The first thing Ciel felt was warmth. He felt safe, as if he were in his mother's arms at home. Perhaps he was. He smiled slightly.
"Mother.."
She was so close to him. Standing there with a smile, her arms outstretched. Her shimmering hair was flowing around her white gown in clear, golden rings. Oh, she was so beautiful. And beside her...
"Father!"
Ciel started to run toward them, calling out their names. But something was wrong. They started to change before his eyes, their faces twisting into ugly contortions, their bodies turning into that of decrepit corpses.
"Ciel.." They called out to him, their voices weak and pleading. They seemed to be drifting further away from him.
"No..please!" he screamed, running toward them as fast as he could. But it was no use. The faster he ran, the further away they seemed to slip. "No, no..no.!"
The doctor looked over at the pale man who stood staring down at the examination table. The boy who was strapped against it writhed and screamed, mumbling broken sentences to himself. The child's eyes were wide open, yet it was very apparent that he had no idea what was going on around him. He seemed to be trapped in a reality that didn't exist.
"What did you give him?" The man pointed a black nail at the doctor.
"Just a small dosage of a hallucinogenic drug I've been researching. I doubt it will do any lasting damage, though the psychological aspect has yet to be observed." Ash looked up from the book he had been keeping notes in, his eyes going over the boy's unclothed form.
"Heheh, a shame. I was rather hoping for another lovely corpse to burn tonight. He's quite the perfect specimen." The undertaker, for that was what he was, ran the tip of his long, black nail down Ciel's chest, causing the boy to shiver despite not being aware of what was happening.
Ciel's head moved back and forth, his eyes wide open, a look of terror coming across his face. "Sebastian..please..no...SEBASTIAN!"
The Undertaker laughed. "This is quite amusing. Well worth the trouble of helping you fetch him tonight. Will it wear off soon?"
"It should be out of his system in another hour." Ash moved forward, checking the boy's pulse. "Oh and I have one last task for you before you go back to your ovens. Find Claude and inform him that I have carried out his orders."
The gray-haired man grinned as he slipped away. "Yes, yes, of course."
Ciel lay completely still against the table, free from the drug that had worn off a half hour earlier than Ash had predicted. His chest rose and fell gently as he took shallow breaths. Very slowly he began to stir, his eyelids fluttering. He turned his head to the side, opening his eyes.
His arms and legs felt as if they were weighted down by something, and for a moment he almost panicked, afraid he wouldn't be able to move. That feeling passed as become more aware of what was going on, and he soon realized the real reason behind his inability to move his limbs.
He had been strapped to the table.
That thought brought on another wave of panic, but he took a deep breath to calm himself, turning his head to one side. He paused as he caught sight of the man who sat in the corner watching him.
Claude gazed at him from across the room, his eyes narrowing behind the shiny surface of his gasses. He made no move to come forward, nor did he speak. For several minutes there was complete silence.
The door to the room opened, and Ciel tore his gaze away from the dark haired man, his heart pounding as his eyes fell on the doctor. It took him less than a minute to piece together the earlier events, realizing that this must have been where the doctor had taken him after he had passed out from the drug.
He closed his eyes. It was no use wishing this was all just a dream. This terrible war had destroyed his family and brought him here. And he was completely helpless against it all. He hated that feeling, despised it with all of his being, yet it changed nothing. When he opened his eyes, he would still be strapped to a table, locked up like an animal to be experimented on.
Ash looked over at him. "Well since it's awake, we shouldn't waste any time."
Claude inclined his head slightly in agreement, his eyes resting fully on Ciel. He stood up, walking slowly toward the table. His eyes shifted from the boy's face, sliding over his body like a cobra might gaze at a mouse it is just about to devour. Without a word, he made his way around the table, his fingers sliding over the edges as he walked.
Ciel watched him, but soon closed his eyes, finding his prying gaze to be far too unnerving. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but he didn't like the way this man was looking at him. It sent cold shivers down his spine.
