A/N: I'm really anxious about this chapter to be honest, since I don't really know if I got the personalities right -_-;; so don't be shy to point out any problems with them and I'll make sure to look into them and fix them :p Also, extremely sorry for the big delay and I hope you'll like the chapter! Stay awesome!
There was a strange feeling of déjà vu flooding your veins as you flew through the forest.
Not even for a single second did you dare to spare a moment and look at what was happening behind you; the sound of crunching leaves, swears and yells was loud enough to alert you both of their closeness and the severity of the situation. All three were fast behind you, flying through the forest in hot pursuit like the predators hunting down the only meal they had seen in days. Their motives were as clear as the freaking bloody sun; get caught and you are dead, worm food, poof! And if that's not an enough motive to have you running like your ass is on fire, honestly I don't know what else is. Panting hard, chest screaming at you with pain, feet paying no mind to the rough terrain and brain only focusing on the possible ways out of this hellish situation; trying to recollect whatever data you had read at any point about the area, because now was the time to use whatever the fuck you knew and even the stuff you didn't know.
It wasn't easy running. They were too close behind for you to get the chance of hiding for a bit and figuring things out or taking a small break in this GTA chase, so you make a beeline towards what you hoped was the right way out, jumping over fallen trees, sliding the small slopes and generally never stopping. Honestly, you didn't know for how long you could do this, but the complete lack of any projectiles against you and the velocity with which you ran gave you the advantage. Men were generally stronger and high on stamina levels, but women were more agile and neurotic, giving the advantage of a quick escape. So you take your chances and try to tire them out the best you can while running like hell: choosing the most difficult path through the solid maze created by the trees, venturing through thick bushes and branches, having them tear at your arms and legs excruciatingly but earning just a few painful swears every now and then. Alas, these little fuckers don't seem to get tired at all! Seriously, they need to rest aside all the Monster and Red Bull because it's freaking impossible to lose them even after so long! Their pace doesn't falter and they don't seem to tire down so easily, eventually always keeping close to you. Too close for comfort while your energy is rapidly decreasing and your panic rising with desperation.
This only leaves you with very few other options, many of which you don't know how to pull off entirely.
And to be honest with yourself, you have to get a small break and fast, or else there'll be no chance of escape if you pass out from lack of oxygen. Lungs have long ago seized to inhale and dark spots have started to appear in your field of vision. Fuck you dude!
Miraculously, your ears pick up the very distant sound of water running and your brain immediately flashes the information you need before your eyes: Potosi is surrounded by a national park which is run through by various rivers where people go kayaking. This could mean a possible way out if you managed to reach some of them and jump over to the other side; or at least you hoped so because next plan would be falling to your doom from very high altitude which didn't seem too appealing right about now. Even better would be for someone to freaking pass by them or be generally in the vicinity enough to see you running like Road Runner! Drawing attention and getting a bit of distance between you all seems like the plan to go for now, so you take a sharp turn to the right and run towards the spot where the trees started to clear up a bit with everything you have. The mocking sun is illuminating the way grandly above you as you dart through clearings and follow the increasing sound of water as if it was your only line with keeping your life. Still moist, the ground gives away under you and unceremoniously you are thrown onto the mud, scraping your palms and knees which immediately begin to bleed; your brain panics and you frantically look back to see where the others are only to see Goggles jump through the foliage, dashing towards you as menacingly as a Michael Myers-wannabe can get.
His goggles flash in the bright light and a horrified scream leaves your lips as you once again find your legs and keep running, ignoring the blinding pain resonating like a rough shake through your legs. Threatening to throw you off balance; lowering your chances to survive. Adrenaline is coursing freely through your veins, energizing every inch of your body and pushing it harshly to do the absolute best it can do to keep you alive. Long ago has it burnt through the sedatives and by the pounding heartbeat threatening to break your chest apart, it's safe to say your body is in sync with your mind.
