The lack of mercy in this place chilled me to my core. I felt my naked torso bear an icy bite that made me shiver, dangling by my numbed arms like a piece of meat. I couldn't remember much what happened, but the aching raw soreness told me a tale of a senseless beating, resulting me in swelling like a misshaped prune. I couldn't see much of anything more than a foot away from the half opened door across the room, letting in very dim, but still distinctive, light. It cast ominous shadows upon the piled remaining artefacts of the past. Strung up bicycles, old children toys and games, crooked shelves of equipment, and whatever you would expect to find forgotten twenty, thirty years ago. I was deep within the dense depths of the darkness. I doubted that whoever walked by that door would be able to see me hanging in the middle of the room...if anybody did at least.
Anybody but...him.
I heard his thundering footsteps march through the tunnels a few hours ago, and caught a quick glimpse of his haunting shadow glide upon the opposite wall. Before he moved on, I could feel his onyx eyes burn into me as he glanced into the room. He knew I was there...in pain and suffering my injuries. He couldn't help but wallow in my agony and enjoy it.
Oh how I wanted to snap his neck...
The thought of him smirking behind his mask...it raged a hatred flame within me stronger than any hell's fire. If I ever got the chance, I'de incinerate him by it's hand.
With a frustrated and disappointed sigh, I lowered my head. With all this tough talk, its pretty clear now that he overpowered me. All of this was easier said than done; or should I say "thought"? With a filthy sock shoved in your mouth and lips sealed shut with duct tape, you'de think that it would be hard to speak. Well my friend, its proven impossible. For the past few hour's that I've been awake, my attempts to call out for anybody in muffled screams fell on non existent ears. In this deafening silence, if I really tried, I could hear my own heart beat. The only sounds that assured me I wasn't completely alone in this hell hole was of the squeaking and scratching of the vermin that plagued the floors. Once in a while, I would feel their whiskers tickle the soles of my feet as they stood up to sniff me. It was both comforting and annoying. With a quick kick, it would spook them away and their furry little bodies would scamper back under the door, leaving me again in the bitter silence.
Out of nowhere, a faint crack followed by a deafening scream came echoing from deep within the corridor. The distant source sounded female and was in great pain. The faint rattling of chains jingled under her high pitched cries. My ears perked up in interest and turned towards the rotting door. She had calmed down but still sounded like she was suffering.
What was that sick crackling sound before it?
Wait a minuet. Before I was taken to this place...I remember now! Jessica was hurt in our pursuit for escape; her ankle was fractured.
Maybe...maybe Jessica is down there!?
With her image, chained and broken like me, it sent an angry impulse straight through me. The realisation that she could be as close to death as anybody could and alone! I suddenly ignored my aching body and started to vigorously fight against my binds. I didn't care if I was putting myself at risk, I just needed to be with her. We needed to escape this place to safety and get help. Swinging and wiggling back and forth several times made my body swing a good meter and a half apart. Throwing my weight around like a wrecking ball pulled me down with the gravity, and caused my supports in the ceiling to groan in protest. My head shot up at that aged sound of rotting wood, and an idea, a method of escape, popped in my mind. I continued to squirm and turn in every which way direction, throwing my entire weight in each and every throw. The chains jingled loudly like sleigh bells... and caught the unwanted attention of an unwanted visitor in the process.
Suddenly, an abrupt bang erupted down the far end of the corridor. My head shot up in surprise as the swarms of rodents scattered alarmed and agitated into the safety of the darkness, climbing into the shelves and boxes of forgotten knick knacks. I stopped what I was doing and shot my head up. Something heavy thudded into the shaft, and closed whatever they opened with a second loud bang behind. Their giant sounding footsteps dug into the ground, their power rippling through the earth rattling my bones.
Oh shit!
I immediately tried to still my swinging body. I threw my body against the momentum to try and cancel the energies and stop.
The footsteps were getting closer...
My physic tactics were working, and the chimes of my chains calmed to fading rings; then I returned to my helpless dangling. My blonde bangs hung over my eyes in messy clumps. The scent of dried blood and sweat radiated off of them making my stomach sour. Flicking them out of my face, I locked my gaze to the door. With narrowed eyes, I glared at the opening of the door and waited for his hulking form to take up the doorway. Sure enough, my hate-filled glare was met with a pair of menacing, empty, maleficent holes...and he stood before me.
With a flick of a switch by the shelf, a blinding light shone over me. My eyes burned at the sudden intensity, and my throat erupted a muffled cry of pain. I felt like they were scorched out of their sockets, and that all I would see if I re-opened them would be eternal darkness. Suddenly, my chin was grasped by an enormous bear paw. Forcing to open my eyes once again, my vision cleared and adjusted to the light finally, and I was forced to look at this monster dead in the eyes. His onyx optics glowed with the equal amount of hate I flared for him. I never broke our stare down, and neither did he. I growled lowly in my throat like a cornered dog, trying to intimidate him and show my independence. He easily dominated me, lumbering his enormous form over me like a bear. His eyes burned greatly into me. I kept my head above my fear and didn't back down to him.
We were at a stalemate.
The man was irritated by my bravery; I'm guessing that his victims didn't normally grow a pair and show some backbone to him. A small smirk formed on my lips, it was like David and the Goliath between us. With a swift movement of his right arm, he hurled his bowling-ball sized fist straight into my stomach!
