Not All Human, Chapter 3

“How are you liking day four of your new life, kid?” Victor said as he unlocked the door to Troy’s cage. Victor had come up with the idea of passing out coupons to see his show (which he simply called “the show”-- Victor wasn’t terribly creative) to get the word out, and that’s what he’d been doing all day.
Troy grumbled. Victor had threatened to wipe his memory to get him to cooperate for the filming of the commercial. Troy kept persisting, and, unfortunately for him, Victor had given Troy a small dose of whatever it was that would brainwash him. It didn’t do much, but it caused Troy to be constantly bombarded by animalistic impulses.
It was not a pleasant experience.
However, the instincts were more annoying than scary. At the most, Troy would be overcome by a rush of thoughts-- most of them telling him to hunt or kill. Fortunately, they weren’t that difficult to control. Although, it was getting harder not to claw Victor’s face off with every passing second.
“Are you ready to blow some minds tomorrow?” Victor said, his voice dripping with malice. “‘Cause if you don’t, you know what happens.” He gestured to a bottle filled with pill-like objects.
Troy growled. He hated how he couldn’t respond directly, how he could only communicate through the form of growls and roars. Oh, the things he’d say if he could speak! He wouldn’t let Victor hear the end of it.
Somebody’s mind is gonna be blown-- blown up. Troy thought, gritting his teeth. Sure, he could probably kill Victor, but then he’d lose all hope of ever becoming human again.
With all the strength he could gather, Troy tried to talk. It came out in a voice that was not his own, sounding very rough and deep.
“I hhhhate you, Victorrrr.”
Victor stumbled backwards, caught off guard. He instinctively grabbed for the bottle of pills, but stopped. He thought for a moment before replying. “A talking dragon? Well, that’ll really rake in the dough.”
“Shut up, you greedy moron,” Troy said. Although he didn’t exactly say it-- his ability to speak had suddenly disappeared, and he returned to the standard snarls of a beast.
Victor’s expression grew disappointed when he realized that Troy’s voice was gone once more. Sighing, he walked back to Troy’s cage.
“Ah, nevermind. It’s not like talking would make the act any more believable than it already is.” Victor finally opened the cage’s door, allowing Troy to get out and stretch.
An overload of sensations hit Troy as he moved his wings. He hated how he could feel them-- his tail, too. It felt strange to have so many extra limbs, let alone wings.
Then, Troy suddenly had an idea.
He could injure Victor.
Not kill him, of course, but cripple him. The dirty room they were in was empty. No one would hear him scream.
Without giving it a second thought, Troy gathered a fire in his throat. It burned, but he continued to build it up. He would wait until Victor would least expect it.
“You’re being rather quiet,” Victor said, breaking the silence. “When are you going to tell me I’m--”
Victor was unable to finish his sentence, because Troy had already leapt into action and shot a plume of fire at Victor’s left leg. It hit him square in the thigh, and he toppled over, shouting curses.
It was almost painful to watch. Troy was already rethinking his decisions. He never would have thought he’d hurt anyone this badly.
Victor reached for a fire extinguisher and sprayed the contents all over his leg. His thigh was terribly mangled, muscle exposed, bleeding all over his expensive pants.
Troy almost felt sorry.
Almost.
Much to Troy’s dismay, Victor shook off the injury like it was a mere papercut. Regardless, his eyes burned with rage, and his face told Troy he was about to undergo a major punishment.
Laughing maniacally, Victor snatched the bottle of pills. “You want to play that way, mate? I’m not afraid to make every minute of your life as miserable as possible.” He unscrewed the lid. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna wipe your clean, Troy. Bit by bit until there’s nothing left.”
Troy backed into the cage. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. No, no, it was all going wrong. Troy had lost almost everything up to this point, and now he was going to lose the one thing he had left: his humanity.
“Oh, and I won’t make it quick.” Victor continued, shaking the bottle, causing many pills to spill into his palm. “Oh, no. It’s gonna be slow, kid. You’re gonna notice it all slipping, and I’m gonna enjoy watching you suffer.” He jammed the pills into Troy’s throat.
Troy gagged. This couldn’t be happening. He wouldn’t forget. He couldn’t forget. But he knew, deep down, that Victor would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
“Oh, and this?” Victor added, gesturing to his disfigured leg. “This won’t even get in the way of our little event tomorrow.” He stormed out the door, limping, not even bothering to lock Troy in his cage.
Troy lay down on the floor. He couldn’t feel the pills taking effect, but the fear of forgetting consumed him as he desperately clung to his memories. But as he lay there, helpless and alone, he couldn't shake off the unsettling feeling that tomorrow's show would bring even more unimaginable horrors.