So when you catapult yourself out of the woods and onto the bereft terrain of the sharp rocks, your eyes try to frantically find an escape route as you run along the sharp edge. There is a sizeable ravine on your left, torn apart by the river flowing on the very bottom of it, leading towards the horizon and dividing the two sides with a considerable length; it's not too far to be impossible to jump over, but it's enough to pose serious threat.
'Nowhere to run now gorgeous~!' a sing-song voice interrupts your thoughts and for the first time, your head snaps back to see Goggles still on your track but this time, he raises his hand and salutes you quickly, an aura of cockiness and malice coming off from him like waves hitting the shore. Behind him, Mask has just come out of the woods.
Turning right ahead again, you notice that the ravine is starting to end in the far distance.
You've got to do something now!
'FUCK YOU, WRONG TURN FREAK!!!'
Clenching your jaw with all your might, you turn sharply to the left and dash towards the end of the rocks. Without sparing even a single thought, you-
JUMP!
Peeing your pants, I repeat, you are currently peeing your pants because the solid and safe ground comes to an end and is replaced by the hazardous and wide gap of the ravine as your body ejects with all the power and velocity your run had given you towards the other side. And you are positively scared shitless as your brain farts and you dare to look down to the void prevailing underneath you; it's a hellishly long dive and the rocks are sharp and ready for you to crash on them like an egg and suddenly, this is the dumbest idea you even had in your entire life. Maybe you are crazy; no scratch that, you are definitely crazy beyond any level and if you survive this, you'll admit yourself into a mental institution. Oh boy!
Needless to say the screaming air combines with the pounding in your ears to cut off any other sounds, as your brain entirely freezes and time seems to stop for a single heartbeat; letting you hang in the air, other side of the ravine coming towards you rapidly and heart mysteriously feeling elevated and weightless as if you are but a feather that opposes gravity. Your inhale resonates in your ears and you can clearly see your h/l locks defying gravity and levitate around you like a waterfall, hands suspended in the air and feet still walking onto non-existent ground, bringing you closer and closer to the other side. You are reaching it! You are actually reaching it! This is it! You are safe, everything's gonna be fine, you'll escape these assholes and be gone from this nightmare. Honestly, this time you're going to move to Antarctica and nobody's gonna find you there. Oh, how pretty is the scenery, how pretty is nature as your body reaches the other side and with a fluid motion, your feet touch solid ground in an impact that shakes you violently and forces your knees to give out a little from the sheer force.
Inhale.
You're actually standing on the very edge of the cliff on the other side.
Exhale.
Sure you're a few inches away from the edge but you made it! Oh, your poor heart is beating so fast!
Inhale.
You are safe. You've made it! Maximum effort for the win!
Cracking.
A cracking sound reverberates in the solid silence of your mind and a line forms just a few inches away from your legs on the rock you are standing upon.
One breath.
Ground shakes under your feet and your joy is short-lived as your stomach jumps on your throat.
Two breaths.
The cracks spread rapidly towards you and all you can do is stare at them in complete horror as your brain shuts down and the adrenaline traps you in place, unable to do nothing but stare in horror as the ground comes apart underneath you.
'Oh fuck no.' is all you hear yourself say.
Silence.
The sound of the ground rumbling and breaking mixes almost perfectly with your piercing scream since one second you are standing on the edge and the very next the ground gives way and you're falling over the void; instinctively, your hands eject themselves towards every possible direction, trying to grab onto something as the falling sensation is once again flooding you and the scenery begins to disappear since the cliff is swallowing you down. Desperate; your heart is about to burst and your hands claw on the rough cliff, wounding themselves and failing to save you.
For a moment, your brain completely blacks out and you watch yourself from afar as you fall to your death in slow motion. There is nothing you can do. Your body is trying but the cliff is smooth and there is nothing to grab a hold of....
Until you actually do.
