Yes, Master

Chapter 8: Stitched Together

I had been sitting in my room for what felt like an eternity now. The sun had gone from glaring in my eyes to disappearing and revealing the night sky. I sat in the same position all day long, absentmindedly tracing patterns in the dirt next to me.

Not another hour had passed when I heard the barn doors open and a couple sets of footsteps came echoing through the hall.

Great. Master has come to finish me off and this time he's got some friends to help. I listened closely as I heard two more doors open and close with a lock sliding into place. Just as I began to wonder what was happening, the lock outside my door was unchained and it opened to reveal Master. Once I saw it was him I kept my head down and tried to melt into the wall. He stood there and looked at me for what felt like an eternity. Soon enough I couldn't handle not knowing what he was doing, so I slowly lifted my eyes to look at his tall frame. He stood leaning against the doorway with red eyes piercing into me. Once he saw me look up, he smiled. It wasn't a cruel smile, but it was definitely not kind either. I remembered I wasn't supposed to look him in the eyes, so I hung my head and studied the ground beneath me once more.

His cold and sarcastic voice broke the silence between us. "Your blood smells weak, slave. I originally came to feed, but seeing as the condition you're in, I will have to wait. I can't have something as valuable as you dying." I cringed a little and held back a sob. I wasn't someone anymore. I was a thing. "Don't you know to answer me when I speak to you, slave? I thought you had learned your lesson. Maybe I was wrong." I could tell he was testing me to see if I would obey him.

Hoping my voice would work, I slowly parted my lips and responded. "I-I'm sorry." The words were barely audible and came out hoarse. With each syllable that escaped my lips it felt as if someone were pouring sand down my throat.

Master's voice once again rang through the barn. "I'm sorry, what, salve?"

I took a deep breath and tried to keep calm. "I'm sorry, Master."

I kept my head down and watched his feet as he approached me. Before I knew it, he was right next to me, lifting my chin upwards to look at his face. I tried to keep my eyes averted from his gaze and stop the tears that threatened to come.

"Look at me." His hot breath growled into my face.

I slowly brought my eyes up to meet his. They were a deep, burgundy red. This was the first good look I had gotten at my Master, and I hoped it would be my last. His black hair hung to the side with a few pieces escaping to fall on his forehead. A square jaw held light pink lips that always seemed to be smirking at me. His face was completely devoid of emotion, even though he was smirking. His eyes held nothing but emptiness and he looked at me as scum. It was terrifying being this close to him, and I could tell he knew I was uncomfortable. His hand grew tighter on my chin as I struggled desperately to free my head from his grip. I was beyond scared and wanted to be as far away from him as I could. I finally freed my chin when a hand came back and hit me across the cheek.

"You only move when I say you can. Got that?" His voice was like ice that froze me in place. I could tell he was angry and it made me petrified.

"Yes, Master." I tried unsuccessfully to keep the whimper out of my voice.

Without another word he stood up and left me in my stall. The door slid shut and a lock was put in place. I heard his footsteps echoing back to the front door when they stopped short. Another lock and door were opened and then slid back into place. Two pairs of footsteps came back towards me. I feared the worst and cowered into my wall, hoping to blend in with my surroundings. My door was opened and someone was thrown in next to me.

"Fix her up so I don't starve. I will be back in an hour." Master then threw a box into the room and left, making sure to lock the door tight.

Once he was gone I slowly lifted my head to see another girl. She looked to be 12 years old and had light blonde hair. Her blue-green eyes sat wide on her face, coupled with small pink lips. Like me, she was frozen with fear. 

The girl looked me up and down, then sighed. "Master has told me to fix your wounds, so I need to see your stomach." When she spoke, it was quiet and soft. I realized she was the girl I spoke with the day I first got here. 

"You're that girl I spoke to, right? The one who can't remember her name?" I studied her small frame. She was extremely skinny and pale. 

"Yes, I'm the one. And you're Samantha?" Her voice sounded tired and sad. 

I simply nodded in reply to her. She moved to the other side of the room to pick up the box Master had thrown in. Once she came back to me I realized it was a first aid kit. I sighed internally. I wasn't planning on fixing my wounds, I hoped to die from them. 

"Could you please lift up your shirt?" Her frail body now sat in front of me, first aid kit in hand. 

"No. I'm not making myself better. I don't want to live like this, I'd rather die." I tried to be kind to her. After all, she was in the same situation as I was, but I couldn't help my voice coming out a little bitter.

The girl looked at me, her eyes pleading. "I'm sorry. But, please. I can't disobey an order from the Master. He- He'll..." Her voice trailed off as fear laced her words. "I know you don't want to be here." Her blue-green eyes now bore straight into mine. "No one does. Just please, let me look at your wounds." She was begging me by now. 

I could tell she was seriously scared. Her eyes were pleading and she had taken my hand in hers. I don't know what Master had done to her, but she was desperate not to make him mad. 

I looked at the girl with pity in my eyes. "Okay. But I'm doing it for you."

