09-15-2014, 07:42 AM
He banged his knee, caught his footing, but was still unbalanced by the fear that he would land on his broken hand. By that time he had been caught. Terror held him still as he looked up a long way at the man who had found him. Vitriol filled the fear up, the need to defend himself in the only way he knew how - to attack before he was chewed up. But no. He was too scared to speak. There was no-one else down here, just him and the legionnaire, in a basement that must have ample dark spaces to hide the body of a boy.
He swallowed dryly as the man crouched low in front of him. He still wanted to cry; his eyes were burning with the pressure until it felt like his whole skull might explode. Which fired up awful images of how Kofi had looked after, and then the guilt reared, remembering how his friend had cried and cried and how hot the blood had been, how easy the flesh tore. Bile burned his throat. He hadn't even told Natalie why he'd done it, though she seemed to know. He wanted to be sorry but he was scared of that too, and maybe he shouldn't think about it at all except he couldn't help it.
His legs wobbled again, and this time his butt fell down hard on the step behind him. Ekene buried his head in his arm, huddled into his knees. He could feel the tears welling hot and insistent despite it all, knew he was going to be in serious trouble, willed desperately to stop his chest heaving tell-tale sobs. If he heard the man's question, he didn't respond. Probably it fell on insular, deaf ears. "Please don't tell Jack. I'm supposed to be a man."
He swallowed dryly as the man crouched low in front of him. He still wanted to cry; his eyes were burning with the pressure until it felt like his whole skull might explode. Which fired up awful images of how Kofi had looked after, and then the guilt reared, remembering how his friend had cried and cried and how hot the blood had been, how easy the flesh tore. Bile burned his throat. He hadn't even told Natalie why he'd done it, though she seemed to know. He wanted to be sorry but he was scared of that too, and maybe he shouldn't think about it at all except he couldn't help it.
His legs wobbled again, and this time his butt fell down hard on the step behind him. Ekene buried his head in his arm, huddled into his knees. He could feel the tears welling hot and insistent despite it all, knew he was going to be in serious trouble, willed desperately to stop his chest heaving tell-tale sobs. If he heard the man's question, he didn't respond. Probably it fell on insular, deaf ears. "Please don't tell Jack. I'm supposed to be a man."