"Urgh…"
Laying under several layers of blankets, a young, gaunt figure's faint voice could be heard. The long-closed protective skin over his eyes, his eyelids fluttered, slowly, powerlessly being peeled open as the boy's awareness slowly, gradually returned to him.
He felt extremely hot, his body was covered with sweat from head to toe. Desperately needing some fresh gust of air, he tried moving his left arm, only to come to the shocking revelation that he was unable to.
Not that he was lacking yet another arm, nor did he lose the motoric functionality of his sole remaining forelimb. No, the reason was quite simple: It was heavily bandaged and was placed into a metallic sling.
"What the…" Confused about the state of his body, it was just now that his mind managed to process a very simple, yet shocking fact: He was in a different place than where he laid down. Above him, instead of the thick canopy of the autumn forest scene, were a light brown, wooden ceiling. He wasn't laying on a pile of leaves, no he was resting on a comfortable couch, covered with several layers of cloth and woolen blankets.
Somebody brought him to this place.
Still feeling weak after his 'grand' escape, he struggles to get free from the comfortable prison amidst a slew of grunts and groans.
Just as he was about to sit up, a mature woman's voice reached his ears.
"Oh, you finally woke up? We were beginning to think that you may be beyond saving. Glad to see that stupid ape was wrong! Haha!"
Turning towards the source of the erupting laughter, Lucien could see a middle-aged woman stood in the doorway to what must have been the living room. Taking a sweep across the room with his eyes, it was clear to the woman, that the youth had no idea what was going on.
Her expression turned sweet and kind, she stepped in and sat down in the arm-chair next to the boy's temporary residence, the couch.
Seeing the boy was startled, she slowly leaned towards him, with the same gentle, kind expression dominating her aging, wrinkled face. Her eyes radiated a warmth, a gentleness that was unknown for Lucien. He was on alert, not understanding the true motives behind the facade of smiles.
Due to being currently wrapped up heavily, he tried to but failed to raise his left arm, whilst keeping his right one hanging. Albeit that one was free to use, he hesitated to rely on it. The horrific visions of what happened when he lost control were still too clear in his mind.
"How do you feel, honey? Does it hurt anywhere?" The elderly woman broke the ensuing, awkward silence between them, with the same warming smile on his face. She wanted to reach out and gently place it atop the boy's shoulder's but seeing how he jerked to the other side when she attempted to do so, in the end she decided against such a forward attempt. At least for now.
"W-where am I? Who are you?" Feeling no ill intent from the woman, Lucien asked the question, instead of responding to the woman.
However, this was to be expected, she didn't mind. She pulled her arm back to her side, resting them on her lap instead of on the armrests. She looked the boy in the eye as if trying to tame a wild cat, she only showed care and love with every one of her fibers.
"You are safe here, do not worry. My name is Martha Lewis, my husband George found you unconscious in the nearby forest. You looked pretty banged up, without any papers to identify you. He didn't know what to do, he brought you home, so I could nurse you back to health."
"The mention of lack of identification visibly started the boy, he subconsciously clenched his palm, into a fist, the expression on his face turning into a slight frown. The still weary muscles in his legs flexed as he was ready to jump up and escape at the first sign of danger.
Seeing the strange reaction, Martha immediately continued with a hurried explanation.
"Don't worry, we didn't inform anyone about you. While we are not sure what could have happened to you, it was clear you have suffered a lot. Do not worry, you don't have to explain anything you don't want to…"
She leaned forward, smiling gently at the boy.
"However, whatever you can share, could help us better understand your situation and help. I am merely a retired nurse, but I did my best to pull you back from the brink of death. Although we are not rich, you can stay for as long as you want. If you are so against it, we will not alert the authorities. Okay?"
The boy quietly listened to the woman's words, only nodding at the end. Putting a bit more strength into his feet he wanted to stand up, but as he did so, he felt his knees wobbling, still too weak from the ordeal he went through, they buckled after a few seconds, he fell back down the couch.
At the same time, he growled in pain, as a jolt of electricity caused havoc, tormenting his mind from some unknown source. Gritting his teeth, with great difficulty only a couple of muffled groans escaped through the barrier of lips.
"You had similar episodes quite a few times throughout your rest. Unsure of what was going on with you, the best I could do is put some wet towels on you to try to combat the fever that followed." Martha spoke up, seeing the return of the same episodes that she battled several times already.
Defeated, Lucien laid back on the couch, heaving a sigh as the pain temporarily subsided after brief torture.
"H-how long… w-was I sleeping?" He faintly whispered, towards the woman sitting not too far away from him.
"Two full days and nights, sonny." She promptly answered with a wry smile. "With the same episodes repeating every 2 to 3 hours. I am not sure what is wrong with you, but I hope it's not contagious! Ahaha!" Seeing that the boy started to ease up if even for a bit, she tried making a joke.
Although Lucien remained stoic and distant, his wary heart started to calm down. There was absolutely nothing harmful about this woman, she was very different from that demoness. Still… was it that very same evil demon that helped her?
'No. That's impossible.' He denied the thought fervently. That woman was evil incarnate, there was no way she would do anything that would benefit him. No. That would be impossible.
Turning his face towards the woman, he whispered meekly once more, answering a question she dared not to ask so far but was in the forefront of her mind.
"Lucien. Lucien Shaw. That's my name. T-thank you for helping me. I'll… I'll get myself together soon, and will be out of-"
Before he could finish, the women interjected, silencing him. The gentle smile soured, looking slightly hurt at his words.
"I told you, that you can stay for as long as you want. At the very least, stay for today, eat with us, and if you still feel like it, I will not stand against you. However, if you feel like it…"
Suddenly, sorrow could be seen surfacing on her face, her voice almost cracked as she continued, stuttering ever-so-slightly.
"If you feel like you enjoy our company, you c-could stay for a bit longer… Neither of us would mind… It would be like a f-family…"
What followed shocked Martha so deeply, that she could not respond at first. What the boy asked with an honest-looking expression on his usually cold face was so troubling, and sad that her eyes instantly watered up, tears threatened the aging woman with their escape.
"This family… What is that?"
She looked at the boy's honest inquiring expression. What was the strangest, most shocking of what he just asked was the honest, clear look on his face. What did this teen go through?
"Dearie, how could you not know? You know, your father, your mother, sisters, brothers, anyone that was close to your heart. The people you can think about and feel love in your heart."
"No, I have none of these." He shook his head, a slight frown appearing on his lips. He turned away from the woman, as memories of his childhood life resurfaced in his mind. The horrible years in the orphanage followed by the long years of torture and experiments in the facility… The only ones he could think of with no hatred were the animals on the farm. They didn't hate him, didn't curse at him when they spotted his scrawny figure.
Throughout the 17, soon-to-be 18 years of his life, he was never treated as a human being. Sadly, the most warmth he felt was at this very moment, in this strange place with this middle-aged woman.
Was this strange, inexplicable feeling he felt from her is the 'love' she talked about?