Author's Note: This was a very hard scene to write because it was very graphic. I advice DO NOT eat anything while reading this chapter.
Over a year ago
Mick Anderson, known as the Skinner, slowly came to consciousness. His head throbbed with the dull pain of a headache. His tongue felt thick and heavy in his mouth. He was cold as he shivered a bit before he winced in pain. It felt like the soles of his feet had been cut deeply, and there was wet substance running down his legs. He felt disoriented. His vision was still a bit blurry, so he blinked to bring it back to view.
He discovered that he was hanging upside down. It was no wonder he had a headache. All the blood had rushed to his brain. He was feeling a little light headed now, so he breathed deeply through his nose. The light headedness began to fade away slowly.
He looked around at his surroundings. Oddly enough, there was a TV on the floor in front of him. He also saw conveyor belts, vats, hooks, and machinery. It looked like he was in some sort of factory. What kind? He wasn't sure yet. However, whatever kind of factory it was, the smell in there was horrible. Odors of blood and rotting flesh assailed his senses.
He should've been used to it because the cellar back in his old Maryland home had smelled almost the same way. However, the smell was a bit different. It was almost as if the blood and flesh had come from an animal rather than human. Bile rose in his throat. He arched himself, and threw back his head as he threw up on the floor. While he managed to avoid getting the majority of sick off his face, a few drops from his mouth slid down his face.
He came to the conclusion that he was in a meat factory. The thought sent a chill down his spine that he didn't feel earlier. What the fuck was he doing in a meat factory? He vaguely remembered going to one to meet up with a mysterious stranger, who claimed to know who he was and that the police had found out where he was at. The mystery man (or woman) was supposed to help him elude capture again. However, he ended up being ambushed by someone who had knocked him out.
As his vision adjusted to the dim light inside the factory, he saw that a dead pig was hanging upside down beside him. He finally realized where he was in the meat factory. He was hanging upside down from a conveyor belt on the ceiling, and he was naked. Steel manacles circled his ankles. He let out a scream, but instantly regretting it as blood rushed to his head once more…making him light headed.
When he was eight, he had gone to a meat packing plant on a class field trip. The animals had been hooked up to a ceiling conveyor belt to either get killed (usually having their throat slit) or to be skinned. Was he going to get killed or was he going to get skinned? He looked back at the dead pig. Since it would be pointless to slit the throat of a pig already dead, he made the deduction that he was on the conveyor line that was going to skin the animal….and him.
That would explain why his feet felt deeply cut on the bottom. There were two small blades embedded deep in his skin on each side of both feet. He felt that there were tiny hooks in his skin on both sides of the deep cut on the bottom of his feet.
While he knew it was a lost cause, it didn't stop him from crying out "Somebody please help me!"
He jumped a bit when the TV came on suddenly on the floor. There was an image of a morbid looking doll with black hair, a white face, and a red swirl design on each of it's cheeks. The doll moved it's eyes to him.
"Hello, Mick. I want to play a game. You skinned alive your victims, murdered many innocent people including your ex-wife Glenda, and abused your step-daughter Jesse. You escaped justice years ago, but you won't be able to escape justice today. You will feel what you put your victims through today as the skin on your body is slowly removed. However, you'll have a chance to save yourself from being skinned alive."
"There are four buttons on the floor." The doll continued. "You will see one every other minute as the conveyor belt above your head moves you closer to the meat grinder down the line. Reach for the button on the bottom of the floor. If you press it, you spare your skin from being removed for a few feet. If you fail to reach each button, you'll be completely skinned alive. Observe"
Mick jumped when the conveyor belt roared to life. He breathed a sigh of relief when it was just the body of the dead pig moving down the conveyor belt. However, relief turned into stark horror as he watched the pig being skinned alive by the machine. Then, the pig was dropped into a circular vat, which was the meat grinder.
"Unlike the pig, you will have a chance of a helping hand saving you from death." The doll remarked. "Let the games begin." The TV turned off.
Mick cried out in fear as he began to move down the line on the conveyor belt. He had been hoping that the blades in his skin near his ankles would only move if he didn't press the buttons. Imagine his surprise when the blades slit down the length of his body in a blink of an eye. Blood spilled out from the long deep cut on each side of his body. He screamed in pain.
He saw the first button the floor. He reached desperately for the button on the floor. However, it was a lot harder than he thought since it hurt to reach. Yet, it began to hurt a lot more when the hooks in the bottom of his feet began to slowly peel his skin back from his body. He cried out in agony as the skin from his feet to his knees was removed of skin.
He began to shake a bit as shock set in. He felt sick again to his stomach, and he threw up. This time, the vomit covered his face and got into his eyes. Because of this, he missed the second button on the floor. His skin was peeled from his knees to his waist.
He wiped the vomit away from his face and eyes. This time, he saw the third button. Using a burst of adrenaline and making an effort to ignore the pain engulfing him, he reached for that button and pressed it. He breathed a sigh of relief as he spared himself from having his skin removed.
He should've waited to do that until the last button. He had closed his eyes as he had sighed in relief, and he noticed the last button on the floor when he opened his eyes. He reached for the button, but his fingers barely made it. He screamed as the skin from his waist to his chest was removed.
He should've waited to do that until the last button. He had closed his eyes as he had sighed in relief, and he noticed the last button on the floor when he opened his eyes. He reached for the button, but his fingers barely made it. He screamed as the skin from his waist to his chest was removed.
Only his arms, shoulders, neck, and face had skin. Everything else was now skinless. Tears swam in his eyes, and spilled out onto his face. He was a freak now. He didn't feel scared when his body hanged over the meat grinder. He closed his eyes, and expected to be dropped into it. However, nothing happened.
