The darker side (0/7)
“Are you sure you can handle this?” Hughes asks Peter, closing the file.
Peter notices that the elderly angel looks worried.
“It is not like I have much choice, do I?”
“You always have a choice, but the higher ups think you are the best candidate for this demon. We need to keep this one close to us.”
“How was he captured? What sort of demon is he?”
“There is nothing in his file, I know it is strange, but someone has gone through great lengths to keep this one´s file sealed off. It must be important if the elders didn´t even trust Hughes with this information.”
Peter shakes his head. He should refuse, but he knows that this is the opportunity he has always wanted to climb the ladder, and here it is.
“I will do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, as sure as I will ever be.”
“Good, I will take care of the paperwork.”
* * *
Peter walks up to the building where they keep the Prisoners of War. He takes a deep breath and opens the door. Inside there is an eerie atmosphere. It is quiet except for the occasional scream or wails. He does his best to ignore it. He doesn´t agree with the elders, who think prisoners can be tortured for information. It is common knowledge that prisoners of war are sometimes mistreated. Peter believes it is beneath angels to threat prisoners the way demons would threat their prisoners. But he is one of the few who think that way.
“Peter Burke, I am here to collect demon 6159-A.” he identifies himself.
“Sit down, I will ask someone to get him.”
Peter sits down and takes one of the newspapers that are on the table. He takes out his pen and starts solving the crossword puzzle.
He is already finished when the reinforced door opens. The guard comes through pulling a pitiful looking creature behind him. It is filthy and cowering behind the guard. Once they are in the room, the guard hits the demon with his baton and the creature lets out a muffled scream while he drops to his knees. His hands are bound behind his back, his wings restrained in a leather harness. His ankles are bound by shackles that are connected with a chain to the collar around its neck. The chain is forcing him to stay bend. It is just cruel. The only piece of clothing he is wearing is a filthy ragged pair of draw string pants.
“Take off the restraints and give him something to wear so I can take him out.” Peter tells the guard.
“I can’t take of the restraints, he is too much of a flight risk.” The guard says with a voice stripped of all emotion.
Peter sighs, he knows better than to argue.
“Let´s get this over with; get me his paperwork, so I can get out of here.”
The guard hands Peter the demon´s leash and asks him to come over to the desk so he can sign the papers. Another guard puts a tunic on him and some leather sandals. Peter supposes it is better than nothing.
While he waits for the paperwork, Peter turns to study the creature that is standing a step behind him. He is shivering and looks downright pitiful. There is nothing left of the pride and cockiness demons normally have. His body is covered with scrapes and bruises.
“I guess he is clumsy.” Peter sneers.
“Yeah, bumps a lot into things.” The guard laughs like he is telling something hilarious.
Peter signs everything and tugs on the leash; he is more than ready to leave this place. They leave the building and walk up to his car, the demon does his best to follow him, but it is obvious to Peter that he is in pain. He limps rather badly and his tail trails behind him over the ground, limp. Peter makes a mental note to have the creature checked out when they get home.
He touches its head to guide him into the car, but the creature flinches rather badly, making it overbalance and fall down. It moans and tries to crawl away for Peter.
“Shh, it is OK, I just want to make sure you don´t bump your head against the car door.”
The creature keeps his gaze towards the ground and gets to his knees with some effort. Peter helps him into the car and buckles him in. The exhaustion is catching up on the creature and somewhere during the ride it falls asleep.
Once they arrive at Peter´s home, Peter wakes him gently, but again he startles by the touch.
“Sorry, but we are here, let´s go inside, it is warmer than sitting in the car.”
Peter guides him indoors and by now the shivering has escalated into outright shaking. It is only now that Peter realizes it is quite cold and he is still wearing nothing but a flimsy tunic and thin leather sandals.
The moment they are inside, the demon gets down on its knees at the inside of the door. But Peter needs him to enter the room, so he gently tugs the leash. Peter can see it takes great effort to get up again and take the few steps into the living room. The limp has gotten worse and Peter is sure he is going to collapse any minute know, so he hurries to grab its waist and guide it to the large ottoman in the middle of the room, so he can lie down as the couch will not accommodate his wings.
“Stay still, I am going to take off the restraints. Did they explain how the collar works?”
The demon gives a slow nod.
“OK, well first things first. My name is Peter, I will be your handler. What is your name?”
“Neal, Master.”
“You name is Neal Master?”
“No Master, my human name is Neal Caffrey.”
“Welcome in my home, Neal. Are you hungry or thirsty?”
Neal looks expectantly, but doesn´t dare say anything. Peter is confused, if he is hungry, why doesn´t he say so?
“By the look in your eyes, you are hungry, what do you demons eat?”
