Puppy Mill
Hello, there, everyone!
This is Naty17, here, with the long awaited first chapter of Darker than Death; Puppy Mill! Yay!
This is going to be a fun story, I think. :3 It's rated M, so... ^/^ We'll see how brave I feel. But considering what the story is mainly about (I mean, look, the story is called Puppy Mill! That's gottamean something!), I've decided to set it at M. Not much of a decision, actually... it was pretty obvious a choice.
Anyway, I'm planning on having looooooooads of fun with this~! It's all centered around lies; the walls looming around them are built in lies, the people who rule over them only tell lies, and they themselves have learned to always tell lies.
In this story, people are judged by appearance, not by personality, so even the baddest apple can stay. I thought it'd be fun to write from the bad guy's point of view, for once. :)
In this story, so many are selfish, many are determined, and some can be dangerous. Even the most innocent person you could know there turns out to be a scheming demon, and the one you're paired with may not be the one you truly love.
You are a puppet, and if anyone desires so, they will play with your strings.
Beware... the world outside your door.
Because some things are darker than even death. This is one of them.
Enjoy your visit to this puppy mill. Be careful not to die while you're there.
Chapter 1 - Prologue
How do you live a life without love?
Some say it's impossible; it's impossible to not go insane without it, and it's impossible to not feel anything for anyone.
I guess I could say I agree with that.
Some also say it is impossible to be forced to love.
Now that is a saying I disagree with whole-heartedly.
After all, if it had been me instead of Miku, Len would have loved me even more than he's been fooled to think he loves her.
And that is a fact.
It may be impossible to function without love- for some people -but it isn't impossible to fool people into falling in love.
Miku's done it. Dell and the council have done it. Hell, I've done it!
We can't help but lie, and we can't help but trick. Why not lie, if it can bring in so many benefits?
But here's what you have to watch out for: a lie is like a stitch in a dress; you have to spin it out carefully, because if the strings get tangled, if you make one single mistake, you have to pull it all out and start all over again.
And here's the thing: You can't start over in life.
I figured out the trick with the lies a little too late. But do I regret any of the lies I told? No. None at all. ... Or perhaps some. Yes, maybe one or two, I regret... But that doesn't mean anything.
What I did was genius. It was a nearly flawless plan, but with a very thin edge to walk on to the other side.
But then, the string to my tightrope snapped.
One misplaced lie caused the whole cliff to crumble, and I was buried under its heavy boulders.
But I don't regret having tried.
I never will.
I may be crazy, literally mentally insane, but I think the thrill was worth it. The prize was missed by an inch, but things had gone better than I'd planned.
And no matter how you view it, I'd beaten Miku in a game that not even SHE knew she was playing.
In fact, I kicked her ass.
But this is probably far too confusing for you to understand, isn't it?
It'll all make perfect sense to you sooner or later, I'm sure... Every piece of the complex puzzle that is my life shall fall into place, revealing... well... I don't know, exactly.
Perhaps to one person, it will show the most disgusting, horrible thing she could ever imagine. Perhaps to another, it will show a regular bitch, no greater than any other.
And perhaps to you, it will show your own reflection, dark and sinister, staring back at you from the glass of the mirror.
Whatever the case, I suggest you take my advice.
Because maybe you'll be able to achieve a better success than I have. Perhaps, using my carefully constructed plan, you will manage to get everything you deserve.
But first... you'd have to find your way into the Terra Perfectionis.
And... you probably wouldn't want to be there anyway. At least, not if you're infatuated with the idea of love.
In fact... I never asked to be brought there. I just was.
It all happened one dark, cool night...
"Momma?"
A little girl stood in a dark, dirty alley, barefoot, and trembling with both cold and fear.
It looked so much like a scene from a horror movie; any innocent bystander would have been searching for the cameras.
"Momma?" she shouted again, the pitch of her voice rising, as her panic escaladed.
'If you come back, and I'm not home, I need you to run, okay?' She remembered those words... 'Run, and don't look back! Find people and ask for help- it's too dangerous to live here by yourself, especially if there's danger near!'
But she couldn't run. She couldn't leave without at least searching for her guardian, the woman who'd brought her to life.
"Mommy, please...!" she begged to no one.
The wind picked up, freezing her bare arms, her white sundress doing little to protect her.
Her own short, pale blond hair whipped against her face, stinging her cheeks, and getting caught in her eye.
And, still, she grit her teeth like she would any other night.
"Mommy...!" She let out a choked sob.
She had no idea who had taken the woman- all she knew was that her mother wasn't at their meeting place, at the alley with the yellow chalk star drawn on its back wall.
Momma wasn't home yet.
And mommy was always back on time.
"Mommy!"
The young girl was in hysterics now. Her sobs echoed through the silence of the night, as crumbled pieces of paper flew around the cold cement she stood on.
