Chapter 15

Death Trap

Luna fell for an eternity, before that concluded with a hard crash into murky water that barely broke her fall. The dirt was a harsh mistress, and if it wasn't for all the hell she lived through before, the trauma of the hard fall would've most certainly knocked her out. She groaned as her body desperately forced her down, barely mustering enough energy to crouch. She coughed the dirty water out, desperate to reach any air for her lungs. It certainly arrived, but the air, with an unpleasant musk, certainly made her beg for death.

The room was pure black, with not a singly light source giving her any solace. At last standing upon her dirty boots, she looked about for any answers. She must've fallen quite the distance, far below even the known basement to Loch Loud. She couldn't fathom any reason why her ancestors would bother with a trap door; from what Lisa taught them long ago, their dad's ancestor wasn't exactly one for a perfect memory, and putting something like that in would've certainly lead to disaster. Did these horrific people install it? Luna shook her head. Guess it didn't matter, really. She was trapped down here, while her family was locked in that cage, complete with a bunch of maniacs hovering over them.

Focus on them. Focus on saving them before anything else.

"Yeah, so where the heck am I?" She asked herself, hoping the long stay in the darkness would clear up her vision. Sadly, no dice. She moved a tiny bit, shuffling her feet against the apparent-rocky floor as her hands were stretched out. Wherever this was, aside from the horrid smell, was extremely spacious. Took quite some time before she found herself a wall, though what she felt brought shivers to her spine. She expected more rock, or maybe a pleasant sensation of marble or wood, but when her fingers felt a gentle tinge of a spike, she immediately recoiled.

"A... spike, brah?"

Standing back in some water, a sound went off on her wrist. Much like the Mountain, the transceiver has once again made its presence known. Its design was practically identical, even having the same display. Her vitals were still excellent, all things considered, and it even had some connection to the outside world. Seeing those bars up close made a lightbulb spring from her head, her spare fingers rummaging over towards a small phone-like symbol.

"This is the same thing. My phone's out, but maybe this... can Doug hear me with this guy?"

She dialed his number, recalling it perfectly in her head. It began dialing, and with each second past, her heart skipped a beat. Her phone almost caught him, and that's just civilian tech. With military-grade stuff, certainly anything was possible. She had to hope, at least. Holding her breath, she watched as the time moved on by. How these twisted people obtained this stuff wasn't even a thought that crossed her mind.

And then, as expected, it connected. Her eyes grew wide. There was hope tonight, after all. She didn't waste time, smiling as she brought it up close to her mouth. "Doug, do you read? It's me, Luna! Please, do you come in?"

It scratched and beeped, before a wavelength line appeared. He was there, thank goodness! Her hell was ending far earlier than expected. Now, with a fully army, they could save Loch Loud, her family, and stop these horrific people before they could cause any further damage.

"Doug, it's so good to hear-"

She stopped cold when she saw a message pop up. It requested from her a video relay. Confused, but perhaps expecting it, she reluctantly clicked it. She expected to see the former con-man with Michelle and perhaps Rorrim, well on their way towards Loch Loud long before she even could call for help. There was nothing to ever worry about. They'll all get out.

But she knew well from the Mountain days. Never expect the expected. The video most certainly showed no sign of Doug or any of his lackeys, and hell, hope wasn't even on the menu. It was the damn dining hall again, with her family looking back in fear. Once their eyes met hers, the fear built in them all, each screaming her name in vain. Luna nearly threw the poor device away, body tingling with dread.

"W-What?"

Before the camera emerged Lady Savino, folding her arms, still carrying that scowl. Her beautifully-woven white hair flowed perfectly behind her, like a cape to intimidate all of her captured, something that definitely made her satisfied. She gave a playful wave to the young rocker, before at last chuckling. "How did you enjoy that fall, Luna? Your ancestors were truly cruel to place such a thing in the dining area, of all places!"

Anger couldn't begin to describe the hell brewing within Luna. "You sick bastard! I know you installed that!"

"Hm, well... maybe I did, but the room you're in was all on them. I always wondered why people labeling themselves pacifists would bother with such a scary place, but then again, your whole clan is monstrous."

If the device wasn't on her, it would've been smashed long ago. "Listen to me, Savino. Let my family go now!"

"No," was her simple response.

Teeth began to grit. "Then why? What do you gain from this? If you wanted us dead, why not just kill us immediately?"

Savino smiled, and walked over to Lana. The young girl shriveled as the cage was temporarily lifted, allowing a large knife to aim itself near her wrapped-up neck. She couldn't do anything but cry. Luna's heart broke, with her mouth preparing to beg, but it seemed the twisted woman was already well past that. "For all the pain your clan caused to us, I suppose this is ideal, is it not? To allow your family the perfect audience for your demise." The knife trailed the little girl's hair, all pleas being ignored. "They get to watch a murderer's descendent finally get the justice dolled upon her!"

Justice? Murderer? Luna hated that word so much. "What the heck did my ancestor do to you? She's a lot of things, but she ain't a murderer!"

