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Readlliea
A figure would be seen staggering across the vastness of the desert looking area. A partial smile was plastered on the pale figure’s face, they looked as if sunlight hadn’t been seen in many years. Paler than a ghost with angry red scars lashing across the left side of their face and in other areas throughout their body. Their left eye was sewn shut with black thread, a malnourished hand clutched at the two halves of their torn shirt. Trying to hold the chest area closed. Sunlight bounced off the two metal horns sticking out of both sides of his head. Rather strange looking appendages they were. On the left side of their chest, swayed a id tag.
Coming to a pause, their only green eye glanced around. As if paranoid of something but they spotted nothing. Their smile seemed to grow at this.
“Not a one...oh glory…” The man muttered, slightly hunched forward.
Sasha was just wandering around in the desert, as she currently had nothing better to do except ride around the planet. That was, before she saw big flames coming down from above. With obvious curiosity, she turned her head toward the flame, and as soon as the flame landed to the desert, she quickly rode toward it.
“ Hmph….. “
After few minutes, Sasha arrived to the scene where it was close enough for her to look over the scene. She looked around for any evidences or survivors, and eventually spotted the figure, and slowly began to walk toward him.
The escape pod had been mangled, it was a wonder anything survived the crash in it. But the stranger had. Since he had paused in his steps, he heard the sound of another coming towards him. Turning round quickly, his green eye looked at the female that was approaching him. A slightly crazed but fearful gaze landed upon her.
“Vhat do you want?” He questioned with a slight screech, having jumped a couple of steps away from her.
Holding onto the front of his torn shirt,she would see his chest and neck having a burn scar. But also the same black lines of thread that were keeping his eye shut there as well. Whatever this man went through, he had been clearly tortured.
After taking quick glance through his torn clothings and body, Sasha knew that he have been tortured. Not her problem or any of Uso’s, though. She thought. She was just a mercenary, not an police officer.
“Strange. I was just about to ask you that. “
She replied, with her hands slowly reaching for her leather holster. She looked at the totally mangled escape pod. Jeez, he survived from that?
“Where you from, and who are you? Why you here? “
“Marbles loose as a hatter’s that is lost!” The man suddenly said, swinging his free hand up into the air, nothing in his hand but just as mangled as the rest of him. “Not a holy clue on where abouts I am.”
The smile seemed to grow on his face for a moment, but it faded away as he seemed to relax. Their light brown hair bounced with his movement, the long bangs were brushed to the side and sticking up in the air. The crazed look in his eyes seemed to have lessened as they tilted their head as he watched her reach for her weapon. The id tag reflected a small bit of light, though it was hard to know if she could read it or not. In all honesty...he didn’t bother reading it himself.
If she dared to get close enough to read it, she’d see that the picture on it had been damaged. The photo of the person this id belonged to was beyond recognition; course this tag wasn’t even his. He just took it off of one of the dead security people. The name on it though read ‘Afton P. Hiles’.
“ Riggggght…”
Sasha spoke, as she heard and saw his actions. ‘Another patience escaped from mental hospital...what’s the nearest one again..? I’ll have to warn them when I…..do we have mental hospital?’ Sasha thought for a second before narrowing her eyes due to reflecting light. She slowly took few steps toward him, then noticed the ID tag, and began to read through it.
Photo was unrecognizable, since it was completely damaged, but she could still read the name, and as she read it she glanced at stranger’s face.
“ Ummm….Afton Hiles? “
She slowly asked curiously.
She’d also notice it was a id tag that a security man would’ve worn. Though with his current health, it might seem unlikely for him to have been hired muscle; let alone a normal officer. Hearing the name, he tilted his head. The slight crazed grin tugging at the corner of his mouth but he seemed to fight against it
“Yes!” He replied simply, straightening his poster. “What is it?”
The poor man couldn’t even recall his own name. The hours of screaming and pain took a tool upon his mind. Many memories were hidden away, deep down in that brain of his. The heavy horns caused his head to tilt again as he stood up straight rather than hunched over. If Sasha looked down, she’d spot that the main was shoeless. Their bare feet resting on the hot sand and so far, the man paid it no heed as the bottom of his feet had been burned greatly. The nerve damage they suffered killed the feeling in them.
“ Well….. “ Sasha looked at the ID tag again, noticing that it was the kind worn by security contractors. She slowly glanced at the name again, and then at his face. Poor guy, almost half of his face along with his body’s been burnt, can’t even tell if he’s what the ID tag says who he is. That is, if the picture was not burnt.
“ ….are you okay? “
Sasha continued after thinking for a few minutes. Obviously, he looked kinda...ill on both the inside and outside. Maybe he done hurt his head so much that he can’t feel anything? She thought.
The question had...been a confusing thing. His head tilted to the other side, though he could feel his stomach growling finally. Food wasn’t something he was given a large amount of in that place .Just enough to keep him alive but...it was terrible, and hard to keep down when they did experiments on him.
“Depends on...what okay is…” Afton replied, his decent right hand releasing his shirt and resting against his
stomach.
“ Alright….. “
Sasha glanced at Afton as his hand released his shirt, unveiling his burnt body. Jeez, where has this guy been? At freaking torture chamber or something? Sasha slowly took few steps toward him while reaching for her backpack.
“ Welp, let’s start with hunger. You hungry? “
Sasha spoke, with a piece of something that looked close to dried bread on her hand, and a canteen on the other.
Feeling his stomach give a painful growl, Afton glanced down at the ground. His grip tightening on the fabric of the shirt at his stomach. Course, when he glanced up, a look of surprise was on his face. Food wasn’t just offered and the man felt himself taking a few steps back. No no...that was a trick! They had done that before~
“Food….isn’t just given!” Afton commented, his left hand touching part of his head near the horn. “Never at all…..always a experiment afterwards…”
“ Whoa, whoa, you alright? “
Sasha, obviously surprised with unexpected response, watched him taking steps back. She slowly held out her hand that was holding bread, then took few more steps toward him.
“ It’s okay, it’s okay. Come on, you gotta eat. “
Sasha spoke, trying to relax him down a little while thinking. Okay, he’s obviously not an security guy, and if he WAS an security guy, then the security company he was in is a bad job, or maybe conducted experiments on their employees. She kept taking few steps, trying to comfort him.
“ Hey, I don’t want nothing from you. Come on. “
“NOthing is alright!! Never can be alright.” Afton replied, his pointer finger slipped into the gap between the horn and his head; a small gap.
His stomach hurt...there was nothing in it. He had charged out of that place as fast as he could. Ignoring any kind of food he saw as the pure desperation to get out had filled him. Adrenaline pumping as he ran through the place. A chuckle left him as the slightly crazed look took mold on his face.
“Everyone wants something….something to get, something to use and play with…” he retorted.
“ Gah…… “ Sasha let out small groan, as she kept her hand raised out, with dried bread on her hand. This guy’s really nuts! Maybe he IS an escapee from nearest mental hospital. Crap, now I have to look for mental hospitals.
She slowly pulled her hand back, then slowly placed the dried bread back into her backpack. She then grabbed the canteen and slowly shook it, before rolling it onto his feet.
“ If you don’t want to eat, then at least drink some waters. Free of charge. Come on. “
Seeing the bread disappear, he clutched his stomach as he glanced away. He seemed to be trying to sort things out in his head as his one eye closed and his expression went away. He had to eat, he honestly had to. Opening his eye when she spoke up, he had a pained looked on his face as he bite his lip lightly. Course, his attention was soon given to the canteen at his feet and he slowly knelt down. Picking up the canteen with both hands and quickly drinking from it. It would be something in his stomach at least.
THough this meant that he hadn’t been keeping a eye on Sasha. So if she wanted to do something, she had the option.
Sasha watched as he quickly picked up the canteen, and drank from it. He looked desperate, and kept his eyes off of her for a moment as he drank from her canteen. Sasha knew it was a good chance if she wanted to take him down, but since this was no fight she decided not to do anything except wait.
“ Alright, at least you drunk some water. Now, are you hungry or not? “
Sasha asked as she saw him almost done with drinking from the canteen, with a load of dried bread already on her hands.
“ I don’t want nothing from you, except maybe give me my canteen back when you’re done. “
When he got to the point of being almost done, he paused and shuddered before he removed the canteen from his lips and started coughing. In his haste, he didn’t really keep note of not choking. A few gasps left him as he slowly regained it. The water in his stomach didn’t feel fulfilling but it lessened the pain he was feeling at the moment. A tired glance was given to her, feeling just a desire for the bread.
“Please….” he groaned. “I just...need something….”
“ Finally. “ She spoke as she heard his desire. Maybe this guy’s not as nut as I thought!