“Anything Master provides will do.” Neal whispers.
Peter unfastens the restraints and Neal sighs when he can finally stretch out. Peter walks around Neal and unfastens the wrist restraints, only to see the welts from a recent whipping, peeking out from underneath his wings. Peter is appalled.
“I will free your wings after lunch, OK? Just stay put for now. The collar makes sure you are not able to use your powers and it will shock you if you go further than 100 feet away from me. It will knock you out, do you understand?”
Neal nods.
Peter goes into the kitchen and opens a can of demon kibble they gave him in prison and puts it on a plate. He adds a spoon and carries it in the living room. He places the plate on the table and Neal moans when he tries to kneel in front of Peter.
“No, stay on the bed. Can you eat yourself?”
Neal nods. When he picks up the plate and he gets a whiff of the scent, Neal visually pales. He takes the spoon and hesitantly puts a spoonful in his mouth. Peter can see that he gags but he swallows it down. That isn´t right. The guard had told him it was suitable food for demons.
“Is it any good?” Peter asks wearily.
“Yes master.” Neal says meekly.
“Neal, I want the truth.”
“It is OK, master.”
“That is not a satisfactory answer, Neal. I want a true answer, an honest answer.” Peter´s wings ruffle in annoyance and Neal flinches, still looking down.
“Look at me please.” Peter is getting more annoyed.
Neal looks up and Peter stares in a pair of the bluest eyes he has ever seen. He didn´t know demons could have blue eyes, they normally were dark brown or even black.
“It is inedible Master.” Neal ducks his head and makes himself smaller as if he is expecting to be hit for the honesty.
“They said that you demons like this stuff.” Peter huffs.
“No sir, we don´t, please taste it yourself.”
Peter grimaces, he should have thought about that one himself. He takes a spoon, but when the smell hits his nose he cringes. He has put this in front of Neal, so he has to tough it out. He quickly puts the spoon in his mouth. He gags but swallows it down. Without saying anything else, he takes the plate and dumps the contents in the garbage bin, together with the rest of the can.
Neal watches him wearily and curls in onto himself. Peter realizes he must look intimidating with his wings out, so he lets them disappear.
“Do you like a sandwich?”
Neal looks questionably at Peter.
“I will make one, you try it and let me know if you like it.”
When Peter holds out the sandwich, Neal sniffs the air and his hand reaches out for it, but in a manner that it looks like he is expecting it to be taken from him any minute now. But when Peter keeps his hand stretched out, Neal quickly snags the sandwich and scurries into a corner of the room. He wolves the sandwich down as if he hadn´t been fed in days.
“Did they feed you at all in prison?”
“Just the bare minimum, Master.”
When Peter gives Neal a questionable look; Neal quickly swallows the last bite as if he is afraid that Peter will punish him for telling the truth.
“It is Peter, you can call me Peter when we are home, I know you need to call me Master when we are outside, but here in my house you can call me Peter.”
“Yes Master Peter.
Peter just shakes his head.
“Listen, I don´t want you to get sick, so I will first show you the bathroom, so you can clean yourself up and then afterwards, I will make you something else. Will soup do?”
“Yes, Master Peter.”
Peter walks up to Neal and Neal tenses.
“I am not going to hurt you, OK, I will just take the harness off your wings, so you can take a shower.”
Neal kneels and the moment Peter stands behind him, he starts shivering again. Peter places his hand on his shoulder to try and convey he can be trusted.
“Shh, it´s OK, you are safe here, I am not going to hurt you.”
Peter starts to unfasten the leather harness that immobilizes Neal´s wings. The moment he frees them, one wing hangs down and Neal lets out a cry of pain.
“I´m sorry, I didn´t know, what happened to your right wing?”
“I hurt it, Master Peter.”
But Peter sees that Neal´s body language tells a completely different story.
“Were you hurt in prison?”
“It´s OK, master, I…”
“You what? What could you possibly have done to get treated this way?” Peter snaps angry and Neal flinches.
Peter takes a deep breath.
“I am not mad at you, Neal, I am mad at the situation. What happened to your wing?” Peter examines it and it is definitely broken. Neal grunts when he touches sensitive spots.
“I deserved the punishment, Master.”
It hasn´t slipped Peter´s attention, that Neal is calling him Master again.
“You think there is any justification for the fact they broke your wing in prison?”
“I tried to escape Master.”
Peter sighs. He should have known.
“Still, they had no right to cripple you like this, is that also why you limp?”
“Yes master, they broke my leg as well, but it already healed; although that was for a different infraction.”
Peter is furious, it is one thing to hurt one in battle, but a prisoner whose powers are taken away from him, so he can’t heal himself, that is just barbaric.
