I was having a hard time trying to breathe. My breaths were shallow, irregular, and fast. I couldn't keep my heart under control, it was on the verge of bursting out of my chest.
Mistress had dismissed everyone in the Arena except for a handful of people including Dahlia, Mia, and Nurse Cleary.
When everyone had left the Arena, Dahlia uncuffed my ankles, then both Dahlia and Mia went to unshackle my arms.
Mistress stood in front of me with her arms out to catch me as my wrists were freed. I fell onto her, crying my heart out.
"It's over now. You're now mine forever." Her hand stroked my hair as my face rested on the crook of her neck, my arms lay limp by my side. She lowered me to the floor and left to look for something.
On the ground, I writhed in agony as I pressed hard on my left arm, just above the burned-in stamp so that the tenderness would subside. It was reddening, throbbing, and aching. With each wave of pain, my wounds felt worse each time. There was nothing I could do to ease the torment on my back except try to keep as still as possible, but my arm was not letting me. My muscles were tight and bearing every painful deluge that rushed through my body.
Mistress kindly covered me with a gown, being careful not to have it graze the burn on my back. Everything still felt so hot even though the source of heat had been taken away. I was shuddering.
"Somebody get me a bucket of cold water, a gurney, and some rags!" Mistress ordered. "Cleary, start prepping the materials needed for treatment."
The dull pounding kept progressing. I didn't know what else to do to make it go away. This is by far the worst pain I have ever experienced.
As much as I tried to cut off the circulation to my left arm so that it would stop pulsating, nothing relieved it. I was just laying on the floor wallowing in my own misery because nobody was doing anything to assuage my cries of help.
Mistress wanted to punish me and show me she owned me and that she is in control, but did it really have to come to this? Did she really have to permanently disfigure me so that I would get the message? I am really nothing more than an animal to her. Actually, I think an animal would hold more value in her eyes than I do right now.
She had taken over my spirit. My soul was hers. She had successfully claimed my body already, and the last pieces of me that were being held by a gossamer thread were now hers to keep. I am Mistress's pet, a toy for her to do as she pleases when she pleases.
The pain intensified. "Please make it stop! It hurts so much! Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!" I was rocking myself back and forth, blind to the world around me as my tears engulfed my vision.
The weighty clonk of a metal pail resounded as somebody placed a bucket beside me and handed Mistress a rag. She dipped the towel in the cold water and wringed it over my arm. At first there was a twinge, but the cool liquid helped to momentarily soothe the ache. She did the same thing for my back. I winced and hissed as the water hit my seared flesh.
Mistress's hand ran through my hair once more. "Shh, little one, I hope the pain you're feeling right now will be your greatest teacher."
"Make it stop, I can't take it anymore! Please." My voice was submissive and weak. "Please, Mistress."
She wiped the tears that kept pouring straight from my soul.
When the stretcher was finally delivered to Mistress, she ordered the guards to carefully put me on it, making sure to place me on my side so that my back didn't come into contact with anything. Dahlia and Mia grabbed ahold of the gurney and followed Mistress to an examination room where Nurse Cleary was waiting. I was moved from the stretcher onto the examination bed.
Nurse Cleary removed the gown that Mistress had draped over me. I whimpered at the lack of protection. She threw a scornful glance my way then scoffed and flung the robe aside.
Both Mistress and Nurse Cleary looked closely at the burns under the glaring hospital lights. Their gloved hands touched my back and I jumped in surprise. They grabbed my right shoulder and hip to steady me.
"I think you might have gone a little overboard with this one, Raven." Nurse Cleary did not address Mistress properly. There was a hint of sarcasm laced in her speech. "There are a couple of areas showing third degree burns."
"I can see that, Cleary. Get a Lactated Ringer's IV started on her, calculate how much fluid she's going to need in the first 8 hours, I'll get the pain meds. Also, I'm not taking any chances with her, so put a Foley in her, and make sure to closely monitor her ins and outs. You two, restrain her arms and legs so that we can work. Don't be rough, just hold her." Mistress was stern.
I was still clutching my left arm when Dahlia placed her hands on them. She was being careful not to touch the bleeding, raw skin on my wrists while still maintaining a firm grip. Mia grabbed my legs.
