Fiction Factory: Cilla Ambrose (Part 2)

Cilla found a box under Ray’s bed, she’d been snooping she knew that, but she was trying to find Ray’s “stash”. Ray spent many hours shut up in his room, he would go in one Ray and come out a different Ray all together. Cilla was afraid of Different Ray. Her mother tried to understand and tried to live with Ray’s moods, with his chalk and cheese transformations night after night. There was something in that room, something illicit, which Cilla meant to find to prove she was not being childish.

“Cilla, stop being ridiculous!”
“Mom, I’m telling you he’s weird. He’s constantly looking at me. He creeps me out.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to him …”
“NO! I don’t want you to! It’s bad enough without him knowing I’m talking to you.”
“How are you supposed to feel comfortable around him if we don’t sort this out?”
“Forget it, just forget it!”

Cilla stormed out of her mother’s room. Ray was walking down the hall, all smiles.

“Hey kiddo, what’s the problem?”

She ignored him and shoved her way past. She burst into her room and slammed the door behind her. Flopping down on her bed, she stared at the ceiling and listened to Remy in the cage beside her. Remy was the only one who would hear her complaints and not laugh at her. Not treat her like a child. Remy was a rat of course and not able to help her out, but he was a being she could vent her frustrations on.

“She didn’t believe me.”

Remy rustled his wood chips, searching for a pellet to munch on.

“Wouldn’t even consider it.”
Remy ran up the ramp to the top level of the cage. He squirmed into his wooden box and watched her through the large hole cut into it. Sometimes she thought Remy could understand her. In the way he squeeked or the way he looked at her. It makes it easier to talk to him if she believed he was listening. It made a difference.

“I’m finished being treated like I’m a freak, like I’m crazy.”

Cilla leaned over the edge of her bed and pulled out the scissors she kept there. She opened them and looked at the two blades. She’s sat with them everyday for about a month. Since she decided she couldn’t take much more of Different Ray. She was afraid. She just couldn’t deal with the stress anymore, no one believes her. Different Ray was going to kill Cilla before her mother would believe her stories. She wasn’t going to let that happen, not like that. If Different Ray was going to kill her, then Cilla would do it for herself before he got the chance.

She ran a finger along one blade of the scissors. Not really sharp. It will have to do.

Remy began to run around his cage, up and down, up and down.

Cilla ran the edge of the blade along her wrist, the edge was dull it would take more work. It was worth it.

Remy began to squeek over and over. Cilla looked up at him, for a second paused to wonder what the problem was. She realized these things weren’t important now. Only escape mattered.

Cilla began to saw her way through the top layer of skin on her wrist, blood blossomed under the blade and began to flow. The pain burned through her hand, but she continued. She pressed harder and harder, trying to rupture her skin and hopefully the artery below.

Remy began to squeal fiercely but Cilla ignored him.

Almost through, her rescue was at hand.

Remy threw himself against the side of the cage with a clatter. Cilla, startled, stopped cutting and stared at the rat. He was staring at her, with conviction. It was crazy but she actually saw fear in his eyes. Worry over what she was doing. She turned and raised the blade again …

“Would you stop being an idiot and put those bloody scissors down!”

Cilla dropped the scissors and stared at Remy.