The corridor blurred around her as she slammed into the floor, shattering it beneath her.
A soul-crushing pain shot up instantly from her shattered back. She couldn't move pain coursing through her veins, her mouth opening, gasping instinctively, desperate to draw in air.
Her eyes darted to the monstrosity before her, her thoughts slow and smothered by pain. All she wanted was for it to stop. She tried to arch her back, desperate to feel anything other than the agony burning through her—
—and a foot slammed into her stomach, driving the air right out of her lungs.
She blacked out for a moment, but was immediately woken by a kick sharp and brutal slamming into her side. Her eyes shot open as the pain was swallowed by something worse. The world lurched, and suddenly her body was airborne, weightless for a heartbeat before she slammed into the corner where the walls met. The impact tore a sound from her she didn't recognize, pain detonating so completely it erased everything that came before it.
clink-clink-clink-clang
"Are you aware of the reason for your suffering, insect?" the chained being spoke, the voice neither condescending nor mocking—only stating fact.
Silence descended, broken intermittently by the chaotic, shattered breaths of the defeated. This continued for several moments until the bloodied chained girl bent to look at her, her eyes scrutinizing the existence before her. Her chains whipped forward, clutching at the girl's hair, dragging her up for further inspection. Dark, sticky blood dripped from the broken skin on her face, revealing a horrifying visage.
"You are not part of the living," she announced abruptly, intrigued by the discovery.
She moved back to a standing position, her face lost in thought, her small mouth muttering the words "not living", repeating them like a broken record.
"I am" a rasped, cold voice rang out, interrupting the chained being's thoughts, She looked to see the eyes of her captive open revealing unbroken defiance.
"Release me" cough "I wont return—" cough, cough—
Blood splattered from her mouth as she broke into an unending cough. A rattling could be heard from her chest, as though multiple parts were loose, ripped from their rightful positions.
Finally, she reined it in. The girl donned in chains looked at her, confusion clouding her face.
"You're not alive, the stench quite obvious, the aura plain to see." Her nose twisted in disgust on seeing her close the coughed blood was, the chains immediately moved the body away following her unspoken command, ensuring none of the spilled blood would come in contact with hers."
"And you have the gall to command me, it seems".
"Well, no matter—" she added. she began to comb her hair with her hand, red clumps falling from it.
This caused the woman to shiver so she began pleading
"Please"
"Please. I'm sorry for attacking your, pet—"
A long, elongated scream ended her trial a result of the multiple chains piercing her stomach then ripping her insides free.
Her screams continued for some time as a burning sensation crept up from the site of the injury where the chains came in contact with.
"Exercise silence or suffer more before your death."The girl turned her head to the side, losing herself in thought, ignoring the coiling organs falling to the floor. Her chains helped maintain silence, wrapping around the captive's mouth, muffling all infuriating noise in her opinion emanating from intruder.
Her eyes returned to the trapped woman before drifting of again.
'Perhaps they have returned' she thought.
She turned to leave, waving her hand on passing. This caused the the gold skull to smile the bloodied chain detaching itself, aligning and snaking around until it began to resemble a humanoid shape. If one where to scrutinize the creature they would think why does it look like that one picture in my biology lab.
Of course such thought would only occur if they felt completely safe while in its presence. A gold skull formed its head, connected to a gold chain, which creaked and reshaped itself into something resembling a spine. The rest of the chaos wrapped itself into place, giving the necessary structure for grabbing, tearing, and walking.
The creature face creaked cracking into a smile then it walked toward the spirit, her eyes frightened and bulged as she saw the chained humanoid approach.
"Good evening young one," it bowed while greeting. Its head raised, it's unseeing eye focusing on the broken being. It began salivating, a grotesque tongue snaking out to lick her face before retreating just as quickly. "Do mind my manners but I do look forward to our acquaintance."
Crunching sounds and screams followed, punctuated by short bursts of maniacal laughter as the rooted door closed.
⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹⨹
"Seb! Seb! Seb, You've got to wake up,"
A rocking sensation enveloped him
"please!"
"Should you be shaking him like that? He doesn't look good," a distant voice sounded.
"Take this and splash it on him. It might help." another added
"You dumb fool—that's perfectly good water! You want to waste it? Return it now!"
"Sorry, boss."
"Give it now!" Chloe shouted interrupting them.
"Yes, ma'am." they answered
"Give it" Mike nodded indicating acceptance though his eyes seemed to disagree. The water after-all was the last bottle they had and should be rationed in his opinion rather than be wasted on the kid
"Yes, sir."
Crack.