Sasha slowly reached her hand out, with bread on her hand. But as her hand couldn’t touch his, she took few more steps forward, and tried to hand bread to his right hand.
“ Now, don’t eat it all at one time, take your time. Nobody’s gonna take it from ya. “
She spoke, in more gentle tone as she tried to comfort him. He was finally getting better than….how he was when she first saw him. At least he’s not mumbling.
Course, her words on not scarfing it down went kind of ignored. He quickly accepted the bread and started to chomp down on it quickly. It was clear how hungry he was as he did this. He didn’t pay her any mind as he did this. Now, being desperate for food had helped his marbles stay loose, though in the long run it might not make a big difference. As well, he had been pretty screwed up. The bread was swallowed in lumps, very clear that he didn’t chew it all the way as he just wanted to get something else in his system. It looked painful though, considering how thin his whole build was.
“ Alright, are you full now? “ Sasha asked as she saw him almost swallowing the bread by whole. He’ll get sick if he does that…. Alright, it looks like he’s getting back, so it should be good time to start asking questions…
“ Okay, where exactly are you from? “
Sasha asked as she reached for her backpack again and grabbed another small loaf of dried bread. She thought about asking him questions in return for the bread, but she didn’t wanted to play with him like that, so she handed him the loaf of bread again.
“ Try to remember. Come on. “
Truthfully, he didn’t care if he’d get sick. He needed something in his stomach, and he needed it now! Course, the dry bread hadn’t gone down easily but he shook his head for being full. How could one small loaf fill anyone? His stomach was bare bones empty save for the water he drank and what he just ate. So when he got the second loaf, he was quick to take a big bite out of it.
“N...nerg...no idea…” He said through a mouthful of bread.
“ Alright….. “ Sasha sighed as she heard his reply. Great, maybe he suffered memory loss when he crashed. She took a quick glance at his ID tag again, before noticing him taking big bite of the bread.
“ You sure is hungry, aren’t you? “
She spoke, watching him finishing the bread. It seemed that breads wasn’t gonna fill him up. He needs something better. She slowly reached out into her backpack, and shortly after going through it with her hands, she took out a bag of beef jerky.
“ Now, these might fill you up. But for pete’s sake, slow down and take your time. Ain’t nobody’s gonna snatch it away from you. “
She warned him for the last time before handing him the bag. Welp, there goes my trail food, at least it’s saving a life.
Taking a few heavy breathes, he tried to gain some air back from ripping into the second loaf. The canteen was out of water and he did wish he hadn’t chugged it down, he would’ve still had some. Oh well. Running his fingers through his hair for a moment, he glanced down.
“Hard to get food...in that place...what food was given was...less than the amount needed.” Afton replied.
With the jerky offered, he actually didn’t take the whole bag. Merely taking out three strips and chewing on them.
“ Place? What place? “ Sasha asked as she saw him not grabbing the whole bag like he did first time when she handed him bread. Great, that means now he can at least think.
“ What kind of place was it? How was it like? “
Sasha asked some more questions, as she grabbed a piece of jerky from the bag and began to chew on it. Taste was pretty good. Not the best but, better than nothing.
Afton paused mid bite, shaking as he sat there and his eye widened. Shaking his head, he tried his best not to lose his marbles. But it was very clear that was a bad question to ask as he put a hand to his head and looked down.
“Horrid...terrible….!!” Afton replied with a growl. “THey did all this!! Every needle of thread and burn!! These….THESE THINGS IN MY HEAD!!!”
He grabbed the horns sticking out of his head and started shaking.
For a second, Sasha watched him with her hands back onto her holster as his hands reached for his horns. So they weren’t there at the first place, dang. She carefully glanced at his face before reaching her hand out and slowly and gently began to pat him on his back.
“ Hey, now. You’re safe, you’re safe. Ain’t nobody’s here to mess with you...yet. “
Shucks, he might’ve started remembering things again. She thought.
His grip tightened on the horns and he pulled, trying desperately to remove them .Sadly they were planted firmly in his head. There was no removing these in any easy fashion. The action wore him out due to his weaker state, and his hands slipped from them. Letting his hands fall into the sand, his gaze glanced down there. Looking at the burns and thread marks, looking at how different looking his hands were from each other. How disfigured the one on the left was.
“Yet...that’s a keyword though…” he commented, not looking up. “Eventually it’ll happen, it always happens.”
“ Hey, how about I take you to the nearest town around here? Safer than on the middle of the desert, right? “
She watched as he desperately tried to pull his horns out, but as she expected, his effort was gone waste. After the last gentle pat on his back, she spoke. Better than the desert, yeah.
“ Or if you think you’re good at something then well….I might take you to my boss. “
If he does have skill Uso might be interested in, then he’ll be much safer. That is, of course, if he had skills that would not put him onto fight.
Glancing up, he raised his only brow. Good at something? What good was he? What could he even do? He honestly had no idea what he once was, what he used to do. So any skills he knew, were hidden in the chaos of his mind.
“Hard to say what anyone is good at.” He replied as he made himself stand up. “One can preach what they are or make a fool’s claim. You could help but in the end cause ruin instead. Hard to say in all honesty.”
He gave her a shrug as he stood there and gestured for her to lead.
“ Alrighty then. “
Sasha shrugged, then turned around and began to lead to the nearest (or at least she said it was) town, with only few buildings and folks on the streets. It was a town that was closer to those ones seen in either the Western films, or in the Planet Showdown. After walking through a welcome sign, she slowly looked around, looking for a motel or saloon, or anywhere he could get some help or to sleep under.
“Well, here we are. Hope you like it here, because you’ll have to grt used to place like this if you ever want to live in this planet. “
Afton followed along, his feet sinking now an then into the sand. But he didn’t react to the feel of sand and the heat of it when it finally touched the top of his feet. The warmth didn’t matter to him. Course as they arrived in this place, he put a hand to his forehead. Feeling a pain in his head as some part of him tried to find something familiar. The effort hurt...or was it just the accursed horns hurting from him messing with em? Sadly, he found himself rolling backwards in time mentally. The memory of how he got the horns coming back to his mind as he walked along after her.
He could hear the doctor’s chuckling in his head as they strapped him down once they put him back in his room. The straps were really tight, tighter than usual whenever they did something to him. Though his head felt like someone had slammed something to the sides of his head.
“Now now Sir, it’s for your own good.” The doctor chuckled, he could just barely see their crooked smiles. “We wouldn’t want you to bleed out or damage your skull. These will help you. Course, don’t go messing with em. It’ll only hurt.”
What stopped him from falling further into memory was a voice, a voice that almost pulled at something suppressed in his head. But he glanced to her and blinked slightly confused.
“What?” he muttered.
“ Hey, you alright? You still with us? “
Few minutes and still no response, she thought. She slowly turned around to see if he was still with her, and saw that he had his hand on his forehead. She slowly crouched down to see if he was alright, and as he muttered she let out a sigh in relief.
“ Thank God, I thought you were going crazy again. “
She slowly got back onto her feet, then spoke again, before beginning to look around the town for a sign that says doctor.
“ I said, you better get used to living in place like this. “
Removing his hand from his forehead, he was about to speak when he noticed something past her. His eye narrowed as he stared past her, watching a being disappear into the darkness of a alley. Something old surfaced, causing him to walk forward and going past her. Not a word left him as he went toward the alley he watched something disappear into. Pausing at the entrance, his eyebrow lowered as he glanced around in the place without looking. Though as he went to turn away and walk back, he felt something grab hold of him and looking partially surprised. He turned and looked into the alley before being jerked into the darkness of it.
He could feel his body hitting the sand as he skidded down the alley a little bit, though he sat up and looked to see a couple of people around him. Even though they were speaking, he didn’t listen to their words. It was just the sound of buzzing around his ears as he sat there. One eye glance between the people with a focused glare. When one pulled out a knife though, that was it. He launched himself forward with his head tilted and slammed the horn against one of their faces!! The thief would give out a pained yelp as they grabbed their broken nose.
“Hey! Stop!” One of the others ordered, only to get a swift kick to the balls.
“ Hey, what- where are you going?! “
Sasha yelled as she saw him walking to the entrance of the alley. She slowly followed behind him as he stopped at the entrance for quick moment, before walking into the dark alley.
“ What the- hey! “
Sasha yelled even louder than before as she watched him getting jerked into the darkness. She quickly ran toward the darkness, and before she even saw them, he already had rammed a guy with a knife, and kicked another guy on the balls.
“ Crap….. “
Sasha muttered, before jumping in between the group and Afton. She took quick glance at the group, then as a guy tried to punch her on the face, she slowly leaned back to dodge his fist, and landed a fierce hard fist onto his nose.
“Shit!” the one she punched hissed.