"Look at me."
Ciel feared what would happen if he disobeyed, though he had a feeling it might not matter either way. He opened his eyes and looked up at the man who stood over him.
"Do you know why you're here?"
Ciel hesitated a moment, pondering the question. He had an idea of why he might have been brought there, but he wasn't foolish enough to speak of it. It could be wrong, and why bring more harm upon himself by saying something stupid? He shook his head slowly.
Claude placed his hand under Ciel's chin, forcing his head back. He stared down into the boy's eyes, almost as if trying to determine what he was thinking. After a moment he let go, running his fingers along the boy's neck.
Ciel stiffened instinctively, but stayed silent.
"You are here because of the commander."
The boy narrowed his eyes slightly. He still thought this was about what he had overheard that night in the barracks, so he wasn't surprised over that bit of information.
"Did you know he was the one who had you sent here?" Claude's eyes narrowed as the look on the boy's face changed slightly.
Ciel refused to allow his emotions to show, shaking his head. He couldn't believe that. Why would Sebastian send him to this man? Claude was plotting to murder the commander himself. Surely Sebastian wouldn't... But then he remembered Sebastian knew nothing of the plot against his life. Ciel had never found the courage to tell him.
The thought that Sebastian would actually send him here to be tortured nagged at his mind. He wondered why he had even set himself up to be disappointed like that. Sebastian was the commander of a Nazi extermination camp. Why wouldn't he do this? To think he might actually care was not only foolish, but downright insane.
But Claude was speaking again, and it forced his mind from his troubled thoughts. "You didn't fall in love with the commander did you?" He paused, but Ciel wouldn't look at him. "Did you really think a man like him would care about something like you?"
Ciel stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore what Claude was saying. It was no use however, since it already agreed with his own thoughts. Had he fallen for the very man who kept him in this prison? He didn't want to think about that. Much less admit it to himself.
"You should know he only wanted you for one reason." Claude moved his hand from the boy's neck, his fingers sliding down the small frame. He watched Ciel's face as his hand brushed against the boy's thighs, uncomfortably close to his groin.
Ciel's eyes widened, a look of unmistakable fear coming across his features. He had been trying so hard not to show any emotion, but he had never expected this. "T-take your hands off of me.."
Claude paused, his amber eyes meeting Ciel's deep blue ones. "Oh? So you can speak. Would you have said that to Michaelis? Did he touch you like this?" He moved his hand, watching the boy closely.
Ciel shook his head and looked away, hating the way his face heat up. He didn't want to give this man anything to gloat over.
Claude continued to touch him, making Ciel's body react in a way he had no control of. The boy closed his eyes, biting down hard on his lower lip until blood ran down his chin in his attempt to keep silent.
"You react so readily to a man's touch. How disgusting." Claude had a look of complete distaste in his normally empty eyes. "Are you thinking of Michaelis? You know he doesn't care about you. He so quickly abandoned you to my mercy."
Ciel's eyes snapped open and he turned to stare at his tormentor. Those big blue eyes were filled with complete and utter hatred, which was all he could manage at the moment. His lower body was on fire, and a sickening throbbing had started pulsing in his lower regions. He hated the fact that he couldn't control the way his body was reacting, but he wouldn't give this man the satisfaction of his agreement. He didn't want to believe anything Claude said. He was a liar, and had planned on murdering Sebastian. What he said couldn't be true. He took a shuddering breath. "No..I don't believe you..."
"Such blind faith. And for what?" Claude looked down upon him, pausing in his ministrations.
Ciel didn't answer.
The golden eyes that stared down at him were harsh. "You still think he cares about you? In love with the very man that keeps you locked up in a tiny little room. The man who would kill you once he was done taking what he wanted from you."
The truth of that man's statement cut into him like a knife. But he wasn't going to admit that Claude's words bothered him. He shivered involuntarily as the man moved his hand again, biting down on his lip once more.
