Piccoletto

Magic Tablets

Luca had tried everything to open the doors in the cellar. Initially he was afraid that Ercole would come back soon. But after a while of waiting, Luca only felt safe enough to accomplish half hearted attempts of escape. He didn't want to hurt his elbow again, which forced him to come up with some creative ways of getting the doors down.

At first, he began kicking it. When he stubbed his toe, he decided to lay on his back in front of the door and kick both of his soles against the wood. Still it didn't budge. He tried twisting the doorknob, which escalated into violently shaking it. When that didn't work, he tried picking at the hinges. Nothing worked.

But the worst part was how exposed he felt. Luca had spent almost his entire life without having to wear a top, so Ercole having taken his shirt didn't bother him much. What did bother him were his bruises. He had a three inch long gash that ran down his right forearm. It had bled the night before but was now scabbing over. He had patches of scrapes, cuts, and bruises that could be found high and low. The dark purple bruise that wrapped around his torso was the worst. Any bit of pressure made his body ache painfully, which made trying to find a comfortable position to sit in nearly impossible.

But most of all he missed Giulia and Alberto. Luca was terrified of the idea that they were wasting all of their time looking for him. He hated the idea that Alberto was alone, and that Giulia thought that he left for good and didn't want to be friends. Luca wanted to cry. But he just felt too exhausted to try.

This led him to begin practicing on how to behave when Ercole came back. Luca didn't think he'd be able to withstand another beating, so he mentally thought out what he was going to say. Then the idea came back to him: he could 'strike a deal' with Ercole! If he could convince Ercole to let him out with the deal that Luca wouldn't tell anyone what happened, he could see Alberto again!

But if Ercole refused - then what? Ercole did say his parents were vacationing for the summer in Milan. But would Luca still be there by the time they came back? If he still was, he could scream for help. They'd hear him from the cellar, right?

But- what would Ercole do? Surely he couldn't be dumb enough to keep his hostage in his parent's basement when they're around. But what would he do to Luca if he didn't want to let him go? More importantly, what would happen if Ercole found out Luca was a sea monster?

Luca jumped as he heard the door slam behind him. He turned to see Ercole, his face red with fury. Luca felt that rush of panic once again as his breath began to increase. Ercole looked at him dangerously with sly eyes as Luca took a step back. He was more surprised than scared. Luca hadn't had enough time to process what was happening.

"E- Ercole," Luca stuttered, trying to wrack his mind for the words he had practiced earlier. "Do you- I mean would you-"

Luca couldn't finish. His voice got stuck in his throat as he began to hyperventilate, feeling his body crumble from the fear.

"My vespa," Ercole said, taking a step towards Luca. "Where is my vespa."

Luca's body began to shake as he realized how angry Ercole looked. "I never saw your vespa. . ."

Ercole began bawling up his shaking fists as he grinded his teeth in front of Luca.

"Liar!" Ercole shouted. He hurled himself towards Luca before Luca could react. Ercole used all his force as he lifted his leg and kicked Luca's stomach with all of his power. Luca screamed out, his echo filling the cellar as his head and back hit the wall behind him and his body slid down to the floor.

"This is all your fault!" Ercole continued. He picked Luca off of the ground, making sure to sink his fingernails into Luca's skin. Ercole threw Luca back to the stone with a slam as Luca shrieked in pain. He attempted to roll out of Ercole's way, but Ercole's had stepped onto Luca's chest, keeping him pinned beneath him.