Course, Afton grabbed the one he kicked in the balls. And threw them toward the one that she had punched. The two men fell to the ground and the one that he had rammed in the face, had ran off. Stomping down on the two on the ground, Afton panted. Part of him debating about kill the two fools. However, he looked to Sasha. A serious look on his face.
“Do you have any cuffs? Rope? So we can drag them to the police without them punching either of us.” Afton questioned.
“ C-Cuffs? Sure, sure! “
Sasha replied, have watching him fighting rather pretty good, she was impressed with his skills. Maybe Uso might need that skill, maybe.
She took few moments before reaching onto her belt, and grabbing a pair of handcuffs from one of its many pouches.
“ Here. Hey, you’ve done fought them well for a guy without any memory. “
“It felt...normalish...like I sort of knew what I was doing.” He commented.
She spoke, before pulling out few more handcuffs from her pouch.
With the people tied up, Afton helped dragged em off. Getting to the station and leaving them there, only for the cops to be brought out. They looked at Afton with confused expressions but Afton would let the explaining be up to Sasha as. Well he didn’t know what to do in terms of explantion.
“ Well, maybe you do have skills that my boss might be interested… “
Sasha spoke, after dropping the scumbags onto the station. Hey, about three guys with a knife and he took care of them without any wound or sweat. But now she began to wonder, what was he? How did he do this without even thinking.
“ You will definitely need that feeling more often if you wanna live around here….but hey, maybe you could talk to my boss, see if she’s interested. “
“I...guess I can do that. No plans...nothing to really do.” Afton replied.
Though, how could he convince anyone to hire him? He was a mess and not really...well, stable for one thing. Course he just stood there now. Not sure on what to do.
“Would they even listen?” Afton added. “It’s not something I thought of when doing it, just happened.”
“ Well…they listened to me when I wanted to get hired. “
Sasha replied, stopping for a second and turning herself toward him with her arms crossed. Of course, she did had few experiences as mercenary, but Uso did in fact talked with her personally when she wanted to get hired.
“ Besides, we need somebody with your skills! Come on, don’t be scared. We ain’t that bad yet. Pay’s good along with equipments. “
A brow was raised at this, though he didn’t argue. Putting a hand to his forehead, he took a deep breathe. Something felt off, was it just him? Would he be able to even be...employed?
“Alright...nothing to do…” Afton replied. “Don’t want equipment just...don’t want to….go back.”
He shuddered as he stood there, not from cold. But from the thought of being thrown back into that horrible place.
“ Oh, you won’t need to worry about them coming back for you….if you’re hired by Uso. If they DO come back however, then unless they got whole fleet or something, we will just fight them all. “
She showed him a rare, but actual smile, trying to assure him that they will take care of him, that he will be protected safely.
“ Beside, you will be issued with guns and guns and...knives. Nobody’s gonna be able to kidnap you. “
For some reason, he felt like that didn’t matter. A smile creeped it’s way onto his face before he started to chuckle.
“Oh my dear, something tells me….a gun didn’t help me last time.” Afton replied, doing his best to suppress the expression.
Thankfully, he managed to stop it from getting worse. Taking a breathe, he sighed. Folding his arms slightly before giving a non crazy look. A small normal smile kind of came to his face, a shrug leaving him.
“Hopefully, you are the one correct in this situation.” he added.
“ Heh...well, nice to know that you’re at least interested. “
Sasha grinned, before placing her arms around his shoulder, then patting him gently on his back.
“ Well, if you think you want to sign up, just tell me. I know who to talk to. “
Surprised by the gesture, she would feel him tense up as he stood there. The closest thing to this gesture he knew was when a guard grabbed him to restrain him. If she paid close attention, she’d see him twitch as if fighting off a instinctual reaction. A reaction that was embedded deep down. However if she didn’t take notice of these things, he would attempt to grab her hand and try to restrain her by bending it behind her in a painful manner. Similar to how a cop would restrain a suspect.
“ Hey, are you al- “
Sasha was about to ask him if he was alright as she saw him twitching. Before she could finish the sentence, Sasha was quickly restrained by him, with her hands grabbed tightly and bended, like a police officer. She tried to shake him off, but since she didn’t expect his attack, she couldn’t.
“ H-Hey! You alright? What the heck?! “
Thankfully, her words reached through as instinct faded. His eye went wide as he released her. Taking a few steps away from her, a couple of people were now staring at the even weirder man. Hands shaking as he stood there, he put a hand to his head.
“I….I….” Afton started, though he wasn’t able to get the words he wanted out.
Putting his hands through his hair, he stood there shaking. Not looking at her as he closed his only eye. Trying to get a grasp on himself.
“ Hey, hey….come on. “
Sasha spoke as he released her. She grabbed her wrists then rubbed it for a moment, before trying to relax him, without putting her hands on his back though.
“ Probably one of your uhm….habit, nobody can blame you. At Least I won’t. “
Then, as she noticed the folks around them staring at him, she quickly turned her head around and shouted.
“ What are you folks looking at?! Get lost! “
“Too loose too loose….marbles rattling around making echoes…” Afton muttered, moving his hands up and down through his hair.
He wasn’t really listening to his words, he didn’t know what to do. How could he focus? Focus seemed so far away, so...hard to reach. People were shocked at the shout, though most of them went away. Turning their focus away from the matter at hand.
“Rattling and shaking...can’t...Think!!” he groaned, grabbing fistfull of hair and pulling slightly.
“ Hmmmm…. “
Sasha kept watching him as he groaned and screamed, while grabbing his hair like a madman. Obviously, she knew that he was troubled. Maybe memories? Maybe just hearing stuffs? Who cares, he’s pain.
“ Hey, you gonna be bald if you keep doing that. “
Sasha finally spoke, grabbing his hands gently.
When she grabbed his hands, his eye opened as he took in panicked breathes. His eye wide as it twitched, him glancing from side to side. Clearly he looked crazed with this expression and behavior, maybe even paranoid mixed into that craziness. Closing his eye, he tried to take in some steady breathes. Trying to come back to some form of sense. Some form, even a little bit. Eventually, he opened his eye once more. A few glances as he moved his head this time to take in the sites around him. He seemed, somewhat docile now.
“ Listen. “ Sasha spoke, in gentle tone.
“ Nobody’s gonna hurt you…..wait, never mind. Somebody will hurt you but they’re just criminals…..and nobody’s gonna try to put you back to that place you came from. Alright? “
She spoke, while slowly rubbing his back gently to comfort him and try to make him relaxed.
“ How about you go to nearest doctor...if I can find one? “
“They don’t help!!” Afton spoke with a growl, shaking his head. “Place full of doctors that did nothing but this!! Burning flesh and pointy needles, saws grinding….pain pain pain!!”
Doctors didn’t help there, they never did. They did all of this to him. Legs for once, feeling weak since he crashed. Finally gave in under him and he ended up in the sand on his legs. Hands hovering near the sides of his head.
“ Hey, hey. Doctors around here ain’t like the doctors from that place. They don’t hurt folks. “
Sasha stuttered, trying to comfort him again. Of course, doctors around here at least won’t put two horns on their patients, or shove them to some kind of basement. Most of them also seems to lack the actual license, but hey, who could blame them?
As she saw his legs finally done gave up on him, she quickly jumped and picked him up. He was not heavy, probably due to them not feeding him properly. She slowly began to carry him by Fireman carry, and looked for a doctor.
Being picked up the way he had was surprising, though he was too busy trying to get marbles straight in his head. When she took him into the hospital that she found, the receptionist was surprised at the look of the malnourished man. She was quick to phone a doctor on the com and one by the name of Simon appeared, equally as shocked.
“Okay...uh...here, set him down in the chair. It’ll be easier to just wheel him to a room.” Simon said as a nurse brought a wheelchair.
“ Alright, alright. “
Sasha quickly glanced at the Simon and nurses, before putting him on to the wheelchair the nurse brought. She then began to follow Simon behind him while asking tons of questions.
“ Is he gonna die? What happened? Is he dead yet? Is he still awake? “
“Miss please, we don’t know anything yet. The man is severely malnourished just by looking at him, if we don’t do treatment soon he might end up dead.” Simon said, glancing over his shoulder at her. “Do you know anything about this man? Any allergic substances?”
Afton sat in the chair, panting with his hands against his head. Though his eye opened and he spotted the tiled floor. Looking around, he knew where he was. Eye widening as his pupil and iris seemed smaller, he launched himself out of the wheelchair!!
“Sir?!” Simon questioned, having seen this.
“NOT again!” Afton snapped as he turned to face em. “No more needles or thread!! None of it!!”
“Sir please, calm down. You in no state to try anything, you need some medical treatment.”
Afton started laughing, a crazed smile appearing on his face. Simon was quick to page secruity and Afton’s laughing stopped as he felt a big hand on his shoulder and the man started fighting.
