No Escape [🥈]

INTRODUCTION:~~~~

I'm sorry. That's all I have to say. I've never felt so guilty before. I blame the event.

This is also my entry for this month's #AWICWriting prompt. We had to pick an Aethetic and I decided on Gorecore.

Word Count:- 2,342

Time Taken:- 2 days

Characters:- Monika Kaniyashiki (Vigilantes), Minor/Mentioned Koichi Haimawari & Pop-Step (Vigilantes), Unnamed OC.

You'll still understand the story even if you don't know the characters. I explain everything.

Trigger Warnings- Drugging, Torture, Gore, Death.

Please heed the warnings, it may not be too explicit but if there is even a slight chance this makes you uncomfortable please do not read.

Synopsis- Monika finally has a week off from work and is looking forward to a relaxing week at Naruhata with her favourite vigilantes.

But, of course, nothing goes as planned and Monika finds herself in a bloodcurdling situation. Will she get out alive?

Tags:- #AWICAesthetic.

No Escape

Monika’s head lolled to the side. She let out a groan at the movement, the sore muscles protesting, only for it to immediately change into a strangled gasp when she felt the marred skin below her collarbone stretch. She shivered and whimpered at the spike of pain.

That seemed to be all she was doing of late.

Shivering. Whimpering. Crying. Screaming.

Begging for death.

Each cut of a knife into flesh, each lick of flame against her skin had her wishing for darkness to claim her. For someway for the pain to end.

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯? She thought for the umpteenth time, her breath leaving her chest in a low whine.

Why?

Why me?

Her mind seemed to love to torment her. That could be the only explanation as to why the same memory was playing on repeat in her mind. The last memory she had before she had found herself in the accursed room she was in now.

========

Monika had finally gotten a week off from her job after the last investigation she had been a part of. Summer this year had been extremely tiring with the incessant attacks and growth in the number of villains in Japan and she was glad to have some time to relax.

To take full advantage of her week she had decided to take a trip to Naruhata, where she would be able to meet up with the infamous vigilantes, The Crawler and Pop-Step.

No one would expect a police officer like her to become friends with a couple of vigilantes, people who were teetering on the edge of criminal and civilian, but she had met them during an undercover mission of hers and had been enthralled by the young pair. Their determination to help, the genuine smiles gracing their faces when they saved someone, their awkward and shy responses to praise had her chest filling with warmth and Monika had immediately wanted to get to know them more.

They’d kept in touch, Even after the pair had left for Naruhata, their hometown. She had soon began to think of them as the younger siblings she had never had.

Now, she was in her hotel room,waiting for the food she had ordered through room service. She flipped through channels on the TV mindlessly as she thought about her plans for the next day. The Crawler, who preferred to be called by his given name, Koichi, and Pop-Step had promised to take her around on a tour of Naruhata. They planned on showing her all the beautiful sites the city had to offer and how to thoroughly enjoy summer here.

A knock on the door jostled her from her thoughts and she hurried off the bed to open it. A man walked in with her food, taking it off a cart and setting it on her table. She stopped him when he was about to set a cookie and a drink beside the others and informed his that she hadn’t ordered it.

“I’m aware, ma’am. This is a complimentary offered by our hotel,” he said.

“Oh, okay then.” She smiled at him and thanked him as he left before digging into the warm meal.

You’d think a police officer like her, one that usually runs undercover missions, would be more cautious of what she puts in her mouth. Even with her paranoia causing her to check for poison she still managed to find herself ill.

The first signs she felt that something was wrong was the queasiness in her stomach. A flush spread through her body and she breathed heavily. It was just a few minutes after she had eaten. She had settled down to watch some TV before bed when she felt it.

Her stomach roiled painfully and she stumbled her way to the bathroom. Once there she fell to her knees in front of toilet and gagged. She was trembling and she felt the blood rush to her head. She shakily got to her feet when nothing came up, whether to get something to drink or call someone she hadn’t yet decided. And it didn’t matter when she swayed and fell to the ground.