She breathed a sigh of relief and almost went to hug me, then remembered I was hurt. She looked up at me again, and I remembered I had to lift my shirt so she could see the cuts on my stomach. My good arm left my side and went to the hem of my torn up t-shirt. I raised it up halfway, so that the gauze covering up my stomach was fully revealed. The girl gasped a little, then composed herself quickly. She took scissors out of the first aid box and slowly and carefully started to cut away my bandaging. I practically screamed in pain with each piece of cloth that was peeled off my torn skin. Once the gauze was completely away, she stared at my stomach in fear. 

"This is worse than what I thought it would be. I-I'm so sorry, but what I have to do is going to hurt. A lot." She looked at me with worry in her eyes. Her tone of voice scared me, and tempted me to look down at my stomach. When I did, I gasped in shock. My flesh was torn and twisted with pieces of skin hanging on by a thread. My entire stomach was swollen and red and puss was oozing out in some places. I stifled back a cry and looked away. I was in pain before, but seeing the wound somehow made it worse. 

I held back the tears as the girl started to work on me. She wiped away the dried blood and saw even clearer where each nail had gone through my skin. Next, she took a rag with a smelly substance on it, and started to dab at my wounds. I felt an excruciating stinging every time she touched me. Once the girl was satisfied that the cuts had been cleaned out, she turned around and grabbed a thread and needle. She hesitated before looking at me. 

"Um, it might be best if you look away from this part." Her tiny fingers threaded the needle and headed towards my stomach. 

I looked down at the dirt as I felt the stabbing of the needle go into my skin. I winced in pain and tried my hardest not to move. Tears were now silently pouring down my face. I tried as hard as I could to block out the pain, but to no avail. By the time she was done my fingers were raw from digging in the dirt trying to find something to squeeze. 

She tied off the string and looked at me once more. "I'm sorry again. That was the worst part. Now, are you hurt anywhere else? We don't have much time left before Master gets here." 

I looked down and carefully brought up my arm with the engravings on it. I had been avoiding looking at the words ever since Master put them there. Looking now, I saw that my skin was inflamed and full of blisters. The skin looked as if it was about to fall off my arm. Despite the redness and blisters, you could still clearly see SLAVE marked across my forearm. 

The girl looked at my arm with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry, Samantha." 

I could tell she wasn't talking about the wound, but the scar that would remain forever. 

In a flash the girl had another rag and was cleaning off my burn. She took water and lightly poured it on my arm, making me hiss in pain. Once I realized she had water though, I started to drool. She noticed, while peeling off the rest of my gauze and staying clear of the blisters. With her sad and quiet voice she told me, "I would give you water, but Master told me not to. I'm sorry, but I can't disobey him." The girl avoided my eyes this time. As a final touch to heal me, she wrapped my arm loosely in gauze once again. "Don't pop the blisters. It's very painful and they will get infected."

As soon as she finished her sentence the barn doors were thrown open. Footsteps walked towards my stall, and the girl started scrambling to get all the first aid things back in the box. Once she was done, she closed it, put it in her hand, and stood in front of the door with her head down. By this time my stall's door was already sliding open to reveal Master. 

His tall frame filled the doorway and the girl cowered back ever so slightly. He held out his hand and she carefully placed the first aid box in it. Without a glance towards me he turned around and the girl followed. Surprisingly though, he left my stall door open. I was about to jump up and run out the door, before I remembered the condition I was in. I couldn't even stand up. Master knew this, and was taunting me. I was hating him more and more by the minute. 

After the girl was back in her stall, Master's footsteps came back towards me. Once in my doorway, he stepped through and slid it shut behind him. He studied my pitiful frame, huddled against a wall with tear stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes. I kept my head down and just tried not to make him angry. After a while he came and crouched down in front of me. Abruptly, his cold and harsh voice broke the silence. 

"How long has it been since you have eaten, slave?" He asked this with his voice devoid of any emotion. "I'm not asking because I care, but because I need you well again if I am to feed." 

My voice came out as a terrified whisper. "I think it's been almost 6 days, Master."

He huffed and backed away from me. Without a second glance, he left through my door and put the lock in place. 

So, his plan really was to starve me. 

I leaned my head back into the barn wall and closed my eyes. I wonder how long it takes someone to starve to death.

I had almost drifted off into unconsciousness, when I heard two soft thuds next to me. I opened my eyes to see what was thrown, and I couldn't believe it. There next to me, was a rotten apple and half empty water bottle. I was wary at first, remembering the hallucinations from the other day, so I tentatively reached my arm out to grab the food and water. To my disbelief, it was real. 

I held the soft and bruised red apple in my hand, and cherished it. I had forgotten how much I missed food. I took a bite into the apple and almost immediately cried for joy. Its sweetness filled my mouth and danced around on my tongue. Then, remembering the water, I put the apple in my lap and brought the bottle to my lips. It was hot and a grayish color, but it was also the best water I had ever tasted. This may be a pathetic meal, but I relished in every bite. Never again would I take something for granted. A quote popped into my head, and I smiled sadly. It was one of my mom's favorites. She always spoke on being grateful for what you have everyday, and not losing sight of what matters most in your life. I only wish that I had listened to her more, because now I related more to this quote than ever. 

You never know what you have until you lose it, and once you lose it, you can never get it back.