Nurse Cleary walked to Dahlia's side with the fluids bag and hung it on the IV pole. She attached the tubing and prepared everything before telling Dahlia to extend my right arm to her. I didn't resist. Nurse Cleary searched for a vein and when she found it she wiped the backside of my hand and inserted the needle. She secured it to my skin with medical tape.
"All right, now that that's done with, Mia, take off her shorts." Nurse Cleary laid down an underpad behind me, then went on to open a sterile package and told Mia to spread my legs open in a frog-legged position. "You're going to have to lay on your back for this, pet." That bitter word is so acrimonious to my ears.
I whimpered, not wanting to apply pressure on my wounds.
Nurse Cleary tsked. "Look, get on your back now! I'm not going to ask again. It's going to hurt just while I do this, afterwards you can get back to whichever position you want."
I groaned as I got on my back. Dahlia did not let go of my forearms. Mia opened and lifted both of my legs. Heat spread from my chest and into the roots of my hair lingering dangerously on my cheeks and tips of my ears. Nurse Cleary placed her left hand on my pubic bone and with her index finger and thumb pulled apart my labia. She cleaned the area, then proceeded to insert the catheter. At first, I jolted at the unexpected sudden pressure. It felt weird having a tube inserted up the urethra.
After Nurse Cleary had finished working, she had the decency to cover me with the blanket up to my navel. Mistress then entered the room with a syringe and inserted it directly into the port adjacent to the needle on the back of my hand.
She had also brought another medication in a blue canister. I flinched as her hand carefully daubed the cream on my burns. She spoke softly as she tried to calm me down and reassure me that she wasn't going to hurt me any further, for now.
Once Mistress had finished applying the salve on my back and arm, she tenderly and meticulously bandaged them up. On the other hand, Nurse Cleary was tending to the open cuts on my wrists due to excessive friction from those dreaded handcuffs.
She was not being gentle at all. A few tears and small whimpers escaped me as I tried to weakly pull my arms away from her. I think she derived pleasure from making me suffer. Mistress was quick to catch on to Nurse Cleary's rough treatment because she admonished Cleary and told her to be more delicate with me.
After all my wounds were disinfected and thoroughly bandaged, Mistress covered the rest of my body with the sheets. She then instructed Dahlia and Mia that they were now going to have to stay with me around the clock, so that they must decide who was going to take the first shift. Mia agreed.
With everything on their part done, Mistress and Nurse Cleary took their leave.
I sighed and closed my eyes hoping to doze away for a few hours but apparently the medicine that Mistress gave me was not enough. I kept fidgeting with my left arm and trying to move as little as possible but even though the pain was much less now, it still wasn't all gone. My breathing was still faster than I cared for it to be, and I was still groaning out in distress.
"What's wrong?" Mia inquired. I recoiled at the sudden words. I didn't realize she was standing right behind me. I had not heard her walking my way.
"I can't sleep. Everything still hurts. My arm and my back are throbbing, ma'am." My small voice sounded helpless.
"I'll see if I can get Mistress to help with that." She took out the communication device from one of her pockets and texted Mistress.
In less than three minutes, Mistress had come into the room with two different syringes. She injected one into the IV bag and the other one into the port on the back of my hand.
She then placed a loving hand on my cheek. "Get some rest now, little mouse. Your pain should go away in a few seconds." She leaned down and kissed my forehead as my eyes grew heavier.
-
I woke up groggy and feeling heavy. I guess the medicine worked better than expected because I didn't dream anything. What a relief.
I wonder how much time has passed since I fell asleep.
I looked at the bandages on my arms and noticed that the one covering the burn has a yellow tinge.
My mouth feels dry. I wonder if I can get a cup of water.
I don't want to change positions, but my arm is feeling rather numb. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, at least I don't feel it throbbing where it's burnt, but I do feel the unpleasantly prickling sensation of ants making their way to my fingertips.
I try to swallow but it hurts. It feels like razors are going down my esophagus. Fine, I'm getting up to get some water. I groan as I use my right arm to lift myself up onto my left one. The pain in my back returns and makes me lose all strength in my arms. I wince and fall back on the bed. Even trying to flex my abdomen to sit up proves painful. I guess I have to use both arms to get up. I don't know if this bed has a remote to change positions, it must have but that requires moving anyways.
"What are you trying to do?" Dahlia's voice cuts across the room. Mia's shift must have ended, that means that I've been out a few hours.