There's a root protruding from the cracks of the cliff; just a thick root of a nearby tree that actually reached to spread over the cliff in search of even more ground or water, creating a small hoop as it passes on a nearby crevice. Without spending not even a single second, your hands grab a hold of it instinctively and the fall is stopped harshly; pain laces your hands immediately as they do their best to hold your whole weight up, but your grip is steady and the root doesn't give out from the extra weight. Relief. If you survive this you're betting on the freaking lottery. Your feet are hanging over the void, but you are safe for now and you'll think of something to get out of here. Carefully, you look down towards the river coursing through the rocks and surprisingly, it's not too steep but the distance is nauseating to say the least. Squealing, you turn your gaze back up, trying to find a way to climb to safety. Only to see two shadows flashing over the edge of the cliff.
'Lookie–look over here~!' a merry voice draws your attention 'Princess g-g-got her panties into a t-twist!'
There's no question about who the fuck is mocking you in such way, so it comes as no surprise when you raise your head to see Goggles crouching on the edge of the rocks looking down on you –or at least you guessed so since his eyes were still covered by those damn goggles–, old hatchet on one hand and lazily resting it on his shoulder; grin obvious in his voice, the sadistic freak didn't even seem fazed by the long chase you previously had, fucking with you like you weren't dangling above the void and he wasn't a psychopath on a killing spree. Glaring at him, you grace him with no response, and on the contrary you try to adjust your grip to the root the best you can so it's easier to hold your weight up.
He tilts his head to the side watching you closely 'What? No s–speaking lines for you~?' he taunts, earning another silent glare.
'Lemme help with that then~!' he casually sighs and pulls his old, rusty hatchet, draining the rest of whatever color you had in your face 'This little p–piggy went to the market!'
Silver flashes and the hatchet nails itself a few mere inches beside your pinky finger, causing you to scream and the root to shake violently downwards. You're lucky you didn't instinctively let go due to your fright. Goggles laughs maniacally and raises the damned weapon once again, grabbing it with both gloved hands and ejects it against you once again, managing a strong blow on the root; horrified, you notice the root begins to cut.
Before you had the chance to do anything though, Goggle's head is smacked fair and square in the jaw; it snaps back, making an awful cracking sound, before Mask appears right beside him on the edge with his hands on his sides and aura of malice focused on the Goggled man. When he speaks, it's like he's reprimanding a small rascal child.
'We've got no time for your games Toby!' he angrily spits out 'Pull her up; she's useless if she's dead!'
A dark chuckle erupts from Goggles as he straightens up again, pulling his chest forward like some possessed dolls do in thrillers 'Maskyyyyyyyyyy, my grandma h– hits harder and she's fucking dead! Wanna r e a l l y go?'
'Focus. Now!' you can practically hear the eye-roll of the masked one 'Get her out of there and be done with it.' he demands.
'Does lover-boy wanna go home?' Goggles crudely snaps 'Alrighty then~! I'll shove her into your van then!'
'Master is waiting and we better be back before dark, you asshole.' Growls the masked one.
'Oh I forgot~! You're getting your cookie tonight right? C-c–careful or it'll turn into a kink~!' another cruel chuckle.
Honestly, you couldn't understand what the absolute fuck they were saying even if you tried, but Goggles once again sheathed his hatchet and leaned towards you as calm as a cucumber before throwing a gloved hand in your direction, trying to reach you; still a few inches away, you'd have to let go and stretch towards him to reach him out but did you really want to grab it? What were your options? Could you look through curtain number 3? Maybe ask the viewers for help?
He shakes his hand impatiently 'Wakey, wakey gorgeous! Take the fucking hand before I chop yours and shove it up your pretty ass.'
Your mouth runs faster than your brain 'It takes balls to do that and I don't see any in you Barbie girl.' Why brain, whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
Obviously surprised, he leans back just a bit and tilts his head to the side 'C'mon over and I-I'll give you a close look. Then you decide gorgeous.' He sounds amused? Derangely amused...
What the fuck are you doing, who on their right mind taunts a murderer?!
'I'll rather hang here than waste my time with miniscule things.' Your hands are starting to slip and in response, the man leans even further down, fingers almost brushing over your own.
'Gimme your damn hand before I fucking slaughter you.' he spits in your face derangely, patience running thin and hand almost getting you.
This is the time your brain decides to fart for a second time.
