A Pawn of the Devil Part 5
Time meant nothing to Sarah now. She passed out when the pain became too much and woke up when Xaphan would splash water on her to do it all again. She never knew if her food was poisoned or not. Sometimes, it was fine, and others she would vomit until collapsing again. Most of the attention he gave her was torture and pain. However, there were times of tenderness where he would give her things like clothes and a blanket. Sarah’s mind couldn’t take the back and forth or the not knowing what to expect. Eventually, it snapped, and anything he did to her only made her laugh uncontrollably. All Sarah really wanted was to die. That was the one thing he would never give her. So, her attention went to an all-consuming need for his death.
After an exceedingly long torture session where he flayed her skin open yet again. This time, he cut her right arm off just below the elbow, replacing it with some kind of metal claw type weapon. This was too much for her, and she passed out again. It was a tentative sleep. Sarah waited and waited for the cold splash of water, but it never came. Out of pure exhaustion, she fell into a deep sleep filled with nightmares of more screaming and pain. She woke up screaming and placing her hands over her face to shield it from Xaphan’s blade. The metal appendage hitting hard against her cheek. The nightmare faded as she sat there breathing heavily. Some kind of hard particles covered her one hand and were now on her face. Come to think of it, the feel of her platform was different.
Sarah slowly lowered her arms and opened her eyes. This had to still be her dream. This couldn’t be real. The forest outside her prison cave surrounded her. Grass and dirt covered her clothes and hand. No, this wasn’t real. It was another of his tortures. Soon, the cave would come back into focus. She didn’t dare hope that the wind blowing across her damp skin was legit. Birds sang in the trees now. A squirrel scampered from one tree to another, pausing briefly to glare at Sarah. Could Xaphan create such a realistic illusion? She didn’t know the extent of his abilities, but it could be.
A backpack sat beside her. It looked so familiar. Glancing down, she saw different clothes as well. Were these the same clothes she wore when entering the cave? “No no no no no….. not real. NOT REAL!” Sarah shook her head violently. Her mind was still broken. At least that part he couldn’t take away. Her sandy blonde hair was also still knotted. The tight pony tail from before long gone. Unfortunately, the claw was there as well.
“Well, he won’t end this falsehood until I run the course. So, may as well get to it.” Sarah wasn’t normally one to talk to herself, but now, she didn’t even feel like Sarah. She stood up, brushing away the grass and dirt, then swinging her backpack onto one shoulder. She wobbled a bit so braced herself on a nearby tree. “Feels so real.”
Pushing herself from tree to tree, Sarah made her way back in the direction she had come long ago. “You could have at least made me stronger, you asshole!… And what’s up with the damn claw?” She looked around, hoping to see him somewhere and prove this was another sick and twisted game of his. She didn’t find him. “Whatever!”
Rage rose inside of her. The desire to hurt and kill was her only desire. As she walked, she tried to think straight. Her thoughts were jumbled and out of order. The only thing she could think of was stabbing him and seeing his blood, whatever the color, running down onto the cave floor. The rage filled her even more, so she used the clawed hand to hit a tree. It splintered where she connected with it and the tree fell. Sarah stood stunned. “Now I know this isn’t real.”
Not able to even care, Sarah continued walking. This time, she was able to do it without the help of any trees. Eventually, the sounds of cars on a road floated back to her ears. “How long is this going to go on for?” She looked down at the claw, realizing if the imaginary people saw it, that might cause her to fail whatever test this was. She removed her pack and opened it. Inside was a flannel long sleeved shirt, several sizes too large. It would do fine to hide the atrocious design.
Finally, covered and ready to appear from within the trees, she stepped out and onto the road’s shoulder. Which way did she need to go? She couldn’t remember. Turning right, Sarah continued on. Almost half an hour later, a white truck pulled up alongside her. An older man with stained teeth and dark eyes rolled down his window. “Need a ride, sweet cheeks?”
Sarah now knew why they say a bull sees red. Her vision nearly turned red. The rage became unbearable. She could almost see the blood flowing through this man’s veins, and it screamed to be released. Shaking her head to clear it, Sarah looked up but could only nod.
“Which is it, honey? Yes or no? I don’t have all day.”
Sarah formed a smile and got in the truck.