“Snakes and con artists!” Afton hissed as he tried to get away from the guard, though they were doing a good job of restraing. “Just like Gerale, do as you fucking please like rabid dogs!! LET GO!!”
Afton was squirming and screaming, clearly fighting as if his life was depending on this. As if, any form of help in this hospital would lead to his demise. The crazied nature Sasha had seen previously, was now full force. He looked like he belonged in that asylum now. Another guard came to help restrain him and a nurse gave Simon a shot.
“Billy, Gethroe, hold him still for me.” Simon said as he approached. “I’m sorry sir, but you need to relax just a little bit.”
A swift kick was planted to Simon’s chest and the doctor took a step back. A frustrated cry left Afton as he squirmed, legs kicking. One of the guards pulled a thin arm forward for the doctor to use the needle. They were quick to take this chance.
“I’M not suppose...ARGH! TO be here!! Liars and cheats.” Afton snarled, though his eye widened as the sedative started to kick in. “Gerale…..rat bastards b...ack...Show...Show...d...ow…”
With that, his eye rolled to the back of his head as he went unconscious.
“ Well, maybe peanuts, I don’t really kno- What the he- HEY!! “
Sasha yelled as she saw Afton jumping out of his wheelchair. Before she could even react, Simon already has called security, and had tried to restrain him. She took few steps back as she knew those security guards had him under controll.
“ Hey, relax. Relax. Nobody’s trying to fool you. Come on. “
As soon as Simon successfully injected something into Afton’s thin arm, she quickly ran beside him and spoke before watching his eyes close.
“ I guess he’s also allergic to needles. “
She commented, after getting up.
Simon sighed, smoothing his shirt out and the guards placed him back in the wheelchair and a nurse rolled him to a room.
“More like a severe hatred...or fear.” Simon replied. “Miss, I must admit something...if he’s that volatile. We might have to incarcerate him, he’s...a threat to society at that state. Do you know if he has those episodes often?”
“ Well, he did seem to be troubled at the time I met him…. “
Sasha spoke, before hearing the word ‘incarcerate’. Incarcerate him? That’s gonna make him even worse! What, is this Simon guy out of his mind? He is threat to society but….well, yeah, could put him into jail….but not now, he could be better.
After thinking for few minutes, Sasha finally opened her lips to reply Simon’s question.
“ No, he haven’t acted like that before...might be something new. “
Alright, she’s lying, but hey, it’s for his good.
Simon raised a brow, watching Sasha but he gave a small nod.
“Alright. Are you a friend of his or something? If you are, I could release him into your custody when he’s healthy enough to leave. Is that something you are willing to do?” Simon questioned. “However, if he does anything like this again please, get him help. It might be his first time on this scale, but there’s a chance he can quickly spiral to this state again and cause much more harm. If he is ill, this is a serious matter. But it’s not my place to do things that aren’t what the patient is brought in for. We’ll see if we can help him with what you brought him in for.”
“ Well, yeah. I’m his friend….sorta. “
Sasha replied, kinda muttering on the last word. Alright, she just met him today, but come on. You can make friends in about a minute!
“ Hmm...alright, just do what you guys can do….I will try to find nearest mental hospital just in case it comes to that… “
Hopefully, he won’t need to….but just in case if it comes to the point that he needs some help, then he will get help, she thought. So….have I found any mental hospital yet? Nope.
“Thank you. Also, we can provide him with a clean change of clothes though they might be loose on him due to...well how thin he is.” Simon added. “If you could wait in the waiting room, I’ll have a nurse fetch you when we’re done and you can visit.”
It would be a few hours before Sasha would get to come to the room they had him in. Of course Simon was waiting outside the door and told her of how malnourished he was. Surprisingly, they weren’t dehydrated as they feared, so that was at least some ease. They would have to keep him for a few days, merely to get him to a stable state in terms of health .As his body was very...well, to put it politely, damaged. The lack of nutrition and food did a number on his systems.
Once she was in the room, SImon also mentioned that they would be keeping him sedated for his own good. And he also asked for Sasha’s permission to look into the wounds as the scars looked rather nasty but they wouldn’t open him up or anything like that.
“ Alright, I can wait. “
Sasha replied as Simon explained that she had to stay in waiting area. After probably few hours of waiting in the waiting area, she finally saw the nurse and came to the room. After listening to Simon’s explanations outside of the room, she smiled, glad.
“ Alright, keep him for as long as you guys need..he’s got time anyway. Do open and take look at his wounds if you guys need, please. “
Sasha answered, glad to know that he wasn’t as bad as she thought he would be. Of course, he was still in bad condition, but better than dying.
Simon was very wary with opening any of the sewn up wounds. They had been tended to at least professionally, the areas were sterile when this sewing was applied. Though, Simon didn’t want to take changes and use up whoever was paying for this man’s care for the time they’d be here. It would be two weeks before Sasha would get the call from the hospital saying that the man she brought in was at least healthy enough to leave.
Afton’s sleep was never peace, tossing and turning and having issues with staying unconscious. Too many tortures went through his mind that affected sleep. When she arrived in the room, she’d see Afton struggling with the restraints. Trying to break free from the but having no luck. He still didn’t look super great but not as horrid.
“ Well, crap. He doesn’t look any better on his mental...but at least he looks better on his physical. “
Sasha mumbled, as she saw him suffering with the restraints. She slowly opened the door, then walked up to Afton while watching him still suffering to break free.
“ Hey, hey. Relax, they didn’t hurt you, did they? Come on now…. “
Having quick glance over his face and body, she sighed. At least better looking now. That’s a progress.
Afton pulled upward, trying to free at least one arm. However, he wasted all of his energy at last and finally went still. Panting as he laid there and slowly coming down from the mental state. His one eye glanced around wildly though, until it settled on her.
“No memory...nothing but black while here…” Afton muttered, weakly trying to pull loose without putting effort in but it did nothing.
Course, he had been asleep the whole time. The staff not wanting to take chances with him after all.
Sasha sighed. So, they just kept him sleeping since they didn’t wanted to interact with him….she did understood that they didn’t want any trouble, but him sleeping for two weeks straight? Come on.
“ Well, they might have knocked you out for two weeks...but because you were acting all violent and stuffs.. “
Sasha replied before noticing his fruitless effort to escape. She slowly looked around at the restraints, and then slowly began to undo them.
“ Now, you better be good when I free you, or else. “
“Not suppose...to be here….doesn’t fit..” Afton rambled, closing his eye as he laid there.
But why? Why didn’t he belong here? He couldn’t recall, he felt that way in that other place. No. He knew that in the other place! When he felt nothing holding him down, he sat up and massaged his wrists. For now, he was docile again. The maddness he had suffered had died down, allowing him to be somewhat normal for the moment.
“Need to get out of here….please…” Afton muttered, looking fearfully toward the door.
As if just waiting for a guard or a torture to appear from behind it. He just sat there, slightly still since his back was hunched a bit due to the heavy horns.
“ Relax, you are getting out of here now. “
Sasha replied, trying to comfort him. Well, at least he’s relaxed now, but she wasn’t sure if Uso wanted any soon-to-turn-psycho...maybe she did. Maybe.
“ Come on, let’s go. “
Sasha spoke, as she got up, and opened the door. She walked to the front desk, then asked them if she had to oay anything.
Having been given some clothes that weren’t torn, he followed along. Fresh clothes and slowly coming back to a sensible level. She merely had to sign him out and that would be easy. Once out of there, he took a deep breath and sighed. Relieved that he was no longer in that place. Though he gave a uncertain glance to Sasha.
“Sorry I…” Afton started but he paused.
How to explain that? He had no idea on how to explain what happened. It just happened.
Sasha glanced at him as she signed the papers to sign him out, before hearing his apology. She turned herself around to face him, then grinned.
“ Why are you sorry? Everybody’s got something wrong with them. “
Then, she turned to exit the hospital, and then…..then what? Oh crap, now what? What to do or where to take him? She didn’t thought until at this very moment.
“ Hey, anywhere you wanna go..? “
Sasha asked, in gentle tone.
Afton was released into their custody, her custody. There was a chance of a doctor checking up with the information provided on where he was going to be staying.
“You mentioned a...boss? Got no plans, nothing to do.” Afton replied. “I’ve no clue on what else to do.”
“ Ah, yes. Uso. I work for her as an….mercenary. Would like to see her now? “
Sasha replied, turning her head to face him. Good, maybe he’s interested in joining. Uso could always use somebody with his skills.
“ If you want, I can take you to her...or at least where we stay. “
She spoke as she got her car ready, opening the door and cranking it up.
“There’s nothing else for me to do.” Afton replied. “Only actual lead for something I can occupy myself with.”