Her head collided with the side of the tub and her consciousness gave out as darkness flooded her mind.

============

The door slowly opened and Monika tensed in fear. The blindfold blocking her sight prevented her from seeing the person who entered but she found herself following their footsteps with strained hearing.

She felt a hand touch her head and fingers bury into her hair. A small, pitiful whimper escaped her lips as her attention became entirely focused on that hand and what it did. Terror and anticipation coiled in her gut.

A soft voice chuckled behind her and she felt cool air brush against her ear, indicating that they had lowered their head to speak to her.

"I haven't even done anything yet and you're already crying?"

"Please don't..." Monika's voice rasped out into the silent room. Her throat was raw from screaming and each word hurt.

"Hmm? Please don't what?" The voice was no longer right behind her ear but rather coming from above her. the movement of fingers through her hair never let up.

"Don't hurt me anymore. I can't... I can't take it anymore. Please." Tears spilled from her eyes she slumped forward, slightly gasping as the movement caused the cuts on her back to throb. The fingers in her hair curled inwards and her head was harshly yanked back upright.

"I don't think so. There's still a lot more I can do before you truly break, dear." Their finger trailed from the top of her head before coming to rest on the celtic knots carved into her back.

Her hearing had also been taken from her when she'd gotten those wounds. Earplugs had blocked her hearing and the blindfold had blocked her sight, causing her to be hyper aware of each trail of her captor's hands, each cool touch of metal on her skin. Not knowing where the next strike would come from had caused just as much pain as the actual wounds.

Now, their nail dug into the barely healed cuts, tracing the shapes and reopening the wound. Her mouth fell open in a breathy cry of pain but they didn't stop, if anything, they dug their nail in deeper. Monika could feel the blood drip down her back as she shook and sobbed for her tormentor to stop.

When they finally stopped Monika was having trouble staying conscious, her vision was spotted and her breaths were sharp. Her back 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥.

Of course, it wasn’t actual fire. She would take this over the real blowtorch. She could still smell the burnt flesh of her leg and arm, the coarse material of the ropes tying her limbs to the chair she was seated on kept rubbing against the burns with each movement leaving her painfully aware of each and every harmed cell.

The voice behind her chuckled in amusement. “Such a lovely picture you make, Kaniyashiki-san.” Their fingers began to trail again. This time soft footsteps following as they came to stand in front of her. The cold touch came to a stop beneath her collarbone and fresh wave of tremors ran through Monika’s body.

“Your skin had barely any scars on it. Such pristine perfection; a beautifully blank canvas for me to decorate.” I felt their breath closer to my ear once again, “Tell me, Kaniyashiki-san, how many days have you been here?”

Their fingers ghosted above the marred flesh. Above the four lines that had been carved there with a burning knife. Each line marking one day she spent in the darkness in this room.

“F-four... Four days,” she whispered.

They hummed in approval. Then the chill of their touch and breath was gone and Monika heard them walk away. She knew better than to relax, she knew they would come back.

And she was right. The footsteps stopped a few feet away and Monika heard the unmistakable sound of metal dragging against metal. Just before Monika could beg to be let go again she heard the sound of the blowtorch coming to life.

Monika’s breath hitched and she desperately tried to get away, knowing full well that there’s nothing she could do. She was going to have to deal with the pain. There was no way out of it.

There was no escape.

The blowtorch sputtered out and the footsteps began again, now moving towards her. A hand came to rest on her shoulder, pushing back to force her to stay still. Her please fell on deaf ears.

“Fifth day today,” they said before she felt the searing metal cut into her flesh. The sound of flesh and blood sizzling filled the air along with her screams. The scent of burning flesh hit her nostrils and she was sure she would out from the pain.

The knife went diagonally across the other four lines, completing the tally.

Her screams quickly turned into sobs of agony and helplessness. The new wound hurt so much. Her entire body felt encomed by the pain from all over and she once again began wishing for death.

“There, there,” the voice she had come to hate and dread said condescendingly. “You did great, dear. You were such a good girl. In fact, I even have a surprise for you.”

