Interrupted Anger-Igneous

For three days I fume. The first day I spend most of it pacing the room wondering what could have been done to me. I constantly check my breathing and my blood pressure. I monitor the systems of my body look for any change at all. I turned on the television for noise when the silence got to be too much. At night when I dreamt I had the recurring nightmare of becoming a beast and slaughtering an entire village.

The second day was much like the first. I awoke in a cold sweat from the nightmare. I had barely touched my food the day before. No one examined me or checked on me. The nurses that visited said nothing. All they did was drop the tray off on the counter and then quickly exit the room.

I explored the channels on the television, but nothing held my attention for long. I drifted off to sleep to the same dream as before. There was blood everywhere. Fire burned and body parts flew. It was total chaos and mayhem.

On the third day I was starting to go stir crazy being couped up in this room. Everything just seemed too quiet even with shows playing in the background. Laying on the bed got tiresome, so I tried sitting in the chair. That didn’t last long, and I ended up exercising. I did push-ups, jumping jacks, and squats. When I was winded, and my muscles ached I took a shower and then crashed on the bed.

When I awoke the next day I found that my anger had dissipated. It had been three days, and no one came into harm her. No one treated me badly. No one had said a word to me. I began to miss talking with others and having a conversation. I wasn’t used to having this much down time or not being surrounded by someone. I missed my team. We were always playing jokes or ribbing one and other. Now I was stuck in this place, and I had no one. I forgot what it was like to be lonely. Shaking off my stupor I sat up on the edge of the bed.

“Stop being such a baby. After working for five years straight you can deal with it” I said aloud to myself.

“I agree. I think you have wallowed in your self-pity enough” I scrambled back on the bed right over the edge and fell flat on my butt. The guard Maximus just popped out in front of me out of nowhere.

“Not cool man” I say rising to my feet. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I know I may have a bruise from the fall. “That’s a shitty trick to pull on someone. How the hell did you get in here anyway?” I scream at him.

Instead of answering my question he leisurely walks over to the sink and gets a cup of water. Once he’s done drinking that he grabs the apple off my breakfast tray and bites into it. I scowl at him as he treats the room like his own personal paradise. Seeing that he isn’t going to answer me I take a seat back on the bed and start flipping through channels. After a few moments he snatches the remote out of my hand in a quick maneuver and places it on the windowsill behind his head.

“What the hell is your problem?” I demand to know.

“Right now it’s you” he says with a smirk.

“Oh yeah, what did I do to get your panties in a bunch?” I say with a tick in my jaw. This guy really pisses me off.

“Well, let me see” he says putting a finger to his jaw as if he is thinking. With a snap of his fingers his expression goes deadly, and I lean away from him. “We made a deal you see. A deal that you wouldn’t hurt her. You broke your end of it so I’m here to collect” he snarls. He rises from the chair and stands before me menacingly.

“I didn’t hurt her. I haven’t even spoken to her or anyone else in days. I don’t owe you anything” I say standing from the bed to get in his face.

“That’s what is causing her pain you idiot. Did you ever think to ask about her? What consequences she is facing after bringing a human here? Do you even care about what happens to her?” he snaps.

“How I feel is none of your business. Wait, what do you mean consequences for bringing me here? What’s going to happen to her?” I question all of my anger disappearing.

His eyes roam my face searching for something. He must find what he’s looking for because he takes a seat back in his chair. He sits back in the chair and crosses one leg over the other. I cross my arms over my chest waiting for him to answer me.

“She is being punished. The only humans that have ever been allowed on this land have been here since the beginning. She brought one in, so you are her responsibility. If she is not keeping an eye on you she has to do something she hates to atone for it. She can’t even have a way to work out her anger because her normal way was taken for bringing you here. She’s suffering” he spits out.

I stare at him my mouth gaping open not knowing what to say. I was so angry after losing my men and losing my freedom. I never imagined she was in trouble for bringing me here. “How is any of that my fault. It sounds like she broke the rule. I would have been fine at a human hospital” I say in my own defense.

He laughs darkly. “No, you would have died before you reached it. Even when you came here there was no way to save you and your heart stopped. She broke our most sacred law and risked her life so that you would live. Here you sit alive while she suffers without so much as a thanks.” He counters

“I died…no I looked at the chart. If I died then how am I here? She should have said something if all this happened. Right?” I murmur.

As I look at him in answer he just shrugs. Why would she risk everything to save me? I don’t understand why she would risk so much for someone who wasn’t her kind. Then I went and yelled at her. I accused her of doing horrible things to me when I wouldn’t even be standing here now if it were for her. I slump against the bed knowing that I have really messed up. I need to find her.

“I need shoes” I say rising from the bed. He arches an eyebrow in my direction as If I have forgotten something. “please” I ground out from between my teeth.

“At the foot of the bed. I brought them with me on the last rotation.” He says with a point.