“Let me see if I can get a doctor in here.”
Continue
Peter notices that the elderly angel looks worried.
“It is not like I have much choice, do I?”
“You always have a choice, but the higher ups think you are the best candidate for this demon. We need to keep this one close to us.”
“How was he captured? What sort of demon is he?”
“There is nothing in his file, I know it is strange, but someone has gone through great lengths to keep this one´s file sealed off. It must be important if the elders didn´t even trust Hughes with this information.”
Peter shakes his head. He should refuse, but he knows that this is the opportunity he has always wanted to climb the ladder, and here it is.
“I will do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, as sure as I will ever be.”
“Good, I will take care of the paperwork.”
* * *
Peter walks up to the building where they keep the Prisoners of War. He takes a deep breath and opens the door. Inside there is an eerie atmosphere. It is quiet except for the occasional scream or wails. He does his best to ignore it. He doesn´t agree with the elders, who think prisoners can be tortured for information. It is common knowledge that prisoners of war are sometimes mistreated. Peter believes it is beneath angels to threat prisoners the way demons would threat their prisoners. But he is one of the few who think that way.
“Peter Burke, I am here to collect demon 6159-A.” he identifies himself.
“Sit down, I will ask someone to get him.”
Peter sits down and takes one of the newspapers that are on the table. He takes out his pen and starts solving the crossword puzzle.
He is already finished when the reinforced door opens. The guard comes through pulling a pitiful looking creature behind him. It is filthy and cowering behind the guard. Once they are in the room, the guard hits the demon with his baton and the creature lets out a muffled scream while he drops to his knees. His hands are bound behind his back, his wings restrained in a leather harness. His ankles are bound by shackles that are connected with a chain to the collar around its neck. The chain is forcing him to stay bend. It is just cruel. The only piece of clothing he is wearing is a filthy ragged pair of draw string pants.
“Take off the restraints and give him something to wear so I can take him out.” Peter tells the guard.
“I can’t take of the restraints, he is too much of a flight risk.” The guard says with a voice stripped of all emotion.
Peter sighs, he knows better than to argue.
“Let´s get this over with; get me his paperwork, so I can get out of here.”
The guard hands Peter the demon´s leash and asks him to come over to the desk so he can sign the papers. Another guard puts a tunic on him and some leather sandals. Peter supposes it is better than nothing.
While he waits for the paperwork, Peter turns to study the creature that is standing a step behind him. He is shivering and looks downright pitiful. There is nothing left of the pride and cockiness demons normally have. His body is covered with scrapes and bruises.
“I guess he is clumsy.” Peter sneers.
“Yeah, bumps a lot into things.” The guard laughs like he is telling something hilarious.
Peter signs everything and tugs on the leash; he is more than ready to leave this place. They leave the building and walk up to his car, the demon does his best to follow him, but it is obvious to Peter that he is in pain. He limps rather badly and his tail trails behind him over the ground, limp. Peter makes a mental note to have the creature checked out when they get home.
He touches its head to guide him into the car, but the creature flinches rather badly, making it overbalance and fall down. It moans and tries to crawl away for Peter.
“Shh, it is OK, I just want to make sure you don´t bump your head against the car door.”
The creature keeps his gaze towards the ground and gets to his knees with some effort. Peter helps him into the car and buckles him in. The exhaustion is catching up on the creature and somewhere during the ride it falls asleep.
Once they arrive at Peter´s home, Peter wakes him gently, but again he startles by the touch.
“Sorry, but we are here, let´s go inside, it is warmer than sitting in the car.”
Peter guides him indoors and by now the shivering has escalated into outright shaking. It is only now that Peter realizes it is quite cold and he is still wearing nothing but a flimsy tunic and thin leather sandals.
The moment they are inside, the demon gets down on its knees at the inside of the door. But Peter needs him to enter the room, so he gently tugs the leash. Peter can see it takes great effort to get up again and take the few steps into the living room. The limp has gotten worse and Peter is sure he is going to collapse any minute know, so he hurries to grab its waist and guide it to the large ottoman in the middle of the room, so he can lie down as the couch will not accommodate his wings.
“Stay still, I am going to take off the restraints. Did they explain how the collar works?”
The demon gives a slow nod.
“OK, well first things first. My name is Peter, I will be your handler. What is your name?”
“Neal, Master.”
“You name is Neal Master?”
“No Master, my human name is Neal Caffrey.”
“Welcome in my home, Neal. Are you hungry or thirsty?”
Neal looks expectantly, but doesn´t dare say anything. Peter is confused, if he is hungry, why doesn´t he say so?
“By the look in your eyes, you are hungry, what do you demons eat?”
“Anything Master provides will do.” Neal whispers.
