American Horror Story: Stolen Abroad

[RiniPinja]

Rozalin wanted to punch the woman in the face, to say the least. Perhaps she could add some other pretty decorations to her face. But she kept her sharp tongue and twitchy hands back and just tightened her hold on her handcuffs. If she even tried to do what she desired, she was sure they would just shoot her to death, and that just wouldn't do.

On the other hand, Rozalin was at first rather surprised at seeing the Asian boy already down in front of the guards. They didn't seem to care though, and just laughed at him. And, for some odd reason, the Asian boy did not move to attack – which is what she thought he would do. But then she realized something, he was moving a little… strangely. For a human, at least. He was moving rather too fluidly... Rozalin had a hard time thinking of what was wrong with their movements, but it just didn't seem... right. Perhaps they had injected something in him before they were transferred here? She glanced over at the other boy to see his reaction, but she noticed that he looked rather concentrated - he was probably just as confused as she was. She frowned, frustrated that she was unable to conjure an explanation at what was happening in front of her.

When the guards left, however, Rozalin realized the Asian boy suddenly disappeared into thin air. Her eyes widened, what the hell…? Suddenly, a 4th​ voice filled the air, one she hadn't heard before. He mentioned something about someone getting down… The specific 'someone' was probably the Asian boy, … But then…

Was he just in two places at once? Rozalin was confused, but she quickly went back to work. This was their chance to escape from this jail of hell.

What the guards failed to do was look underneath her insane amount of hair on her head, and they had failed to gather out all the ruby-colored bobby pins that she kept in there to hold it in place. They did manage to grab a few, but, well, bobby pins are tricky little things. Before they chained her up completely, she had managed to swipe one out of her hair, and kept it hidden in her hands, praying that no guards saw. It's a good thing they were too distracted by being cruel to see her hidden 'weapon'.

The next part was rather easy, she's done it a million times before in her line a work. Just a simple twist and flick, and the handcuffs loosen once the lock was tinkered with.

Rozalin glanced at the crack in the door, making sure no guards would come out soon, and she quickly went over to the boy next to her. She had half a mind to leave him, but she couldn't quite get herself to do such a thing. Besides, a partner might be helpful in escape. "We have to move quickly." She whispered softly after unlocking his chains. She then glanced over at the… beast in the corner.

He looks… somewhat… humanoid. She thought to herself, and then her mind flashed to the scientist that had chosen them to be in here. She paled at the next thought, He's going to do that to us also, isn't he? That's going to be us if we stay here. "Were you an experiment…?" She whispered to him softly, trying to do so calmly, but she slightly wavered. She took a step forward, unsure whether or not she should help him. "I can help you free, if you want."

 

[ch0sen1]

Sharon inhales and exhales deeply as the void of endless darkness surrounds her in a blanket of morbid terror. Her body begins to mildly tremble as her adrenaline surges through her anatomy. Her focus both dramatically enhances and disorients. Flashes of neon blue invade the sky as well as the dark-lit room where Beth remains staring at the door. It seems like endless moments that she gazes upon the door as she hangs up her phone and slowly backs away towards the window. She attempts to redial her father, but in the chaotic fray of inclimate weather she has no signal. A rush of anger and sadness hits Sharon as she grunts in frustration.

Rieekchhh!

The Beth jumps and gasps at the sight of a thin metal elongated blade slowly grating across the glass window outside. Beth's eyes widen at the horrendous sight....she was on the second floor. Bewildering thoughts ran through her mind at how this was possible. Hallucinations? Panic? The thought drove her a bit more insane as she runs to the middle of the room in order to get a good vantage on all angle around her. A dark figure is attached to the blade as the rain tarnishes the view of a clear sight. Beth freezes solid when she hears the three most horrifying sounds of her entire life. Three hard, forceful knocks.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!!

Beth's vision darts to the door like an eagle with eyed prey. She grasps her phone tightly as if it were a crowbar. She cringes at the knocks as the door slowly creaks open to a halt because of the chain.

"Oh shit....oh shit oh shit...."

The door remained at a standstill for what seemed like an eternity. Darkness. Silence. Then thunder and flashes of lightning. There was only that moment for Beth, as if the rest of the world no longer exists. Rain pours outside with furious force as the wind begins to swirl up, creating sounds of furthered disaster outside. A darkened blue window drops falls of water and rain as a distinct white cut still shows across the window. This was no illusion. The was real. Very real. Another small knock came at the door and then there was dead silence.

KNOCK KNOCK

Before Beth could even muster a simple reaction, a low and ghastly voice could be heard resounding through the oak door.

Woman: "Room Service..."

Beth's breathing stutters as she upgrades to heavy trembles at this point. She turns on her phone flashlight and sets it on the window bane as she slowly thinks of a way to escape this spontaneous and surreal nightmare, she responds to the woman with a hesitant confidence.

"I don't want any, thank yew...I'm--I'm fine."

Sching!

The chain keeping the door locked was easily cut into by a swift, downward swing of the machete and the door began to push open. The door steadily creaks fully open as the soft thumps of feet begin to tread towards the light. Beth stood in unconditional horror, looking at the woman right in her face as she approaches the light as it gets more solid in shadow from the woman's approach. A half rusted machete lies at her side, Beth's heart drops with uncanny fear at the sight. It was then that she knew she was in a horror movie, that those backwater stories that people get into in third world countries was here. She was in it, but there was one difference....

