(Violence)
Erin woke up to a dull ache. Over the past few months, she'd gotten used to it. The pain, the never ending questions. All of it. Her world became the razor's edge, the jagged spires of agony and the delirious promises that such a strain hinted at. Insanity.
She woke in the same room, the same dark, musty room she had spent so long in. Her wrists burned and her shoulders ached. It took only a second, a few feeble kicks for her to realize that she was dangling, hanging from something. The ropes at her wrists cut into the flesh there, only adding to the overall mass of pain her body had become. With a few more fluttering motions, she turned, spinning in the ropes while trying to get a look around.
"You do know that trying to do anything isn't going to work, right?" The voice came from a corner she couldn't see, partly due to the shadows that lurked in the room, the result of the flickering brazier in the center. The voice that spoke was feminine, oh so feminine and dripping with sarcasm. "You aren't going anywhere, not until you give us what you want, little sister. Last sister."
A brief spasm turned Erin faster, sending her into a spin that her addled brain couldn't handle. A few gasping breaths later, she tried to speak. Her parched, cracked lips couldn't form any sounds, and her dried tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. What was intended to be words came out as a desperate mewl.
"Shut up. This lasts so long as you want it to."
Erin heard more then, she heard padded footsteps behind her and a dull sound, metal scraping against more metal. The next sensation was heat, an intense glow close to her back. Said heat trailed lower, the flame teasing her flesh. All of the sudden, Erin's back arched, and she strained against her bonds. For a second, it was far, far too much for her cracked mind to comprehend. Sadly, she snapped back to reality when the heated metal bar came into contact with the back of her legs. What started as the mewl came full circle, resulting in a desperate scream, ripped from the bottom of her throat.
"I don't even know what you want me to do..." Her voice was what one would expect, the sound of a terrified, and near delirious girl, barely a woman by age. Her breath came in ragged gasps, cracked ribs resisting her lungs attempt to inflate.
"Snap, damn it! Break!" For a moment, all was calm. A shot moment, sadly. A snap cracked through the silence, and once more, Erin's world exploded as the flexible leather of a whip came down on the already burned flesh. Once, twice, twenty times. She lost count of the strokes, lost count of the screams that faded into begging and pleas. Eventually, she lost her grip on reality and faded back out.
When she next woke, she twisted once more. This time, she was at least on her back. Still tied, of course. Both wrists, once more, and both ankles were tied to posts in the ground. Her flayed back rubbed across cold stone, the hardness and the chill had turned searing pain into a dull ache.
"Awake, are we?"
All she knew was that this was her family, the people she was supposed to love, Supposed to trust. Once more, she barely managed to acknowledge, the voice, a feeble twitch in the direction. Her sister knelt down, bringing herself to Erin's level.
"No one likes doing this, you know." Of course, it was a lie. Through puffy eyes, Erin could see the sadistic gleam in those black eyes, she could see the anticipation.
"Lll—liaa—liar."
"Shut up." Lazily, a gloved hand came down in a fist, leaving another bruise on an already ruined face. Bones broke, and blood flowed once more. Mercifully, Erin also couldn't see the dull blade the fell. She could surely feel it's razor edge, the slender steel barely scratching the skin of her stomach.
"Do you even know our house insignia?" Her sister laughed, a mad twitter that somehow seemed normal, given the situation. "No' Let me show you."
At first, Erin bit back the scream, she fought. Giving in wasn't an option, not after so long.
"No reaction' My, my. What a spoil sport." Cruelly, but with an artist's touch, her older sister drove the blade deeper, searching for the nerve column that ran across Erin's ribs. "Scream. Beg. Quit fighting this."
After what seemed like a slow eternity, the blade found what it sought, and a million tiny fires lit themselves across her body, and her shoulders lifted her off the ground. Her voice cracked and broke, lost among the orchestra of her pain, the symphony of impeding terror.
"Oh no, no, no. Don't you pass out on me again." Her sister reached down, tangling gloved fingers into Erin's matted hair. Her head was given a jerk, and a splash of water found her stomach, washing the blood away. Aside from the initial entry, a thin set of lines drew a picture across pale flesh, a bleeding set of masks, each laid on top of the other. One wore a crown of thorns, the other a twisted grin.
"See" That's us. We're family now."
Her body could take more, but her mind, no. Blissfully, she slipped away from sanity, never to return again. Oddly enough, Erin felt a strange surge, a foreign explosion. It wasn't pain, but it burned. It burned with the frigid chill of ice, the last warmth gone on a winter's night. Finally, she laughed. She laughed long, she laughed in a high pitched voice. Her sister recoiled in shock, almost afraid of what she'd done.
"What the...."
"No, no. You shut up. I can see them now, coming for me. Dark shadows, tall shadows. Lost in the night, and forgotten by day. They wear the iron crown, spikes on steel, blood on ashes. No, no, dear sister, you shut up. Do it. Again! You want it, I want it. What do I care, she who died, last sister, lost sister. Forgotten flashes. Why stop now?" With a flick of her wrist, she tore the rope and latched onto her sister's hand.
Fear showed in those black eyes, fear that she'd gone too far. However, Erin's hand dragged her's down, further and deeper into her abdomen. She embraced the pain, she needed it. Again, her voice broke, a cross between a shriek and a cackle as she drove the blade deeper, feeling it scrape against bone.
With some effort, Mellus tore away, and quickly went away. She'd not meant to go that far, not meant to do such damage to her sister's mind. As she fled down the halls of her home, all she could hear was that demented laughter, that screamed prophecy.