Ash stood on the sidelines, simply watching. He was getting an idea of just what type of man Claude really was, and and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. It was true the doctor had no regard for human life, and could care less how Ciel was tortured, but this was a side of the other man he didn't exactly like. Claude seemed to be enjoying himself, and the doctor began to wonder if he had wanted Ciel for other purposes rather than just to get to Sebastian.
Ciel pulled against the bonds, the leather straps rubbing the skin of his arms and ankles raw. His face was flushed and hot, for he wasn't used to being touched in such a way, and he had nearly tore a hole through his lower lip, determined as he was not to make a sound. He knew what was going to happen, he could feel it, and it made him sick to think it would happen because of what this man was doing.
Biting down hard on his already bruised and bloody lips, he closed his eyes, shame filling him as his body released into the man's hand. He lay perfectly still afterwards, hating himself because of it, yet knowing it wasn't his fault.
Claude stared down at his victim, his eyes going cold. Not once did Ciel make a sound, even going so far as to harm himself in order to keep quiet. The boy was far more stubborn than he had anticipated, but then again, it mattered not so long this whole thing bothered Sebastian. He reached over the table to a rack that hung on the wall, pulling a white towel from it and wiping his hand. Backing up, he nodded to Ash.
The doctor moved forward, glad to get on with his part in the the plan. Of course he would also be getting something out of this, as he had wanted to study the young human body for some time. He still didn't see Ciel as a perfect test subject, firmly standing by his original opinion of sending him to the gas chambers. He wasn't, however, going to waste this opportunity.
Picking up a long, thin scalpel from the tray beside the table, he leaned over the boy, placing one hand on Ciel's forehead, his thumb pressing against the boy's right eyelid, forcing it open.
Ciel opened both eyes wide as he felt the touch, staring up at the doctor. The scalpel hovered close to his right eye, the sharp tip resting against the tear duct. Ciel's eye began to water, though he wasn't sure if the tears were from his current feeling of helplessness, or simply because of the metal being so close. His heart began to race inside his chest, a sick feeling coming over him again. He wasn't sure how he would be able to get through this.
Sebastian paced his quarters, his eyes coming to rest on the silver barreled gun that lay on the table beside the bed. He had kept it locked away all these years, hoping he would one day be able to forget. But Claude's arrival had made that impossible.
He had thought about the past many times over the years, wondering if any of this would be happening today had the events of that evening so long ago turned out differently.
Sebastian had been an orphan, adopted into the Faustus family when they realized they could no longer have any children. Claude had been an only son up until then, and he wasn't used to having to share that place with someone else. The late Mr. Faustus took quite a liking to Sebastian, treating him like a favorite son. No matter what Sebastian did, he was commended, while Claude was forced to strive to be the kind of son his father would be proud of.
As a result, the boys came to dislike one another immensely. They fought over everything, but most of all over their father's attention. It had been a case of sibling rivalry at its worst. Still, there had been a sense of grudging respect between the two boys, and never once did they attempt anything that might seriously harm the other.
Things might well have gone on that way for years, had Claude's father not done something one Christmas that would change both men's lives forever. He had presented both with matching silver guns, along with an envelope stating the bulk of their inheritance. The old man knew nothing of the hell his unguided actions would unleash, and had in the moment of favoritism, given Sebastian far more that his biological son.
Though he had been young at the time, Claude had been furious. He hadn't been as skilled in concealing his emotions back then, and had gone off in a fit of rage. Of course Sebastian had been angry as well, and the two boys had naturally taken it out on one another.
They had exchanged a few violent words with each other, yet still, it might have simply blown over without repercussions had Sebastian not drawn the silver gun he had received as a gift. Claude had followed his example and done the same. They had stood in the long hallway of the house, both torn by jealousy and rage, facing each other with those deadly weapons.
It had been Sebastian who had pulled the trigger first. As he had done so, Claude's father had entered the hallway, right into the path of the flying bullets.