She wasn't the usual dumb girl that trips at the end.

The woman approaches the light and reaches her hand out at the blinding light as her hand hits the hard surface of the wall and window edge. Beth then arises from behind the bedside using the light as a diversion and full speed rams the woman from behind as the woman's head smacks on the wall and drops to the ground unconscious. Beth immediately follows up by grabbing the machete and pointing it at the woman.

"Who are yew!? Why the fuck are ya tryin' to kill me!?!?"

But no response. The woman was out cold. Beth realizes she may have potentially just killed someone and backs away from the motionless body. Flashes of lightning with furied thunder still shrouded the small area of death and terror.

"Fuck this."

Beth turns to run as she bolts out of the door into the literal pitch-black darkness before her. Then she freezes. She forgot her phone. She quickly enters back into the grisly room and grabs her phone to see the flashlight is still on and the woman still out. She turns the corner into the corridor and eyes the stairs down to the first floor. Please. Every horror movie the main entrance is always blocked or it's a trap. She shuts the door to her room to conceal the woman inside. She heads down the hall to find any rooms that might be open or vacant. She stealthily turns the knobs on several doors to see they're all locked. There's a single window at the end of the hall with a vase in front of it. Beth crouches and darts to the location like a jaguar and silently places the vase on the ground as she tries to open the window....her heart almost stops when she sees the locks have been nailed shut. Tears begin to form under her eyes as she releases a mild whimper at the death of her hopes on escaping through the window....

And then her body goes rigid like a statue when she hears a creak behind her. She instantly turns to flash the light on the innkeeper from before, his dead white eye giving off a pearly, mild luminescence under the light. With a giant flash of lightning and a roar of thunder Beth takes off in fear out of instinct. She runs down a corridor to her left as it leads to stairs going up to the third and final floor. She runs up and turns the corner to look around, nothing but doors and long halls again. Time for a repeat. Beth drops the phone as the flashlight faces up towards the ceiling. She then hides in a small space beside the stairs and awaits the inevitable.

Until the light on her phone goes out.

The steps get louder and louder as the innkeeper walks up the stairs as flashes of lightning light the area for nanoseconds. She sees the silhouette of the figure as the flash comes. Then back to darkness. More thumps of feet on the old stairs as they become forceful, Beth can feel the vibrations and impact of the steps. He's on the third floor. Beth decides she could wait until he's walked further and then sneak downstairs and out the door now that no one's lurking...maybe except that woman. Beth moves up to the edge of the stair rails to look at the innkeeper, who's a few yards in front of her now. A flash of lightning shows him looking around for presumably Beth. She moves to tread down the stairs when she hears yet another creak coming up the stairs. Beth then turns around towards the innkeeper, when another flash lights up the area to see the innkeeper looking directly at her.

"SHIT!"

Beth runs towards the innkeeper as opposed to away, she figured that the woman was coming up any moment and needed leverage. She swings in the general vicinity of the dark with the machete as it impacts against an unknown part of the man's flesh as she can't see a thing. The man grunts as he stumbles back as Beth frantic-like searches for her phone on the ground. she feels the corner of it as the man lunges forward and incidentally knees Beth in the nose. She absorbs the hit and rolls over on the ground while clasping her phone. She takes another blind swing in the dark and ends up with no result. She jumps up on her feet but still extremely low to the ground in a hunter's crouch. She knew there was two figures up there with her now. And she would die before they would ever mess with her again. In an attempt to quell the petrifying moment, Beth speaks with a hint of logic.

"Look!....I don't know what y'all want with me, or who you are, but whateva it is....I promise it don't have to be this way....please...I can appeal to anything you require...just don't take my life....better yet don't die for yours...cause' I promise you come at me this here machete is goin' in both'o'ya...your call"

Beth waits like a silent patron among the darkness as rain and thunder rumble and wrestle with one another outside as a angered temperament of mother nature, but right now nature wasn't present at all. This was something unnatural. This was a more sinister and dark force at work.

 

[Twilight Starseeker]

Instead of a the hoard of guards walking in like I'd expected, surprisingly a woman walked in. She might have once before been decent looking or even beautiful, but whatever she once was was, she was that no longer. Her face was marred by scars and her voice hardened with cold cruelty. Though she saw my illusion clearly, she paid it no heed… As if it was unimportant that one of her prisoners had somehow escaped their chains.

Though I doubted she would actually answer the inquiry posed by the woman to my right, I still felt a bit disappointed. Didn't the bad guys gloat in movies? Though of course, real life isn't like the movies... but this that's happening around us... didn't even seem or feel like real life either. I would think it was a dream, but unlike my situation now, I'm always in control in my dreams…

After the woman left and I made sure they weren't coming back, I let the illusion dissipate, sighing a bit in relief. I wondered if I looked out of breath (as I sometimes forgot to breathe when doing more difficult illusions), though hoped I didn't- or at least it wouldn't be as visible to the others in the dark.

Remembering our whole plan, I was about to look over to the Asian boy and see what had stopped him from attacking, but my eyes glazed over the creature in the corner that spoke up, begging the boy to come down.