'Run! You have to run!'
She heard her mother's familiar voice yell the words inside her head, and couldn't help but gasp, and try to cling on it.
It was like how an average kid might struggle with his iPod: Rin desperately tried to put that voice on repeat, because it could possibly be the last time she ever heard her mother.
Even if it was just a memory.
Suddenly, she heard a voice, a low murmur. Then footsteps.
"Momma?"
She tiptoed closer to the sounds, keeping to the shadows, trying to catch a better look.
Then, she heard a scratchy sound, and a distant voice. It sounded distorted, as if it were coming from... a walkie-talkie.
'There are bad people who come through here at night, Rinny. These people could try to steal you, or hurt you... or worse.'
The first voice - a man, the young girl concluded - spoke his answer in the device, and the footsteps sounded once again.
'When I'm with you, I protect you from danger. Without me, though, they'll take you, and do terrible things to you. That's why you need to run to the main part of town, where there are people- so they can't get you.'
'But they might have you...' the girl thought, her brows creasing upward.
Closer and closer, she moved towards the footsteps, following him, trying to catch what was being said in the walkie-talkie.
Suddenly, there was a blood-curling scream that made the little girl freeze.
"Mommy...!"
The footsteps stopped. Then, the beep of the walkie-talkie. "Look, I know you want your fun 'n all, but at least try to gag her. We might get visitors..."
Silence again, then the scratchiness returned, as the other man answered, "God forbid."
There were strange noises coming from the second man's end... Grunts, sobs, swears, moans, more curses, threats...
And most of these signs of verbal hatred were spoken in her mother's voice.
"Mommy!" the little girl sobbed once more.
The air went completely silent just then.
For just a minute, the wind died down, the walkie-talkie didn't beep, and the alley was deadly silent.
"I think I heard someone..." the first man told the other. "A little girl, I think."
The device beeped again, and Rin heard her mother scream her name, in a way that sent shivers up her spine.
"Perfect; maybe we'll be able to sell her to Dell."
The first one chuckled. "Only if she's pretty. And we both know he's picky."
'Only if she's pretty...?'
More strange noises from the other end of the transmitter, before finally, a breathless reply came. "Well... what are you... waiting for? If not... Dell... we can… alwa- always sell her to... someone else."
Rin had a feeling this was important, but she couldn't concentrate on the words and their meaning; she was too shocked and fixed on the sound of her mother sobbing.
"Fine, fine, I get it." The first man chuckled again.
"And first, we need to... Ugh! We need to... make sure you're not delusiona- Ah!"
"Oh god!" The first man laughed. "I really didn't need to hear that...!"
Another scream, muffled this time. Rin let out a whimper.
"... I think I just heard her again. I'm goin' after her now."
It took a little longer this time before the man got a reply. "S'bout time."
It was then that Rin realized she should run.
Not caring anymore of the noise her steps made, she turned on her heel, and sprinted down the alley.
Having lived here all her life, she knew which way would be shortest to get to the train tracks. And beyond the train tracks was the city, where she'd be safe.
'Or, at least, safer.'
It wasn't long before she heard heavier footsteps gaining speed behind her.
Her terror peaked, and for the first time, she truly believed she would die that night.
Because tonight, momma wasn't there to protect her. Tonight, she was on her own, and already losing.
Suddenly - she wasn't sure if it was just her brain's sudden attempt at survival, the thought that this was like a movie she and her mother had once watched, or if perhaps, she recalled a past nightmare - she got an idea.
If she'd been the heroine of a movie, any person watching would have rolled their eyes at her 'fool proof' trick. But it was something, and even though it was slight, she at least had a chance to succeed.
So as she passed another intersection, she swerved left, away from the train tracks.
Instead of sprinting down this new path, though, she pressed herself to the wall, hoping to make herself flat enough to become unnoticeable.
A simple, classic trick, with such little chance of working.
The man sped around the corner, then stopped, as he realized his prey was no longer in sight.
'Keep running... keep running... She's over there! Keep running...!' The young girl chanted to herself in her head. 'Please don't look around here...!'
To her horror, he took a moment to gaze around, glancing back behind him, squinting again in front of him... and then began to turn in her direction.
She resisted a squeak of fear, holding her breath, trying to stay invisible.
For a moment, she was sure he'd seen her; it'd looked like he'd been staring right at her! But then his gaze just continued, sweeping right by her.
She didn't miss the small smirk on his face, though...
"Hm, I wonder where that little brat went...?" He murmured to himself. "Maybe she ran off? Or maybe..."
He suddenly spun, and Rin hadn't even seen him pull out his gun- she'd only heard the crack, and saw the bullet bounce off the wall, only a few centimeters beside her head.
She couldn't help it then- she screamed.
