Italy, 1500 BC
The pain was excruciating. I had no real words to describe it. Not anymore. I didn’t scream, there was no point in screaming, I looked at my arms that were pinned either side of me. Tentacles were clawing at my wrists and forearms. I watched them digging into my skin. This happened every day. Everyday those witches would test me, to see if I was getting stronger, to see if their experiment worked. Every day it got easier. Every day the tentacles had to try harder to penetrate my skin. The blonde one, the witch that sat in the corner never saying a word continued to write furiously, she never stopped writing and observing me. She looked more excited every day.
“Finem” the red witch said and the tentacles immediately stopped their assault. I let out a breath of relief but my heart still pounded in my chest, I knew what was happening next, it wasn’t quite as bad as the tentacles but it was still painful.
The witches started chanting their spells and I felt myself heating up. This time I couldn’t help but scream as I felt my insides starting to burn.
After what felt like hours of torture they finally left. I crawled up onto my furs and into the foetal position. I watched my arms as they healed, the scars were now prominent, and they never healed fully.
The gate was closed and locked behind the witches and the left me to sleep. I didn’t always sleep. Sometimes I just lay there and thought about how to escape. I couldn’t have been born just to be experimented on. I wanted to be free. I was only a child physically, I knew that. Barely four years old but my mind was that of an adult. I thought like an adult, I didn’t feel like a child. The advantage of being as small as I was, was that I could fit into small places, I had hope of escaping but only if I was small enough. I knew I had to do it soon but I knew I had parents here to. I needed to save them, even though I didn’t know them. I heard them sometimes and I heard the witches speak about them.
“Esther! Esther my sweet.” I heard a voice; one that I had heard plenty of times but never put a face to. My mother.
“Mama!” I exclaimed.
“I am so sorry my sweet. I am truly so sorry,” she was sobbing, her hands were wrapped tightly around the bars of the gate keeping me in. She wasn’t crying, but I was sure she would be if she could.
“Mama,” I gasped when the gate broke in her hands.
“Run little girl, run and swim and get away from here.” She told me urgently. I ran up to her, my arms wrapping around her waist tightly.
“Go! Save yourself my daughter!” she said kissing my head and my face over and over again before pushing me towards the main cave area where the water was. I ran over to it and paused just for a second. What did she mean swim? Did she mean go into the water? I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t been out of this cave my entire life.
“Esther!” I heard my mother scream, the scream was heart wrenching. I turned to see the witches, their tentacles were around my mother, she screamed louder as the tentacles secured her in their grasps. “Go my sweet!” she called. I had tears falling down my eyes; they were blurring my vision as I watched my mother being tortured in front of me. I span around to the water and jumped.
I remembered not breathe as I kicked my arms and legs to move in the water. I saw the opening of the cave and swam faster.
I felt something on my ankle I tried to kick it off but it was no good. The light in the cave wall was getting smaller and I was tugged back up to the surface of the water. I was pulled out and hands grabbed me roughly and the tentacles that were holding my mother were now holding me.
I could hear yelling and screaming, I couldn’t move but I slowly opened my eyes. My mother was in front of me, pinned to the wall of the cave, she was struggling but it was no use. It was moments before a man came in; he too was struggling as the witches brought him over to my mother.
“Papa?” I asked.
“Esther!” he breathed my name as if he was worshiping it. “I’m so sorry” he said the same thing as my mother said and I frowned at them.
“You will learn little girl. Never try to escape or you will be punished,” the witch that was holding me said into my ear. Her voice sent shivers down my spine, pure fear radiated through me as I looked over to my parents in panic.
“No no no!” my mother was screaming. The tentacles tightened their grip, forcing my parents to stand back to back. One of the witches put out her hand and suddenly my parents were on fire.
“No!” I cried, pain rocked through me like nothing I had ever felt before and I had lived my life in pain. This was a whole different kind. The tears in my eyes blurred my vision so much that all I could see was orange. I fell to my knees, my arms still out stretched as the pain crippled me.
“Open your eyes girl,” one of the witches commanded, I shook my head. My tears coming like floods down my cheeks. “Open your eyes!” she repeated with a screech. My sobs were still racking my body as I raised my head, my eyes opened and as my vision cleared I saw my parents were no longer in front of me. There was black sand on the floor covering the golden white sand. I cried harder. I didn’t know my parents but I didn’t blame them. It wasn’t their fault these witches were so evil. They tried to save me. My mother risked her life to save me and it was all for nothing. I looked at the witch in front of me, she looked smug.
