forum A Weird Idea (O/O) (Reboot)

Started October 24, 2019 by @amber_is_in_a_loop

tune

Light! Light flooded the hall. Kieran twisted his head around to look ahead, the new number floating above the newcomer’s head.
“Long, long, long…” he growled, eyes narrowing, his voice rising to a scream. “CLOSER!”

Ama flinched, squinting and looking around to try and see who yelled. Hopefully whoever did that wouldn’t make it a habit. He pulled up the corner of his upper lip.

The guard stopped in front of Ama’s cell, fidgeting through a ring of keys to find the right one.

Kieran gasped loudly.
The number hovering above the newcomer’s head was for digits long.
« IMMORTAL! » he shrieked, falling backwards on his back. He started writhing on the ground, eyes wide and staring at the man. « IMMORTAL! »

Ama took a step back in surprise. His blood went cold—how did he know? His face contorted with anxiety and fear.
The guards pushed him forward again.
He forced himself to relax. There was no way this random man would know he’s immortal, right? He could just be shouting…random words. Like ‘immortal,’ which was such a common word to shout, right? Convincing himself didn’t seem to work very well, but he was able to keep his composure now.

« NO! KILL HIM! COMMIT HIM! » Kieran screamed, shaking the iron bars in front of him. The man was strange, the man was old, he had to die. And Kieran would take care of it.

Ama’s face distorted with fear again. He reeled back. No—they wouldn’t be putting him in the cell with this man, would they? “Wait—wait, don’t put me in here with him!” He pleaded, throughly put on edge. His heart was practically leaping out of his throat as the guards unlocked the cell and ushered him inside.

Kieran backed away into the wall, and a let out a guttural hiss. “What are you, creature?” he demanded in his usual scratchy voice.

Ama pressed his back into the door after it was closed and locked again. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he spat.

“Yes!” Kieran screeched throwing himself onto the floor near the stranger, on his hands and knees glowering up at the man. “You do. You know what I know that you know. There’s no need to deny any longer, because Kieran knows.”

A wave of fear etched across his face, “You don’t know anything!” He sidestepped away from this strange man on the floor. “I’m not immortal.” No, that couldn’t be possible that he knew. He’d never told anyone before, and no one had ever known, at least for the last thousand years.

“Foolish words, from a foolish man,” Kieran whispered lying flat on his stomach and setting his head on his crossed arms. “I don’t know of your reason to be here, but I figure we’re going to be here a while. You may as well tell me everything now, before I torture it out for you.” He gave the man a cold grin.

Amadeus shuddered, continuing to step away towards the other side of the cell. “I have no reason to tell you anything. Especially if you’ve told me nothing about you.”

The prisoner stuck out his tongue, thinking. “I’ll tell you my name for the truth.”

“Oh?” Ama was quiet for a moment, recalling something this man had said a few minutes before. “…It’s..Kieran, is it?” He assumed, unless this man was talking about someone else.

Kieran stilled before letting out a snarl. “So you read minds, too, freak?”

He sneered, “No, you already said it.” This man was crazy, he concluded, no doubt about it. But he was still wary around him, and honestly frightened. “I’m no freak, you’re the freak.”

Kieran let the grimace drop, and sat cross legged. “You are a child,” he concluded blankly.

“Maybe,” he replied simply. And sitting on one of the cots, he crossed one leg over the other. “Maybe we should just ignore each other. That’d be for the best, right?”

Kieran followed suit and mimicked the man’s exact position on his own cot. “For today. One day I’ll crack you, however, be forewarned,” he replied with the same blank tone.

“I doubt it,” Ama leaned back against the nearest surface, letting out a heavy sigh. Over the many years he’d been on earth, he’d spent many hours just sitting. But he found nothing was more boring than just sitting in prison. With an odd man.

Proof only of your idiocy, Kieran murmured to himself, curling into a corner of the cell. He knew that one day he'd get the confirmation of this man's power.

Amadeus dutifully tried to ignore him. He really did, but despite the man’s odd behavior, he was quite interesting. And there was nothing else interesting in this cell. He pulled his feet closer to himself on the cot, looking down at the ground, chewing on his inner cheek, and then glancing up at Kieran. He scoffed through his nose, looked down again. It was a system: Lather, rinse, repeat.

Just as Kieran was about to speak again, the clicking steps of a guard sounded from the other end of the hall. The guard walked up to their cell and, standing right outside the door, gestured to Amadeus to back as far away as possible.

Amadeus blinked, quite confused. He scooted back in his bed to lean against the wall, as far as he could get away from the door. He raised his eyebrow curiously.

Kieran looked up from his corner of the room and quietly whined; his entire mood had shifted in a split second from defensive and cruel to vulnerable and scared. He curled up tighter, burying his head in his lap.
The guard slowly unlocked the cell door and crept in, hand outstretched. He took hold of Kieran’s arm tightly, and started pulling him to his feet.
Kieran whined louder and resisted. Without batting an eye the guard kicked Kieran in the ribs, and when the latter’s resistance slackened the guard had him pinned against him in a headlock.
Both men exited the cell, and the door shut behind them.

Amadeus watched, his eyes wide with alarm and stunned confusion. “Wh-wha—?” He managed. His mouth hung agape as he witnessed what appeared to be a completely uncalled for series of events. He sat forward, eventually standing up to the cell door and watch them walk away. He certainly never minded silence, but now it was cold, laced with a new onset of fear. Could what the guard just did too Kieran happen to him?

(alright)
Kieran was thrown back into the cell 5 full hours later. He had burn marks on his face and scalp, and what looked like a broken wrist. He limped into his corner again, silently chewing on his busted lip. His eyes were glazed over, still shining with tears.

Amadeus lifted his head from his knees, his eyes widening at the sight of Kieran’s pitiful appearance. He stayed silent for a moment or so, which felt longer than it really was. “What happened to you?” He asked, only half expecting a reply at all.