She'd never screamed as loud and as high as she did then. She felt like her lungs would burst, like her heart would stop. She'd never been so afraid in her life.
Her eyes blurred with tears, so much so, that she couldn't even see a foot in front of her.
She sobbed, wiping at her eyes. He was going to kill her! He really was going to...! She was going to die tonight! She didn't want to die...!
Although death may just have been better than the life ahead of her.
"My, aren't you a cutie?"
Now that he was closer, Rin could distinctly hear an accent... Australian, she guessed, though she had no idea how she knew what an Australian accent sounded like.
He had long shaggy brown hair that framed his face, dark brown pointed eyes, and tight lips that grinned at her mockingly, evilly.
"You know, you may just get out of this alive, little girl." he purred to her, stepping closer. "We have a... a friend, you could say. But he only likes cute girls. If he thinks you're cute enough, he'll keep you, and you'll be allowed to live."
The little girl's eyes widened in hope. After all, her mother had always told her she was irresistibly cute, more beautiful than any other in the world.
"But... if he rejects you..." The man laughed, a low rumble that sent chills down her spine. "Let's just say... I can be quite... aggressive."
Rin had no idea what that meant, exactly, but she knew it couldn't be good.
"Why not test you first, though?" He took hold of little Rin's hand, and guided it to his... well, the place that Rin's mother had told her never to let anyone touch. Was it the same if it was someone else's, though?
No. It still couldn't be right...
Funny how warped my sense of wrong and right grew over the years, huh?
Rin could feel something... strange pushing against her from behind those jeans. She couldn't describe the feeling, but even though she was scared, she felt somewhat curious by this strange bulge.
"What are you making me do...?" she asked, a small tear slipping down her cheek, though she'd stopped crying.
"Don't worry..." he breathed out. "I'll teach you..."
Before Rin could realize what he was doing, he sloppily took her lips with his, licking her, shoving his tongue into her mouth.
She cringed, not liking the feeling and trying to get away, but he kept a strong grip on her, and she couldn't break free. She began to cry again, but her sobs were swallowed up by the ugly sounds of his kissing.
"Heh heh..." he laughed, moving his lips down to her neck, kissing and nipping at her.
"S-Stop...!" she cried.
"Leave her alone, Cal. (2)"
Her assaulter glanced over his shoulder. "What? Why?"
"You know she won't sell as well if she isn't completely innocent."
"You're kidding me, right?" 'Cal' asked, exasperated. "So you get to fuck the fucking mom, or whoever she was, but I'm not allowed to have my turn?"
"We'll find an ugly one for you later." The second man answered.
Rin couldn't see him, but she felt indescribably relieved. He'd saved her! She wanted to thank him! Later... Later, she would.
"The ugly ones are never as much fun..."
"Well then I'll buy you a whore. I'll even clean up the mess once you're done with her."
'Cal' glanced back at Rin, who shrunk away from his gaze, then sighed. "Fuck this." he muttered, as he stormed off.
The second man seemed Japanese. He had jet black hair down to his chin, and smudged black glasses. He seemed about 28, Rin guessed, and was dressed casually in a plaid shirt and stained blue jeans.
He looked the young blonde up and down. "He wasn't kidding... you are a cutie. Too bad..."
Rin frowned. "Too... Too bad?"
"It sucks for you." That was all he said, as he gestured her forward.
Silently and carefully, Rin approached him.
"I won't hurt you." he reassured her. "Bruises reduce quality."
"... Am I of good quality?" Rin asked, not understanding the meaning of 'quality'.
"Yes... excellent quality." he answered, a small smirk on his lips. "... Was that your mother we found?"
Her eyes widened. "M-Maybe! I-I think so... Is she okay?!"
"..." He was silent for a moment. "... She looked like you."
What was that supposed to mean?
After a few feet of silence, Rin spoke up again. "Thank you..."
The man seemed surprised by this. He stopped in his step and turned to her, his dark eyes wide with both confusion and shock. "... For what?"
"Well... you saved me." She glanced up at him with her innocent ocean blue eyes. "Didn't you?"
It'd been a long time since Tohru had ever felt guilty about his actions.
He'd tried to build walls around him to prevent it, to think of it just as work and no more, but... Staring into the big blue eyes of the little girl whose face was still round with youth, his throat grew dry, and he thought about how much he hated his job.
He swallowed. "... From Cal, you mean?" He shook his head, bittersweet. "Don't thank me... there's far worse out there than Cal. In fact, I think you'd be more thankful if I shot you know than if Dell accepts you."
"Dell?"
Tohru stopped and kneeled to the ground, bringing himself to her level. "I'm sure you'll be allowed in." he told her. "And it's not a good place. People die there."
"But... don't people die everywhere?" Rin asked, innocent as ever.
"... How old are you?" The man asked her.