“Last rotation? That was last night. You been in here watching me that long?” I hiss.

“Don’t flatter yourself human. When she isn’t with you, you are my duty. I’m always around even if you don’t see me” he says with a harsh breath. He rises from his chair and plops onto the bed. He pulls the breakfast sandwich from my tray and bites it as he folds his other hand behind his head.

I wrinkle my nose as the dirt on his boots dirties the crisp white sheets. With a shake of my head I rush to put on the shoes and start heading for the door. However, a thought stops me.

“What is she to you?” I ask him.

“My sister. Don’t fuck it up this time. You’ll find her in the cafeteria.” He says as he picks up the remote.

I quickly exit the room and head to the nurses station for directions. I just hope she is willing to forgive me for how I acted.

As I exit the clinic I start to really hope that the directions I got from the nurse were correct. I didn’t realize that I would have to leave the facility to find her. Outside the clinic I pause as the rays of the sun hit my face after days being couped up in that room. I can finally breathe again. The air here in her village is fresh. Looking around I see that greenery covers pretty much everything. There are pine trees all around and even some wildflowers.

I get on the path as directed and look at the buildings as I walk. Its looks like they built everything by preference. Some of the homes are made of wood and some are made of stone. In the distance I can see some dwellings that look as if they have just been carved right into the side of the mountain. It is truly beautiful here.

When I see the yellow house the nurse described I make a left. I can see the building she described as the cafeteria in the distance. Since it lies up the hill I get a whiff of food on the breeze. My stomach growls reminding me that it has been a while since I have eaten. I find it a bit off that I have seen no one else in this village yet. Just as I have the thought a shadow passes overhead. I lift a hand to my head as a visor so I can peer up into the sky. I freeze when I notice that it is a dragon flying.

As it banks and heads back in my direction I slowly start to step away. A small part of me isn’t afraid because this happens to be a beast of the girlish shade of pink I have ever seen, but that part of my brain shuts down as soon as I see its talons. As I back away I turn around to run when I see its getting closer to the ground and flying right in my direction. I look back as I run up the hill. I turn my head to see where I am going and smack right into something that immediately knocks me on my butt.

Angry at the fact that I got knocked down, I fume when I see the guard again. “So, it would have been too much to ask for you to turn invisible before I ran into you, right?” I say with disdain.

“Not my fault you humans don’t here well. I warned you that I’m always around. You thought you were just taking this walk all by yourself?” he spat

I rise off the ground and dust myself off shooting daggers at him. I turn my gaze in the direction I saw the dragon coming from but no longer see it in the sky. I shrug my shoulders to myself shaking off the paranoia. “You guys just fly around whenever you want?” I ask resuming a steady pace up the hill. After a few seconds when I don’t get an answer I turn around to see that he is no longer here. “Asshole” I mutter.

The scent of roasted meat is strong when I swing open the door to the cafeteria. I stand in the doorway letting my eyes adjust as I survey the room for her presence. When I find her I smile. She has yet to notice me but everyone else sure has. The reason I hardly saw anyone on the way here is because they have all gathered here to eat. The noise quiets down immediately and I shuffle on my feet awkwardly. She turns in my direction to see what the commotion was, and her face turns from stoic to shock. I wave as I make my way to her. She stands when I reach her table twirling her hair around her finger.

From the way her eyes dart around the room, I would think she does this because she is nervous. “Mind if I join you?” I ask gesturing to the seat opposite her. She nods in reply and then takes her seat. We sit for a few moments in a calm silence. She has still yet to meet my gaze since we have been sitting here. “How’s about we share a meal first and then we can talk?” My stomach growls at the suggestion. She whips her head in my direction looking at me as if she may have heard the sound.

“Oh, you need to eat. Yes, we can feed you. Come with me and you can see what you want?” She suggest rapidly rising from the chair.

I chuckle as I rise to follow her. “What?” she asks

“Oh nothing, it’s just starting to seem like you are always the one taking care of me. I was thinking that perhaps soon I would get to return the favor.” I say as I pile food onto a plate.

She blushes at my suggestion. I like the look so much I stop to stare at her for a moment. She tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear looking around the room. Finished adding food to my plate I notice she is still looking around. I realize that many of the people in the room continue to watch us. You would think that thirty some odd people would have something better to do than listen to our conversation. As I take in the faces of the many that sit at the tables I startle at how beautiful everyone here is. There are so many different shades of hair and striking features that it takes me aback.

“Why don’t we go for a walk. I know a quiet place that we can eat without having so many eyes on us” she suggest loudly. That gets the attention of a few of those who sit and have them quickly turning away from us in embarrassment to be caught.

“Lead the way, please” I say gesturing to the door. As I trail behind her I embrace this feeling. The anger that I experience the last few days has completely dissipated now that I am in her presence again. I find myself wondering another time why I have this reaction to her.