#wsgw

Eun-Kyung gently kissed Cherri’s dark, freckled face, running her fingers through her long braids. “It’s ok. We can help him.” she whispered. “I-I know, but w-why would anyone d-do that. To a f-fucking child no less!” Cherri sobbed into Eun’s shoulder. Matt and Jason, hearing the noise, rushed in to ask what they could do. Cherri dried her eyes and sat up straighter. “He… he’s been sexually abused. Multiple times and looks like multiple people, but it might just be the test results. It looks like the perp was male just from the kid’s behaviors, especially around you two.”

“Shit…” Jason whispered, face paling. “Yeah. That’s not all. He has a metal port installed on the base of his spine. I think it was used to administer chemicals, probably pain stimulants and neurotoxins. There are words carved and burned into his arms and back. Things like “mine” and “pet.” I think this went beyond just being a lab rat.” Cherri finished, eyes red. The next few minutes were filled with a terrible silence, thick and heavy, until the group finally left to their rooms.

The next morning was chaotic at best. “I stayed up all night with the kid! I NEED THE COFFEE!” Cherri snaps. “I have work today! You know how hard it is being a fucking lawyer?!” “Suck a dick, Matt.” “The only dick I suck is Jason’s.” The battle for coffee never ends. “As your fiancé, you know I’m an insomniac, Matt.” Jason whined. Eun-Kyung snuck up behind Cherri, wrapping her pale, muscled arms around Cherri’s chubby waist. “Just make more coffee, guys. It’s easy.” She sighed, her face pressed into her girlfriend’s neck. “And while you do that, Imma check on the kid.”

The boy woke with a gasp, choking back sobs. His head hurt, it was too bright, and he was surrounded by something soft and fluffy, unfamiliar. He sat up, shaking, a wave of fresh pain filling his body. He tried to stand, nearly falling from the soreness in his legs, and stumbled to find a hiding place. This is a trap. He’s just gonna jump out and punish me again. His thoughts were frantic as he staggered toward the closet. His breath hitched when he heard the footsteps coming near, the woman’s gentle, quiet voice. “Hey, kid. Just checking in… shit. Guys, he’s gone.”

He flinched when he heard the almost angry tone in her voice and, fearing the worst, he curled up beneath the spare blankets and tried to become as small as he could. But the quiet safety wouldn’t last. His trembling hands couldn’t help moving up to his face, trying to hide himself. The cuffs on his wrists clanked loudly against his collar, both of which the adults hadn’t been able to remove the night before. That’s when he realized he hadn’t actually closed the closet door, his black, devilish tail sitting in view of the woman. His wings tightened around him as the strange woman slowly opened the door, her hands raised in a non threatening manner.

“Hey, kiddo. I was just looking for you. Do you want to come with me to change your bandages?” Her voice was soft, not hiding the malice he was used to. He looked up, shaking, and stared at her open hand until he took it. “Come on. We have breakfast. I think you need it.”

When the group got home, Jason was lounging, expecting jokes, money, and maybe even fast food. “Hey, guys! Fuckin’ took you long en-” The words died in his throat when he saw the trembling bundle of blood and feathers in Cherri’s arms. A string of confused curses was the only noise in the apartment other than the boy’s quiet whimpering. “Babe!” called Matt “We need you to start a bath!” The moment that word left Matt’s mouth, the boy flinched, hard. “Pl-please don’t, I’m so-, don’t, I-, please I’ll be good, just-nonononono-I…” His wings flared out weakly, hitting Cherri but jerking away when she tried to steady him.

“Okaaaay, no… that. Got it. Still, we need to get you cleaned up so we can help fix you up.” Cherri said, a concerned tone staining her voice. “H-help me? Why…” the boy mumbled, obviously confused at the kindness being shown to him. Eun-Kyung snuck behind him with medical scissors in her hands and slowly began cutting away at the bloody, torn jumpsuit, wincing as it tore against his flesh. When they finally got it off, Cherri let out a sharp gasp. Underneath the torn, white jumpsuit was a map of scars, burns, and purple and yellow bruises that were far too many for any child to have suffered.

Matt’s face paled and he clutched his hand to his mouth, mumbling something about making soup and finding clean, warm clothes. Jason followed close behind, ready to comfort his fiancé at a moment’s notice. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!” Matt growled once they were alone, his Irish accent thickening with each curse. “Hey, hey, you’re ok, babe. I-I know this is messed up, but we need to help the kid.” Jason whispered, rubbing Matt’s back while he stirred the soup. “You think I don’t know that?! I want to help the kid, but… what the hell did they do to him? Who, why, for how long? There’s just too many questions and he won’t speak so we probably won’t get any answers anytime soon…” Matt finished with a defeated whisper.

