Memories

By Dixxy

Chapter Seven: Forever Changed

"All right, all right, now that we're all aquatinted, let's get down to business," said Karsh. He turned to their new acquaintance, chewing on the end of his ponytail as he looked the Porre boy up and down. "How da we git into that place and find Glenn before something bad happens to the little squirt?"

Norris looked around the streets. "I think there's a secret entrance through the sewers," he said. He scrunched up his face. "But it's the sewers. There's. . . stuff. . . down there. It'll be the safest entrance but. . . it'll smell REALLY bad and it's supposed to be REALLY nasty down there."

Dario snorted. "Karsh and I play in the sewers beneath Viper Manor all the time- there's a ton of cool stuff down there," he said. "After a while it doesn't smell anymore- my nose is deadened to that smell now and I go down there to be alone sometimes. Karsh, on the other hand, has to bring a gas mask, right old boy?"

"Ahll be fine. Norris, do ye know the way in from there?"

Norris nodded. "I went there once on a dare to snatch something from the armory, but it was several months ago. I hope I can remember it well enough to help your brother in time." He looked down at a metal circle on the street. "We can get into the sewers through here."

"At this point I'll do anything," said Dario, helping Norris remove the cover.

"By the way, why are ye out here?"

"Heh. . . I'm grounded right now and I HAD to get outside- best time to do it."

"Ah hear ye loud and clear."

"Ow! Put me down!" Glenn protested, punching and kicking as his captor carried him down the hallway of the Porre facility. Curtis had him under one arm and wasn't phased in the least bit by the screaming child that he was carrying. No. This little boy had been bad. Bad little boys deserved to be punished.

Glenn was starting to get tired- the lack of energy was beginning to get to him. After crying, running through the facility, and only going on a loaf of bread for food, he was beginning to feel week. His flailing became less agitated and soon, he stopped. It was no use- either no one cared or they were afraid of Curtis. Glenn whimpered, sniffling. I want my daddy. . . Tears began to flow freely down his cheeks. The soft, flawless cheeks his mother had loved and was always pinching before she died.

"You have my skin, little one."

"I do, Mommy?"
"Yes. It's soft and silky. . . just like mine. You truly must be my son!"

"Mommy, you're silly."

Why'd you have to die, Mommy? Glenn thought as he fought back more tears. If you were alive then I'd be back home with you helping you in your garden or playing with you. I don't want to be here with this man anymore! Mommy! Why'd you have to die! Why'd you have to leave me, Dario, and Daddy alone!

Curtis opened a door and brought Glenn into a fairly dark room. There wasn't much light, but what little light there was in the room was reflected off of several sharp and pointed objects. Glenn gulped- he didn't like the look of this room at all. It reminded him of the armory in Viper Manor. Dario had gone in there after a ball once and triggered a trap- he'd nearly been run through with an arrow. Is that gonna happen to me now?

As they went further in, it got darker and darker. Glenn whimpered. He wasn't afraid of the dark or anything (that was Dario's problem, which made no sense to Glenn since his father had come up with the conclusion that Dario had a black innate color), but he didn't like not being able to see what was going on. Curtis, however, seemed to know where he was going and kept pressing on. Is he going to kill me? I don't wanna die!

"Why do you people want to take over the world?" asked Glenn, still crying. He clenched his fists in anger as his bottom lip trembled in anger and fear as he sniffled. "Why aren't you happy with the land you already have? Why don't you ever share with others? Why do you want to kill people? Why? Why? Why!"

"Power," said Curtis. He snarled at the boy under his arm. "And shut up!"

Glenn shut his mouth, biting his bottom lip as he sniffled again.

Curtis soon laid Glenn down on a flat, tilted surface. "Move and I kill you," the man threatened. Glenn stayed perfectly still, only wincing as wide leather straps bound him to the board. He heard Curtis walk away. Glenn wasn't sure if he was being left in this dark place to die or if Curtis was coming back to do something bad. Both options upset him and he was hit with a new wave of tears.