It had been an accident, for Sebastian had never meant to kill the old man who had loved him like a son. But he had died that day, and Claude had never forgiven him. Any friendship or respect they had held for each other became a burning hatred.
Sebastian had never been held responsible for that day, another thing Claude resented. He had hated Sebastian for what had happened, and for the money and status he had acquired. Sebastian in return had hated him for the lies, jealousy, and abuse he had shown all their growing up years. Since that day, the two men had wanted nothing more than to see the other dead.
Of course it did nothing to bring these memories to the surface, nor to dwell on the past. What mattered now was the present and how he was going to deal with the events his actions had created.
He knew there was very little he could openly do against Claude at the moment, besides set up spies and keep an eye on what he was doing at all times. He would simply have to wait.
Ciel lay completely still on the examination table. His left eye was open, but he stared straight ahead blankly as though he were a lifeless doll. His right eye remained swollen shut, and he was unable to open it. Of course that would have done no good, for he could no longer see out of it. It wasn't even there anymore. The skin and tissue around it throbbed with a relentless ache, pain shooting into the empty socket whenever he moved his remaining eye. He could think of nothing else but his thankfulness that it was finally over.
Ash was fairly satisfied with his little experiment, and had taken the severed eye to a counter toward the other side of the room to examine more closely. In his opinion it was possibly the only thing of value worth studying on the boy. He had no more use for Ciel now.
Claude had sat through the entire experiment, finding nothing more pleasing than the sound of Ciel's screams of pain. Ash had of course used no anesthetic, so there had been nothing to ease the pain for the boy. It seemed not even the stubborn child could keep quiet when it came to physical torture. He had been surprised Ciel hadn't passed out from the experience, for Ash had gone very slowly, prolonging the operation in his effort to keep the eye in tact for his studies. Ciel had been silent and unmoving ever since, almost as if he had given up.
That wasn't exactly true, for Ciel would never give up over something like that. But it would have been dishonest to say that the whole experience hadn't hurt him far more deeply than he let on. He had come far from being the slightly disillusioned boy who had been carted off to this camp. He had thought he knew how horrible it was going to be, thought he could handle it all without letting it harm him. But he had been wrong.
After an hour had passed, the door to the medical room was knocked on three times. Ash opened it, and the white haired Undertaker entered the room.
Ciel was unstrapped from the table and forced to get dressed once again. He did so quietly.
The Undertaker wrapped his long white fingers around Ciel's arm when the boy was finished, leading him back to his cell under the main building.
"It's such a shame I wasn't able to burn your perfect little body this time around." The man leaned close to Ciel, running a long nail over his cheek. "But don't worry..I'll get you eventually. Heheheh.."
The strange man turned and walked away, closing the large metal door slowly, his laugh echoing down the passageway as he left.
Ciel lay down on the bed, closing his remaining eye. His wrists and ankles were rubbed raw, and he was sure the swollen tissue around his cheek and eyebrow had begun to bruise. He was very glad there was no mirror in the room, nor anything else he might have been tempted to look into. He dreaded to see what he looked like.
A tear slowly traced its way down his left cheek, dropping onto the white sheets. It was painful to shed tears, but before he could stop himself, he was crying deep, heart wrenching sobs that he wouldn't have wanted anyone else to hear. Since he was alone in his moment of weakness, he poured his heart out to the stone walls of the cell.
Now, I shall set up a shooting range and you may all stand in line and take a shot at Claude. Sebastian would be very grateful.
I hated writing this chapter, I really did. But I do love playing with the character's emotions..A little too much I think..
I usually do not write fan fictions that are more than 10 chapters long, but as I have finally planned this one out to the end, I realize it will have to be quite a bit longer than I had at first thought.
And don't worry Soma and Abberline. I haven't forgot about you two. Poor guys.
c: Thanks again for all the faves, alerts and reviews. I love hearing what people think.