Peter unfastens the restraints and Neal sighs when he can finally stretch out. Peter walks around Neal and unfastens the wrist restraints, only to see the welts from a recent whipping, peeking out from underneath his wings. Peter is appalled.
“I will free your wings after lunch, OK? Just stay put for now. The collar makes sure you are not able to use your powers and it will shock you if you go further than 100 feet away from me. It will knock you out, do you understand?”
Neal nods.
Peter goes into the kitchen and opens a can of demon kibble they gave him in prison and puts it on a plate. He adds a spoon and carries it in the living room. He places the plate on the table and Neal moans when he tries to kneel in front of Peter.
“No, stay on the bed. Can you eat yourself?”
Neal nods. When he picks up the plate and he gets a whiff of the scent, Neal visually pales. He takes the spoon and hesitantly puts a spoonful in his mouth. Peter can see that he gags but he swallows it down. That isn´t right. The guard had told him it was suitable food for demons.
“Is it any good?” Peter asks wearily.
“Yes master.” Neal says meekly.
“Neal, I want the truth.”
“It is OK, master.”
“That is not a satisfactory answer, Neal. I want a true answer, an honest answer.” Peter´s wings ruffle in annoyance and Neal flinches, still looking down.
“Look at me please.” Peter is getting more annoyed.
Neal looks up and Peter stares in a pair of the bluest eyes he has ever seen. He didn´t know demons could have blue eyes, they normally were dark brown or even black.
“It is inedible Master.” Neal ducks his head and makes himself smaller as if he is expecting to be hit for the honesty.
“They said that you demons like this stuff.” Peter huffs.
“No sir, we don´t, please taste it yourself.”
Peter grimaces, he should have thought about that one himself. He takes a spoon, but when the smell hits his nose he cringes. He has put this in front of Neal, so he has to tough it out. He quickly puts the spoon in his mouth. He gags but swallows it down. Without saying anything else, he takes the plate and dumps the contents in the garbage bin, together with the rest of the can.
Neal watches him wearily and curls in onto himself. Peter realizes he must look intimidating with his wings out, so he lets them disappear.
“Do you like a sandwich?”
Neal looks questionably at Peter.
“I will make one, you try it and let me know if you like it.”
When Peter holds out the sandwich, Neal sniffs the air and his hand reaches out for it, but in a manner that it looks like he is expecting it to be taken from him any minute now. But when Peter keeps his hand stretched out, Neal quickly snags the sandwich and scurries into a corner of the room. He wolves the sandwich down as if he hadn´t been fed in days.
“Did they feed you at all in prison?”
“Just the bare minimum, Master.”
When Peter gives Neal a questionable look; Neal quickly swallows the last bite as if he is afraid that Peter will punish him for telling the truth.
“It is Peter, you can call me Peter when we are home, I know you need to call me Master when we are outside, but here in my house you can call me Peter.”
“Yes Master Peter.
Peter just shakes his head.
“Listen, I don´t want you to get sick, so I will first show you the bathroom, so you can clean yourself up and then afterwards, I will make you something else. Will soup do?”
“Yes, Master Peter.”
Peter walks up to Neal and Neal tenses.
“I am not going to hurt you, OK, I will just take the harness off your wings, so you can take a shower.”
Neal kneels and the moment Peter stands behind him, he starts shivering again. Peter places his hand on his shoulder to try and convey he can be trusted.
“Shh, it´s OK, you are safe here, I am not going to hurt you.”
Peter starts to unfasten the leather harness that immobilizes Neal´s wings. The moment he frees them, one wing hangs down and Neal lets out a cry of pain.
“I´m sorry, I didn´t know, what happened to your right wing?”
“I hurt it, Master Peter.”
But Peter sees that Neal´s body language tells a completely different story.
“Were you hurt in prison?”
“It´s OK, master, I…”
“You what? What could you possibly have done to get treated this way?” Peter snaps angry and Neal flinches.
Peter takes a deep breath.
“I am not mad at you, Neal, I am mad at the situation. What happened to your wing?” Peter examines it and it is definitely broken. Neal grunts when he touches sensitive spots.
“I deserved the punishment, Master.”
It hasn´t slipped Peter´s attention, that Neal is calling him Master again.
“You think there is any justification for the fact they broke your wing in prison?”
“I tried to escape Master.”
Peter sighs. He should have known.
“Still, they had no right to cripple you like this, is that also why you limp?”
“Yes master, they broke my leg as well, but it already healed; although that was for a different infraction.”
Peter is furious, it is one thing to hurt one in battle, but a prisoner whose powers are taken away from him, so he can’t heal himself, that is just barbaric.
“Let me see if I can get a doctor in here.”
Continue