Several minutes passed. Glenn's mind started to wander. It had been very quiet, making Glenn wonder if Curtis was still in the room. Is he just leaving me here? Glenn wondered. He shuddered at the thought. Dying alone in the dark, creepy room. He shook his head. No! He'd find a way out of this one, too. He'd been able to escape from his cell all by himself, hadn't he? It shouldn't be that much harder to get off of this table, could it?

Glenn started to wiggle and squirm in desperation, seeing if he could inch his way out of the situation he was currently in. Sadly, however, Curtis had strapped him down really tight and he couldn't get out. He sniffled. He knew he was too little to try and break them and squirming was the only other way out. But that, he had learned, wasn't working out so well.

A squeaky sound could be heard. Glenn tried to listen hard to figure out what it was. It wasn't the kind of squeak a rat or a mouse would make. It was more like rusty wheels. He's wheeling something over, Glenn thought. What's he wheeling over? The boy decided he might be happier NOT thinking about it.

FLASH!

Glenn winced, not liking the sudden bright light in his face. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw that a big light like the one above the dragon stables at Viper Manor had been what was brought over. At least, he didn't think it had been there before. He heard a scraping sound and saw Curtis pushing a stool over to where he was held. Glenn trembled in fear. Curtis was given him an icy cold glare that sent chills up his spine.

Curtis sat down on the stool. "You, little lamb, were a very naughty boy back there," he said. He put on a sort of scolding face that held a large amount of sarcasm and a mocking sort of quality to it. "Escaping like that and hiding in our pantry. Tsk, tsk. That was not what you should've done, Glenn. We probably would've let you go unharmed if your father cooperated with us. But now you've forced me to punish you. All little boys deserved to be punished. And for what YOU did, you deserve a very severe punishment!"

"I only want to go home! I wasn't being bad! Let me go! Please!"

Curtis didn't say anything. He roughly pushed Glenn's head done so his right cheek was pressed against the flat surface, then kept a hand there to hold the little boy down. Tears continued to stream down, getting his shirt collar and the table a little wet. "I brought the light over here so I could see what I was doing. I don't want to kill you, but one little slip up could very easily end your life. You should be thankful that I haven't decided to shoot you or use another Element on you, boy. Very lucky indeed."

Glenn blinked, feeling even more tears beginning to form in his eyes. This was scary! He didn't want to be here! He tried squirming again, only to have Curtis shove him hard onto the table. Glenn cried out in protest, not liking the advances the commander was giving him.

A swishing sort of sound could soon be heard. Glenn barely recognized the sound as that of a switchblade- a knife. What was Curtis going to do to him with a knife? The small boy shook with fear- this was going to be very, very bad. Glenn shuddered with fear. No! No! Don't hurt me, please! Daddy, Dario, anybody, help me, please!

Glenn felt the sharp point of the knife touch his left cheek. He whimpered. Curtis snickered and slashed downwards, breaking the soft flesh. Glenn screamed as the white hot pain streaked across his young face. He could feel blood dripping from the wound as it trailed down the side of his face and down his neck. He winced in pain, beginning to cry even harder than he had before, which he previously thought had not been possible. Now he was hurt!

"Oh, did that hurt, little lamb?" asked Curtis, every word dripping with bitter droplets of sarcasm that would haunt the small child for years to come. Glenn felt another slash of pain, this one crossing over the first wound. He wailed again, feeling as the salty tears stung the freshly made cuts. Curtis smiled, looking pleased with himself as he lips pulled into a sick and twisted grin. Watching Glenn squirming on the table gave him an odd feeling of satisfaction. "I hope you've learned your lesson, little lamb. NEVER mess with the Porre army. We are the supreme power in this world. We will crush Guardia and El Nido, just like we've crushed Medina and Choras."

"You're a bad man!"