Besides, he was...free right? Normal people had jobs, would he be able to do a job with his...problems? He paused at the car, forgetting how to work these for a moment but he managed to get in without trouble. Putting the seatbelt on as well once he was in there. THough he found it tricky with the horns.
Coming to a pause, their only green eye glanced around. As if paranoid of something but they spotted nothing. Their smile seemed to grow at this.
“Not a one...oh glory…” The man muttered, slightly hunched forward.
Sasha was just wandering around in the desert, as she currently had nothing better to do except ride around the planet. That was, before she saw big flames coming down from above. With obvious curiosity, she turned her head toward the flame, and as soon as the flame landed to the desert, she quickly rode toward it.
“ Hmph….. “
After few minutes, Sasha arrived to the scene where it was close enough for her to look over the scene. She looked around for any evidences or survivors, and eventually spotted the figure, and slowly began to walk toward him.
The escape pod had been mangled, it was a wonder anything survived the crash in it. But the stranger had. Since he had paused in his steps, he heard the sound of another coming towards him. Turning round quickly, his green eye looked at the female that was approaching him. A slightly crazed but fearful gaze landed upon her.
“Vhat do you want?” He questioned with a slight screech, having jumped a couple of steps away from her.
Holding onto the front of his torn shirt,she would see his chest and neck having a burn scar. But also the same black lines of thread that were keeping his eye shut there as well. Whatever this man went through, he had been clearly tortured.
After taking quick glance through his torn clothings and body, Sasha knew that he have been tortured. Not her problem or any of Uso’s, though. She thought. She was just a mercenary, not an police officer.
“Strange. I was just about to ask you that. “
She replied, with her hands slowly reaching for her leather holster. She looked at the totally mangled escape pod. Jeez, he survived from that?
“Where you from, and who are you? Why you here? “
“Marbles loose as a hatter’s that is lost!” The man suddenly said, swinging his free hand up into the air, nothing in his hand but just as mangled as the rest of him. “Not a holy clue on where abouts I am.”
The smile seemed to grow on his face for a moment, but it faded away as he seemed to relax. Their light brown hair bounced with his movement, the long bangs were brushed to the side and sticking up in the air. The crazed look in his eyes seemed to have lessened as they tilted their head as he watched her reach for her weapon. The id tag reflected a small bit of light, though it was hard to know if she could read it or not. In all honesty...he didn’t bother reading it himself.
If she dared to get close enough to read it, she’d see that the picture on it had been damaged. The photo of the person this id belonged to was beyond recognition; course this tag wasn’t even his. He just took it off of one of the dead security people. The name on it though read ‘Afton P. Hiles’.
“ Riggggght…”
Sasha spoke, as she heard and saw his actions. ‘Another patience escaped from mental hospital...what’s the nearest one again..? I’ll have to warn them when I…..do we have mental hospital?’ Sasha thought for a second before narrowing her eyes due to reflecting light. She slowly took few steps toward him, then noticed the ID tag, and began to read through it.
Photo was unrecognizable, since it was completely damaged, but she could still read the name, and as she read it she glanced at stranger’s face.
“ Ummm….Afton Hiles? “
She slowly asked curiously.
She’d also notice it was a id tag that a security man would’ve worn. Though with his current health, it might seem unlikely for him to have been hired muscle; let alone a normal officer. Hearing the name, he tilted his head. The slight crazed grin tugging at the corner of his mouth but he seemed to fight against it
“Yes!” He replied simply, straightening his poster. “What is it?”
The poor man couldn’t even recall his own name. The hours of screaming and pain took a tool upon his mind. Many memories were hidden away, deep down in that brain of his. The heavy horns caused his head to tilt again as he stood up straight rather than hunched over. If Sasha looked down, she’d spot that the main was shoeless. Their bare feet resting on the hot sand and so far, the man paid it no heed as the bottom of his feet had been burned greatly. The nerve damage they suffered killed the feeling in them.
“ Well….. “ Sasha looked at the ID tag again, noticing that it was the kind worn by security contractors. She slowly glanced at the name again, and then at his face. Poor guy, almost half of his face along with his body’s been burnt, can’t even tell if he’s what the ID tag says who he is. That is, if the picture was not burnt.
“ ….are you okay? “
Sasha continued after thinking for a few minutes. Obviously, he looked kinda...ill on both the inside and outside. Maybe he done hurt his head so much that he can’t feel anything? She thought.
The question had...been a confusing thing. His head tilted to the other side, though he could feel his stomach growling finally. Food wasn’t something he was given a large amount of in that place .Just enough to keep him alive but...it was terrible, and hard to keep down when they did experiments on him.
“Depends on...what okay is…” Afton replied, his decent right hand releasing his shirt and resting against his
stomach.
“ Alright….. “
Sasha glanced at Afton as his hand released his shirt, unveiling his burnt body. Jeez, where has this guy been? At freaking torture chamber or something? Sasha slowly took few steps toward him while reaching for her backpack.
“ Welp, let’s start with hunger. You hungry? “
Sasha spoke, with a piece of something that looked close to dried bread on her hand, and a canteen on the other.
Feeling his stomach give a painful growl, Afton glanced down at the ground. His grip tightening on the fabric of the shirt at his stomach. Course, when he glanced up, a look of surprise was on his face. Food wasn’t just offered and the man felt himself taking a few steps back. No no...that was a trick! They had done that before~
“Food….isn’t just given!” Afton commented, his left hand touching part of his head near the horn. “Never at all…..always a experiment afterwards…”
“ Whoa, whoa, you alright? “
Sasha, obviously surprised with unexpected response, watched him taking steps back. She slowly held out her hand that was holding bread, then took few more steps toward him.
“ It’s okay, it’s okay. Come on, you gotta eat. “
Sasha spoke, trying to relax him down a little while thinking. Okay, he’s obviously not an security guy, and if he WAS an security guy, then the security company he was in is a bad job, or maybe conducted experiments on their employees. She kept taking few steps, trying to comfort him.
“ Hey, I don’t want nothing from you. Come on. “
“NOthing is alright!! Never can be alright.” Afton replied, his pointer finger slipped into the gap between the horn and his head; a small gap.
His stomach hurt...there was nothing in it. He had charged out of that place as fast as he could. Ignoring any kind of food he saw as the pure desperation to get out had filled him. Adrenaline pumping as he ran through the place. A chuckle left him as the slightly crazed look took mold on his face.
“Everyone wants something….something to get, something to use and play with…” he retorted.
“ Gah…… “ Sasha let out small groan, as she kept her hand raised out, with dried bread on her hand. This guy’s really nuts! Maybe he IS an escapee from nearest mental hospital. Crap, now I have to look for mental hospitals.
She slowly pulled her hand back, then slowly placed the dried bread back into her backpack. She then grabbed the canteen and slowly shook it, before rolling it onto his feet.
“ If you don’t want to eat, then at least drink some waters. Free of charge. Come on. “
Seeing the bread disappear, he clutched his stomach as he glanced away. He seemed to be trying to sort things out in his head as his one eye closed and his expression went away. He had to eat, he honestly had to. Opening his eye when she spoke up, he had a pained looked on his face as he bite his lip lightly. Course, his attention was soon given to the canteen at his feet and he slowly knelt down. Picking up the canteen with both hands and quickly drinking from it. It would be something in his stomach at least.
THough this meant that he hadn’t been keeping a eye on Sasha. So if she wanted to do something, she had the option.
Sasha watched as he quickly picked up the canteen, and drank from it. He looked desperate, and kept his eyes off of her for a moment as he drank from her canteen. Sasha knew it was a good chance if she wanted to take him down, but since this was no fight she decided not to do anything except wait.
“ Alright, at least you drunk some water. Now, are you hungry or not? “
Sasha asked as she saw him almost done with drinking from the canteen, with a load of dried bread already on her hands.
“ I don’t want nothing from you, except maybe give me my canteen back when you’re done. “
When he got to the point of being almost done, he paused and shuddered before he removed the canteen from his lips and started coughing. In his haste, he didn’t really keep note of not choking. A few gasps left him as he slowly regained it. The water in his stomach didn’t feel fulfilling but it lessened the pain he was feeling at the moment. A tired glance was given to her, feeling just a desire for the bread.
“Please….” he groaned. “I just...need something….”
“ Finally. “ She spoke as she heard his desire. Maybe this guy’s not as nut as I thought!
Sasha slowly reached her hand out, with bread on her hand. But as her hand couldn’t touch his, she took few more steps forward, and tried to hand bread to his right hand.
“ Now, don’t eat it all at one time, take your time. Nobody’s gonna take it from ya. “
She spoke, in more gentle tone as she tried to comfort him. He was finally getting better than….how he was when she first saw him. At least he’s not mumbling.