A Cheshire grin forms in your face and you stare right into his eyes daringly.
'Catch me if you can.'
He's mere inches away, his hand the only way for your salvation from the cliff and deliverance to their cruel hands; it is right then when your brain realizes you have nothing else to lose in this situation. You've already been driven out of your own house, believed crazy by most of the town and your own family and just witnessed your psychologist being cut open right in front of your eyes, so really it comes down into a single question: what else do you have to lose? Maybe your life, but oh well, it's so dark already you might as well be from the DC universe. Still, only over your dead body will you willingly fall on their hands for whatever reason they want to get you. Realization strikes you and fear washes over you like the warm water dripping down from your every pore and limb, cleansing you completely from any emotion whatsoever and releasing your soul to shine without a single worry; bashfully you stare straight into the man's goggles and almost giggle your defiance as you realize you are no longer afraid of anything. Numbness is all you know and you pridefully grab the reigns of your own fate.
Surprise penetrates the man, you know it by the small movement backwards he does before launching forward to catch you as you grin and release your grip on the root.
Time slows and stops entirely.
Howling, the wind envelops you the second the elevating emotion surrounds your heart and drowns her completely; the steep rocks and the root distance themselves from you rapidly and the men move sharply but their voices and movements cannot reach you anymore as you plunge towards the river underneath you with nothing to stop your downfall. You feel so light right in this moment, so happy that you managed to outsmart them, so who really cares if you cannot survive the fall, at least you'll be gone under your own conditions. The nightmare will have ended and you'll once again be free. No more fear, no more pain, no more second guessing and hesitating. Your life is your own and you'll do whatever the fuck you want with it. Your cracked skull pounds with pain as your heartbeat accelerates and your body instinctively tries to adjust itself and brace for the collision. Your eyes look down and it all seems like the ground is coming towards you rapidly and not the other way around; the water seems as blue as the sky on a shiny day and there are no shadows lurking within; which only means no rocks to crash upon.
Breath is caught in your lungs.
Feet come in hard contact with the surface of the water.
It is as if a million needles are pinching straight into your heart from every inch of your entire body; eyes closing, you are enveloped by the piercingly cold darkness as you sink into the waters with sheer force, limbs pulled as close to your body as you could and brain desperately trying to assess the situation and keep you alive. It's so hellishly cold! Your breath is frozen inside your lungs and it feels like someone is pressing down on your chest to extract your heart; yet the cold only numbs the pain in your head, cooling down your heart and your blood with a harsh shock. You don't even dare open your eyes and see what is happening around you, in fear of utterly freaking out.
A thought flashes into your mind, reminding you that sweet water doesn't allow any buoyancy, so with desperate movements you start swimming upwards the best you can. If you don't, you'll drown and you'll be damned to survive a freefall and die from something as simple as that. Thankfully, the surface is not too far away and the moment you are out of the water, your eyes open wide and you inhale the all-too-needed air in huge gulps in order to get your body used to the extreme temperature; looking around, you can see nothing but tall rocks and the straight ahead way you're currently being dragged towards. There are no waterfalls –thankfully for you– and the river is relatively calm enough to allow you to swim easily. Up ahead, the river passes a clearing where the rocks end and the vast meadow expands, so with careful movements, you try to reach your right side and get off the water.
'I made it! Holy fuck... yolo bitches...' you murmur more to yourself than to anyone else 'Where are those fuckers?'
Looking around, you can't see either Goggles or Mask and honestly, it feels exactly like when you lose a cockroach inside the house: worries you more than relieves you. Still, first things first, you have to get out of the water and find a shelter. It's too early still and you can walk to the town before nightfall, but the risk of hypothermia is still high. Yet you can't feel your head pounding down on your brain anymore so that's surely a win right there.
'Jesus Christ superstar, it's freaking freeeezing out here!' you shiver violently when your feet finally find solid ground and you pull yourself out of the water, walking with a bit of difficulty towards the river bank 'If those freaks jump on me, I'm dying shitless right here, right now...' you murmur as you wrap your hands around yourself and glare at the rich flora all around you like those deranged psychopaths are about to jump up from behind them. Everything is eerily quiet, save for the sound of the running river and your ragged breathing, so your paranoia is right to skyrocket.