In the bathroom, Eun-Kyung had started a shower for the boy. It was quicker, there was less submersion, and it would offer him a little freedom of movement. The boy sat at the bottom of the tub, trembling with his wings wrapped around him. Cherri gently pressed a clean, wet cloth onto his face, wiping away the blood and grime, while Eun held his arms and washed away more blood and sweat, revealing more horrors beneath. When the water started running more clearly, they helped the boy stand as Matt came back with clean, warm clothes. Cherri carefully maneuvered his wings, horns, and tail to fit around the clothes, making a mental note of any scars and infections on them.

As they guided him to a spare bedroom, he tripped and stumbled on the baggy pajama pants that they loaned him, apologizing as if he expected to get hit if he didn’t. Cherri hesitantly reached out to hold his hand, but he flinched when she got close. Cherri retreated respectfully and helped him get comfortable in the large, soft spare bed. The walls were crisp and barren; the air was heavy with fear. Eun-Kyung left the room to search for Matt and the soup, returning with a warm broth. The boy looked up at the soup with fear and hesitation in his eyes. “It’s just soup. It’s warm and it’ll help you.” Eun-Kyung whispered.

“…nonono, good boys don’t need food. G-good boys get poison and punishment. H-have I been a b-bad boy?!” the boy muttered, almost inaudibly. Cherri let out a small noise, a tiny cry. “No, no sweetie. You… you’ve been a good boy. But you need to eat. You’ll die if you don’t.” Matt wandered in, handing Cherri a soft blanket from the linen closet and she wrapped it around the trembling boy. He stared at Matt with terror as he slowly sipped the broth. After just a few sips, his eyes rolled back and his head drooped. Cherri caught him and laid him down gently. “It’s probably shock, cold, and blood loss.” She said with the expertise that came with being a nurse. “We need to heat him slowly, make a feeding plan, and start physical therapy.”

He ran, faster than he ever had before, but he had to. He had a to get away from that place, the place he grew up, got hurt, and was never going back to. His bloody, broken legs pumped in time with his heart, frantic and irregular. The snow bit at him, stinging like needles, a feeling he was far too familiar with.

He got to the road without realizing until blinding lights raced toward him. His black, feathered wings dragged uselessly behind him, his tail lashing frantically. His thoughts raced, disorganized and chaotic just like the snow. That’s when he found it. The hole in the chain link fence, just large enough for him to fit under.

He wandered the maze of empty stands and old, rusting rides until he came to the Ferris wheel. The lowest gondola was empty and open, a perfect hiding place. As he curled in the bottom under the seat, he chuckled from the bitter irony of it all. He had escaped a cage only to find refuge in another. As his consciousness slipping away into darkness, his wings wrapped tightly around him, conserving any heat he could. His sleep was restless and plagued with nightmares until a woman’s voice woke him. “Babe, I-I think something’s hurt. Come quickly!”

Cherri stepped out of the sleek black car, her boots crunching on the ice beneath her. “Hurry up, Matt! We don’t have all day!” She yelled to the driver. “We both know Jason will try to cook something and end up burning the apartment to the ground.” Matt climbed out of the car, nearly slipping on the ice and snow.

A tall, lean woman came out of the car after Cherri, wrapping her muscled arms around her. “Eun-Kyung, we have a job to do! But I promise when we get home, we can cuddle and watch true crime documentaries.” giggled Cherri, kissing the woman’s forehead. Eun’s bright blue hair was one of the only colors in the cold, gray night.

As the group wandered the amusement park, now abandoned and eerie, Matt muttered about how it used to be a place of joy, but now it was empty and rusting, almost hauntingly quiet except for the occasional creak of an old ride. They split up, each searching a different part of the park for the promised money. Cherri was the first to see the blood in the snow, a terrible red, streaked as if an injured animal dragged itself away. It lead directly to the Ferris wheel where the anonymous person promised the borrowed money would be near.

As she crept closer, she saw the subtle movement in the lowest gondola, as if something was hiding there. “Babe, I-I think something’s hurt. Come quickly!” She approached the gondola quietly with her hands raised, looking as non threatening as possible. Then she saw it. A child, covered in cuts, bruises, and blood, shaking underneath the seat. His eyes were like coals set in ink, glowing red. A heavy metal collar rested on his neck and his wrists and ankles still had cuffs, broken and dirty.

He stared at her through his matted hair, tracing every movement as if he feared for his life. Matt ran toward her, holding up a frost-covered briefcase, grinning widely until he saw the boy. “I have the… holy shit, w-what happened?” The boy flinched at the sudden noise, his ram-like horns scraping against the metal wall. “Doesn’t matter. He’s hurt, cold, and half-dead. We need to help.” Said Eun-Kyung, startling Matt and grabbing his coat. She bent down and carefully wrapped it around the boy, but he flinched when she touched him, expecting a hit. She picked him up as if he was made of glass, ready to shatter at a moments notice. They guided him to their car, and as the heat started blasting, his eyes drooped and he leaned his head onto Cherri’s shoulder.