“Remember your lesson,” she taunted me. The tentacles around me dissipated and the witch by me stood with her sister. The one in the corner looked shocked. My tears halted just for a second as I watched her. She didn’t expect that to happen, she really looked dumbfounded at the place where my parents stood.
“What did you do that for?” it was the first time I had ever heard her speak. “Those vampires were the only vampires we successfully created from! You’ve destroyed them!” she argued to her sisters.
“They weren’t able to create another, they were useless.” A witch said, grabbing my arm and pulling me back to my part of the cave.
“We have what we need. The child will produce more for us” she said and threw me back into my ‘cell’. She ran her hand over the bars and the steel seemed to grow back into shape. I curled back onto my furs and cried the night away.
It felt like years had passed until my next opportunity to escape; in reality it couldn’t have been any more than a few months. I was physically seven now and it felt like I had been here forever. My arms ached, although it was easier now. The tentacles seemed to have a harder time to penetrate my skin, the tests were stronger though, the witches could see my skin was hardening and becoming tougher so their tests became much more brutal. They started throwing me across the cave, forcing me into the wall, seeing if it would hurt me, they would hold me under the water to see if I would drown, they pulled off my limps only to reattach them and watch my body heal. They forced me to do things, throwing things, crushing things, getting me to do the impossible like read minds and move objects with my mind. I couldn’t do any of these things. The only thing they seemed impressed with was my strength and durability, they seemed angry that I wasn’t telekinetic or telepathic and I had no idea why.
“She has no power! Another one of our failures!” I could hear one of the witches arguing one night. I was lying on my furs, rubbing my arm that was still healing from the torturous activities earlier that day.
I didn't cry anymore. I hadn't cried since the day my parents were murdered in front of me.
"What are we going to do with her? Breed her? Torture her more? She's a little girl!"
"Abigail! You knew what was going to happen! We created her; she is ours to do as we please. We successfully created life from death. This child is destined to birth life and death. And she will once we know the extent of what we've created." I had no idea what they were talking about and I was too exhausted to pay close attention.
"She's just an innocent child."
“She’s ours! She isn’t a child. Her mind is that of an adult. Shes trapped inside a child’s body. Don’t be fooled by the Gods, my sister. She is no innocent than we are.”
I fell asleep mid-way through the argument. I wasn’t sure why they were arguing over me. The witch Abigail seemed to be on my side and I had no idea.
Wake child. Wake up! I heard a voice in my head. I didn’t dream so I knew it wasn’t my mother’s voice I was simply remembering. Someone was putting their voice inside my head. My eyes snapped open to see Abigail above me. I flinched and backed into the wall.
You must go now! Go swim and leave. The witch insisted. I went to speak.
No child! Do not speak do not make a noise. Go.
Why are you helping me? I wondered.
Because you are innocent. We were wrong to do this to you. We created you but I will stop us from destroying you. You must live little Esther. You must live so the creation continues. You are destined for greatness child. Your creations will stop wars, you will keep peace and reign in this world but you must be alive. You must live! You must, you must! She chanted and pulled me onto my feet. She ushered me out of my cell and over to the water again.
Hold your breath and swim like this. She said and made movements with her arms.
Kick your legs as fast as you can child and swim. She said and pushed me into the water forcefully. The water shocked me and I was disorientated as I sank to the bottom of the pool.
Thank you. Was my last remaining thought. I hoped the witch heard it as I kicked to the opening of the cave.
---------
I swam as fast as I could until the water was getting shallower. I panicked. Where was the water going? When the water became too shallow to swim I stood up. The sun blared brightly and I shielded my eyes with my arm as I continued to walk up the sand. As my vision cleared I focused on my surroundings. I was on a beach, surrounding it was trees. Just hundreds of trees. I wanted to touch them and marvel at finally getting to see them but I knew I had to run. I had to get out of here before the other witches caught me. I took off running. I didn’t feel like I was running fast enough.
“Child!” Someone shouted. I knew it wasn’t a human. I didn’t know who it was, I faltered in my step when I saw a vampire standing right in front of me. “Are you okay child? You look scared.” He told me.
“I have to keep running. Im sorry” I told him.
“Wait!” he called and easily caught me.
I wish I had his speed. I’d be far gone. He grabbed my wrist and I felt the strangest feeling of power radiating through me. I gasped and he frowned as I placed my hand on his bare chest.
“What is wrong child?” he asked.
“I don’t know” I told him. “But I have to go.” I said and took off running. I gasped with the new speed I felt as I ran. I was suddenly a lot faster than I was before. I stared down at my hands to see a slight glow coming from them. Had I taken that man’s power? Had I taken his speed? As I ran faster I felt like laughing in delight.
I was free.