The light from the outside revealed the beast that I presumed would have helped us earlier by attacking my illusion. Instead of a feral, blood-thirsty beast, it was a strange alien- no... not alien, but not quite normal humanoid figure with a shockingly attractive face that sharply contrasted his abnormal body. Like us, he was also shackled. He was also a victim, though a very mentally broken one at that. They'd broken his will as they had most of the people in this place. Though I certainly felt pity for him, I wondered if he would be useful in the future given his broken mental and injured physical state. Afterall, fear is a strong, gripping emotion, especially a forcefully conditioned one in being a "good" person to avoid punishment.

As I was thinking this, at the back of my mind, I my hearing picked up a very quiet click. But before I could process what it was… I felt someone beside me and heard another click as I felt the cold metal loosen around my hands. The woman... she had unlocked the chains... how…? I squinted a bit in the dark and saw her putting away… a bobby pin back into her hair. Resourceful.

I nod to her words of leaving, and reply "Of course." but captivated by curiosity, I head over to the table that the Asian boy used to break his shackles, "I'm checking out something really quick first." Would there be anything useful here?

As I was walking over to the table, I listened quietly as she tried to coax the beast into following us. Would he really be in shape to come along with us? Or would he start panicking and sound the alarm, alerting the guards that we were trying to escape?

 

[True North]

"Free? There is no f-free." The deformed humanoid said in a low whisper to a woman who he tried his hardest not to look at. She was so good looking to see to him, it was almost blinding, and he felt afraid that she was so near now. She had removed her chains and it caused him to start panicking even more. Fecal matter and blood stained his bare legs and he kept his face turned away from the captives.

"Please. Please, don't go away from here." Pleaded the humanoid as he hid closer to the corner and pressed his forehead against the rusted metal wall. Deep down he really yearned for them to stay, because he was always terrified of being alone. He had been isolated for a lot during his life, but it was never easy.

"This is my only home." He placed his face in his grime covered hands and wished he could become invisible.

In the next room was a crematory with brick bordered furnaces. Heat filled the room and there were two other doors in the new room that led further inside the warehouse. The same burnt faced lady that had stepped inside the room with the captives was helping a large stocky man start one of the furnaces. The stocky man had a harsh looking cleft lip with greyish brown hair and a crooked jaw.

"Keep that up. I'll be right back." The man ordered and left the burnt faced lady alone in the room.

---

"I think Laira's dead. She isn't breathing." Said a man's voice that could barely be heard in the distance at the inn. His voice sounded outraged as if he knew her personally. "Let me find out who fucking did this..." The heavily accented voice grew louder. Shouts and beating sounds of a mental break down could be heard and breaking of glass.

A dreadful giggle could be heard somewhere around Sharon in the darkness. "Put down the blade or I'll shoot you in the throat. "

"If you don't, then that's even better. I love licking the blood from a pretty girls neck as she dies." A new woman's voice could be heard with another giggle. Behind her were two men and they all wore dark matching styled clothes. They revealed themselves beneath the flashing lightning and approached the girl holding the machete. The woman held an automatic handgun aimed right at Sharon's neck. Both men started to walk toward each side of Sharon with their own weapons.

---

The four from the chosen rail, excluding Sophia, were led like a chain gang down the muddy path outside the barracks. They were ushered passed the other barracks where the helpless groans of freshly crippled human beings could be heard from outside them. The doors from the original barracks began to shut one last time and the people on the other rail could partially be seen crawling in the filthy blood trying to escape, but they couldn't.

"Your going to be gifted to our father. You should all feel privileged." One of the dark clothed men responded to John.

The group was pushed through the door of the chain link fences and free from the area that caged the barracks. After chaining and securing the locks, the group walked through the wet grass toward the light of a bonfire that could be seen in the distance. Off to the far right, the outline of houses that were silhouetted by the night were barely visible. Back in the direction of from where they came, two watch towers could be seen beside the fenced in barracks where the cultists could conveniently look over the camp.

Dirt was now felt beneath their feet as the group of chosen sacrifices arrived at the bonfire grounds.


The light from the fire lit up a line of people at the head of the grounds. In the center was a taller individual who towered over the rest and who wore a different styled jester hat with more points. The towering person's uniform looked different as well with twisted material like ink black tree roots on the torso.

An unsettling feeling could be felt within most of the captive's hearts when they saw the being in the middle. The strangest part was that the one in the middle appeared to have no face. There was just ivory flesh with no features that seemed unreal to witness.

"Bring them forward for selection." An older woman's voice said who stood beside the faceless being in the middle. Her hair was wirey and she was clearly balding beneath her hat.

The captives were brought forward in front of the line at the head of the fire and the faceless entity's head began to turn slowly in the direction of the first male captive. The absent faced entity then shook his head from side to side to signal that the man before it was not the one to be selected. The faceless being turned his head in the direction of the next male captive and the outcome was the same.

Two were left for selecting, a woman with blonde, neck length hair and John. In the direction of John, the faceless entity turned it's head slowly. For a moment the fleshy, featureless head kept it's fixation on the man, but then turned to look at the woman. All ears on the bonfire grounds began to ring as if a loss of hearing and then suddenly stopped. An odd purring sound began to be heard and the faceless head seemed to vibrate.

"That one." The older woman spoke.

The woman was grabbed on all sides and forced to the ground. Tears flooded the woman's eyes and she turned to look at the men who seemed to be in shock of the being before them.

