REDEMPTION

7.RESCUE.

Sometime had passed, he did not know how long. He heard the air blow. The air was comforting. Assuring him that everything was going to be okay. He could not remember much of what happened the previous night. He wondered if Sasha had made it out safely. His mind, however, kept disturbing his peace. It threw words from one corner to another. Nothing made sense. Not his words or his environment. His environment? 

Ralph opened his eyes slowly and saw his hands. Slowly he lifted his head and looked around. His senses seemed to have woken up as soon as he did this. The fresh air he had inhaled earlier was quickly mixed with the smell of blood and rotting flesh. The wind he had heard blow was one of the guards conducting routine checks to make sure the prisoners were still alive. 

“It croaked,” one of the guards mentioned as he erupted in laughter. He was neither amused nor was he concerned. 

Ralph closed his eyes and offered a prayer, hoping the soul would rest in peace and not seek vengeance. Still and all, even he knew that that was a dream too far fetched. But, he still dared to believe it was possible. After his prayer, he tried to relax his muscles while listening to his body. It told him one thing… pain. 

He ached all over. His back from the awkward position he had fallen asleep last night. His neck from leaning to one side. His leg and hands from the broken bones. And his head, from the punches he had received over and over again. Ralph’s body had no time to recuperate because every time he showed signs of getting better, they would take him out of his cell only to torture his with their questions and fists. 

These were questions he knew no answers to. And no matter how hard he tried to show them he knew nothing of what they sought, the more they used inhumane methods. Thinking back, Ralph wondered how he had been able to survive this long. With his eyes still closed, he took air into his lungs. A sharp pain warned him not to go further. He held it and released. 

Ralph opened his eyes once more and noticed that he could see from both eyes. His right eye had healed. The swelling in his left cheek had subsided as well. He wanted to let out a sigh but held it back. If he had done so, his broken ribs would not have handled the pressure of air being suddenly released. The guards were still around, they hit the metallic poles to startle those inside. 

The sound of clanging and shouting made Ralph’s head spin. After all this time, he still hadn’t gotten used to the noise he woke up to every morning. He never remembered what he dreamt of or if he had dreams to be in with. His life after his capture had been dark and lonely. Nonetheless, if this was the price he had to pay for his family to be safe, he was more than willing to do it twice. His family was all he had left. He would do anything to make sure they were safe.

Ralph’s only regret was not telling his sister the truth about her. I’d he only got the chance to see her one more time… he could tell her everything. Burdening as it might be, she had the right to know what would happen to her. What she was. How different she was. Why she was different. And why they were the only ones who had to live in the human realm before their proclamation ceremony. 

He heard the bars to his cell being opened. That wasn’t right, they always, always without fail let him rest for about two days before taking him out to play punching bag. It was already past breakfast so he ruled out that option. Color drained from his face as fear crept into his heart. He began wishing he had played dead a but longer, perhaps they would have let him off. 

“Hey, brunch,” the guard said approaching him. “ Boss wants to see ya.” 

Brunch was the name Ralph was known by. They began calling his this because the guards always came for him after breakfast and returned him to his cell right before lunch. They also did not ask for his name before they broke him. So they figured `Mr. No name ʼ might as well be called brunch. The guard kicked his broken leg but Ralph did not respond. 

It was not out if fear or numbness, he just didn’t want to give these animals the pleasure of seeing him in pain. He did not want to fill their hearts with desire to cause him more pain either. Ralph acted numb even though he wanted to scream his lungs out. He sat there, took in all the pain and stared at the guard blankly. 

Concern momentarily flooded the guards face. Ralph thought he was dreaming. He wondered if that concerned look was out of fear or just sincere concern. The guard knelt while stretching his hand toward Ralph. He felt his pulse and confirmed he was alive. He sighed. Ralph blinked twice and ran the scenario before him in his mind once more. 

He wondered why he was concerned with his well being yet they enjoyed torturing whenever they saw fit. The guard motioned for his colleague to come and help him. They each took Ralph’s arm, hoisted him and provided support for him. Ralph was confused. He had no idea what was going on. He wondered why they were being so nice yet yesterday they were out for his blood. 

He knew they knew his secret, that he was not completely human yet what they looked for in him wasn’t part of his DNA. When Ralph was born, his parents were not sure which of their abilities he had acquired. His mother was an angel, his father a demon. Shaw, his brother, acquired angel abilities and an added advantage to sense and tolerate dark energy from demons. 

This meant that if he was attacked by demons or dark energy, he would still be able to stand and fight. This surprised many and he became a constant target. Not a day would pass that he wasn’t ambushed by a group or two. For Shawn, this was excellent practice to improve the skills he had learned. Hence he was called the` Angel killer ʼ while others called him ` the dark knight ʼ. Overtime he had many names that was until Ralph came along. 

Ralph acquired demon abilities of his father and he, could also tolerate light energy and magic that could kill and render even the most powerful demon defenseless. These two brothers had their own share of battles and they never lost to anyone. Not even once. Their parents were always worried. The boys would always come home with blood instead of dirt on their clothes. They never killed anyone.

But they made sure their attackers would not make the mistake of attacking them again. And after a while, no one challenged the boys again. After a few years, their mother had Audrey. Ralph’s lips twitched as his heart warmed to the memory he had long forgotten. Her rosy cheeks, her first cry, her first laugh. Her first word. As they dragged him away to God-knew-where his mind recalled these warm moments. 

The guards took him out and they walked toward the forest that neighbored their dungeons. This wasn’t right either, they were going the wrong way. The torture room was the other way. Why did they suddenly take him out to the woods? Did they finally decide to end him? Or was it to bury him? 

Ralph couldn’t resist even if he tried. He just wished he could see her one more time. As he was still thinking, the guards came to a halt. Placed him slowly on the ground and left. He was dreaming, right? 

“It’s been far too long.” He heard as his vision eloped him.