Chapter 2
"Slave, clean this mess up."
Dull blue eyes didn't even blink as they moved to observe the shards of glass littering the carpet floor. With an utterly blank face, Jessy then moved her sight towards the glass embedded in her arms. She cocked her head to the side, watching as red streamed down her pale, scarred arms.
There was a quick shift in movement and Jessy suddenly found herself thrown to the ground, her head hanging limply on one side. She slowly blinked as if processing what had just happened and silently looked up at the fancily dressed woman before her.
The woman sneered down at the blonde child and hissed, "You useless pest. This better be cleaned by the time we get back."
The woman didn't wait for an answer and sauntered out of the room. It wasn't until after she heard the front door of the house slam close that Jessy moved. Sluggishly, she raised a hand and began meticulously pulling out the glass from her skin. At some point, her wounds closed up and she was forced to cut them open again.
Once she was sure she had cleared off her arms, she shakily got up and started to clean up all the glass shards from the broken beer bottles that were used to hit her with. When everything was done and the bloodstains were scrubbed away, Jessy obediently returned to her 'room'.
Settling down in a corner, she turned her head to stare out of the small window she couldn't reach. The sun was just starting to set, allowing a splash of orange to light up a part of her corner. Jessy pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
A sniffle broke the perpetual silence as Jessy buried her head into her knees, allowing her tears to soak the ratty fabric. With a cracked whimper of despair, Jessy allowed herself to cry for the first time since Leo's death.
"I miss you. Come back."
~.~.~.~
She was burning.
Her blood was boiling beneath her skin and her heart threatened to burst from the pressure. Jessy let out a gurgle as she fought to breathe, the substance they injected into her was attacking her lungs. Her body was shaking uncontrollably and was tightly strapped down to a metal slab.
Sounds of panic and blaring machines were overwhelming her ears, but she felt detached from it all. She had long since stopped feeling the pain. This wasn't supposed to happen. The serum wasn't supposed to backfire and start attacking her respiratory system. Everything was going wrong, but Jessy couldn't bring herself to care.
Maybe this was the end, maybe she could finally go to Leo in that happy place he told her about. Heaven. That would be nice.
As if to answer her, everything suddenly fell silent and Jessy felt herself fall.
~.~.~.~
"How interesting…" A deep voice chuckled ominously.
Jessy stared blankly into the void that surrounded her, "You don't belong here."
"Oh?" The voice said in amusement, "And why not?"
"This is my world." Jessy stated firmly, "Get out of my head."
The voice laughed, "Such a bold little human."
Jessy stiffened when something brushed against her shoulder. She spun around, but there was nothing there to greet her. Her lips twitched into a small frown, "What are you?"
"Shall we make a deal?" The voice asked, completely disregarding Jessy's question, "It's been a long while that a mortal managed to reach the gates of Gehenna while still amongst the living."
"Where are you?" Jessy growled, trying and failing to pinpoint the source of the voice.
"I do believe you want to be with your brother, no?"
Jessy froze.
The voice seemed to notice her reaction and continued on, "I could bring you to him if you wish… for a price, of course."
Jessy bit her lip, "What is it?"
"Just a small portion of your soul and the blood of those who created you." The voice answered nonchalantly.
"Deal." Jessy nodded her head. It was worth it if she could be with her brother.
"You would willingly offer your parents' lives?"
"It's a deal." Jessy firmly said, "Take them."
"Excellent." The voice laughed, low and victoriously, "Let us begin, shall we?"
Duo red eyes suddenly lit up in the darkness and Jessy had to bite back a scream as it rushed at her. The next thing she knew, her right eye exploded in unimaginable pain.
~.~.~.~
Afraid. I'm afraid. It hurts so much… Why does it hurt?… What? What was that, can you repeat? I couldn't hear you. Oooh, are you a voice in my head? Take away the pain, you say? Yes, please take away the pain. It hurts too much. Wheee! The world is spinning! Hahahaahaha.
… Why is there red everywhere? It smells like iron… Mama, do you think the redredred water is pretty? Haha, I do. It's very pretty. Would you like to paint with me? Here, I'll paint you with this shiny and sparkly knife I found.
Eh? Monster? I'm no monster. Why is Mama calling me that? Hehe, Mama's funny. Hmm? Oh looky, Mama, there are people sleeping on the floor. See, they're playing with the red water too! Why doesn't Mama want to paint her body red like them? You're no fun. Can I make Mama covered in red water too?
Mama, why are you running away? Hehehehee, there's nothing scary here. I just want to paint Mama red like everyone else. That way, Mama can go to sleep for a long time like them. Hey. Why is Mama still running? Come back. Don't you wanna play with me? I SAID COME BACK!
Oh… Hi Papa! Do you wanna play tag with us? I'll paint you really red too, so you can match everyone! Papa? Why are you holding a gun? Aww, you should be the one painted in red, not me. That's cheating. Here, let me do it for you. Hahaha, why are you guys running? Are we playing tag? Hehehe, I like tag.
Papa, it's not fair if you keep on making me covered in red with your shiny gun. Heh? Why is Mama and Papa looking at me like that? Is there something on my face? Neh, why don't you answer me? There's something on my face, isn't there?
Alright, I'll make Mama and Papa have the pretty red water pour out of them and then I'll check the mirror to see what's on my face. Aren't I smart? Aw shucks, Papa, the small rock that came out of your gun made me lose feeling to my arm. That's not fair that I'm red and you're not.
Yay, now you can't run anywhere. Kehee, come on, why are you so afraid? It's only red water. It doesn't hurt that much does it? Oh phooey, Papa needs to stop using his gun on me. I can't use my leg anymore. Hmm, I'll have to crawl to you guys then… Oh well.
Hey, stop pointing the gun at me, Papa. It's very rude… Why are you guys shaking? Oh! I get it. You're all shaking in excitement! Haha, I am too! I really want to see pretty red stains all ov- BANG!
…
My head hurts…
… I..
… What… am I… doing?
"Perfect… now to hold up my end of the deal." The voice laughed maniacally.
I felt myself drop to the floor like a puppet without strings.
I drew one last breath before everything went black.