"HELP!!!!!!" She begged at the top of her lungs toward John's direction. Before she could continue another scream, a lengthy sharp blade was sliced into her skull like a pumpkin and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

The group of cultists stood over the woman and began carving off the top of her head. When the top of her bloody skull was thrown in the dirt, the raw pink brain was now visible. The faceless entities head turned slowly to John as the other black clothed men took the other two men back to the barracks.

"Remove the brain and present it as offering. You have been selected for conversion." The older woman ordered to John. A ringing began to be heard within all ears and the faceless monster kept it's focus on the man. John was expected to dig out the woman's brain from her skull and hand it to the towering entity before they would drag her body into the fire.

---

Two of the black dressed men held tight to Sophia's arms on each side as they took her in the opposite direction of where the other captives were taken. Outside of the fences where the barracks were, the two men forcefully led Sophia under the moonlight through a wet grassy field. Off to the far left was a circle of land that appeared to be darker than the grass in the field and it was hard to see what was there.

"Wish we could take her to the circle and see what becomes of her." One of the men said with a sharp laugh.

The three continued across the field under the night sky until a small round pond of water could be seen with a little cabin behind it. A tree with a wooden swing beneath it stood on the right beside the cabin. The swing appeared to swing on it's own in the darkness as the three walked closer. When the three stood in front of the cabin the two men shoved Sophia toward the steps.

"This is where you work now. Tend to the girl inside and make sure she eats. Everything you need for the job is inside there. Go on in, she's expecting you." One said with a half dry chuckle.

Inside, all the lights were off and there was a small den with a tiny kitchen. The only light source were a few candles that dimly lit the place. Once entered, anyone would feel a heavy sense of fear in the pit of their stomach and understand that something wasn't right. Something was wrong. Down the hall were two doors on the left and right (the one on the left is a room and the right a bathroom) and at the very end of the hallway was another door that is cracked open.



(Finished!)

 

[ch0sen1]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sharon listens to the grisly grumbles of a heavily baritone man speaking on the floor below, faint but the force from the bass vibrating through the wooden surfaces of the hotel. He was mentioning a woman named Laira as the lightning exposes dark silhouettes and a few mixed sizes and proportions. Sharon slightly jumped and gripped the machete tighter than a true love at the sound of shattering glass. Inside her heart was pounding with adrenaline and petrification simultaneously, but on her exterior her face is hardened like a militant soldier, clenching her jaws together at the sound of a faint and ghastly giggle that seemed to resound through the entire vicinity.

???: "Put down the blade or I'll shoot you in the throat....If you don't, that's even better. I love licking the blood from a pretty girls neck as she dies."

Another giggle ensues. Sharon's face grimaces not in a putrid horror, but more of a disgusted and taken aback demeanor.

Sharon: "Uh, eww."

Lightning flashes as the creak of wood can be heard behind her, as she turns her shoulders but not her hips to see who's behind her, in case one of these fouled monster of human beings tried anything on her. The men get closer as a smaller dark figure emerges under the flash of lightning. Sharon's eyes go wide and fault a bit when she sees a Glock 18 pistol aimed right at her. The men diverge and split on each side of Sharon, while the other two still remain in their initial positions.

Click.

Sharon was weighing the options heavy at this point, surrender and most assuredly die, or stand her ground and at least maybe have a chance to get out of this somehow? The two men had some sort of makeshift blunt force objects as they hold them sternly. The woman's gun was close enough on Sharon's person she could easily overpower the small frail figure, maybe even use her if she needed to. Sharon was six foot of physical prowess and cunning, something these bastards were going to find out.....maybe.

Sharon: "I'm tryna understand....help me understand why yur doin' this....who are you people? If you're some society that feels threatened by my presence I will leave okay?? I mean no harm I ain't even suppos' ta be here!"

Click.

The gun was being readied by the small dark figured woman under the still of the death filled air and chaotic scene all around.

Sharon: "Sigh...fine...I'll comply."

Sharon drops the machete. It's blade descends upon the wooden floor, splitting it as it daggers into the surface below. As soon as the blade thuds in the wood, one more flash of lightning hits, and to compliment it another flash occurred as well...it was matched by Sharon's agility as she ducks low and sweeps the gun holder's feet with her strong leg. The woman didn't even grunt or make a sound as she fell, but Sharon knew she was going to fire. The surrounding bodies all converge quickly, only for Sharon to dart from the standoff and make for the hallway leading up to the attic. Bad move. One man swings for Sharon as she retreats, the weapon brushing past her long hair as she strides away and the rumble of footsteps follow behind her. She couldn't see shit. Only the lightning was her friend in this chilling moment. She scrambles for a source of hope and life as she feels along the walls as she runs. Her foot clips against a wooden board in front of her and quickly realizes they're stairs to the attic. She darts up the steps into the stereotypical horror location as she climbs up into the dark void. More darkness invades her view as she closes the small trap door and backs away. She feels for anything, something. Her hands meet an unknown solid object as she holds the relatively dense unknown object in fear of what happens next. She silences her breathing.

She waits, mortified.

 

[RiniPinja]

Rozalin frowned. She could just abandoned the strange looking creature, that stayed huddled amongst his vile nest, or she could help teach him how to be free from the hell he called home. Rozalin quickly shifted her focus away from the stench that radiated from the piles beneath the creature. She weighed her options carefully in her head, but tried to be fast. She wasn't quite sure how long they had. "No. This isn't your home. They might kill you here. You'll have a better chance outside." She spoke gently, although with a hint of coldness; she still wasn't sure if taking the time to help the creature would benefit her in any way.