"Trying to get up, ma'am." My voice is hoarse and raspy. It hurts to talk.
"I'm not blind. Why are you trying to get up?" She huffed.
"I-I'm thirsty." My voice breaks when I try to speak up and I cough.
"Tsk, stay there. I'll get you some water." She answered curtly.
She went out of the room for a few minutes. It's quite laborious, but I manage to sit up before she comes back with a covered tray of what I'm guessing is food because I can smell it and a bottle of water. I adjust the sheet to cover myself up as best as I can seeing as Nurse Cleary never gave me back the gown that Mistress had bestowed upon me.
Dahlia wheeled the bedside table over and placed the tray on it. She gave me the plastic bottle, then went to a cabinet that was in the corner of the room and took out a robe which she handed to me. Afterwards, she unscrewed the IV tubing so that I could dress. I thanked her.
This gown was made of a thin cloth but at least it wasn't paper. I slowly slipped on the robe, making sure to be careful with my bandaged wounds. My hands went up to tie the gown, stopping a few times as the pain shot through my back.
"Do you need me to tie it for you?" Her piqued tone indicated that she was annoyed to be stuck doing this job.
"Um, no... That's ok. I can handle it." I barely got the words out. I didn't want to upset her. I don't think I can deal with additional pain at the moment.
I struggled some more until she scoffed and slapped my hands away so that she could tie the strings. I looked down at my hands that were now resting on my lap. "Thank you, ma'am."
She didn't say anything, just screwed the IV tube back on then went to sit on the chair next to the door.
I grabbed the water bottle and struggled somewhat to open it. When I finally uncapped it, I thirstily drank it all savoring the sweet liquid.
I set the bottle down on the table and looked at the covered tray but didn't feel like eating. I know it's been a few hours since I last ate, but the thought of food made my stomach churn.
"You can eat you know. I'm not going to make you beg this time. There's even a spoon included." Dahlia still sounded irritated.
I looked down at my hands again, twirling my thumbs. "I'm not really hungry right now."
She looked at me skeptically then stood up and walked my way. She raised a hand and I flinched back preparing myself to get slapped. Instead, the back of her hand landed gently on my forehead. My eyes slowly opened to meet hers. This is the first time her chiseled face has been this close to mine. Her hypnotically emerald eyes were oddly feline and speckled with an inscrutable gaze. She had a beauty mark lateral to the corner of her left eye, just above her prominently high cheekbones.
"That's odd, you don't seem to have a fever, so why are you not eating? It's been more than twelve hours since you last ate." Was there an underlying hint of concern in her tone?
"I just don't feel like eating, ma'am. I'm sorry." I was being apologetic since she had gone through the trouble of getting me food.
"Then you won't mind if I finish it for you?" A hopeful smile formed on her full auburn lips.
I shook my head.
She grabbed the tray and walked over to her chair where she happily ate the meal. She didn't speak while eating and it was not my place to talk to her either.
I saw the bed's remote and placed it closer to where I could reach it at any time. I took off my glasses and went to lay back down. With a bit of an effort, I managed to lie down on my stomach, that way I can rest my back and my shoulders.
I turned my head away from the door, opposite to the direction Dahlia was in, and closed my eyes until I drifted away.
-
I woke up to familiar voices around me. I felt my limbs being held down. My eyes fluttered open, and I could tell that the gloved hand firmly coiled around my right forearm was Nurse Cleary's.
What's going on now?
I looked up at her with an inquisitive look, but I couldn't make out any type of reaction from her blurry face.
My breath picked up again, my body began to tremble. My shoulders tensed and my teeth wired themselves tightly. I tried to lift my head but was abruptly stopped by my aching back.
"Calm down, little one." It was Mistress. She was standing on my left. I couldn't see her. "We're just going to change your bandages and debride your wounds." She paused for a moment. "Brace yourself, this is going to hurt."
"Don't do it, please." My hoarse voice was meek and impotent.
"I have to, sweetheart. If I don't it's going to get infected." Her pragmatic response left me no room for debate.
"We can just leave her like that you know. It's not like she'll last too long after this anyway. Why even tend to her wounds? Just let the little bitch suffer through the pain." Nurse Cleary derided. I whimpered and tried to cower away from her, but she tightened her grip on me.
Apparently, Mistress shot her a death glare or something because Nurse Cleary quickly apologized and looked down.