Course, her words on not scarfing it down went kind of ignored. He quickly accepted the bread and started to chomp down on it quickly. It was clear how hungry he was as he did this. He didn’t pay her any mind as he did this. Now, being desperate for food had helped his marbles stay loose, though in the long run it might not make a big difference. As well, he had been pretty screwed up. The bread was swallowed in lumps, very clear that he didn’t chew it all the way as he just wanted to get something else in his system. It looked painful though, considering how thin his whole build was.
“ Alright, are you full now? “ Sasha asked as she saw him almost swallowing the bread by whole. He’ll get sick if he does that…. Alright, it looks like he’s getting back, so it should be good time to start asking questions…
“ Okay, where exactly are you from? “
Sasha asked as she reached for her backpack again and grabbed another small loaf of dried bread. She thought about asking him questions in return for the bread, but she didn’t wanted to play with him like that, so she handed him the loaf of bread again.
“ Try to remember. Come on. “
Truthfully, he didn’t care if he’d get sick. He needed something in his stomach, and he needed it now! Course, the dry bread hadn’t gone down easily but he shook his head for being full. How could one small loaf fill anyone? His stomach was bare bones empty save for the water he drank and what he just ate. So when he got the second loaf, he was quick to take a big bite out of it.
“N...nerg...no idea…” He said through a mouthful of bread.
“ Alright….. “ Sasha sighed as she heard his reply. Great, maybe he suffered memory loss when he crashed. She took a quick glance at his ID tag again, before noticing him taking big bite of the bread.
“ You sure is hungry, aren’t you? “
She spoke, watching him finishing the bread. It seemed that breads wasn’t gonna fill him up. He needs something better. She slowly reached out into her backpack, and shortly after going through it with her hands, she took out a bag of beef jerky.
“ Now, these might fill you up. But for pete’s sake, slow down and take your time. Ain’t nobody’s gonna snatch it away from you. “
She warned him for the last time before handing him the bag. Welp, there goes my trail food, at least it’s saving a life.
Taking a few heavy breathes, he tried to gain some air back from ripping into the second loaf. The canteen was out of water and he did wish he hadn’t chugged it down, he would’ve still had some. Oh well. Running his fingers through his hair for a moment, he glanced down.
“Hard to get food...in that place...what food was given was...less than the amount needed.” Afton replied.
With the jerky offered, he actually didn’t take the whole bag. Merely taking out three strips and chewing on them.
“ Place? What place? “ Sasha asked as she saw him not grabbing the whole bag like he did first time when she handed him bread. Great, that means now he can at least think.
“ What kind of place was it? How was it like? “
Sasha asked some more questions, as she grabbed a piece of jerky from the bag and began to chew on it. Taste was pretty good. Not the best but, better than nothing.
Afton paused mid bite, shaking as he sat there and his eye widened. Shaking his head, he tried his best not to lose his marbles. But it was very clear that was a bad question to ask as he put a hand to his head and looked down.
“Horrid...terrible….!!” Afton replied with a growl. “THey did all this!! Every needle of thread and burn!! These….THESE THINGS IN MY HEAD!!!”
He grabbed the horns sticking out of his head and started shaking.
For a second, Sasha watched him with her hands back onto her holster as his hands reached for his horns. So they weren’t there at the first place, dang. She carefully glanced at his face before reaching her hand out and slowly and gently began to pat him on his back.
“ Hey, now. You’re safe, you’re safe. Ain’t nobody’s here to mess with you...yet. “
Shucks, he might’ve started remembering things again. She thought.
His grip tightened on the horns and he pulled, trying desperately to remove them .Sadly they were planted firmly in his head. There was no removing these in any easy fashion. The action wore him out due to his weaker state, and his hands slipped from them. Letting his hands fall into the sand, his gaze glanced down there. Looking at the burns and thread marks, looking at how different looking his hands were from each other. How disfigured the one on the left was.
“Yet...that’s a keyword though…” he commented, not looking up. “Eventually it’ll happen, it always happens.”
“ Hey, how about I take you to the nearest town around here? Safer than on the middle of the desert, right? “
She watched as he desperately tried to pull his horns out, but as she expected, his effort was gone waste. After the last gentle pat on his back, she spoke. Better than the desert, yeah.
“ Or if you think you’re good at something then well….I might take you to my boss. “
If he does have skill Uso might be interested in, then he’ll be much safer. That is, of course, if he had skills that would not put him onto fight.
Glancing up, he raised his only brow. Good at something? What good was he? What could he even do? He honestly had no idea what he once was, what he used to do. So any skills he knew, were hidden in the chaos of his mind.
“Hard to say what anyone is good at.” He replied as he made himself stand up. “One can preach what they are or make a fool’s claim. You could help but in the end cause ruin instead. Hard to say in all honesty.”
He gave her a shrug as he stood there and gestured for her to lead.
“ Alrighty then. “
Sasha shrugged, then turned around and began to lead to the nearest (or at least she said it was) town, with only few buildings and folks on the streets. It was a town that was closer to those ones seen in either the Western films, or in the Planet Showdown. After walking through a welcome sign, she slowly looked around, looking for a motel or saloon, or anywhere he could get some help or to sleep under.
“Well, here we are. Hope you like it here, because you’ll have to grt used to place like this if you ever want to live in this planet. “
Afton followed along, his feet sinking now an then into the sand. But he didn’t react to the feel of sand and the heat of it when it finally touched the top of his feet. The warmth didn’t matter to him. Course as they arrived in this place, he put a hand to his forehead. Feeling a pain in his head as some part of him tried to find something familiar. The effort hurt...or was it just the accursed horns hurting from him messing with em? Sadly, he found himself rolling backwards in time mentally. The memory of how he got the horns coming back to his mind as he walked along after her.
He could hear the doctor’s chuckling in his head as they strapped him down once they put him back in his room. The straps were really tight, tighter than usual whenever they did something to him. Though his head felt like someone had slammed something to the sides of his head.
“Now now Sir, it’s for your own good.” The doctor chuckled, he could just barely see their crooked smiles. “We wouldn’t want you to bleed out or damage your skull. These will help you. Course, don’t go messing with em. It’ll only hurt.”
What stopped him from falling further into memory was a voice, a voice that almost pulled at something suppressed in his head. But he glanced to her and blinked slightly confused.
“What?” he muttered.
“ Hey, you alright? You still with us? “
Few minutes and still no response, she thought. She slowly turned around to see if he was still with her, and saw that he had his hand on his forehead. She slowly crouched down to see if he was alright, and as he muttered she let out a sigh in relief.
“ Thank God, I thought you were going crazy again. “
She slowly got back onto her feet, then spoke again, before beginning to look around the town for a sign that says doctor.
“ I said, you better get used to living in place like this. “
Removing his hand from his forehead, he was about to speak when he noticed something past her. His eye narrowed as he stared past her, watching a being disappear into the darkness of a alley. Something old surfaced, causing him to walk forward and going past her. Not a word left him as he went toward the alley he watched something disappear into. Pausing at the entrance, his eyebrow lowered as he glanced around in the place without looking. Though as he went to turn away and walk back, he felt something grab hold of him and looking partially surprised. He turned and looked into the alley before being jerked into the darkness of it.
He could feel his body hitting the sand as he skidded down the alley a little bit, though he sat up and looked to see a couple of people around him. Even though they were speaking, he didn’t listen to their words. It was just the sound of buzzing around his ears as he sat there. One eye glance between the people with a focused glare. When one pulled out a knife though, that was it. He launched himself forward with his head tilted and slammed the horn against one of their faces!! The thief would give out a pained yelp as they grabbed their broken nose.
“Hey! Stop!” One of the others ordered, only to get a swift kick to the balls.
“ Hey, what- where are you going?! “
Sasha yelled as she saw him walking to the entrance of the alley. She slowly followed behind him as he stopped at the entrance for quick moment, before walking into the dark alley.
“ What the- hey! “
Sasha yelled even louder than before as she watched him getting jerked into the darkness. She quickly ran toward the darkness, and before she even saw them, he already had rammed a guy with a knife, and kicked another guy on the balls.
“ Crap….. “
Sasha muttered, before jumping in between the group and Afton. She took quick glance at the group, then as a guy tried to punch her on the face, she slowly leaned back to dodge his fist, and landed a fierce hard fist onto his nose.
“Shit!” the one she punched hissed.
Course, Afton grabbed the one he kicked in the balls. And threw them toward the one that she had punched. The two men fell to the ground and the one that he had rammed in the face, had ran off. Stomping down on the two on the ground, Afton panted. Part of him debating about kill the two fools. However, he looked to Sasha. A serious look on his face.