Or even if it was possibly a trap.

Taking her chances, she bent down, touching his shackles carefully. At first, she retracted, as her hands pressed against some sort of crust that exploded in a stink that caused her to gag, but she tried to press forward once more. She took out the bobby pin in her hair and worked as quickly as she could to undo the chains that shackled the creature. She knew she could do nothing to free the strangely beautiful faced creature the mental chains he had constructed for himself. But she did what she could. And that was all that mattered, correct?

Rozalin felt as though her stomach was about to thrust itself up her throat and join the revolting ground beneath her bare feet, but she tried hard to keep it down. She stood up, ready to help the creature, but then she heard voices from outside the door. She froze in place. Were they going to walk in? Were they going to figure out the fact that none of them were no longer chained?

She held her breath and momentarily became religious. She prayed that her paranoia was just what it was: paranoia.

Finally, she let out a soft sigh. No one came blaring through the door with machine guns, threatening to destroy them all. No one even seemed to notice. Which was good. It was very good indeed. But the moment of intense silence and difficult breathing snapped Rozalin's focus back into place.

Now was DEFINITELY not the time to help others. Now was the moment Rozalin had to do everything in her power to survive. So, Rozalin ultimately moved away from the creature, if he wanted to come, then he could. However, if he wanted to stay, then she allowed him to be as suicidally stupid as he wanted to be. She certainly didn't have the time to help. She walked around and quickly noted the two entrances of the warehouse, although one side was locked. She glanced over at the boy. "Is there a key…?" She asked curiously, knowing he was conducting his own investigation of their nearly impossible to escape locked room.

 

[Twilight Starseeker]

I listened quietly to the exchange between the woman and the creature. It seemed like he had some sort of attachment to this place and most likely wouldn't come with us. Admittedly, another ally could be detrimental to our escape. However, I'm not sure how much we can trust this creature because of how the scientist has conditioned him to be fearful of disobedience and caused him to develop some sort of Stockholm Syndrome. Overall, it seems like he would drag us down or continuously tell us to stop what we're doing because we're "breaking the rules".

Returning my attention to the table, I'm immediately hit with the scent of… rotting. Ignoring the chunks of unidentifiable meat, I faintly see the outline of something that looks like a lock and chain that's open… but there's no key to it. I pick it up, and I immediately feel the grimy texture that it is covered in. I pull away from the table in disgust and flinch at the noises that the rattling of the chain makes. Perhaps we shouldn't bring it. Any noise that could bring attention to us could mean getting captured again (and even worse, death). I sigh silently to myself, the chain would have been a good weapon… but it's too noisy to carry around. I decide to leave the chain there and pick up the open lock instead. Maybe this could help somehow.

I examine the table again trying to keep my mind from wondering what or… who those chunks once were, and under a considerable pile of chunks, I see the glint of something promisingly metal. Ignoring all the mental warnings that my brain was telling me, I brushed the chunks aside, and feel cold and slimy things climbing on to my finger. My heart leaps and I curse quietly, unable stop myself. I quickly shake my hand vigorously and send the little wriggling white creature flying off into the darkness. Maggots. Disgusting. I glance back to the chunks I had brushed aside which is covered in the little buggards, and see the prize beneath them. Scalpels. Five of them.

As I'm scooping up the little treasure trove and shaking the maggots off of them, I hear voices coming from the door. I freeze completely, not caring that I feel the feet of the worms crawling up my fingertips. Shit. What to do. What to do. An illusion? Of what? Of us still in chains? No, but then we would still be visible and they'd just shoot both us and the doubles. What- Luckily, the voices die down, their attached figures moving away from the door. Good… for now.

I shake the remaining maggots from the scalpels and look to the woman who seems to have finished talking to the creature. It seems that those voices made her realize that we were on a time constraint. We don't have enough time to try and coax the creature to come with us.

I shake my head. "No keys for anything, but I found this." I hand her two of the five scalpels. "I have two other ones from that table and this lock." I decide to refrain from telling her about the third scalpel. What if she decides to complain and say that she should be the one to have it? And afterall, my words weren't a lie. I do have two other scalpels from the table. I simply didn't mention that I had one extra scalpel that she didn't have.

I look to the huge door that was still ajar that leads to the outside. "Looks like that's our only way out…" I mutter while walking in that direction. I look back at her, scanning her more carefully as I speak casually, "By the way, you can call me Brooke. May I know of your name, Miss?" Though I'm definitely distracted by her shapely nude body, I can tell that she seems of average physique. I could probably outrun her or carry her if the situation calls for it.

 

[neptune]

The soft earth beneath his feet made walking difficult, and John found himself stumbling along with the rest of the prisoners, kicking up mud and small chunks of grass as they were lead deeper into the woods. The pained cries of the other men and women from the opposite barracks were soon fading into the distance, along with the ringing in his ears. He waited as he was pulled along with his fellow prisoners, hoping for some kind of answer that would ease his worried mind, but the new information filled him with worry, dread and more questions. The depth of the cult's depravity knew no bounds, and John was quietly panicking, stunned into silence as he thought of everything that could go horribly wrong within the next handful of minutes. No matter the scenario, the conclusion was always death, and at this point, John simply hoped that it would be quick and painless.