Carefully, you try to reduce the sound you are making; holding still, you gaze carefully up towards the rocks and around the rich and tall trees right in front of you. Trying to catch a glimpse or a sound, any indication really that these men were still lurking about; honestly, you were sure they were somewhere close, but you had managed to pass back on the first side of the cliff and even if they were sneaking up on you, no one was utterly stealthy in a forest. You'd hear them eventually.
Yet nothing reaches your ears and after a few more moments, you sigh.
'Alrighty then, let's Bear Grylls my way out of here...' you blink and set your jaw closed, preventing your teeth from clattering as you start walking through the forest and back towards civilization.
Eerily, the forest remains too bereft of any sounds. There are no birds chirping, no small animals running around and even the sound of the wind coursing through the rich foliage is nowhere to be found; the hair in the back of your neck stands up in response and paranoid, you shift your gaze towards any possible direction in order to make sure nothing was jumping on you.
'No more forests for me after this is done....' You breathe out under your breath.
Hair and clothes cling tightly against your skin and the low temperature is dropping your own in an alarming rate, making the small trail you are following difficult to focus upon. Desperate for some warmth, you rub your arms fervently to get some heat on your skin. Your steps are steady and the more you wander around the woods, the more the trail towards salvation is evident right before you. With a little bit of luck, you'll be safe in no time. With a little bit of luck, you are walking away more and more from the dangers lurking behind you. You'll be gone before the next day comes and you won't be coming back. Falling off the face of the earth seems like the right thing to do, because these psychopaths evidently go to great lengths to get you and who's to say your family won't be targeted next? Hell, you don't even know why you are targeted in the first place because if their words are anything to go by, they don't want you too dead...
Then what?
Sighing once again, you round a small corner.
Leaves and twigs snapping sound from your left and your head snaps towards the sound.
Only to see two things.
Hood is right beside you.
A silver flash erupts in the dim light.
Everything goes black.
~ * ~
'Better keep our eyes open for anything strange around here..' a strange voice advices calmly, followed shortly after by a sharp scoff.
'Y-you mean something stranger than your fugly face?'
'This isn't the time to screw around Toby, until we know what's going on. Stick together. Keep quiet. End of discussion.' A third, emotionless and stern voice addresses the other two with an authoritative tone which demands the thick silence to befall among them.
Pain. All you can really feel as the thickness of the darkness surrounding you retreats just a bit, is the excruciating pain pounding through your head as if someone has drilled through it without any mercy, splitting it wide open for the whole world to see a brain from up close. It's so strong that the numbing darkness starts to evaporate like the calming morning mist which slips through your fingers, a velvety sheet slipping away slowly but steadily. As consciousness starts returning and the control over your body starts to increase, the pain is so strong that tears start forming in your closed eyes; it's really hard to focus both on what is happening around you and what happened before, since the last thing you remember is walking through the forest, trying to get away from the nightmare stalking your footsteps. Then blackness. Everything went black and memories eluded you, hiding behind a hazy veil.
Yet you are moving right as we speak.
Footsteps echo and you can feel the warm surface you are leaning on move, sturdy muscles shifting with each step, crunching leaves and twigs snapping under their heavy boots. Someone is carrying you and from the awkward position your body's in, it's like you're a potato bag. Memories chose that single moment to return to your mind like a tidal wave; under their heaviness, your breath's cut and pounding intensifies. The woods, Hood and the pipe swinging towards your head. It must have made your already cracked skull even worse and other than your tears, you're pretty sure you can feel another thick substance drip down from your head. Salt and rust.
This is bad...really, really bad.
Panic begins to rise inside your chest and you swallow hard.
'I'm freaking booooored! Entertain meeeeee~!'
Must be Goggles and his voice comes from right in front of you. Behind. Front. ANYWAY, he's right behind the man carrying you, who only grunts and sighs under his breath, mumbling something you can't quite catch.