“Do you have any cuffs? Rope? So we can drag them to the police without them punching either of us.” Afton questioned.
“ C-Cuffs? Sure, sure! “
Sasha replied, have watching him fighting rather pretty good, she was impressed with his skills. Maybe Uso might need that skill, maybe.
She took few moments before reaching onto her belt, and grabbing a pair of handcuffs from one of its many pouches.
“ Here. Hey, you’ve done fought them well for a guy without any memory. “
“It felt...normalish...like I sort of knew what I was doing.” He commented.
She spoke, before pulling out few more handcuffs from her pouch.
With the people tied up, Afton helped dragged em off. Getting to the station and leaving them there, only for the cops to be brought out. They looked at Afton with confused expressions but Afton would let the explaining be up to Sasha as. Well he didn’t know what to do in terms of explantion.
“ Well, maybe you do have skills that my boss might be interested… “
Sasha spoke, after dropping the scumbags onto the station. Hey, about three guys with a knife and he took care of them without any wound or sweat. But now she began to wonder, what was he? How did he do this without even thinking.
“ You will definitely need that feeling more often if you wanna live around here….but hey, maybe you could talk to my boss, see if she’s interested. “
“I...guess I can do that. No plans...nothing to really do.” Afton replied.
Though, how could he convince anyone to hire him? He was a mess and not really...well, stable for one thing. Course he just stood there now. Not sure on what to do.
“Would they even listen?” Afton added. “It’s not something I thought of when doing it, just happened.”
“ Well…they listened to me when I wanted to get hired. “
Sasha replied, stopping for a second and turning herself toward him with her arms crossed. Of course, she did had few experiences as mercenary, but Uso did in fact talked with her personally when she wanted to get hired.
“ Besides, we need somebody with your skills! Come on, don’t be scared. We ain’t that bad yet. Pay’s good along with equipments. “
A brow was raised at this, though he didn’t argue. Putting a hand to his forehead, he took a deep breathe. Something felt off, was it just him? Would he be able to even be...employed?
“Alright...nothing to do…” Afton replied. “Don’t want equipment just...don’t want to….go back.”
He shuddered as he stood there, not from cold. But from the thought of being thrown back into that horrible place.
“ Oh, you won’t need to worry about them coming back for you….if you’re hired by Uso. If they DO come back however, then unless they got whole fleet or something, we will just fight them all. “
She showed him a rare, but actual smile, trying to assure him that they will take care of him, that he will be protected safely.
“ Beside, you will be issued with guns and guns and...knives. Nobody’s gonna be able to kidnap you. “
For some reason, he felt like that didn’t matter. A smile creeped it’s way onto his face before he started to chuckle.
“Oh my dear, something tells me….a gun didn’t help me last time.” Afton replied, doing his best to suppress the expression.
Thankfully, he managed to stop it from getting worse. Taking a breathe, he sighed. Folding his arms slightly before giving a non crazy look. A small normal smile kind of came to his face, a shrug leaving him.
“Hopefully, you are the one correct in this situation.” he added.
“ Heh...well, nice to know that you’re at least interested. “
Sasha grinned, before placing her arms around his shoulder, then patting him gently on his back.
“ Well, if you think you want to sign up, just tell me. I know who to talk to. “
Surprised by the gesture, she would feel him tense up as he stood there. The closest thing to this gesture he knew was when a guard grabbed him to restrain him. If she paid close attention, she’d see him twitch as if fighting off a instinctual reaction. A reaction that was embedded deep down. However if she didn’t take notice of these things, he would attempt to grab her hand and try to restrain her by bending it behind her in a painful manner. Similar to how a cop would restrain a suspect.
“ Hey, are you al- “
Sasha was about to ask him if he was alright as she saw him twitching. Before she could finish the sentence, Sasha was quickly restrained by him, with her hands grabbed tightly and bended, like a police officer. She tried to shake him off, but since she didn’t expect his attack, she couldn’t.
“ H-Hey! You alright? What the heck?! “
Thankfully, her words reached through as instinct faded. His eye went wide as he released her. Taking a few steps away from her, a couple of people were now staring at the even weirder man. Hands shaking as he stood there, he put a hand to his head.
“I….I….” Afton started, though he wasn’t able to get the words he wanted out.
Putting his hands through his hair, he stood there shaking. Not looking at her as he closed his only eye. Trying to get a grasp on himself.
“ Hey, hey….come on. “
Sasha spoke as he released her. She grabbed her wrists then rubbed it for a moment, before trying to relax him, without putting her hands on his back though.
“ Probably one of your uhm….habit, nobody can blame you. At Least I won’t. “
Then, as she noticed the folks around them staring at him, she quickly turned her head around and shouted.
“ What are you folks looking at?! Get lost! “
“Too loose too loose….marbles rattling around making echoes…” Afton muttered, moving his hands up and down through his hair.
He wasn’t really listening to his words, he didn’t know what to do. How could he focus? Focus seemed so far away, so...hard to reach. People were shocked at the shout, though most of them went away. Turning their focus away from the matter at hand.
“Rattling and shaking...can’t...Think!!” he groaned, grabbing fistfull of hair and pulling slightly.
“ Hmmmm…. “
Sasha kept watching him as he groaned and screamed, while grabbing his hair like a madman. Obviously, she knew that he was troubled. Maybe memories? Maybe just hearing stuffs? Who cares, he’s pain.
“ Hey, you gonna be bald if you keep doing that. “
Sasha finally spoke, grabbing his hands gently.
When she grabbed his hands, his eye opened as he took in panicked breathes. His eye wide as it twitched, him glancing from side to side. Clearly he looked crazed with this expression and behavior, maybe even paranoid mixed into that craziness. Closing his eye, he tried to take in some steady breathes. Trying to come back to some form of sense. Some form, even a little bit. Eventually, he opened his eye once more. A few glances as he moved his head this time to take in the sites around him. He seemed, somewhat docile now.
“ Listen. “ Sasha spoke, in gentle tone.
“ Nobody’s gonna hurt you…..wait, never mind. Somebody will hurt you but they’re just criminals…..and nobody’s gonna try to put you back to that place you came from. Alright? “
She spoke, while slowly rubbing his back gently to comfort him and try to make him relaxed.
“ How about you go to nearest doctor...if I can find one? “
“They don’t help!!” Afton spoke with a growl, shaking his head. “Place full of doctors that did nothing but this!! Burning flesh and pointy needles, saws grinding….pain pain pain!!”
Doctors didn’t help there, they never did. They did all of this to him. Legs for once, feeling weak since he crashed. Finally gave in under him and he ended up in the sand on his legs. Hands hovering near the sides of his head.
“ Hey, hey. Doctors around here ain’t like the doctors from that place. They don’t hurt folks. “
Sasha stuttered, trying to comfort him again. Of course, doctors around here at least won’t put two horns on their patients, or shove them to some kind of basement. Most of them also seems to lack the actual license, but hey, who could blame them?
As she saw his legs finally done gave up on him, she quickly jumped and picked him up. He was not heavy, probably due to them not feeding him properly. She slowly began to carry him by Fireman carry, and looked for a doctor.
Being picked up the way he had was surprising, though he was too busy trying to get marbles straight in his head. When she took him into the hospital that she found, the receptionist was surprised at the look of the malnourished man. She was quick to phone a doctor on the com and one by the name of Simon appeared, equally as shocked.
“Okay...uh...here, set him down in the chair. It’ll be easier to just wheel him to a room.” Simon said as a nurse brought a wheelchair.
“ Alright, alright. “
Sasha quickly glanced at the Simon and nurses, before putting him on to the wheelchair the nurse brought. She then began to follow Simon behind him while asking tons of questions.
“ Is he gonna die? What happened? Is he dead yet? Is he still awake? “
“Miss please, we don’t know anything yet. The man is severely malnourished just by looking at him, if we don’t do treatment soon he might end up dead.” Simon said, glancing over his shoulder at her. “Do you know anything about this man? Any allergic substances?”
Afton sat in the chair, panting with his hands against his head. Though his eye opened and he spotted the tiled floor. Looking around, he knew where he was. Eye widening as his pupil and iris seemed smaller, he launched himself out of the wheelchair!!
“Sir?!” Simon questioned, having seen this.
“NOT again!” Afton snapped as he turned to face em. “No more needles or thread!! None of it!!”
“Sir please, calm down. You in no state to try anything, you need some medical treatment.”
Afton started laughing, a crazed smile appearing on his face. Simon was quick to page secruity and Afton’s laughing stopped as he felt a big hand on his shoulder and the man started fighting.
“Snakes and con artists!” Afton hissed as he tried to get away from the guard, though they were doing a good job of restraing. “Just like Gerale, do as you fucking please like rabid dogs!! LET GO!!”