After being herded like cattle through a fence, John's dark eyes caught sight of a glowing fire in the distance. His eyes locked onto the approaching flames, too distracted by his own fears to even take notice of the area around him, too afraid to make a run for it while he could. The closer they got, the more people came into view, and John could vaguely make out the ivory-like flesh of the person in the middle, a monolith of a man, the assumed father. John swallowed hard as he and the other prisoners finally came to a stop, and his dark eyes adjusted to the new light. The unruly flames of the bonfire cast tall, unsettling shadows all around them, but the most jarring sight was the man in the middle. From far away, he had looked normal, but up close, the absence of a face was clear.

Standing there, John's breathing was labored, coming quick and hard as he desperately tried to conceal his hysteria and confusion. He had never been one to believe in the paranormal—ghosts, demons, spirits—it was all made up, but seeing this faceless man was proof of something purely evil and not of this world. For a moment, time had stood still until a balding, old woman sought to begin the selection process. John was frozen to the ground and had to physically be pushed forward by one of the cloaked men. The shove was hard, set squarely in the middle of his back and John had nearly been knocked off of his feet before he joined the other captives in line by the fire.

The faceless being began to (somehow) look them over, and John could only hope that he was as unappealing as the other two men. Horrible as it was to think, most horror movie clichés said that the woman would be the sacrifice. The silence was overwhelming, and John was even more afraid as he became the focus of the ivory-entity's attention. It was an invasive feeling, uncomfortable as John's dark eyes darted over the absence of human features, and across the fleshy, snow-white exterior. Inwardly, John was sure that he was the sacrifice, that horror movies had let him down in a big way and that he was going to die right then and there.

Everything happened so fast. One minute, John was accepting his fate, and the next, the ground beneath him began to vibrate, and the air next to his ears began to hum, a sound so that that it couldn't even be blocked out with his hands. The woman beside him was grabbed, and her voice felt far away as she called to him for help, tears streaming down her face as the hands of the cultists were on her, slicing her up and silencing the scream that had been bubbling in her throat.

There was so much blood, so much violence and John took a few steps back, ready to run for it even if that was a horrible idea. Before the ancient instinct of fight-or-flight could kick in, the balding woman spoke again, giving orders as the ringing intensified. John's lower lip was trembling and he shook his head, refusing without meaning to as the faceless being stood over them with a false patience.

"Wh—what's conversion?" he asked, eyes wild as he looked from the entity back to the cultists. No one said a word, but John could only assume that if he did what they asked, he would get to keep his life. The woman on the ground, eyes wide open with the top of her head sliced off, was already dead and there had been no saving her—why should he meet the same fate just for being stubborn?

Sometimes, survival depended on doing what was necessary, not what was right. John, more than anything, wanted to live.

The first few steps were shaky and uneven, but John moved to the woman's side and knelt down, his stomach in knots. The ground was spongy and cool beneath him, and John hesitated for a moment and he looked down at the woman's brain, pink and shiny in the firelight, still wet with blood and matted with wisps of hair and bone fragment from the blow that had killed her.

Do you want to live?

That voice inside of his head was back, and John was too taxed to ignore it. "Yes," he whispered, answering whatever was inside of him as he reached out with his left hand.

She's already dead.

"I want to live," he whispered again, justifying his actions as his cold fingers met the still warm brain of the cult's most recent victim. John thought that he was going to be sick as he he reached further into her skull, the tops of his fingers scraping against bone and he gave a shudder as his palm cupped the heavy, jelly-like organ. Foolishly, John gave the brain a tug, expecting to lift it out of the nameless woman's skull without much of a fight, but everything was still in tact. He swallowed hard, choking back a gag and bile as his right hand joined the pulpy mess. He gave another tug, harder this time and heard the wet sound of something ripping. His hands were covered in blood and bits of squished brain, and John was close to losing it as he gave a final, vicious pull.

The remnants of the woman's nervous system clung wetly to his wrists and forearms, but John held the brain up to the faceless entity. Still on his knees, he buried his face in his shoulder, on the verge of being sick.

Was it worth it?

"No," John mumbled into his shirt, the fabric now damp with tears.

 

[Melia]

The crude men appeared to be taking Sophia to complete isolation. Behind them lay sickness, unrest and violence, ahead lay uncertainty and ténèbres [spoili]darkness[/spoili]. For better or for worse. Judging by what she had seen thus far, it was probably safe to assume that it would be for the worse. Sophia hoped for the best, and the strength to find the silver lining, no matter how bad things got. In a place like this, companionship could be the thing that could save someone's sanity. Sophia prayed she could befriend the one whom she would be caretaker.

The men's grip on her arms were like iron clamps. There was no room for her to move, and her fingers tingled from the constriction on her blood flow. She walked along with her head held high, though, refusing to show fear or even allowing it a space in her mind. For surely, if she let it in, she would collapse from it and loose the strength she knew she needed to make the best of a very bad situation.

As they walked further and further from the barracks, silence fell. It was too quiet. The land lacked the soothing sounds of the creatures that came out at night. Even they were too afraid of this place. To the left, there was a dark patch. Sophia knew immediately it was filled with bad JuJu. Not because of the words the men spoke but because she could feel it in her bones. Her breath caught in her throat. The closer they got to the cabin ahead, the worse the feeling of dread became.