'Shut up Toby. How about carrying her for a bit?' he sounds eerily familiar, but you can't wrap your mind around it just yet.
'N-nice try asshole, but I'm not dumb. You carry her corpse.' The man named Toby says and Mask 'tsk's.
'You're not what now?' he throws at him sarcastically 'Didn't you drink from a puddle last week?'
'W-w-was fucking thirsty and you dared me. Least got the balls to do it.' he argues back 'Can't decide if Master w-wants to give us a new toy or he's fucking with us.' There's a horrible cracking sound and a relieved sigh from his spot.
From your spot, you're a step away from flipping your shit. Correction. You are flipping out on mute; tears are freely running from your eyes and towards your hairline, and it takes everything you got in you not to sob in fear of alerting Mask that you're awake. Sanity draining more and more with each step the man takes, there's nothing more horrifying than the feeling of complete helplessness in the face of extreme danger. These fuckers got you for good and in the state you're in right now, chances of survival are decreasing rapidly and death seems to come knocking on your door. Why is this happening to you?!
'Master surely doesn't give a damn about our entertainment. She's here to help us in some way... Or at least that's what I guess Sleepers are for.' Mask observes tiredly and swifts your weight around a little bit, trying to get himself more comfortable with your position on his shoulder. He's still picking you up like you weighted nothing, never falling back or disturbing his pace.
'Sleepers are b-b-boring. Know absolute shit about anything and can break easily; c-c-can break her from day one~!' he derangely chuckles and a pair of eyes melts your back away, almost making you yelp.
'Yeah, deliver a body to Master and see what happens. I ain't saving your pathetic mess.' Mask throws back irritably, but he seems more tired with the other man's bullshit than anything else; probably wants to make the chatty man shut up. It's like every time Toby talks, Mask grows more and more tired.
Alrighty, so let's see what we've got here. Even if you're currently on the brick of an aneurism from your sheer terror, you don't fall behind on the information you are provided with; which honestly only makes matter worse. Apparently they are taking you to see someone, their leader, who maybe needs you for something? If they wanted you dead, you'd be already a goner by now so what is their purpose? Torture? Man-toy? Mess around with you until you break? Honestly, in the terrorized, scared shitless and cracked-opened-skull state you're in right now, it won't be too difficult. Things look waaaay too grim for you which only intensifies your horror so much, it feels like you are dying. You hope you do. Before you're taken to God knows where and in front of God knows who; you've noticed already that your hands and legs are bound by thick-ass ropes, so the plan of getting the hell out of Dodgeville the first chance you've got is hastily thrown out of the fucking window. Maybe if you managed to get a hold of a weapon? But even if you are awake for a while now, you're too scared to open your eyes in case you betrayed your alertness, so there's no way to really know where you are, how close to you they are, whatever shit is around to be used as a projectile against them...
Fuck your life dude.
'Still no sign of the Proxies on the southern s-s-side?' Toby asks.
There's a nod from Mask 'Nothing. Kate found no indication that anyone even lived there for quite some time. The disappearances seem to multiply more and more, that's why Master is adding on our numbers in such haste. I can't understand what on earth is going on.' he admits solemnly 'Should we be divided in such time though?'
This time it's the third emotionless and authoritative voice the one to answer him 'No, but Kate can handle herself just fine for a while. After we are done with the newcomer, we will meet her back in the house. Unless there are distractions.' There's a small pause 'We are almost at the field.'
'We'd probably wake her up.' Mask nods but Toby chuckles amusingly and the words that follow his chuckle freeze you to the core, making your heart drop and your eyes pop open in absolute fear.
'She's been awake for a wh-wh-while now. Little w-w-weasel been eavesdropping on us.'
Horror strikes you dumb and for a single second your mind cannot comprehend what the absolute hell is going on fast enough. How on earth did he know?
