Page 66 of Massacre
My eyes widened in fear as a memory rushed forward.
I bit my tongue as the whip slashed across my back. I’d lost count a long time ago, and it was all I could do to not give into the pain. Because I knew if I did, he would beat me more.
He grabbed my hair and yanked hard, causing me to cry out.
“You are not counting, pet,” he sneered as he licked the side of my face. “Now, I’m going to have to start all over.”
Slamming my head toward the wall, I grunted as I felt blood trickle out of my nose.
“Now be a good little pet and let’s start at one.”
“Where did you go, little pet?” He smiled, as he grabbed my face. “It looked like you were having fun. Feel like sharing?”
The men behind him chuckled.
“Please,” I whispered as tears pooled in my eyes. “I’m sorry I bothered you. Just let me go. I want to go home. Please. I won’t say a word. I promise.”
Morpheus grinned as he leaned down until he could clearly look me in the eyes and said, “You are home.”
The mountain of a man hauled me back into the clubhouse, and I felt my stomach drop as the door closed, sealing me back in with these monsters. My eyes darted around, searching for another escape, but there was none.
I was trapped.
“Please,” I begged, my voice shaking. “I didn’t mean to go anywhere. I just... I panicked.”
The man, Morpheus, grinned, his eyes cold and cruel. “Did you, pet? And here I thought you were trying to run from us. But you know you can’t escape. You’re exactly where you belong.”
I tried to shrink back, but his grip on my arms tightened. “Massacre will be here soon. He’ll vouch for me. He’ll tell you I’m not your enemy.”
Morpheus laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that sent shivers down my spine. “Massacre? Oh, pet, Massacre is not coming for you. He’s not coming for anyone ever again.”
Desperation coursed through me. “What have you done to him?” I demanded, my fear giving way to anger. “Where is he?”
Morpheus’ eyes glittered with malicious glee. “He’s dead.”
“No!” I screamed, my voice echoing off the walls. “You’re lying! He isn’t dead!”
It wasn’t true.
I refused to believe it.
He wasn’t dead. Not Massacre.
A cold numbness spread through my limbs, the horror settling in, heavier than dread. My mind reeled, refusing to accept what Morpheus had declared, but his expression held only the certainty of a hammer striking steel.
Morpheus’ only response was a laugh as he dragged me further into the darkness. The men behind him jeered, their faces blurring in the haze of my panic. Hands propelled me forward—no warmth, only force and the bite of calloused fingers. I tried to twist away, to plead again, but my words tangled in my throat, choking me. The dark corridor swallowed us, each step pounding out the rhythm of defeat.
As we moved deeper into the building, the air thickened, soured by sweat, old smoke, and something fouler beneath. Morpheus’ hand never loosened. The laughter faded, replaced by the steady, dreadful pulse of approaching consequence. Shadows flickered across my vision, distorting the walls, making monsters of the men who watched with hungry eyes.
My legs buckled as Morpheus shoved me forward, his grip unrelenting—a predator parading his captive. Each footstep echoed in the suffocating silence, broken only by the occasional snicker or murmur from the shadows that lined the hall.
We passed through a corridor, lit by dim, flickering bulbs that cast grotesque shadows against graffiti-scrawled walls. A heavy door loomed ahead, reinforced with iron bands and painted with a crude skull. Morpheus paused, his thumb tracing lazy circles over the pulse in my wrist, as if savoring my panic.
My heart thundered as the door groaned open on ancient hinges, revealing a narrow chamber inside—a cell, perhaps, or a den. Fluorescent light spilled in sickly veins across the cracked tiles. Morpheus shoved me inside, and I stumbled, barely catching myself before I fell. All around, the air pressed in, dense with a smell like rust and old, dried blood.
He leaned in close, his breath hot against my ear. “You’re going to wait here, pet,” he whispered, the word a razor blade. “Let’s see how much Daddy dearest cares for you.”
With that, he slammed the door shut, sealing me inside.
