Chapter Twenty Six

It was two days later; today is the day they thought they were feeding me. The food they had given me before had lasted me only two helpings and by the day after I’d pulled the confining metal down. I’d had some rather colourful conversations as Steamer displayed her distaste of being considered a member of the opposite sex; some rather fruitful ones followed as I questioned her current clothing aspect. While my trousers were tattered yet still functioned any clothes that touched Steamer were set ablaze. My question of how she moved around in public was only responded by a slightly peeved description of how her vents wrapped her in an impenetrable haze of steam. With several promises of not peeking Steamer began to try and hand me her food; there was a bit of a problem since the bowls were metal. The first time I took the bowl I dropped it from the heat; I was still strong enough to not eat until the next day however. I now used a strip of cloth as a glove to protect me; I remembered to hide it and shove the metal wall back in place as the door opened for my food to be sent in.
I moved as close as I could to the door as it swung open, my hands were stretched out behind me so I couldn’t really do anything threatening. Cold air sent a shiver down my spine as the iron door was open; it must have felt like a furnace door had been opened on the other side. I was stretched out; as vulnerable as a jellyfish in the Sahara as the chill spread through me. I shook slightly and waggled my feet at the guard delivering my food.
“How long am I going to be in here?” I asked; the weak voice wasn’t very hard to fake.
I could tell the guard was grinning though the mask; they all did it the sadistic little bas- “You’ve been in little over a week... though it’s bound to feel like eternity in Hell. Who knows how long you’ll stay? Maybe until you die? Maybe tomorrow is your last day?” The food was dropped at my feet where it almost tipped over and spilt its life sustaining substance and the door slammed shut after the guard had finished cackling in his twisted joy.
“YOU’RE ALL GOING TO HELL!” I screamed in a sudden rage; red mist slammed down over my vision as if blood was filling the room. I wanted it to; I wanted to coat the walls with these filthy people who dares call themselves humans. Death was too good for them, eternal rest from the pains of life was a blessing compared to the horrors of life.

I was pressed up against the opposite wall from the door now; my arms crossed in furious defiance of the guards feigned ignorance towards my various bouts of swearing.
“Screaming’s never helped before” Steamer’s tired voice sighed as her blazing red eye was placed at the buckled hole. “Though I wish I had a notepad in here that didn’t burst into flames every time I went near it; I really have to remember some of those names you called them. I swear half way through you slipped into another language.”
“Yeah, my Latin teacher would be so proud to hear me cuss out prison guards with my knowledge of a great and beautiful language.”
“You think it’s always been so wonderful? Na, they teach you about Socrates and Archimedes” I didn’t want to tell her that they were Greek and not Roman “who have real flowing verses. They never tell you how the normal man spoke though; you can’t think that they all ponced about like that or there’d have never been any wars.” I could see so many holes in her reasoning that it could be mistaken for Swiss cheese but then again she could make it very hot in here for me quite literally; and as she liked to point out she was my only friend around here and I didn’t want to anger her.

Three or four more days, I couldn’t really tell anymore; I didn’t remember if I’d had food dropped off for me. It was starting to get to me I could tell, the little hints like the dreams about being totally encased in a metal coffin. The dreams... sometimes I wasn’t sure if I was asleep or awake; this place was starting to eat away at me. When did I last eat? I didn’t keep track anymore; sometimes food got shoved through the little hole in the wall by Steamer. I hated her... but I loved her... she’d kept my sanity together for as long as she could.
“Are you alright in there Ivory?” she’d never used my name before really; she was worried.
“Yeah... yeah I’m just feeling a bit cramped” I muttered from my corner; it was so small in here. I could hardly breathe. Steamer was filling the room with burning air; I couldn’t breathe. I needed out! It was too tight! I was choking to death!
“IVORY!” I jumped as Steamer blew an almost scalding hot plume of air at me “Stop spacing, you’re starting to worry me.”
“I’m fine really” I crept out from my corner “I just... fancy a walk that’s all.”
“Just promise me that your head’s not going to go for a walk without your body” Steamer sighed, a small whistling coming from her nose. The burning made me feel better; the scorching reminded me I was still alive. Without pain I was not alive, without feeling you could never truly live. I shook my head and something inside slammed back into reality; I hoped it was reality. Right now my world, my reality, my life was contained in these iron walls.

The sun danced over my face; the smell of sweet flowers hung like a fog in the air. I opened an eye slowly to find that I didn’t sting; my eye didn’t ache and my ear didn’t ring. My body wasn’t bruised and battered and the sky was clear above me; birds circled above me lazily as they made their own contented way across the azure sky. I straightened up slowly to try and figure out what happened; I was dressed in my favourite clothes and sitting in a deck chair among my garden plants.
“W-what’s going on?” I asked myself as I stood up; almost knocking the deck chair over in my hurry. I stared down at myself; my skin was normal and the exoskeleton was completely missing. I looked up as the double windows to my garden slid open; Jessica’s smiling form was there holding two cups of something sweet and warm.
“It... it was all a dream?” I asked myself in confusion; taking the mug from Jessica and cradling it in my hands.
A gentle smile spread across Jessica’s face as she stroked my hair from my face “No hun, this is the dream; you’re still in the cell at the camp.”

“STOP IT! STOP IT!” I screamed as I jerked up; my chains restrained me but the man dropping my food off still flinched back and spilt my food all over the floor. The door slammed shut as I heard the frightened man’s yells of surprise as he dashed away. My body slammed up against the wall as I jerked and yanked at my chains in desperation; in the end I just slumped against the wall and sobbed lightly.
“Calm down!” Steamer cried out as I shook against the opposite wall “Don’t let these guys get to you alright? This is what they want! If they can prove you’re insane they’ll blow your brains over the wall.” I needed someone familiar; I needed someone from my life before this horror to anchor me in this reality before I drifted into my own world.

Disclaimer: As you can tell... I am rather twisted and psychotic. If you steal from Lavalamp studios or me you will see the full force of my mind... enjoy. :3

Ebony and Ivory chapter twentyseven