Catching me totally off guard, my body lurched forward violently knocking the wind straight out of me. The feeling of a large bruise forming upon the layers of other bruises exploded through my body. The air that couldn't escape through my mouth shot out my nostrils like a canon. It felt like all the pressure went straight to my brain and that it would burst through my ears. The sickening sensation to puke built up within me. My torso lurched outward in an instinctive attempt to rid of the rising bile similar to a cat hacking up a hairball. The masked man simply watched in amusement with an attentive flare in his eyes. He waited eagerly for me to show how else vomit could leave the human body. I could feel it boil almost completely to the surface. The searing heat blistered my throat as it erupted forth finally. The sock and tape completely blocked the pukes only escape route. Trying to force itself out of the backup of my biological pipes felt like a mouthful of hot mashed potatoes. There was no way I could stop the rest from coming. My cheeks blew up like balloons and glowed a deep strained red. The tension within the muscle was so great I swore that the tissue was going to tear in half just to let the pressure escape!
And to add to my agony, the bastard punched me a second time!
The already unbearable affliction increased tenfold!
I felt my organs retaliate off of his blow and bounced off my backside. My throat swelled up from the heat, and I couldn't breath. I began violently wheezing and coughing. The air force was enough to loosen a corner from the tape and air and vomit leaked out. The liquid lubricated the sticky substance and started to slowly peel away the seal. The man's reaction grew more curious, but then he noticed my eyes rolling back into my head; not enough oxygen was getting to my head. With a sudden violent yank, the man stripped off the now useless tape. The regurgitants flowed freely from my lips like a fountain and landed in steaming puddles at my feet.
Then, he stuck one of his fat fingers into my burning mouth and hooked onto the fabric of the sock. With a single powerful yank, he ripped the sock from my mouth.
A loose thread accidently latched onto a tooth, and it came flying out with the gag. My mouth began to over flow then with bile and blood. The taste was so sickening, that if I wasn't already, I would be throwing up like no tomorrow. Once there was nothing left in my system, blood pooled in my mouth and I spat it at the ground. I was able to cough freely and hacked up the remaining waste. In between sucking in all the air I could and clearing my airways all at once, I felt I couldn't control myself. My wheezing grew more shallow and my eyesight went in and out of blackness. Suddenly, I couldn't feel the weight of my head any more. My shoulders slouched and body went limp. It became a challenge to just keep my eyes open. When I glanced up back at the man weakly, his
large hands held a second bunched cloth and strip of tape, and resealed my mouth. My head flopped back down and I used all my energy to keep at least one eye open. His blurry form watched me with satisfaction from the frame of the door, and flicked off the light leaving me once more in pitch black darkness. Along with the light, I went out with it.
Hours later I woke up to the sound of Jessica screaming again. My head jolted back upright out of a fatigue slumber and spun in all directions. The rats scurried along the littered ground in fright and ducked under into their nests. My mind registered pain once more and my nerves burst into flames. The once creamy skin colour was probably a horrid black and blue. There was no sign of the man, but maybe he was with Jessica.
What is he doing to her?
My imaginative mind took a torturous turn, and I thought of the worst that could happen. Does he use the men for his punching bag, and the...women...for...
What first came to my mind made me want to throw up again.
It dawned upon me that he was a sick man, but he's truly a monster!
A bastard son!
The screaming settled to terrified whimpers but it didn't sound like he was doing what I thought he was doing. I tilted my head in confusion and listened as intently as I could. After her scream there was a soft thud, like something fell. My nerves locked in place and eyes widened.
Was...was that the sound of a body?!
Did...did he just kill Jessica?!
Waiting for any further sounds holding my breath, a huge wave of relief washed over me when I heard her grunts getting back up. But then she tripped and landed back on the bed. The loud sounds of rusty springs exploded in protest followed by a startled gasp. My head perked up and ears strained for any further sounds. What was happening? I wanted to know! All that I could make out was faint heavy breathing. I narrowed my eyes and heightened my focus; nothing was happening.
After what felt like forever, I could hear scuffling of movement, and Jessica started to talk. Her words were distant and hard to understand under her breath. She sounded scared and unsure, unlike her. The Jessica I always knew was a happy go-getting spirit that didn't let anything or anyone bring her down. But ever since coming to this place, she's been off. And now - face to face with a psychopath. I should have saved her when I had the chance, regardless of whether or not she would forgive me in the end! If only I hadn't been so weak!
All of this was my fault!
I can't imagine the fear bottled up inside her right now. She's always been cautious around strangers and was quick trust and see the good in everyone. She had to learn one day that not everyone is like she imagines them to be, but I would do anything to change the scenario of this.
'Idiot!' I scolded myself.
Suddenly, the suspenseful silence of the place erupted back to life when I heard the man spring to his feet. Jessica's tone in her voice turned to pure terror when she blurted out "But you gave your word!"
Word? What word?! Did she try and communicate with this monster, to trust her safety around him?!
Did she honestly just lose it?!
Her terrified plea was shortly followed by a blood curdling scream! There came a loud bang that suggested one of two things. A: He destroyed something. Or B...n-no.
B: He used his machete...and...
Her scream was cut short as soon as the blade made impact with the cot's metal frame, going through her body like butter!
My eyes widened and shrunk in their sockets. This time, there was no sound of her getting back up. Her final sounds echoed deep within me and bounced around like tiny hammers against my brain. The only thing I could hear was a white whine deafen my drums, and see what mental image my mind projected before my eyes. His hulking form towered over her with his enormous blade, hovering just above her trembling body. In one swift swing...blood coated the soiled sheets with splatters and dripped into thick sticky puddles, soaking into the earth with a crimson stain. From that point on...all I could see was red.
Red. Red. Red.
The colour of death.
Rage.
Hate.
Love...
Through the dying whine, I heard his marching footsteps tread through the tunnels with a large bundle. Seeing through the hue and inspecting it through the shadows...a limp hand hung from the blanket, and long, auburn hair swayed delicately with each step the demon took. Tears stung at my blood shot pupils and a call through my gag evolved to a full out battle cry of sadness and hate. Regardless of its muffled state, I knew in my demolished heart that he heard.
"Jessica, no! "