I felt Mistress's gloved hand carefully lift my bandages. They had stuck to my wound. I jolted at the first pull.
"I know. Bear with me." She cooed.
With one forceful pull she had lifted the bandage from my left forearm. I squealed as I felt the gauze tear away at my raw skin. My eyes watered.
The next thing I felt was the coarsest gauze ever to be produced. I yanked my arm closer to my body, but Mistress's grip was stronger. I sniveled as she rubbed the gauze all over my burn. I didn't notice I was holding my breath and contracting all my muscles until she told me to breathe.
She applied more cream on it and rebandaged the burn. I heard her change her gloves then grab at the bandages on my back.
If my forearm hurt this much, I wasn't prepared for how much my back will.
To my dismay, the gauze had also stuck to the burn on my back. Both Mistress and Nurse Cleary pulled the bandages back.
I tried to make myself as small as possible, withdrawing at the pain, but my limbs were being held down securely.
Tears were spilling already.
Both Mistress and Nurse Cleary worked to debride the burn on my back. I was unintentionally squirming even though I tried to suppress my body's reaction to pain.
"When are you planning to graft her, Raven?" Why was Nurse Cleary not calling Mistress properly? This was the second time already.
"Address me correctly, Cleary. Know your place!" Mistress chastised.
"Sorry, Mistress." Cleary didn't sound truly repentful.
"Anyway, probably in a week or two. I want to make sure she is fully stabilized and give her body some time to recover and see how much skin she grows back, that way I would have to harvest less." Mistress responded. Harvest what now?
Cleary didn't say another word. They proceeded to debride me in silence. I could feel an animose tension growing between them.
My breathing was ragged.
Burns are definitely the worst kind of pain. I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy and that's saying a lot speaking from where I am right now.
More cream and new bandages were applied on my back. I was thankful when it was over.
"All right, little one, you handled that quite well." Mistress was now tying my gown's strings. She took off her gloves and was wiping away my tears. "Sit up and show me your wrists. Mia, help her up. Cleary, you're dismissed."
Nurse Cleary took off her gloves and left without remarking anything.
I got on my right side as Mia pressed the button to lift the head of the bed. She then helped me sit up fully. I used the blanket to cover my lower half.
Mistress sat next to me on the bed. She took off the dressings on my wrists and frowned at how deep the cuts were. She washed them out with sterile saline, then grabbed an alcohol-laden cotton ball. I pulled my arms out of her hands, not wanting to feel the stinging of the alcohol on my open wounds.
"Give me your arms, little one." She said firmly.
I shook my head, not wanting to look at her.
"I know it hurts, but I need to do this." She answered perspicaciously.
I shook my head once more.
"Keira, give me your arms right now. I'm not going to ask again." She commanded stiffly.
My trembling arms slowly made their way to her. She snatched my left hand and told me to place my right hand on her thigh and not to take it away or I would get punished again. Fearing her threats, I did as she said.
I winced every time the cotton ball touched me. I fought hard against my instincts to recoil away from her. When she was finally done, she applied topical antibiotic and dressed the wounds.
Mistress then wheeled the bedside table over to me. It had a tray of food on it. She sat at the foot of the bed looking at me. Mia went to sit at the chair next to the door.
"Dahlia tells me you didn't eat your food last night." She gave me a solicitous look.
Last night. That means today is Monday. My test was today. I failed to escape. I was too weak and wounded to try it anymore. The only thing that basically kept me tethered to the possibility of a normal life was now out of my reach. I said goodbye to my old life.
I sighed forlornly to myself, low enough that nobody noticed.
"I wasn't hungry, Mistress." I was quick to turn my gaze away from hers. I can't bear to look at her after what she did to me.
"Well, you should eat something anyway." She was being insistent.
I still don't feel like eating. I don't exactly feel nauseous, but my stomach feels weirdly upset.
"I'm not really hungry, Mistress." My chin was as close as it could get to my chest. "I don't think I can handle food right now. Please don't punish me."
Her eyes narrowed at me. She sighed nasally and placed a hand on my thigh. "Have it your way then. I'm going to leave a gelatin cup just in case."
"Thank you, Mistress." I did not look directly at her.
She stood and injected more medicine into the IV bag and into the port on my hand.
"Sweet dreams, little one." She kissed my head again as I fell unconscious once more.