Rin lifted five fingers.
"Five?" He hesitated. "Do you know who Adolf Hitler is?"
Rin nodded. "The evil German Nazi leader!" she answered proudly.
"Do you know what he did to the Jewish?"
"Mm-hm..." Rin nodded, unsure what he was getting at. "He... He made them take showers, but they were poison showers, so they died. And he shot a lot of them."
"And he burned their bodies in a big pit." The man finished. "You've heard of all that, right?"
Rin nodded.
"Where we're bringing you... The 'Terra Perfectionis'... It's not that different from Hitler's Germany." He stood back up to his feet. "Are you sure you don't want me to just shoot you now?"
Rin was horrified. A new Hitler?! But... she wasn't Jew. Or, at least, she didn't think she was. So she shouldn't have a problem. And she was blond and blue-eyed, too. This new Hitler wouldn't want to kill her... right?
"I don't want to die, yet." she answered.
"... Okay." Tohru began walking again, Rin struggling to keep up.
"... Do you really think I'll die there?"
Another moment's hesitation. "... Not if you're careful. The one thing I know from witnessing the Terra Perfectionis is that it's the goodie-two-shoes that live. If you break a rule, or if the people in charge don't like you, you die."
How terrible!
"My advice to you is... no matter what Dell says, you have to follow his orders. It doesn't matter if you don't like it; pretend you like it. Pretend you like him. Better yet, pretend you love him. Make him like you, and you'll be okay."
Rin took this in note.
Little did she know, this was the most useful advice she would ever receive.
After all, it was this advice that had kept me alive for so long.
But all things do end eventually. Even life in the Land of Perfection.
If I could, I'd do it all over again. But that next time, I'd do it over the right way.
If I ever get a chance to do it all over again, I promise you, I will win.
You know, this chapter took a surprisingly long time to write.
But... I love it.
I feel this story is going to be... perfect for me.
In a sense, it's like a combination of Lost and Found, The Girl in the War, and like I mentioned in the story, Hitler's reign.
I really feel this is an area I will do strongly with. I'll be able to show the true nature of humans. The only time I'm ever allowed to write in a bitch's perspective is when I'm writing for Meiko in Dust in the Corner. And even then, she's not that bad.
I shall make Rin the biggest bitch you can ever imagine!
I can't wait to figure out what I'll do next!
I'll be able to teach you the ways of the Terra Perfectionis, and how exactly it is a Land of Perfection. How they make it a Land of Perfection. And I'll just tell you now... it comes with very strict monitoring.
Oh? You're overweight? Goodbye; you're dead now.
What's that? The baby you had inherited the mole on your left cheek? So you're saying it's heriditary? Goodbye; both you and that child are dead.
Oh? Are you refusing orders? You seem to have a history of doing that... That won't work. Goodbye; May you Rest In Hell.
Question of the Chapter: Take a wild guess, and tell me what you think maybe one of the rules in the 'Terra Perfectionis'. Tell me what you think they do to make it 'perfect'. I'm curious... ^w^
I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I'm going to be optimistic and wish for 10 reviews for this first chapter. That would make my day~! ^w^
Love,
Naty17
(1) Land of Perfection, in Latin. I wanted to have the name of the 'Puppy Mill' be something along the lines of 'Perfect Human', or at least include the word 'perfect' in it. To put it in English would make it sound far too simple, so I spent a good half hour on Google Translate trying to find a language that would suit it. I didn't want any modern language, like English, or French, or German, etc. I considered Japanese at one point (because it is truly a beautiful language), but considering the story takes place somewhere that isn't Japan (I don't know where yet), it'd be out of place. For the longest time, I settled with the Italian translation of 'Land of Perfection'; 'Luogo de Perfeczione' (although now, Google Translate is denying it ever fed me that word). But then, it turns out that this computer will actually let me look up Latin (it wouldn't let me on my DSi), so... Terra Perfectionis it is! I think it has a nice ring to it...
(2) Wondering what Vocaloid Cal is? Think he is perhaps a remade version of Big Al? Think again. Cal is actually... ... ... one of my classmates from school. *shot* He's one of those perfect guys who's always perfect, and has yet to experience a single sadness. Always content, the perfect role-model. So... I thought it'd be nice to show what he may become in a few years! XD (Yeah, right.) It's my small way of revenge, because he's too 'perfect' to try not to be perfect. He doesn't even dare to argue with his parents, and I have a feeling it's slowly eating away at him inside. So here's to you, Cal Sentance; Don't even try living up to everyone's expectations, or you'll be miserable your whole life. Just come out of the closet, or listen to your classical music or hang out with the weirdoes like us if that's what you want most. Why don't you just stop caring about whatpeople think of you for a day, and see what happens! Or just keep on living perfectly and see how long you last. *shrug*
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