The air moved differently here. Spirits passed by on invisible currents and eddies of a different kind of wind. It was not a wind one could feel physically, but could be felt spiritually, in subtle changes of air temperature and brushes against ones skin that could not be seen. The spirits called to Sophia, warned her, Laissez ici [spoili] Leave here[/spoili] they knew she could hear. This place was not safe.

The men were content to leave her here, however. They didn't dare cross the threshold of the porch. Whoever it was she was to be the caretaker of, was likely not one of the misguided but innocent children that surrounded the barracks. Something was different here. Sophia took a deep breath and stepped into the cabin. Make due with the cards you have been given. The others had been dealt a different hand than she, it was clear.

Dim light flickered around the dark cabin, casting long dancing shadows across the wall, making even her full bosomed figure appear lanky and willowy. She was to care of a girl. A child? A demon? She did not know. But Sophia felt certain that seeking her out without first preparing some kind of food may not fare well in her favor so she made her way to the kitchen to see what was available to her. Unfortunately the kitchen was very small and it wasn't terribly well stocked. Sophia mixed up a can of beans with some canned chicken. It was hardly an ideal meal, but at least it covered some of the main food groups. With the meal in a bowl with a spoon, Sophia took one of the flickering candles, a stub of wax that likely wouldn't last the night.

Sophia crossed herself before stepping into the hall. To her right was a dingy bathroom, clearly in need of a deep cleaning. To the left, what appeared to be an empty room. These places must be where she was expected to stay. With a bit of tidying, Sophia felt certain that she could make them livable, and they were certain to be a least a bit more habitable than the barracks were. She counted her blessings.

Softly, the older woman knocked on the door that was cracked open. "Hello?" she called, keeping her voice soft. She may have been afraid, but fear did not creep into her voice, which remained motherly despite everything. "My name is Sophia. I'm told I'm here to take care of you. Will you come out?"

 

[True North]

Flashes of lightning light up the pitch dark attic from the window slits on the far wall like camera flashes. One second it's blindingly dark, and the next vision of the room is priveleged to Sharon who waits there... The outlines of unfamiliar shapes and objects can be seen and then light up to reveal used nightstands and old bedframes. Near the far right corner a statue or oversized stuffed animal appears to be sitting there alone by a box. The outline of raised rabbit ears are visible in the blackness. A sound similar to chirping breaks the silence within the attic and the head of the thing in the corner begins to tilt slowly in Sharon's direction.

When the lightning lights the room once more, the thing at the corner appears to be a man in a vintage bunny suit sitting properly in the darkness. A flicker of light shines on and off in Sharon's direction as the person in the freaky bunny costume playfully shows off a flashlight. A fluffy, costumed paw waves for Sharon to come over to the corner. Voices can be heard from below the attic and the rabbit in the dark puts a furry finger up to a masked face with drawn on whiskers while bouncing his head from side to side. The action was almost like a silent mocking of "You better be quiet... They're gonna get ya." Casually sliding the box away from it, the costumed being proceeds to crawl on all fours toward Sharon, but then stops before getting too close.

A fluffy costumed arm begins to raise and, at the wave of it's furry paw, pitch blackness devours Sharon's vision. A silk bag the color of night was slipped forcefully onto her head by an unknown person who had been sneaking from behind unnoticed. With a blow to the base of the skull, Sharon would beomce unconscious. When she would awaken, she'd find herself in a whole new location. The stink of decaying flesh and vomit fuming through her nostrils. Sickening groans of dying people filling her ears. Hands stinging from the tight cuffs that chained her to a grime covered rail.

"Hey." She'd hear a light and sweet voice say to her with a shakey tone. Chained to the same rail next to Sharon, a fragile framed girl kneels with her green eyes swollen from recent tears. Her caramel colored curls tied in a messy bun behind her little head against the filthy wall. The young girl's expression in obvious unfaltertering shock. Pupils reflecting the terryfying reality that was now their's.

---

A familiar gag provoking noise of sucking snot was suddenly heard outside the door of where the two captives and creature were. Instantaneously, the scientist from before stepped inside. Hoarse gasping could be heard from the pillar above where the asian boy was dying of a chemical poison that had been planned there. Another snort from the scientist came and he walked carefully to the opposite door with his eyes on the other two captives who he was sure had weapons now. The sounds of clanging chains was heard as he unlocked the doors to the outside and removed the chains. Cracking the door open, the warmth of night and fresh air could be felt now.

"I won't stop you." The scientest said to the woman and man with another slimey snort. He appeared to be weaponless, but he had a look in his eyes that knew what would become of them if they tried to attack. The old scientist extended a wrinkley arm out towad the exit and encouraged them to leave. "Oh but, but-" He started to say in an oddly calm way as they drew near. "Run to the forest and you will discover a far worse hell that awaits you there. Those hell draggers are quite grisley, yes indeed." The scientist finished and then turned to the helpless and terrified creature on the floor. "If you leave though, the dog stays."

Before they'd leave the scientist said a few more things, "Your beautifully functioning brains will be shot from your heads before you can make it to the fences. The towers never go without watch, ever." The strange old man in the scientist cloak continued. "Stay here, be my loyal assistants, and no harm will come to you. I'd like that idea very much, so- so much." The sounds of questioning voices could be heard now outside the door that lead into the furnace room. A snap could be heard as the creature locked his cuff back onto his ankle and huddled away in the corner again and began to sob.

