Mah bros, I am soooo sorry it has taken me so long to update! I moved a few weeks ago and my laptop charger was packed and now I have no idea where it is ._. Plus life really has gotten in the way… But nevertheless, I am back! Muahahaha. Yeah here's chapter 31 :D
Stein sat on his bunk in the corner of the cold cell as his knowledge-craving mind explored his thoughts. He had not eaten anything in the past day, but it didn't bother him. All he could think about at the moment was how he was going to make it through his current condition alive and well, and how time seemed to cease to exist. It had been two days, more or less, since his first night there in the cell. Only two days and time had already seemed to have stopped for him.
Now all he could think about was his hunger for freedom and control. For the past eleven years, he had taken freedom and control for granted…. Stein took a long, heavy breath in as he let his mind wander over memories he wished he could forget. Well, forget permanently that is. Stein had never been able to fully extract the painful images from his mind, but he was able to push the thoughts out of his mind for more than a few months at a time. Of course there were times when it would just be laying on the floor while he stumbled barefoot in the night, but he always managed to regain his balance and avoid it.
Those memories were like the madness. He was able to suppress them, but he wasn't able to get rid of them. Not even the infamous Doctor Franken Stein could outrun his past…
"What is this place, Mother?"
A single tear slowly escaped a young woman's left eye as she kneeled in front of her son and held his shoulders. "They'll make you better, sweetheart. They'll take care of you here."
Confusion and worry flooded the young boy's face. "But where are we?"
The mother looked down and closed her eyes before she could summon a good answer for her son. He may have been quite an intelligent child, but he was only eight! How could she tell him she is leaving him at an insane asylum? "This is… Uh… This is a school, baby. The teachers here don't look like normal teachers, so they will probably look really odd to you."
The boy's eyes then widened in fear. He may have been smart, but aliens and other average eight-year-old fantasies were still a good part of his mind. He looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping- the only people he saw other than his mother was a short, young looking woman wearing all white and his father. He shot his father a scornful look before he turned back to his mother and whispered, "Are they aliens?"
A small smile crept across his mother's face as she shook her head. "No, they're just teachers. Well, you know how a lot of times professors are also called doctors?" The little boy nodded his head quickly. "These people are like those people. They prefer to go by the term 'doctor'."
With every second that passed by, the child's brain worked furiously to piece all of the information together to make one big picture. His brows furrowed and he looked as if he was determined to figure out what he had been told. His mother knew that look. He was scared and didn't know what to think, so, being the brilliant eight-year-old he was, he was going to keep on thinking till he figured out what was happening. She now knew she had two choices: sit here and wait for him to figure it out and watch as he feels betrayed and hurt, or she could leave now and take him inside before he has the chance to start crying. She chose the formal. How could she just walk away before he even has the chance to realize what is going on?
"Mother… Is this a hospital?"
Her heart sunk into her chest with grief.
"Mother…? Are you…" a few tears ran down his cheeks, "leaving me?"
She pulled her son into a tight hug and cried. "No! I would never leave you! I just… I just can't take care of you. These doctors will make you better so you can come home."
The child clung to his mother as more tears fell. "But you're mother! You can do anything! You can take care of me!"
The boy's father then stepped up and pulled on his arm. "Come on, you have to go now." The boy didn't even respond to his father's touch or words, so he gripped his arm tighter and pulled harshly. "I said you have to go."
The little boy pushed his mother away, earning a hurt look from her. He turned to his father and looked him dead in the eye with a dangerous glare. "You don't care about me! You don't care about Mother! All you want is to get rid of me so you can have your fun!"
The father was not shocked at all. He had seen his son shout like this more than once. "You know that is not true! I love you just as much as your mother does!"
"Liar! You want Mother all to yourself so you can…" the boy's voice trailed off and his mother stood and took a step back.
"So I can what?!" the man was now furious.
A small giggle escaped the young boy's lips. "Cut her open…" The mother eyes widened as she took another step back. "And pull her intestines out and mutilate and destroy her body! You want to tear her to pieces and bathe in her blood!" With every word, his voice grew more impatient and he spoke quicker. Hysterical laughter soon left the boy gasping for breath.