Savino's face contorted in anger, and she walked right back to the camera. "Oh? You really think that? Considering all the things you've killed just to save your brother... pretty funny of you to think she didn't earn that word!"

The room began to feel ominous. Luna gulped. "I... I had to. I know I did, and dammit, I tried to save as many as I could!"

"And how many were saved? Your little brother, and a fake version of you? Heh, you ain't a hero, young lady."

No, she wasn't. At least finally someone agreed with her. Sad it had to be Savino, though. "Better than enslaving a whole town, and for what? Another shitty ritual?"

"Watch your language. You have your younger siblings listening, after all!" Savino gladly brought the blade over to Lola, who began to cry. With another wicked smile, the woman looked kindly at the camera. "Now, as we wait for that saved brother of yours to make himself known, let's see if you're truly good at surviving. Remember, your family built that place, not I nor my clan!"

As she spoke, the room around Luna began to illuminate. Torches sprang to life, revealing exactly where the rocker landed, and based on what she saw, it was definitely far from pretty. A perfectly square room, but definitely not all sides were equal. Two sides were pure rock with the light sources, but the other two? Spikes, big and powerful, and ready to smash anything that dared stand in their way.

Luna went cold. Smash anything? Oh dear lord, she wasn't liking where this was going. She returned her attention back to the transceiver. "W-What, you trying to kill me? Don't you need me alive?"

"Technically no, as we already got what we needed from you. I could've shot you dead and be done with it, yes, but I... well, have a lot I want to do to you, my little murderous friend. If you were able to get off that Mountain, then this room should offer no difficulty to you, I hope!"

Gears began to move. Sweat poured down Luna's brow. "Oh God, you sicko..."

Lori shook her head. "Luna, get outta there! Please!"

Any other attempts to talk were stopped by that same blade. "If she's as good as she claims, she'll survive, and I get to continue harming her. If not, well... I'll make sure you all witness her demise. Good luck, Luna Loud!"

She stepped away, allowing the family to see the true fear building within Luna's eyes. The gears moved faster and faster, building up in intensity as the walls with the spikes at last began to shift. Closer and closer they came together, slowly removing the ground the rocker had.

There were many fears Luna held, but one was definitely something she had nightmares of almost nightly. Before Abraham came and took her entire focus, she kept seeing that same damn nightmare plague her. Thrown into a hole in the ground, and faceless men shoveling dirt over her, burying her deep and crushing her under the heavy mounds of dirt. A truly terrible thing to experience, and it never left.

Now, she stood fearing those nightmares were coming true. There was no door out of the room. The water was her only friend, and even that began to be swallowed by the walls. She screamed along with her family, both her arms grabbing one moving trap and pushing, trying in vain to stop the inevitable from coming. The spikes shined underneath the flames, before those got extinguished, themselves being crushed just like the girl was about to be.

"Dammit... Dammit!"

In the distance, Savino laughed her little head off. "Never fear, Luna. I'll make sure when the time's right, the walls will slow. You'll feel every muscle and bone break within that ugly body of yours. Aw, it seems your family is enjoying it!"

She made sure to catch a good glimpse of their fear and disgust, some refusing to watch. Luna shook her head as her ground was losing fast. "You psychopath... dammit, come on!"

Another laugh. "I knew you were nothing. Farewell, Luna. Know that you deserved a worse hell than this!"

But perhaps Savino's excitement was a little too much, for as her voice rose, a small explosion occurred. Luna grimaced as smoke and debris filled the room, but her eyes caught sight of a welcome addition to the trap. A lit hole emerged on one of the holes. Freedom? A new path into another trap? She couldn't tell, and more importantly, she had no idea what caused it.

However, she felt safe when she heard a voice speak on the other side. "Luna, hurry! Crawl through here!"

Her eyes grew wide. "L-Lincoln?"

It was him, wasn't it? The voice was perfect, but she had no time to judge it. On the camera, she heard the confusion mounting from Savino. "What?" The lady called out. Was this not part of the plan. "Who... dammit, what happened? Crap!" To hear her taken so far back made Luna fell a little bit calm. She didn't have full control after all.

Sensing really no other option, she quickly made her way towards the hole. Crouching down, she finally left the water-filled room, with little time to spare. She barely got her feet out before the whole thing closed, spikes crushing every last thing they could find. All Luna could do was ignore it; pray more of that didn't await her, wherever it was this place was leading her.

And for her savior, she couldn't see him, but she knew that voice too well. It... couldn't have been him, right?

Nevertheless, she wandered through, while Savino shouted to the heavens up in the dining hall.

FROM: A diary from a local, presumably from the Savino Village

"Dearest, what can we do? Our sons, they... they have the hair! The bloody white hair is on their scalps, and there's nothing I can do! Everything I try, from cutting to rubbing berry juice over the roots, brings me nothing. They're cursed, my beloved! Completely cursed! I don't know what to do, but we must keep trying to hide this. The moment the villagers notice their blight, they'll be hanged, and perhaps we will join them.

"Maybe... maybe Lady Savino would want them? It's a stretch, but her hair has long been rumored to have the condition. We must try everything, correct? Oh, bless be to God. Grant mercy upon my family!"