She didn’t want any surprises. She just wanted to go home and leave all of this behind.

Suddenly she felt them yank the blindfold from her eyes. She immediately screwed her eyes shut against the sudden light,taking care to slowly open them, unused to the light after days in darkness.

Once her eyes adjusted she let herself survey the room. She quickly realized the room wasn’t too brightly lit;a single bulb hung from the ceiling right above her, its illumination barely reaching the corners of the room. In one of the corners, in the same direction of the door in front of her, she noticed a small table with a few glinting objects on it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that was where all of the stuff they used to torture her was kept.

Right beside the table was a sack,and picking it up was...

Monika took in the image of the woman who had hurt her so ruthlessly the past few days, who laughed at her screams and cooed and her bruises. She moved with the grace of a lioness pouncing on her prey, tightly coiled strength expertly hidden under elegant clothes. At first glance no one would think of this woman as a sadistic torturer. But then again, looks were always deceiving; Monika should know that as well as anyone.

She stepped into the light, lifting the sack before turning it upside down. Something hit the ground with a thud and it rolled towards Monika when the woman kicked it. It took Monika a few seconds to truly comprehend what she was seeing. When it finally clicked she inhaled sharply and leaned back in her chair, trying desperately to get away from it. Her mouth opened and a shrill shriek pierced the silence of the room.

Her limbs shook as her attempted flailing was restricted by the ropes around them. None of her previous pain mattered anymore. Now all that was on her mind was the pair of eyes widened in terror staring up at her.

The decapitated head of Koichi Haimawari, The Crawler, had come to a stop at her feet, looking at her almost accusingly.

She almost didn’t notice the woman laughing as she walked towards her bound captive and kick the head of the young boy out of the way. Her hands harshly grabbed Monika’s face, muffling her wails until there were just choked puffs of breath leaving her throat.

“Now, now, don’t scream unnecessarily. You’ll ruin the throat that made such pretty sounds for me.”

Monika’s eyes scanned the other’s face. She tried to come up with something to say, some way to yell at the other woman for killing the child who had done nothing wrong but she couldn’t force any words out of her sore throat because she knew, deep down that it was her fault that Koichi was no longer.

As if reading her mind, the woman spoke, “You realize what happened, don’t you?” Her long fingers wiped the tears streaming down Monika’s face almost lovingly. “Don’t worry, dear. There’s nothing you could have done. You were bound to crack under the pressure. You went so long but in the end you still ended up answering my questions for me like everyone eventually does.

“If it makes you feel any better,you did hold on for longer than anyone else who had been left under my care. Well,until the truth serum came into play.”

It didn’t make her feel better. What was the point of holding out for so long if in the end she still ended up betraying her friends? Guilt clenched at her heart, squeezing it painfully as if attempting to stop it from beating. Attempting to snuff out her life. She wouldn’t have fought against it, she knew she deserved it.

“It’s all okay now. You won’t have to suffer any longer. We got what we needed from you and now my boss asked me to dispose of you.” The woman frowned, as if something about the order had displeased her. “Which is such a shame. I would have liked to play with you a little longer. But alas, all good things must come to an end.”

The hand that had been caressing Monika’s face left and the other hand which was grasping her face tilted her head to the side. The woman’s startling silver eyes stared into Monika’s dark brown ones when she felt a prick against her neck and a cool liquid was injected into her veins.

Monika didn’t fight against the darkness that embraced her and dragged her into a blissful nothing.

THE END

A/N- AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I feel so bad, like, ahhhhh!

I'm not new to hurting my characters, but this was kinda extreme. Well at least it was good practice cause I'm very likely going to do that again.

Don't judge me.

Anyway, It's up to you how you want to see it end. If you want to think she died, cool, go ahead. She actually didn't and I'll be writing a part two, the aftermath, very soon, so if you want to read that, stick around.

Edit- The sequel is up if you're interested.

Scissors to Slice

Thank you for reading. Have a lovely day!