Page 18 of Place of Torment

When she inhaled, I assumed to ask why Rowen had to explain anything, I continued talking while giving her a pointed glare to keep her questions to herself for now. “Most important right now is that you are feeling better. You are feeling better, aren’t you, Alice?”

“I feel great.” As if surprised by her own admission, she lifted her arms to examine them and turned this way and that to check her legs and the rest of her body. “I feel like I have slept for a month. Brooklyn I never feel this good. Oh, my God!”

Excitedly, she turned on her knees and yanked on the sleeve of her shirt to expose her elbow. Swiping her hair away from her face, she tried to get a good look at it, bending her arm at very awkward and painful looking angles. The entire time she kept repeating ‘oh. my God’.

“What is it?” I slid close to her breaking the line of the circle with my knees.

The demons stayed silent, but Echo moved near my friend as well from her other side. We all stared at absolutely nothing while Alice fretted excitedly. Going as far as to crane her neck and attempt to kiss her elbow.

She was so strange sometimes.

“Noting!” she squealed with exhilaration and jabbed her elbow in my face, stopping a hair before hitting my nose. “It’s absolutely nothing, Brooklyn! It’s wonderful.”

“I don’t normally interact with humans much.” Echo’s face was too large when she spoke since she leaned in to see what Alice was showing me placing both of us almost nose to nose. My eyes almost crossed so I could see her. “Are they all like this one?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alice leaned in too, as close as keeping her elbow pointed at my face would allow her. “And what are you?” she lifted an eyebrow at Echo.

“Slow.” The demon female told me since I didn’t answer her question.

“Who are you calling slow?” Alice sharply dropped her elbow down, making me jerk back so she doesn’t break my nose. “Who is this mean person, Brooklyn. If she’s a friend of yours let me tell you, you need new friends.” Lips pursed; she jutted her chin out to stare down Echo. “Don’t you worry though, you have me. You don’t need the meanie.”

My mouth opened, but I had no chance to say a word.

“You are the one acting like you’ve never known that you have an elbow.” Echo jabbed a finger at my friend. “How do you not know what body parts you have? I’ve seen enough of your kind to know you are not a youngling. That makes you slow.”

“It makes me happy that the tennis elbow which has been bothering me for a few years is gone.” Alice was practically vibrating from anger as she glared at the demon.

“You had two elbows?” With a line cutting a groove between her eyebrows, Echo looked from me to Alice horrified.

Groaning, Alice placed her face in both hands and muttered unintelligible words through her fingers. My mind was reeling that she’s feeling well enough to be her normal self and voice her opinion on things that bother her. In this case, Echo insulting her, although, I was sure the female demon didn’t mean to do it. I have insulted Alice many times since we met, but she always looked through my shortcomings and continued to be my friend. Which told me I was a horrible one for not defending her.

“I had tendonitis, thank you very much.” My friend told Echo. “It’s an inflammation and it hurts like a bitch. But now it’s gone along with a scar I had from that one time I fell off my bike and scraped the shit out of my skin there.” Giggling, she shook her head and had to adjust her glasses again. “My mom was so angry. Oh boy, my poor dad had to sleep in the RV a few days because of it. Look.” She jabbed the elbow in Echo’s face that time still snorting at the memory she freely shared with us unaware of how precious her human life was compared to the nightmares we lived. “No scar, no pain, nothing. I feel like a whole human being for the first time in my life.”

“I like the human, too.” Chester decided loudly, and the three of us jumped from the sound of his voice. We forgot he was there. “And here we are. No one cares if I’m here or not. Might as well go out and let the Syndicate kill me. No one will care if I die.”

“Stop being a drama queen, Chip.” Echo’s mouth turned into a squiggly line from his theatrics. “You are missing the most important thing here.”

“Thank you.” Alice beamed at Chester and stuck her tongue out at Echo.

“I still want to know why the human healed like a demon.” Echo turned those shimmering eyes on me.

“Hey.” Alice surged up on her knees and stabbed her finger at the female demon. “Stop with the insults. First slow now demon. I don’t point out that your nose is too long or that you have no tits.” Sniffing with indignation, she glared at Echo whose jaw dropped at the outburst. “What? You didn’t know you had no boobs? Look at them. They’re like sunny side up eggs. Just nipples.”

You could hear a needle drop, and all I could hear was the jackhammering of my heart in my ears.

Chester burst out laughing. “Well, damnnnn.”

13

Alice

Agiggle burst out of me when the dude standing by the window started laughing. His joy was contagious and soon I was l chortling along with him with tears streaming down my face. If I stopped for a moment and thought about it, I would’ve apologized to the girl whose jaw continued to sweep the floor.

It was mean, what I said to her.

She started it first though. It was childish to laugh triumphantly, but for the moment it made me forget about the emptiness, pain and numbness I had felt for a long time. Just because I had no idea how much time had passed since the night Brooklyn attacked me, it made no difference to the fear clinging to every fiber of my being. Not that it was her fault, or that I would ever blame her for it. All I could remember was one second, I was just standing there, and the next Brooklyn was too close, and her teeth were pressing on my neck.

And the cold.

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