Hey, guys! I'm so sorry for not uploading for so long. I'm neck-deep in writer's block and also don't have an awful lot of time. So far, I've onlymanaged to correct a few continuity mistakes in the story that came up when the later chapters developed differently than intended. Someday I'll have to revamp the whole thing, but for now it's just the prologue.
Anyway, I know it never came up in the story so far, but Caitlyn is deadly afraid of centipedes. And I made up a little story that explains why. It's not as good as a new chapter, but I feel bad for letting you wait. I would have chosen a longer one shot as interlude, but most others contain spoilers over spoilers xD
I'll try to get on with the story, promise. Until then I hope you enjoy this little idea.
St. Joseph's orphanage, 2002
"Hey, you!" Caitlyn looked up from the book she had been reading. For once it was not her beloved Shakespeare compilation, but the book "Lord of the Flies". She was sitting on the floor in the empty playroom. The other kids were outside.
David and Charlotte looked down on her. They were siblings, eleven and twelve years old, both with wild brown hair and round faces. They were really mean. They had hit a ten-year-old named Marie, who broke her ankle while trying to run away. Caitlyn had tried to stay away from them since they came here about a month ago. Their parents had dropped them off here. She looked around, but there was no one else who could help her, or at least call one of the Josephs or Josies. Charlotte grinned. She had her hands behind her back and Caitlyn was scared.
"Yes?", she asked politely.
"Yes?", David mimicked her with a sneer and ripped the book out of her hands. Caitlyn didn't jump after it, she just sat there and looked at him. He frowned. "What are you looking at? Charlie, I don't like her, let's play a prank."
And just like that he pushed her, so she fell on her belly. Caitlyn tried to stand up, but David held her down and turned her around. He was a lot stronger than her and Caitlyn had no chance, no matter how much she struggled. Charlotte got out a glass jar. There were centipedes running around in it. Caitlyn squirmed, but wasn't sure if she should scream yet. Miss Evangeline had already yelled at her today because Caitlyn had asked a question too often.
"Scream and I drop one into your mouth," Charlotte said. Then she shoved Caitlyn's shirt up and opened the jar. One after the other, she sat the crawling insects on the trembling girl's body and limbs. Caitlyn was crying, silently, desperate to keep her mouth closed. She only got out a desperate whimper. The insects were crawling over her with their tiny feet. She got goosebumps, and sometimes one of the tiny creatures pecked her. She flinched, but it didn't help her. Charlotte and David just laughed.
"You know what insects are for? They eat shit!", Charlotte said. "You're nothing but a piece of shit! Nobody likes you!" She grabbed into the jar and pulled out a really big centipede and set it on Caitlyn's bare stomach. The girl froze, barely daring to move. David could have let go of her and she hadn't moved. The centipede slowly made its way across her skin. Then it bit down.
Caitlyn shrieked and jumped up. Her panic made her strong enough to shake off David. She began to throw away the centipedes in panic, the big one hitting the floor with a thud.
"Leave me alone!", she cried. "What do you want from me?" She wanted to run away, but David grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back until Caitlyn screamed in pain. He was a big boy and only needed one arm to hold her. The free hand he used to grab her jaw. Charlotte in the meanwhile picked up the biggest centipede and held it by the end of its body.
"Open her mouth," she said to her brother. She giggled. "Okay, if you eat that, we let you go."
Caitlyn pressed her lips together and shook her head. Her vision was blurred by tears. She wanted to fight back and run, but her shoulders hurt so much...
"Let me go," she whimpered. "Please."
Charlotte stopped in front of her and raised the centipede right over Caitlyn's upturned face. "David, make her!" The boy's fingers dug into Caitlyn's jaw, but she gritted her teeth and fought back. David pulled her arms harder and Caitlyn screamed again. He held her mouth open while his sister lowered the centipede.
Caitlyn whimpered. The front legs were already tickling her lower lip.
"What is going on here?!" Miss Evangeline went ashen with disgust and horror. "David, Charlotte, what are you doing? Let her go immediately!"
The siblings sighed as if that was only a slight annoyance. Charlotte dropped the centipede right into Caitlyn's shirt. She could feel it sliding down, while its many legs tried to find something to hold on to. David let her go a second later and Caitlyn ripped the shirt off, throwing the insect away. Now she was standing in the playroom with he flat chest bare, all other kids watching what the fuss was about. The siblings laughed. They stopped when Mr. Jordan, the director, grabbed them by their ears and dragged them out. The protested, calling it abuse and other big words, but it didn't help them. Miss Evangeline sent all the other kids away with the usual harshness. Then she collected all the centipedes and screwed the lid on the jar again.
Caitlyn hugged her shirt, crying, but somehow managed to gather up the book the other kids had thrown away. She was shivering as if she had a bad cold. "Sorry that it's so ripped," she said and tried to smooth the crumpled pages. She flinched when Miss Evangeline picked her up. She was an old lady, slender, with a sharp face and voice, quick to punish anyone breaking the rules. And she was a lot stronger than she looked.
"It's alright, Caitlyn," she said in a tone softer than Caitlyn had ever heard from her. "They won't hurt you anymore. Don't you want to put on that shirt again? It's cold."
Caitlyn shook her head, her pale lips pressed tightly together. Miss Evangeline sighed and carried her back to her dormitory, where she picked out a different shirt for Caitlyn, before she brought the girl into the kitchen to make her a sweet tea.
"Do you want to tell Mr. Jordan what happened?" Again, Caitlyn shook her head. In the end, it took her two full weeks to say another word after David and Charlotte had left the orphanage, burying in books even more than usual. And she never, ever went near a centipede again.