Let me go… Please, just let me go.

Her body’s heavy and exhausted, barely able to even lift up her head. All she wants to do is let her body rest and slowly drift off into a long sleep. Cold, rusted iron binds her wrists and ankles to the walls, dangling just a few feet up from the cracked cement pavement. When she coughs, just a tinge of blood sprays out of her mouth and lands directly below her, brightly lit from the alleyway light that hangs above her.

“Oh? You’re bleeding, huh? Didn’t think I hit you that hard.”

Hidden by the shadows just outside of the alleyway light, a woman begins to speak to the other woman bound by chains. From within the darkness, the only thing that’s even slightly visible is the bright crimson of the woman’s eyes; her figure, skin tone, or clothing she’s wearing is completely shrouded like she’s wearing a cloak. Her word are clear and blunt, but seems misleading when spoken in the mischievous, naturally seductive tone, “Maybe I made you pass out?”

Weak and filled with despair, the chained woman coughs again before trying to speak in a raspy voice, “Please… Just let me go…”

The woman in the shadows grows delighted and claps her hands, “Oh, you’re still conscious! Sweet, I can have a little bit more fun with you before you kick the bucket. I almost got worried for a second that you would have died too early. Can’t have that happening just yet, considering the fact that we’ve only just begun.”

In a last ditch effort to try and survive her ordeal, the woman endures the pain and raises her head, using the last bit of her strength to call out, “Please, somebody help me!”

The woman in the shadows let out a small sigh, feeling a mixture of annoyance and disappointment, “Really? What good would calling out for help do for you?”

“Please, somebody! Anybody! I need help, somebody’s trying to murder me!”

Piercing out from the edge of the shadows, a slender hand crept its way through the alleyway light. Barren of any lifelike flesh skin tones, the arm was free of any scars and blemishes. With long reaching fingers, violet painted nails overreached the fingers just a bit, perfectly filed and polished.

Lightly brushing the woman’s cheek, the woman in the shadows gives a simple request, “Would you kindly keep your mouth shut”

Ignoring the request in order to try and grab people’s attention, the woman’s pleas for help continue on, each scream being louder and louder. After reaching her vocal limits, her voices begins to crack and tears start trembling down from her eyes, but she pushes through and keeps screaming.

With her fingers gripped like a claw, the woman in the shadows digs her nails into the woman’s lips, forcing her mouth close and muffling the screams. The seductive voice quickly switches from excitement to demanding and her eyes narrow, making them grow darker, “Shut the fuck up. If you let out one more scream, I’ll end your life right now. And it won’t be painless either.” Driving her nails even deeper, they break the skin of the woman’s lips, letting blood to rise up and drip from each puncture spot.

With the new threat against her the woman lets her tears fall in silence. Even though different parts of her body are crying out with pain her voice is near gone, barely able to produce anything louder than a whisper. Her tears pour out like rain from the night sky, coming to terms that her life will end without hesitation if she should udder one more sound. She lets her head drop down and await whatever happens next.

With a grim smile that shows her edged, razor-like teeth, the woman in the shadows extends her other hand to gently caress the disheartened woman’s face, her palms warm despite her skin appearing dead and cold. “Thank you, sweetheart. I really hate it when people don’t listen to me when I ask them to do something. I thought for sure that you wo—”

• Original Works