Splash. Splash.
Mike face twisted in disapproval
"Seb, you've got to wake up, please."
"I have an idea," Andrew whispered.
"What?" the two asked.
"Let me—or —Mike try to gently feed him the water, mouth to mouth to avoid choking. That might be better than splashing it on his face." He explained.
This caused Chloe to look at him sharply.
"Waste. Can't you see he's on the verge of death? You know what—come and do it your way but I swear I will kill you if it fails."
"Uh, I was just—"
"Don't even start just come here now!."
Seb immediately started trying to wake up. He was trying to release himself from the clutches of sleep that held him down. He kept struggling, pushing against its firm grip. He felt like he was drowning—but he couldn't allow that. Not when he was about to let his first kiss go to some random non-professional.
Finally, he awoke, light spilling into his eyes. It was early morning.
"Seems like that woke you up," a gentle, caring voice said—warmth threaded with guilt, the kind of softness that comes from fear she hadn't yet shaken.
"Wow, that did work spiritually though ," a gruff voice added, "perhaps the physical might even improve his condition I say you try" Mike said turning to Andrew
Seb's eyes widened on hearing that immediately adjusting enough to see a bottle hovering over his face, and a girl not lacking in the beauty department leaning above him.
Seb immediately sat up, only to fall back down as a wave of dizziness assaulted his mind.
"Wait a moment, son. You're not in any condition to perform acrobatics."
"Seb, you've got to lie down for a few moments, okay?" Chloe said placing her hand on his back, gently laying him down.
Andrew appeared in front of him. His eyes, though still adjusting, were more than capable of identifying him.
Seb's focus sharpened as Andrew's face grew larger—or perhaps only seemed to edge closer.
Seb began to shake his head in horror. He couldn't move. His body felt hollow, stripped bare, as though every ounce of strength and energy had been drained from him, leaving nothing behind.
"Bro, calm down, or you'll find it hard to drink this." A bottle filled with a yellowish liquid appeared before him.
"Urish?" Seb asked, his voice barely able to shape the word.
is that urine
"Yeah squash. Open up," Andrew said, adjusting the bottle.
He was then pulled up gently by Chloe and cradled—almost heavenly—as he rested against her bosom. However, his face was immediately squeezed by her hand, forcing his mouth open.
"Pour it in gently," another girl said.
Seb tried to shake his head in refusal. He didn't want to drink urine. However, despite his effort, his head didn't budge. Yes, he was tired—but moving one's head shouldn't be this difficult.
It must be Chloe, he thought.
The liquid poured into his mouth. A sugary taste stung his throat—it was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted this however int last long, the sensation cutting off abruptly.
"Slowly, okay," a voice cautioned.
He looked at the torturer declaring his punishment. It was Isabella.
The liquid was then poured much more slowly, in short bursts. This continued until half the container remained.
"That should be enough," Chloe said. She looked down at him, gently moving his hair aside."You okay?" she asked, her voice heavy with near-loss—guilt, sadness, and fragile relief woven together.
Seb tried to nod but found it impossible. Fear crept in. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. The last thing he remembered was the tree. Watching the tree.
His eyes closed, a heavy weight pressing down on them.
Slap.
Seb's eyes shot open from the stinging pain. He cursed fervently in his mind.
"You've got to stay awake, okay? You can't die on me."
Sob. ಥ_ಥ
He stared at Chloe, confused a hint of anger rising which immediately dropped on seeing that Chloe was also crying. Chloe—crying. He wondered if he was dreaming.
He tried to feel his body again. Nothing came. No sensation at all.
Was he paralyzed—or just exhausted?
He couldn't talk or move. Only blink. And even that took effort. He looked up again seeing Chloe still crying.
What Hypocrisy is this. Is she the type to cry while torturing someone
His eyes shifted to the men. They looked ragged, they seemed to be trying there best to avoid looking at him his. Mike then turned away perhaps fed up and went to sit.
That was when a crashing sound echoed through the area. The group sprang up immediately, save for Chloe, who tried to gently lay him down.
"Don't worry," she whispered. "I'll protect you."
She stood, her eyes burning with fiery resolve, moving to position herself in front of him—perhaps setting a defensive stance. The sight left him confused and deeply afraid.
Why would she say that?
Fuck what's with the contradiction
Did something bad happen to me. I don't seem to be able to remember what-----
Growl.
Growl.
Sebastian tried to see what was coming but failed miserably
High-pitched whines followed as the crashing sounds drew closer. The three remained standing—Andrew barely holding himself upright, Mike not bothering to stand.