The sterile smell of the hospital room mixed with the stale odor of fear and despair. The boy, still recovering from the brutal encounter, sat on the edge of the bed.
"Sorry, but will you tell us everything? How did you meet that man, and how did you end up in that building with him?" one of them asked, her voice calm but tinged with underlying tension.
The boy didn't bother with pleasantries. He wasn't in the mood for small talk. "I was hungry," he began, his tone sharp and direct. "So I tried to rob a man who looked rich. Filthy rich. Usually, these types are weak, easy targets. But to my bad luck, he wasn't weak. In fact, he was the strongest person I've ever faced."
The officers exchanged a glance but didn't interrupt, allowing him to continue. They were not surprised when the boy spoke about robbing; after all, what could they expect from a boy trying to survive in this cruel world? Until now, it was all normal.
"I was just about to grab his wallet when he caught me. Lightning-fast. I've done this before I'm not an amateur but that man... he was experienced. When I tried to run, he cast a binding spell on me. I didn't even realize when it happened. One moment I was free, the next I was paralyzed. I've been hit by that spell before, but this time it was different. I couldn't break free."
The boy paused, his eyes narrowing as he recalled the moment. "Then, like I was nothing more than a sack of potatoes, he threw me over his shoulder and carried me into that rundown building. And then... he tortured me."
The room fell silent. The officers remained composed, though the gravity of his words hung heavy in the air. After a beat, one of them, a woman with soft eyes, spoke up with a tone of cautious empathy. "I'm sorry, but can you explain what happened inside that room... in detail?"
Before the boy could respond, the doctor, who had been quietly observing, interjected. "This is going too far. He just got tortured, and you're asking him to relive it?"
"I understand," the officer said, her tone genuinely apologetic. "But we need to know everything to make things clear. If you're not comfortable, we can give you a day or two."
"No need," the boy interrupted, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I'll tell you."
The boy leaned back against the pillows, his eyes staring at the ceiling as he recounted the horrors. "The man was tall, with greasy black hair and eyes that looked like they could see through your soul. Just the best target to rob. His face... it was twisted into this ugly, sadistic grin, just like those rich bastards who don't have many skills in combat but enjoy their parents' money. When I got caught by him, he said something about how it was 'good that I came to him,' that he was bored and wanted to torture someone for fun."
The boy's face contorted with disgust as he continued. "He was crazy. A real freak. He tried to beat me to see me begging him and asked why I wasn't crying or begging him to stop. Like I would give him that satisfaction." His lip curled into a sneer. "He wasn't even that strong. His kicks and punches... they were weak, like a kid playing pretend. Even the homeless dudes on the street could hit harder."
The boy let out a short, bitter laugh that echoed through the room. The officers and the doctor exchanged glances, concerned. His laughter was unsettling, a sign that the Crucio curse might have left more damage than they realized.
"But when that weak bastard couldn't make me cry, he got frustrated. That's when he decided to use magic. Real spells, not just the petty physical stuff. He tortured me for a full ten minutes and forty-eight seconds. Yeah, I counted. I wanted to give it all back to him. But now you're telling me he's dead?" His voice rose with anger and frustration, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I wanted to be the one to take him down."
The room went silent again, the weight of his words pressing down on everyone. The officers felt a deep sympathy for this boy, a nameless child who had faced horrors most adults couldn't even imagine.
One of the officers, a woman with kind eyes, stepped forward. "I'm sorry that we weren't able to locate you when you needed help the most."
The boy's expression hardened, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It doesn't matter. I never expected help from anyone. Not even in my wildest dreams. I used to dream, you know, when I was a kid. But now, I know better. No one helps anyone. Never have, never will."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop as the boy spoke, his words cutting through the air like a knife. The officers could feel no emotions in his tone but the truth behind his harsh words. They had seen many tragic cases, but this boy was different hey had never seen or dealt with a case like this. His old scars, both physical and emotional, were evidence of a life filled with pain and suffering.
Finally, the female officer asked the question that had been weighing on her mind. "Okay, I will ask you the last question, and then we will be done. How did that man die? And how did you survive?" She knew she was doing something cruel by asking questions like these to a boy who had just been tortured, but she had no choice.
The boy's eyes narrowed, his mind racing. He knew the truth, but he also knew they wouldn't believe him. "I don't know," he said, his voice flat. "All I remember is that he got more and more angry. At last, he said he would use a forbidden curse. He cast it at me after saying some bullshit I couldn't really hear. I was in bad shape by then, after being tortured for almost twenty minutes."
He paused, letting his words sink in. "I felt pain, a lot of pain, and then... everything went black. I think I must have passed out. So I don't know how he died or how I survived. I thought I was going to die for sure. But here I am."
The officers wrote everything down, their faces serious. The boy's story was disturbing, but it was important. They needed every detail to understand what had happened. After a moment, the female officer spoke again, her tone gentle. "Thank you for your cooperation. We're sorry for making you go through this questioning, but it was necessary. But don't worry; we will find out what happened. We can assume that somebody helped you in the dark, saved you, and killed that guy. But we will investigate this further. We might have to come to you again, so I apologize in advance if that time comes. But I don't think it will happen since we weren't able to see anyone's presence. As for what I was talking about before relics or artifacts actually, we had first checked every place before we got you here. And forgive me, but I only told you that stuff to put some pressure on you, so forgive me again for that." She apologized after bending slightly in his direction. She knew what she had done was wrong, especially to a patient, and she was now feeling guilty.
"Can I know about that man's name or identity, please?" the boy asked as if it were really important. He didn't pay much attention to her apology, neither accepting nor denying it. He didn't know why she was apologizing; after all, to him, it was normal for others to be selfish and have bad intentions toward him. It was very normal for him. He had just lost the ability to trust anybody, so from the start, he never trusted anybody not the doctor, not these officers. They were just strangers to him, just strangers.
The officer was very embarrassed by the boy's reaction and felt more guilty about how she might be making him feel, but she still raised her head despite her embarrassment and answered in a guilty tone. "Sorry."
Sorry, no, we can't tell you anything. Information can't be disclosed to anyone,"
the officer said in a rough tone, now feeling more downcast. It was the first time since she arrived here that the boy asked for something, but she had to reject it. She had one chance to prove that they cared, but she just destroyed it like nothing. And looking at the boy's expression, as if he didn't expect much from her, made her feel even sadder.
The boy didn't respond. He didn't expect much, anyway. He was tired, both physically and emotionally, so he laid back and closed his eyes as if to say, "We are done here."
The female officer clenched her fists, anger boiling inside her. She had seen the worst of humanity, but this boy's story was one of the worst. She knew she was being selfish, asking him questions so soon after his ordeal, but she had to do her job. Yet, deep down, she knew the boy was right. No one really cared. Even now, she was being selfish and acting like a cruel person. She wanted to let him know that there were also good people in this world, but looking at herself, she didn't know what to say. She just felt more shame and guilt.
The boy's expression remained unreadable. He had no expectations from anyone, no hopes or dreams. The world had shown him nothing but pain, and he had learned to