---

Cold and slender, pale fingers accepted John's offering. The faceless being tilted it's head up and then dropped it back down to reveal the flesh, where it's mouth should be, ripping open. The raw brain was then bitten in two with a mushy sound following after that sounded like raw beef being squished together. Brain juices rolled down the entity's chin and strings from the organ hung down in it's hands. He finished the second half and the outline of lips began to form on it's face. A gurgle came forth from the faceless entities ripped mouth and then there was eerie silence once more.

"Our father can see your soul." The balding cultist woman spoke. "You are willing to carry out his wishes."

The old cultist turned her hands to receive a goblet from another cult elder. She then proceeded to walk toward the sacrificed girl who's body was sitting upright on the legs. The balding old wench kneeled down beside her and wrapped her arm around the dead girl who's eyes stared lifelessly in a lazy stare toward John. The balding woman gave a wicked grin with yellowy teeth toward John and leaned her face in to press it against the dead girl's cold, white cheek. "He knows something unique about you, John." She said his name without even knowing it and kept her eyes on him. After saying it, she stuck a veiny tongue out to slide it across the dead girls temple.

After laying the goblet onto the dirt, the old lady drew forth a long knife. She cut a lock from the dead woman's hair that was still in tact to what remained of the scalp around the broken skull. She dropped the bloody piece of hair into the goblet and reached for a handful of what looked to be acorns or some sort of unknown nutshells. Once cracking them with a clenched fist, she let them fall into the goblet as well. Lifting the knife to the corpse's throat she proceeded to slice into the dead flesh like margarine. Clotted, dark blood and clear fluids fell down into the goblet. She stood to catch the trickles of black liquid that dripped from the faceless entity's pale finger that he had bitten in order to break the skin.

The old balding lady spit into the goblet like venom from a cobra, before handing it toward John. "Show us how willing you are." The vile mix of bodily fluids reeked of sour shit as it awaited John's throat... The ringing began again.

 

[ch0sen1]

It was like a nightmare. Sharon's heart nearly jumps from her chest at the sight of a void silhouette in the corner of the attic. She stares at it in one of those paranoid senses of it moving due to sheer terror in her subconscious. And then it went and moves slowly, churning it's creepy, furry head over right into Sharon's soul. She instantly covered her mouth in morbid shock as the chirping thing waved from across the room in a ghastly light, with lightning flashing in barrages of horror. The rabbit extends a furry paw over its mouth, suggesting that it too was either hiding from the monsters downstairs, or that it knew what they were capable of. Ironic of the current terror in her heart, she actually took comfort in the rabbit somehow, thinking that if it wanted to kill her she'd be dead already. She backs up slowly and calmly, until the rabbit decides to crawl over to her on all fours. As it creeps slowly, a heavy release of hitched breaths leaves Sharon's covered mouth, never removing her eyes from the rabbit growing closer. It stops a few feet in front of her and extends its hand one more time. Then darkness, with a white-hot flash. Then nothing.

Sharon opens her eyes to a dark but horrid sight, but it was her sense of smell that had been activated first. Putrid and absolute repulsing smells invaded her nostrils more potent than smelling salt ever could. She jerks her head up to the smell and takes in the darkness upon awakening. Her wrists tingle with a mild burning fury as she moves her hands in confinement, with the sound of metal clinging onto the binds that stifle her from her resolve. The sound od wails and cries of despair flooded her hearing, and at that moment she knew she wasn't dead, but she may have been faced with a more horrendous truth.

She was in Hell.

Grime and muck secreted from unknown portions of the railing, with the smell becoming pulsating and impending to her senses. She began to breathe heavy and rapidly in adrenaline, drawing her body in tight for better control of balance and fighting against the rail. She had seen the saw movies, and was a horror buff, the cold and petrifying reality wasn't a comfort whatsoever, but she knew there was no use in trying to fight and scream like some hopeless damsel...even though that's potentially what she was in this moment. The ground was slippery and wet with fluids she was sure were from something gross. She kept her body in tight to avoid coming across any of the gunk and bile in the relative area.

???: "Hey."

Sharon turns in the direction of the sound of a weak and frail voice. She locks her eyes on another girl, mush smaller and skinnier than her. Her green eyes spoke of chaos and futility. Her face was puffy and flustered. Judging from the expression of unconditional shock and trauma on her face Sharon had deduced she had just woken up not too long ago as well. Her voice was shaky and unbalanced. Sharon looks at her small anatomy and takes a deep breath, intaking the smell of death and decay all around her like a champ. She clenches her jaws in a hardened sense of focus and mild threat. She fought to get away from those bastards, her fear had been drowned by will, but now it landed her in a far worse place, but she wasn't done fighting.

Sharon: "Hi, lissin' to me...I don't know where we are...or why, an I jus' woke up like you, but before we start ta' panic save your energy. Don't scream. Don't wriggle and writhe in fear or frustration. Just breathe, think, and pay attention to whas' around ya. Someone wants us for somethin' and we're goin' ta have ta find out how to get out of here before that happens. I'm Beth, from Louisiana. Came here from school for a project and stayed in this shab ass hotel....obviously it went south. Woke up here. What's your name?"