Erin woke up to a dull ache. Over the past few months, she'd gotten used to it. The pain, the never ending questions. All of it. Her world became the razor's edge, the jagged spires of agony and the delirious promises that such a strain hinted at. Insanity.
She woke in the same room, the same dark, musty room she had spent so long in. Her wrists burned and her shoulders ached. It took only a second, a few feeble kicks for her to realize that she was dangling, hanging from something. The ropes at her wrists cut into the flesh there, only adding to the overall mass of pain her body had become. With a few more fluttering motions, she turned, spinning in the ropes while trying to get a look around.
"You do know that trying to do anything isn't going to work, right?" The voice came from a corner she couldn't see, partly due to the shadows that lurked in the room, the result of the flickering brazier in the center. The voice that spoke was feminine, oh so feminine and dripping with sarcasm. "You aren't going anywhere, not until you give us what you want, little sister. Last sister."
A brief spasm turned Erin faster, sending her into a spin that her addled brain couldn't handle. A few gasping breaths later, she tried to speak. Her parched, cracked lips couldn't form any sounds, and her dried tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. What was intended to be words came out as a desperate mewl.
"Shut up. This lasts so long as you want it to."
Erin heard more then, she heard padded footsteps behind her and a dull sound, metal scraping against more metal. The next sensation was heat, an intense glow close to her back. Said heat trailed lower, the flame teasing her flesh. All of the sudden, Erin's back arched, and she strained against her bonds. For a second, it was far, far too much for her cracked mind to comprehend. Sadly, she snapped back to reality when the heated metal bar came into contact with the back of her legs. What started as the mewl came full circle, resulting in a desperate scream, ripped from the bottom of her throat.
"I don't even know what you want me to do..." Her voice was what one would expect, the sound of a terrified, and near delirious girl, barely a woman by age. Her breath came in ragged gasps, cracked ribs resisting her lungs attempt to inflate.
"Snap, damn it! Break!" For a moment, all was calm. A shot moment, sadly. A snap cracked through the silence, and once more, Erin's world exploded as the flexible leather of a whip came down on the already burned flesh. Once, twice, twenty times. She lost count of the strokes, lost count of the screams that faded into begging and pleas. Eventually, she lost her grip on reality and faded back out.
When she next woke, she twisted once more. This time, she was at least on her back. Still tied, of course. Both wrists, once more, and both ankles were tied to posts in the ground. Her flayed back rubbed across cold stone, the hardness and the chill had turned searing pain into a dull ache.
"Awake, are we?"
All she knew was that this was her family, the people she was supposed to love, Supposed to trust. Once more, she barely managed to acknowledge, the voice, a feeble twitch in the direction. Her sister knelt down, bringing herself to Erin's level.
"No one likes doing this, you know." Of course, it was a lie. Through puffy eyes, Erin could see the sadistic gleam in those black eyes, she could see the anticipation.
"Lll—liaa—liar."
"Shut up." Lazily, a gloved hand came down in a fist, leaving another bruise on an already ruined face. Bones broke, and blood flowed once more. Mercifully, Erin also couldn't see the dull blade the fell. She could surely feel it's razor edge, the slender steel barely scratching the skin of her stomach.
"Do you even know our house insignia?" Her sister laughed, a mad twitter that somehow seemed normal, given the situation. "No' Let me show you."
At first, Erin bit back the scream, she fought. Giving in wasn't an option, not after so long.
"No reaction' My, my. What a spoil sport." Cruelly, but with an artist's touch, her older sister drove the blade deeper, searching for the nerve column that ran across Erin's ribs. "Scream. Beg. Quit fighting this."
After what seemed like a slow eternity, the blade found what it sought, and a million tiny fires lit themselves across her body, and her shoulders lifted her off the ground. Her voice cracked and broke, lost among the orchestra of her pain, the symphony of impeding terror.
"Oh no, no, no. Don't you pass out on me again." Her sister reached down, tangling gloved fingers into Erin's matted hair. Her head was given a jerk, and a splash of water found her stomach, washing the blood away. Aside from the initial entry, a thin set of lines drew a picture across pale flesh, a bleeding set of masks, each laid on top of the other. One wore a crown of thorns, the other a twisted grin.
"See" That's us. We're family now."
Her body could take more, but her mind, no. Blissfully, she slipped away from sanity, never to return again. Oddly enough, Erin felt a strange surge, a foreign explosion. It wasn't pain, but it burned. It burned with the frigid chill of ice, the last warmth gone on a winter's night. Finally, she laughed. She laughed long, she laughed in a high pitched voice. Her sister recoiled in shock, almost afraid of what she'd done.
"What the...."
"No, no. You shut up. I can see them now, coming for me. Dark shadows, tall shadows. Lost in the night, and forgotten by day. They wear the iron crown, spikes on steel, blood on ashes. No, no, dear sister, you shut up. Do it. Again! You want it, I want it. What do I care, she who died, last sister, lost sister. Forgotten flashes. Why stop now?" With a flick of her wrist, she tore the rope and latched onto her sister's hand.
Fear showed in those black eyes, fear that she'd gone too far. However, Erin's hand dragged her's down, further and deeper into her abdomen. She embraced the pain, she needed it. Again, her voice broke, a cross between a shriek and a cackle as she drove the blade deeper, feeling it scrape against bone.
With some effort, Mellus tore away, and quickly went away. She'd not meant to go that far, not meant to do such damage to her sister's mind. As she fled down the halls of her home, all she could hear was that demented laughter, that screamed prophecy.