay as healthy as possible, at least until the end of the experiment."
"Imagine if it was so that the medicine affected muscle tissue but we'd never find out because you'd just stay in bed all day, wouldn't that be awful then?" The question remained unanswered, though, it didn't annoy the doctor. He'd never expected any.
"Yet, I can already see a few things that need to be adjusted, but where will I find another test subject?" The doctor moved his hand to the downside of Manta's chin and lifted it slightly, turning it as if he looked for something. His intent eyes still upon the boy, Manta made his best to avoid them. "Perhaps you have a brother or a sister who could volunteer? It's not uncommon that things like these runs through the family." Manta's eyes dilated and he stared at the doctor.
At once he began to think of his little sister Mannoko. She wasn't a very nice person, but she was family and the thought of letting her go through, no, letting anyone go through the same thing as he himself had… Manta's lip started to tremble.
"No." He shook his head lightly. "I have no siblings, I was the only child." He could not wish his fate upon any other human being, the mere idea that the process would be repeated made him feel sick. He hoped dearly that the doctor wouldn't see through his lies, that his eyes wouldn't betray him.
"Hoo? Is that so?" Faust let go of the boy's chin with an eerie chuckle. "If that's so then… but it doesn't matter much right now anyway, the shaman tournament will continue soon, so I am afraid I won't have too much time for my small experiments for a while." He made a pause and walked towards the door, but well at it he stopped and turned to look at Manta. A small smile played upon his lips.
"It's always so tragic to say 'good bye' to someone, don't you think so Manta? To end something that has been such fun and interesting..? But I'll try to not feel too bad about it, after all, autopsies can be rather interesting, too." He turned back to the door. "If I were you, I'd try to enjoy my last days, Manta." The sound of the shutting door was surprisingly quiet, yet Manta found himself twitch at the sound.
"my last days…"
Oh man, I'm a real asshole, aren't I? Just thinking of all the things Manta has gone through, yet I still manage to make it worse… but hey! It's just fiction, right?
Anyhow... I got a question to ask, is my English all right? You see, English isn't my native tongue, Swedish is, and I want to be able to use it the right way, so if you guys find some ever returning grammar error, please tell me about it (and about the rules how to use it correctly if you can) or if I'm using an expression or a saying the wrong way. You see, I mostly think up the story, phrases and such, in Swedish and then translate it so I might fuck it up sometimes. I'd be really grateful if you guys could help me, because I want to be able to use the languish without doing any mistakes.
English is such a hard languish, I'm taking the English C course now (the last one you can take at my school) and it's just so difficult I could throw up! X_X Hau… I wanna go back to dagis or preschool!