Abigail Ketner: Branded

I snap my head back around as fear pulses through me with the weight of his dark eyes on me. Any moment, he could try to take advantage of the situation, so I tread carefully.

“I’m not going to kill myself.” I raise my hands, palms facing him, as if claiming innocence. Cole shakes his head, puts his hands in his pockets, and remains where he is.

“Don’t you have a wife, girlfriend, or someone to go home to?” I ask, trying to make light conversation.

“Come on, you know better than that.” He raises his eyebrow. “Do I really have to spell it out for you?”

“Oh, right,” I say. I watch him for a response, but he says nothing. I should know the hardest and most proficient guards work in here. I can’t imagine working here and not becoming desensitized to the violence.

I hope I never become like that.

A muffled whine escapes Cole’s room and a bewildered expression crosses his face as we lock eyes.

“Is there someone in your room?”

“No.” He slams the door closed behind him. Sensing irritability on his part, I let the subject drop. I lie down on the mattress, curling into a ball. He fidgets in my room, fumbles for the door, and leaves it ajar. I’m pretending to be asleep when he leaves. He turns off my light, but I know there’s no way I’ll sleep tonight.

I must’ve passed out at some point because when I wake, I’m on my stomach and my neck cramps from the lack of a pillow. So I readjust, turning my face to the other side. A warm breath hits my face, tickling my nose.

I freeze.

Clinking of metal inches from my face, followed by the scraping of nails on the wall causes me to panic. Thinking it might be a rat, I sit up in a flash and try swatting it away. But it’s bigger and doesn’t move.

My heart pounds and I’m unsure what to do.

It can’t be Cole.

I panic. I reach around, feeling for anything I can use to protect myself. Nothing, of course… I have nothing.

“HELP!”

The very instant I scream, the beast starts to howl.

“Zeus, shut up,” Cole yells as he crashes into my room. He flicks on the light, and that’s when I completely lose it.

Jumping back in the corner, I yank my legs in and squeeze them tight to my chest. I can’t breathe; my lungs won’t expand. My eyes open wide with fear. The monster stops howling and looks at me with his big brown eyes. His pointed ears stand at attention, and his sharp teeth shine in the dim moonlight.

“Zeus, what the hell’s your problem?” Cole yells. “I told you not to leave my room, you—ah, whatever.” He grabs the silver chain around Zeus’s neck and pulls him off my mat. The creature’s claws scrape along the floor as Cole drags him back. “Sit! And stay there before I kill you.” Cole leans down and snaps his fingers before my frozen eyes, but it’s no use. All I see are razor-sharp teeth protruding from its mouth and white foam dripping to the floor.

It’s going to eat me. I’m sure of it.

“Meet Zeus, my crap-for-brains guard dog.” He smacks the so-called dog across his head. Zeus snaps at his hand, but Cole’s quick reflexes prevent him from biting anything but air. “Don’t talk to him. He only listens to me… So I strongly suggest you don’t try to pull anything stupid. Like make him attack me. It won’t work.”

Then why tell me?

I examine Zeus with cautious eyes, unsure what to think of him. “I’ve never seen a horse, I mean, dog with—”

“He’s a Great Dane,” he snaps at me and then flicks the light on. “Stay seated.”

Is he talking to the dog or me?

Zeus has a fawn coat with a black mask, eye rims, and eyebrows. He’s like a miniature horse. He turns toward me, licks my face, and looks down as he pushes his forehead to mine. I hold my breath. He tasted me and now I wait for him to eat me. He growls.

“Zeus, I think she gets the point. You’re a badass. Now go lay down,” Cole says.

My filthy floor disgusts even the dog because he takes one glance, moves a foot, and slips. Then he slowly makes his way back toward Cole’s room.

I need to get his slobber off my face… “I have to use the bathroom,” I say.

“So go. I don’t need a play-by-play,” Cole says with a yawn.

I stumble to my bathroom. Fear climbs in my throat as I wash my face and attempt to use the restroom. No toilet paper hangs on the roll.

Good thing I only have to pee.

I pull up my pants, tie them in place, and yank open the curtain to find Cole leaning against the wall, almost asleep. His usual stern expression melts away as he nods forward and catches himself. Blinking back sleep, he looks around, eyes me, and retires back to his room, shutting the door completely this time.

I lie back down on my mattress, breathing deeply to calm myself, and then curl up like a kitten. The heavy fingers of rest push my eyelids down only to be interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. Half asleep, I think the voice comes from within my dream, but when it repeats itself, I startle into consciousness.

“Skank! We know you’re in there,” says a screechy voice.

“Slut! Open the door,” says a second voice. “We’ve been dreaming about touching you all night… We promise to be gentle.” They laugh.

I sit up, my heart pounding against my chest, and press against the wall. Do I sit tight or call Cole? Their hands fiddle with the door, and I swallow hard, trying to decide what to do.

“I’m gonna ride you till the sun comes—”

“Leave!” Cole’s voice demands from the other side of my door. “Now.”

The men chuckle. “Oh, I almost forgot,” the deep voice says with sarcasm. “The guards get the first lay… How could we forget? Damn, she must be number—”

“Get the hell out of here before I smash in your skulls,” Cole says.

“All right… all right… chill… Just be sure to let us know when she’s back on the market.” Their laughter fades away. “That body of hers is to die for.”

The door opens from the main hallway, and I shrink into the shadows, but instead of strangers, Cole walks in. He gives me a tired look of annoyance as he places a small paper bag onto my windowsill.

“Out of all the sins, you had to go and pick lust?”

His question irritates me. I have to swallow the dry lump in my throat before I can answer. “You know nothing about me.”

“Well, then, enlighten me.” He shoves his hands into his pockets and cocks his head. “If I’m supposed to keep these lunatics off you, then I deserve an answer.”

“Why? No one else believes me.” I breathe deep, trying to stem the tide of emotions that surge over me. “When you look at me… like everyone else, you see nothing but blue.”

His eyes dart to the floor. “What happened to you?” His question catches me off-balance and the muscles in my neck tighten. I wrap my arms around myself, waiting for the darkness.

I’m in a closet. Waiting, waiting, waiting. What I’m waiting for is always the unknown. The sharp stab in the pit of my stomach causes me to double over. I feel his presence. I hear his breathing. I want to run, but there’s nowhere to go. I want to scream, but no one can hear me.

And there’s my mother, standing in her sequined dress, decorated in that gaudy jewelry he bought her. She’s jealous of me for some warped reason. I’d give anything to change the past—to be free of this pain. I never wanted to be the focus of my stepfather’s attention—his adoration. I’ve done nothing wrong, but my mother doesn’t see it that way. She wants me dead. He wants me alive so he can control me.

“Snap out of it!” Cole’s voice brings me back. My hands shake as I rub my eyes and crawl onto my mattress. “Geez, I only asked what happened to you and you go all psycho on me.”