Chef in the Apocalypse

Jayce held onto Lianna’s hands, feeling the overwhelming pain that was wracking his body. Her thrashing had become less severe, giving him confidence that what he was doing was helpful. It was as if he was taking a portion of her pain and bearing it himself.

Time seemed to stretch on as he experienced the torture which would not subside, no matter how much he wished it to. He started feeling delirious, as if his brain was trying to escape from the constant agony that threatened to snuff out his existence.

He began to feel his consciousness slip away, startling him greatly. However he gripped Lianna’s hands tighter, using sheer willpower to fight back the pain which was threatening to destroy him.

It was then that he felt his eyes glaze over, as if he was transported to another place. It was dark, and he was in a room with the door tightly shut. He could hear shouting and fighting in the other room, before the sound of glass shattering and a loud thud.

Confused, he looked around the room trying to take stock of his position. That was when he saw two small girls huddled in the corner, holding each other and crying silently. A frown formed on his face as he slowly walked over and reached his hand out to comfort them.

However, his hand passed straight through, as if he was a ghost, startling him greatly. However, before he could think much longer the door which was tightly shut flung open with great force.

"Look what you two made me do!" A man who reeked of alcohol screamed at the two trembling girls, as he stumbled in. He was holding a broken beer bottle with blood dripping from it, painting a grim sight. He began to stumble closer to the two, a violent look in his drunk eyes.

"F*ck off!" Jayce stepped forward throwing a punch towards the drunk man and trying to protect the girls which looked to be only 5 or 6 years old. His hand flew straight through the man, who did not seem phased at all.

All Jayce could do was watch on as the man threw himself at the little girls, beating them up with heavy fists and kicks. Jayce screamed furiously, throwing his own kicks and punches at the man, "STOP YOU MONSTER! YOU’RE GOING TO KILL THEM"

Then suddenly the scene went dark all around him, causing him to fall on his behind, panting heavily. Before he could make sense of what had happened, another scene appeared in front of him, it was the same two girls however they looked a little older now.

They were sitting in an office, holding hands tightly with their heads lowered. A plump man sat behind a table in front of them, holding a stack of papers, not affected by their pitiful appearance. He stroked his mustache while reading the pages aloud.

"Mother murdered, Father in jail. Left in an orphanage for 5 years because no one wanted to adopt you both." The plump man clicked his tongue before a grin appeared, as if he took great pleasure in his next statement.

"Unfortunately, the orphanage can’t keep you forever. Thus, we will be sending you each to different foster families. My apologies, now say your goodbyes." Yet his expression was at odds with his words, it looked like he had no empathy or remorse for the two small girls in front of him.

One of the girls began to break down and cry at these words, her heart broken at the prospect of being separated from her twin sister. The other girl looked up at the plump smiling man and stared at him, as if burning his face into her mind.

She then turned to her sister and began to comfort her, "Don’t worry Lianna, we’ll be able to see each other in the future I promise." Jayce watched on with heartache at the scene, hearing the name Lianna had put the remaining pieces in place.

He now knew that he was seeing Lianna’s childhood memories, as if he were present at that point in time, which likely had something to do with his new Empath skill.

The young Lianna wiped her tears, asking between sobs "B-But Leah, how do you know that? I don’t want to leave you, you’re all I have left."

The girl named Leah hardened her face, doing her best not to burst out in tears. She grabbed something from her pocket and handed it to Lianna, "Think about me every time you play this, and I’ll always be with you."

Jayce took a closer look at the item, it was bright yellow and looked like a handheld gaming device. Only, it was clearly beaten up and old, with cracks on the screen. However, Lianna held it close to her chest as if it was the most precious thing, with tears streaming down her face like a waterfall.

Once again the scene went black. However Jayce didn’t know if he was ready for the next scene, he felt a deep sadness for the little girls, his heart aching for them. Yet he did not have control over what would happen next.

He was next transported to a room, complete with a bed, a study table and wardrobe. Apart from these three things, there was not much else. It was tough to know if this was a boys or girls room based on the lack of personal items within it.

A woman sat on the bed, hugging her knees. Her face looked listless, as if she had lost the ability to feel anything. Her old phone was on her left side, with a message open. Jayce instantly recognized Lianna who looked to be about the same age as she was now.

He moved closer, trying to get a better look at the message that was written on the phone, in hopes to gain some more context. He read it aloud.

"Your mother has shown me your grades. When I get home, you will be punished again. How can you think about being accepted into a prestigious University when you can’t even get an A in biology? An A minus is unacceptable."

Jayce frowned in displeasure, "What the F*ck is wrong with an A minus?"

It was then that his gaze turned to Lianna. He hadn’t noticed it before, but now that he was closer he could see countless bruises on her body, all of which would be covered by regular clothes. "These motherf*ckers." Jayce spat out between his teeth.

Lianna picked up a yellow object and held it to her chest, which Jayce instantly recognized as the one her sister Leah had given her all those years ago. "I’m sorry Leah. I’m not strong enough..." she said in almost a whisper.

Those words sounded like she had given up on everything, as if she were about to make a decision she would never be able to take back. Jayce watched on, knowing that he could not change anything that was about to happen, yet he steeled his heart.

Lianna gingerly got off of her bed and walked to the window, her expression still listless. She easily opened it and stood upon the ledge, looking out over the city.

It was then that the door to her room slammed open, "Lianna! What do you think you’re doing?" A gruff voice rang out from a middle-aged man who was holding a belt in his hand. It was clear that he was on his way to deliver the punishment he had mentioned earlier in his message.

She turned around, her expression not changing as she raised her middle finger. "Go f*ck yourself."

And then she jumped, not waiting for a reply.