Afton was squirming and screaming, clearly fighting as if his life was depending on this. As if, any form of help in this hospital would lead to his demise. The crazied nature Sasha had seen previously, was now full force. He looked like he belonged in that asylum now. Another guard came to help restrain him and a nurse gave Simon a shot.
“Billy, Gethroe, hold him still for me.” Simon said as he approached. “I’m sorry sir, but you need to relax just a little bit.”
A swift kick was planted to Simon’s chest and the doctor took a step back. A frustrated cry left Afton as he squirmed, legs kicking. One of the guards pulled a thin arm forward for the doctor to use the needle. They were quick to take this chance.
“I’M not suppose...ARGH! TO be here!! Liars and cheats.” Afton snarled, though his eye widened as the sedative started to kick in. “Gerale…..rat bastards b...ack...Show...Show...d...ow…”
With that, his eye rolled to the back of his head as he went unconscious.
“ Well, maybe peanuts, I don’t really kno- What the he- HEY!! “
Sasha yelled as she saw Afton jumping out of his wheelchair. Before she could even react, Simon already has called security, and had tried to restrain him. She took few steps back as she knew those security guards had him under controll.
“ Hey, relax. Relax. Nobody’s trying to fool you. Come on. “
As soon as Simon successfully injected something into Afton’s thin arm, she quickly ran beside him and spoke before watching his eyes close.
“ I guess he’s also allergic to needles. “
She commented, after getting up.
Simon sighed, smoothing his shirt out and the guards placed him back in the wheelchair and a nurse rolled him to a room.
“More like a severe hatred...or fear.” Simon replied. “Miss, I must admit something...if he’s that volatile. We might have to incarcerate him, he’s...a threat to society at that state. Do you know if he has those episodes often?”
“ Well, he did seem to be troubled at the time I met him…. “
Sasha spoke, before hearing the word ‘incarcerate’. Incarcerate him? That’s gonna make him even worse! What, is this Simon guy out of his mind? He is threat to society but….well, yeah, could put him into jail….but not now, he could be better.
After thinking for few minutes, Sasha finally opened her lips to reply Simon’s question.
“ No, he haven’t acted like that before...might be something new. “
Alright, she’s lying, but hey, it’s for his good.
Simon raised a brow, watching Sasha but he gave a small nod.
“Alright. Are you a friend of his or something? If you are, I could release him into your custody when he’s healthy enough to leave. Is that something you are willing to do?” Simon questioned. “However, if he does anything like this again please, get him help. It might be his first time on this scale, but there’s a chance he can quickly spiral to this state again and cause much more harm. If he is ill, this is a serious matter. But it’s not my place to do things that aren’t what the patient is brought in for. We’ll see if we can help him with what you brought him in for.”
“ Well, yeah. I’m his friend….sorta. “
Sasha replied, kinda muttering on the last word. Alright, she just met him today, but come on. You can make friends in about a minute!
“ Hmm...alright, just do what you guys can do….I will try to find nearest mental hospital just in case it comes to that… “
Hopefully, he won’t need to….but just in case if it comes to the point that he needs some help, then he will get help, she thought. So….have I found any mental hospital yet? Nope.
“Thank you. Also, we can provide him with a clean change of clothes though they might be loose on him due to...well how thin he is.” Simon added. “If you could wait in the waiting room, I’ll have a nurse fetch you when we’re done and you can visit.”
It would be a few hours before Sasha would get to come to the room they had him in. Of course Simon was waiting outside the door and told her of how malnourished he was. Surprisingly, they weren’t dehydrated as they feared, so that was at least some ease. They would have to keep him for a few days, merely to get him to a stable state in terms of health .As his body was very...well, to put it politely, damaged. The lack of nutrition and food did a number on his systems.
Once she was in the room, SImon also mentioned that they would be keeping him sedated for his own good. And he also asked for Sasha’s permission to look into the wounds as the scars looked rather nasty but they wouldn’t open him up or anything like that.
“ Alright, I can wait. “
Sasha replied as Simon explained that she had to stay in waiting area. After probably few hours of waiting in the waiting area, she finally saw the nurse and came to the room. After listening to Simon’s explanations outside of the room, she smiled, glad.
“ Alright, keep him for as long as you guys need..he’s got time anyway. Do open and take look at his wounds if you guys need, please. “
Sasha answered, glad to know that he wasn’t as bad as she thought he would be. Of course, he was still in bad condition, but better than dying.
Simon was very wary with opening any of the sewn up wounds. They had been tended to at least professionally, the areas were sterile when this sewing was applied. Though, Simon didn’t want to take changes and use up whoever was paying for this man’s care for the time they’d be here. It would be two weeks before Sasha would get the call from the hospital saying that the man she brought in was at least healthy enough to leave.
Afton’s sleep was never peace, tossing and turning and having issues with staying unconscious. Too many tortures went through his mind that affected sleep. When she arrived in the room, she’d see Afton struggling with the restraints. Trying to break free from the but having no luck. He still didn’t look super great but not as horrid.
“ Well, crap. He doesn’t look any better on his mental...but at least he looks better on his physical. “
Sasha mumbled, as she saw him suffering with the restraints. She slowly opened the door, then walked up to Afton while watching him still suffering to break free.
“ Hey, hey. Relax, they didn’t hurt you, did they? Come on now…. “
Having quick glance over his face and body, she sighed. At least better looking now. That’s a progress.
Afton pulled upward, trying to free at least one arm. However, he wasted all of his energy at last and finally went still. Panting as he laid there and slowly coming down from the mental state. His one eye glanced around wildly though, until it settled on her.
“No memory...nothing but black while here…” Afton muttered, weakly trying to pull loose without putting effort in but it did nothing.
Course, he had been asleep the whole time. The staff not wanting to take chances with him after all.
Sasha sighed. So, they just kept him sleeping since they didn’t wanted to interact with him….she did understood that they didn’t want any trouble, but him sleeping for two weeks straight? Come on.
“ Well, they might have knocked you out for two weeks...but because you were acting all violent and stuffs.. “
Sasha replied before noticing his fruitless effort to escape. She slowly looked around at the restraints, and then slowly began to undo them.
“ Now, you better be good when I free you, or else. “
“Not suppose...to be here….doesn’t fit..” Afton rambled, closing his eye as he laid there.
But why? Why didn’t he belong here? He couldn’t recall, he felt that way in that other place. No. He knew that in the other place! When he felt nothing holding him down, he sat up and massaged his wrists. For now, he was docile again. The maddness he had suffered had died down, allowing him to be somewhat normal for the moment.
“Need to get out of here….please…” Afton muttered, looking fearfully toward the door.
As if just waiting for a guard or a torture to appear from behind it. He just sat there, slightly still since his back was hunched a bit due to the heavy horns.
“ Relax, you are getting out of here now. “
Sasha replied, trying to comfort him. Well, at least he’s relaxed now, but she wasn’t sure if Uso wanted any soon-to-turn-psycho...maybe she did. Maybe.
“ Come on, let’s go. “
Sasha spoke, as she got up, and opened the door. She walked to the front desk, then asked them if she had to oay anything.
Having been given some clothes that weren’t torn, he followed along. Fresh clothes and slowly coming back to a sensible level. She merely had to sign him out and that would be easy. Once out of there, he took a deep breath and sighed. Relieved that he was no longer in that place. Though he gave a uncertain glance to Sasha.
“Sorry I…” Afton started but he paused.
How to explain that? He had no idea on how to explain what happened. It just happened.
Sasha glanced at him as she signed the papers to sign him out, before hearing his apology. She turned herself around to face him, then grinned.
“ Why are you sorry? Everybody’s got something wrong with them. “
Then, she turned to exit the hospital, and then…..then what? Oh crap, now what? What to do or where to take him? She didn’t thought until at this very moment.
“ Hey, anywhere you wanna go..? “
Sasha asked, in gentle tone.
Afton was released into their custody, her custody. There was a chance of a doctor checking up with the information provided on where he was going to be staying.
“You mentioned a...boss? Got no plans, nothing to do.” Afton replied. “I’ve no clue on what else to do.”
“ Ah, yes. Uso. I work for her as an….mercenary. Would like to see her now? “
Sasha replied, turning her head to face him. Good, maybe he’s interested in joining. Uso could always use somebody with his skills.
“ If you want, I can take you to her...or at least where we stay. “
She spoke as she got her car ready, opening the door and cranking it up.
“There’s nothing else for me to do.” Afton replied. “Only actual lead for something I can occupy myself with.”
Besides, he was...free right? Normal people had jobs, would he be able to do a job with his...problems? He paused at the car, forgetting how to work these for a moment but he managed to get in without trouble. Putting the seatbelt on as well once he was in there. THough he found it tricky with the horns.
