Unsound Minds (Anthology)

A Brother's Piercing Pain

"Where is my sister?"

My loud voice resonated through out the void. The nobleman lingered his gaze on me before replying that she must have run away. He added, with another man.

"I know my sister well! You're her husband right? So, why can't you tell me her whereabouts?!" I asked, desperation vividly portrayed in my voice. Instead of answering my question, he excused himself from the dining table to his bedroom. Following his suit, I stood from my chair to enter my room, but something caught my eye.

A shiny key shone on the floor. My hands grabbed the key, but inspecting it, I realized that it was not a key that I was familiar with. In this mansion, there was only one room which I wasn't allowed to access. Curiosity got the better of me and pushed me to that room. Opening the squeaky door, the sight that beheld me left me rooted to the spot.

It was my sister. Her clothes tattered and hands chained to the wall.

Everything around me seemed to dissipate into oblivion. My quivering lips called out for her name. Trembling hands reached out to her face hidden between the dark, tangled locks of her face that covered most of her visage.

The icy coldness on her face as I touched her jerked me back a little. Her warmth that attracted everyone was no longer there. The rosy cheeks and lips she always had were replaced by a colour paler than a ghost. My heart beat slowly but loudly as I placed my ear against her heart.

No heart beat.

Blood drained from my face. The marks across her arms and legs displayed that she had been violently abused to death. My eyes darted to the cluster of equipment lying about. The array of different knives reflected the cold light from the moon. My steps were blocked by a leather bulk lying on the floor. Anger bursting through my veins pushed me to grab the whip and charge into that filthy nobleman's room.

"What did you do to my sister, you scum?!" I shouted, anger reverberating through my words. The nobleman calmly took a slow puff from his cigarette and flicked it away. Without uttering a word, he smiled maliciously and snapped his fingers thrice. As if the shadows were brought to life, men emerged from the dark surrounding me. All dressed in black, with a gun in hand pointing against me.

In contrast to the deafening silence. my whole body was suddenly swallowed in panic. I couldn't move. It felt as if the vines of fear had shot out from the floor and caught my leg, and for extra security my feet were stuck to the ground with thorns of terror. I found it hard to believe that this was happening to me. I refused to accept that my beloved sister was killed by her dearest person. Closing my eyes tightly, I pinched myself to wake up from this dreadful nightmare.

A shot screamed out from a gun and the splintering of wood and blossoming of pain told me that I had been clipped by a bullet. The throbbing pain in my arm reminded me that it was not a dream. My mind flew all over the place like a group of butterflies, trying to escape a child's nest. Drowsiness coiled inside me, whispering me to pass out onto the cold floor beneath me, but the sight of the torture my sister had gone through echoed in my mind. I knew that death was not the price; If it was, I couldn't care less, but I just knew that it was going to be something a lot more worse than a simple death.

I slapped my thighs to move forward. Attempting to run through the corridors, my mind ceased to flee and instead fell limp inside my head. My mind strengthened the resolve to hide myself away from the pursuers. I clambered up a banister, hidden in the shadows. Hearing the footsteps approaching closer, my heart lurched in absolute fear.

From behind, my mouth covered forcefully. Struggling against the strong grip clasping my wrists together, taken away from the mansion. The overwhelming strong grip was finally released. The anguish led to tears that softened my vision.

"It's me, Michealis," The voice behind me whispered gently.

I turned my face to him a once and heaved a loud sigh of relief. Michealis, my loyal butler, the person whom I trust the most other than my late sister. Panic finally let go of its long talons around my neck. Breathing became more slow, more deep.

I clung onto Michealis tightly holding his torso in my arms, tears streaming down my cheeks. The agony resounded through my wails. I took in a shuddering breath and my voice grew in strength. Narrating what just happened in a haste, Michealis patted my head softly, making me feel relaxed and better.

"I will help you, young master. You don't need to suffer any further," He whispered kindly into my ears. My lips parted to thank him but was interrupted by a gripping pain pierced trough my gut.

Clenching my teeth to withstand the pain, my hands rushed to cover the place where it hurts. Streams of red painted my pale hands. My hands froze in its shape and went as cold as ice.

"Whoops, sorry about that, young master," Michealis chuckled viciously. His eyes expressed no warmth in them. They were empty, merciless, and colder than ice. "Seems like I have missed," He continued. "I didn't mean to stab you."

I wanted to believe his convincing words but his eyes told me otherwise.

Something spread inside me like a blank ink staining a piece of paper--long, black arms reaching to every corner of my body, a disease sinking deep inside and multiplying itself. It felt as if my heart, though I could still feel its pounding noise echoing, failing to circulate the blood around.

Taking out the knife from my body, my mind drowned inside a whirlpool of piercing pain. He smiled at the knife and then at me.

"You know I won't hurt you," He reassured me.

The piercing pain stabbed through me again, but this time it was through my chest. He laughed menacingly into my ears with words I would distinctly remember if I could breathe again.

"Just kidding."