"Nurse… Nurse!" The father of the insane child shouted out. The woman in all white rushed to the boy and grabbed his arms and tried to haul him into the asylum doors, but he bit her hand and his own tongue at the same time so hard that blood gushed into his mouth. She let out a ragged gasp of pain and let go of him out of instinct which allowed him to run a few feet away and continue laughing. Globs of dark liquid crimson poured out of his mouth and ran down his jaw and neck with every giggle. The nurse ran inside while his mother and father tried to calm him down.
"S- son… It's alright." The father put his hands in front of him at about lower chest level and took small, slow steps toward his son, "I'm just going to take you inside…"
"Oh, Father, you really are a hopeless buffoon, aren't you?"
"W- what?"
"You think I don't know what that place is? You want to lock me up and say goodbye to me forever!" More laughter erupted from the boy's lips. His eyes darted around spasmodically, but he somehow managed to miss the four doctors that came out of the asylum door. While the boy started to shout gruesome and vivid ideas of dissection and dismembering people, one of the doctors made an attempt to walk up to the boy. When he was noticed, he stopped. All the while, two of the doctors were presuming positions on the sides of the child. The last doctor managed to quickly run up behind the boy and push a long needle into his arm. The boy turned around quickly to see a tall, shadowed man towering over him. His eyelids were suddenly very heavy and he couldn't think straight. He couldn't even stand. Within a matter of seconds, the boy was passed out and he fell into the doctor's arms.
The mother of the boy ran to her son as tears poured down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry…" She pushed silver hair away from the boy's face and kissed his forehead. "I love you, Franken."
"Stein, I brought you lunch." A male voice startled the scientist out of his thoughts. He made no attempt to respond. "Come on, Stein. You need to eat something."
"I'll eat when it's my only option left for survival."
The thick metal door of the cell slowly swung open and the redhead stepped in. "Stein, what good will starving yourself do?"
Stein did not even look up at his former partner. "Go away, Spirit."
"No, Stein! You haven't eaten anything in days!" The Death Scythe set a tray with food contents down on the desk. "Now I'm not leaving here till you eat this God damned soup!"
At the sound of the words, Stein's mind snapped out of the past and to Marie. He remembered how he came home just a few days ago and she was eating not one but two full cans of soup. Then when he remembered how she cursed him to get his own "God damned soup" his lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. Fortunately, Spirit didn't seem to notice.
"Alright, Alright. I'll eat." A wave of relief washed over the weapon as Stein stood from his bed and made his way to the food.
"It's chicken and dumplings gourmet soup by the amazing Progresso," Spirit said in best impersonation of Marie.
"Did she tell you to give me this?" Stein asked as he gestured to the bowl.
"Yeah. Why?"
"No reason." Stein responded in his usual monotone voice. His eyes mindlessly wandered the tray to see what exactly he been given. Milk, water, bread… My recorder? "What's this doing here?" he asked as he picked up the device.
"I don't know, really. Marie just told me to give it to you. She said there's a message on it or something and I'm not allowed to listen to it unless you give me permission." Spirit answered in an annoyed voice as he crossed his arms.
Stein raised an eyebrow. "You listened to it, didn't you?"
The Death Scythe's eyes widened slightly. "What? Pfft, no! Marie told me not to!"
"Since when do you respect women?" Stein's voice remained monotone and Spirit had a hurt look on his face. He actually looked like a teenage girl who's boyfriend had slapped her. Stein quickly noticed his mistake and sighed. "Spirit, I'm sorry… I didn't…."
Death Scythe shook his head. "Nah, it's ok. You're right." The two men made eye contact for a few brief moments before Spirit continued. "Anyway, I guess I should be going. I'll see you later, Stein."
Stein gave a quick nod of his head and sat back down on his bed with the tray of food in his hands. "Bye, Spirit."
After the red head left and the door was shut, Stein set the tray down and hit the Play button on the recorder.
We tried to walk together, but the night was growing dark…
And there is chapter 31... Wow. Thirty-one freaking chapters! I have to thank you guys for reading even though it takes me forever to update. You readers are what keep this story going. Anyway, I will have Chapter 32 up as soon as possible.
By the way, I had Circus for a Psycho by Skillet on a loop the entire time I was writing this chapter, and that song is amazing O.O Check it out if you want :P *whispers: Listen to it or I'll eat your soul*