Curtis didn't answer him, still keeping a hand on Glenn's head. "Now, where else can I draw blood? So many possibilities. . . what to do, what to do, what to do?" The commander was grinning darkly at Glenn, adding even more to the small boy's now very traumatized state.

"No! Stop it!" his captive cried, wailing loudly for much of the complex to hear. "I wanna go home! I want my mommy! Mommy!" Curtis laughed, pulling at the blood-stained skin surrounding the wound, causing the child to scream even louder. He snickered. Maybe the boy's father could hear him all the way in Guardia?

The commander didn't seem to comply and raised the blade again, ready to continue the slow torture. Glenn closed his eyes, waiting for the next slice as he body shook with more waves of tears. Why? WHY? Daddy! Dario! Get me out of here! I want my Daddy! I want my Mommy! I want my brother! Anybody! Help me! Make it stop! The boy continued to cry, wanting it to stop.

"Commander!"

"What?" Curtis snapped. Glenn could see a rectangular light with a silhouette of a man standing it in through blurred vision. His tormentor seemed very irritated at whoever had come to the door. "Can't you idiots see I'm busy here?" He put the knife down and stood up, folding his arms and tapping his foot impatiently. "Well? Spit it out before I have you tossed into the dungeons!"

"There's been a disturbance in the treasury."

Curtis sighed heavily, standing up. "Fine." He looked at Glenn, giving him a cold glare. Glenn continued to cry. "I don't think my little guest here is going anywhere- I'll be back soon enough, little lamb." He grinned, leaning in close to the boy's face, which had blood running all over it. "Trust me, boy. When I return, it will be much, much worse."

After Norris had brought the other two would-be rescuers into the building through a grate in what looked like a sleeping quarters of some sort, he'd suggested they cause a disturbance. "That way everyone will pay more attention to that- everyone will see me and assume you two are my friends," said the Porre boy. His two companions nodded.

Before long, the boys found a room filled with jewelry and decorative weapons and armors. "is this place?" asked Dario, admiring a golden sword with jewels encrusted into the hilt. "Look at these weapons! The only sword more magnificent than these swords is the Einlanzer!"

"They're just stupid swords- WHOA! What an ax!" said Karsh.

"Not now," said Norris. He picked up a loose ruby and started to back towards the door. "Out of the room." Karsh and Dario shrugged. Once all three were out of the room, Norris came up with a slingshot. He loaded the device, aimed it at an expensive looking mail, and let the ruby fly.

BOINK!

The mail fell over, causing an alarm to go off. Norris looked at his companions. "Now RUN!"

Karsh and Dario didn't need a second warning as all three boys darted down a hallway and into the safety of a broom closet. Given it was a bit of a tight fit, but as Norris ditched the sling shot and the stampede of running calmed, the three boys left the room. Karsh gave Norris a look of approval as they boys began to run down the hallway. The further they went from the alarm, they found, the softer it became.

"No! Stop it! I wanna go home! I want my mommy! Mommy!"

Norris paused, perking his ears up. "I heard something."

Dario looked at Norris. "What?"

"It sounded like a kid screaming for his mother."

The elder brother stopped, closing his eyes. None of them, however, needed to concentrate to hear the loud screams of pain and fear that echoed throughout the entire complex. Dario's heart nearly stopped and Karsh took on a look of panic. Norris was stunned. There was no doubting it now.

"That sounded like Glenn!" said Karsh.

"Oh no, Glenn!" Dario cried, running to the source of the scream.

"Dario, wait!" Norris cried, starting after him. "You don't know where you're going!"

"Ye know what, Norris? Ah dunt think he cares," said Karsh.

The Porre boy looked at the purple haired El Nido boy. "What?"

"That was 'is little brother. He doesn't need a guide like ye to find 'im."

"I don't understand."

"Ah dunt, either. Ah just accept it," said Karsh.

Norris looked at Karsh and nodded dumbly. "All right, Karsh. Let's find them."