Dried crimson covered the ground nearby, creating a clear divide between the worn grey stones that the basement had been made from.


    An orange-haired sat upon a bloodied throne, worn orbs drooping occasionally, as she attempted to keep her gaze steadfast upon a certain location.


    Noise from the outside world unable to reach the room, the chamber silently observed the mute girl that had been fastened to her throne.


    Her dried lips would occasionally open and close, as if they were trying to produce a sentence, but no voice erupted from within.


    The small girl’s body constantly quivered, a small trail of saliva trickling down her chin as she suddenly broke out into a feverish fit of rage.


    Forcefully pulling against the leather belts, she threw her head upwards towards the darkness above her, peering towards two large orbs that had grown from within the abyss.


    “Stop... please... Make it stop...”She cried out, futilely attempting to cradle her head in her hands.


    The two large orbs seemed to squint in disgust, two small pupils moving over towards the corner of the room, pulling along Chloe’s attention with their movements.


    “Stop? Why?” A disfigured body chuckled, its mouth forming a large frown as a broken arm was raised into the air near the figure’s head, moving it back and forth as if it wanted to scratch its head but had been rendered unable due to the angle at which its arm had been snapped.


    “Hurts... It... IT HURTS...”Chloe roared, her mouth moving open slightly even though no sound had been produced.


    Rushing over to the girl, the black figure placed its broken arms around the small girl’s throat, tightening its grip on her as if it were attempting to choke her to death.


    Feeling her throat become compressed, stealing her ability to breathe, a pair of orange orbs darted back towards the two giant eyes above her.


    “You. Did you think you’d escaped? That you’d finally repented enough? That life was getting better? That you... deserved the warmth that came with them?” Came a voice from the figure.


    The lack of oxygen causing her head to feel light resulted in her being unable to respond, the black figure increasing the strength with which it constricted her throat, as if trying to snap it into two due to the lack of response.


    “This is what you deserve. Pain, suffering, and misery only. The only repentance is death.” The figure blurted out, the small girl’s surroundings changing after it finished its sentence.


    No longer were there any grimy stones, the surroundings instantly brightening as neon rain fell upon her body.


    Finding herself in the middle of a familiar crimson-coated intersection, still bound by the throne in which she sat, Chloe weakly opened her mouth and attempted to catch some of the rain, relishing the feeling of the liquid wetting her dry lips.


    A queer scream erupted from the figure as its bones let out a series of pops and groans, its silhouette shrinking into a more feminine frame.


    The small orange-haired girl peered towards the black monster, which had turned itself into her mother. Its black teeth were clenched shut, eyes scrunched up, as it spat out a sentence filled with distain.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    “You should have died when you jumped off that roof, failure!” It screeched out, pausing for a second when the noise of a door opening sounded out behind it.


    The lone rusted metal door had been the only thing that hadn’t changed, a loud groan erupting from the hinges.


    A tall blonde leisurely walked out from within the door, grinning at the sight of the orange-haired girl who was currently staring at him, blood-caked features and all.


    Mouth opening wide as if he were about to speak, the black figure jumped onto the man, thrusting him to the ground and launching a flurry of punches.


    Nathanial shouted out in surprise as he attempted to guard himself, futilely attempting to lift his arms up towards his head, but the figure’s attacks rendered him unable.


    Screams of pain erupted from his mouth as red blood flung throughout the air, double coating his crimson surroundings.


    *SLAP*


    Chloe’s head was sent flying to the right.


    “Listen when I’m talking to you!” the blonde reprimanded, his sapphire orbs peering into the surprised countenance that the orange-haired girl had been making.


    Looking towards the area of the intersection where the black figure had been punching Nathanial, the blonde boy was no longer present nor the blood that he had spurted out.


    The blonde followed the small girl’s gaze, curious as to what she was looking at, causing him to let out a wide grin.


    “Ah. So, you’re seeing them as well. Good. Great! HAHAHAHA!” Nathanial jovially concluded, breaking out into a fit of giggles as he traced his hands across the small girl’s injured arms.


    “You’re different from the rest. You did something you shouldn’t have. You’re just a Leach, yet you tarnished my stature... It’s unthinkable! I’d jokingly say that you must be crazy, but it seems that you truly are!” He dully spoke, his deep tone rising as he spoke, ending in another series of laughter to erupt from within.


    Seeing the perfect condition that the blonde was in, Chloe tightly clenched her hands, wincing at the feeling of her nailless fingers scraping against the moist wood that she had been confined against.


    Nathanial sat on a clean metal stool that stood not far from where the small orange-haired girl was seated and let out a small sigh.


    “How durable! Seven days of no sleep and torture before you cracked. I must have been too lenient. Well, that doesn’t matter now, does it?” He emotionlessly spoke, reminiscing all the sounds she’d let out over the past few days.


    Looking towards the girl as if he were expecting her to say something, he lazily rolled his eyes and continued the one-sided conversation.


    Pulling out his phone, he started reading a file from it.


    “Chloe Barker. Born physically weak from birth, her current age is 18. She lost her father at the age of 10 due to a drunk driving incident. Mother works multiple jobs and is an alcoholic. Multiple sound complaints over the past eight years point toward an abusive home life most likely leading to the degradation of her mental state. Attempting suicide at the age of 10, she survived but sustained a few major injuries to her legs and became mute. At the age of 13, she started to spend most of her time with a fellow student called Aaron Smith and started to regain her ability to speak. At the age of 16, the two joined a prestigious high school and met Lea Holton, starting a graffiti group. Mr. Smith and Mrs. Holton formed a relationship six months prior to the current day, resulting in Mrs. Barker finding employment and spending more time within her apartment.” The blonde read, summarising her whole life in one go.


    Chloe stared at the male, baffled at what he’d just read out.


    “How... did he get that information?” She thought, alarmed by the fact that he knew nearly everything about her.


    A black figure approached Nathanial from behind and put its fuzzy, formless hands upon his neck, seemingly attempting to strangle him to death.


    “He obviously got someone to investigate you. How else is he supposed to get such detailed information! Seems like you fucked with a fucked-up guy! For all you know, he might be more fucked up than you are!” It cackled, strengthening its grip on the boy, causing him to gasp out for air as his blue orbs fearfully bore towards the pair of black eyes that called the black sky its home.


    Thirty seconds passed before the boy lifelessly fell to the ground, saliva pooling on crimson tarmac road, his gem-like orbs now hollow and unresponsive.


    *SLAP*SLAP*SLAP*


    “I told you to listen when I’m talking to you!” The blonde growled, waving his right hand in the air to get rid of the pain he felt from the impact.


    Chloe’s eyes snapped onto the unharmed blonde, who was chuckling to himself about how far gone she must be before drooping towards the floor.


    Nathanial started to make his way to the iron door that stood unsupported in the middle of the road, making a short remark before opening the door and disappearing.


    “Now that you’ve lost it, we’ll progress onto the next stage. Know your place, Leach.”