Alas, you are given zero time to react as the world blurs around you and there is a sharp motion that catapults you backwards and off the man's shoulder; a small yelp is all you manage to produce as surprise washes over you for a flash of a second before your back comes in hard contact with the merciless ground. There was no way to prevent yourself from the collision and the result is for your already damaged head to hit it hard, making the world disappear in a sheet of darkness for a few painstakingly long moments. Air is knocked forcefully out of your body. More murderously hot blood cascades the back of your neck and you cannot even hear your own painful screams due to the constant ringing in your ears, being left on the cold ground to writhe and gasp for the all too needed air. But you have to compose yourself! C'mon gurl you can do this, don't appear as vulnerable as you truly are in front of them. At least Deadpool your way into an early grave with just as much style!
Biting down hard on your lips, you try your best to focus; the salty taste of blood enters your mouth from biting down too hard, but you use the pain and alertness to blink fast, pushing the world back into place.
Only to find yourself flush on your back, with the men standing above you like vultures ready to descend on their prey. They appear just as menacing and dangerous as they probably truly are; their aura is dark, magnified even more by the deep shadows cascading upon the haunting forest and since their characteristics are hidden away from your sight, concealed behind masks and hoods, it's extremely unnerving to feel their glazes crawl all over your skin but staying hidden away from you. Their intentions are not good; for that you are by now absolutely convinced. Yet adrenaline courses through your veins once more and you shiver violently beneath them. Blinking a bit more, you swallow down the bile and fear rising in your neck. It's the first time you're that close to them and honestly, you may or may not be peeing yourself as their mask covered faces are fixated solely on you.
Nobody speaks for a while and it feels like a nightmare.
'Who... who are you?!' your voice sounds weaker than a whisper and mentally, you curse yourself for speaking without thinking once again. Visibly, you shiver.
Goggles tilts his head to the side, observing you closely 'A-a-a-nd she speaks. H-Hello gorgeous little princess.'
'Toby' Mask turns towards Goggles a single inch in warning, before folding his hands over his sturdy chest and stares back at you 'Gave us quite the trouble to finally get you _____ _______, reporter of Daily Prophet.' He admits with an inclination of his head 'Don't move too much; you've got a severe concussion.' His voice is extremely even, like reciting words he learnt by heart...
No shit Sherlock, you can practically feel your skull hanging open. The pain is excruciating, but screaming your lungs out will do you no good right now. Instead, you press your lips together and swallow hard, eyes flashing from one man to another. Which one was to pound on you first? 'You...you gave me the concussion asshole.' Another wince.
He chuckles and for a strange reason, a wild shiver travels down your spine like the ones you get when you witness something utterly forbidden... and not the good kind. 'Master wanted to see you. You didn't come quietly; we've been tailing you for quite some time now and you've proved.... resourceful...'
Grunting in pain, you try to swift a bit so that your weight didn't fall on your tied hands. The pain made the whole conversation too hard to focus upon and coupled with the severe blood loss, it was a miracle you are still conscious.
All of them watch you carefully, silently.
'Better say you drove me to mental breakdowns.' You throw at him and blink a few times to chase away the black spots littering your vision 'What do.... What do you want from me? I don't have any money and surely no power over the media...'
He nods 'Nothing of the sort. Our Master wants to see you. You've been summoned.' He simply shrugs, as calm as a cucumber.
Are these guys crazy or what?!
You raise an eyebrow in defiance 'And who might your Master be? Haven't heard any royalty's around here.' you challenge, earning another bone-chilling chuckle.
'Look around you and I'm sure you'll get the picture.' He says 'Plus you'll meet him soon enough. He's going to meet you here.' he nods towards the tall and dark trees.
'Tell the freaking king of Looney-bin, the Dark Ages are over. Nobody summons anyone anymore. So he can take his little nightmarish dogs and shove the summoning up his ass.' You spit shamelessly 'I've got nothing to give and surely, I don't take orders from psychos who chase around girls in the forests! So dark! Are you from the DC universe?'
You sarcastically mock him straight into his face and to your surprise, he remains still as calm as a cucumber. Once again nobody talks and you four are left there, with the three of them looking down on you in silence and you looking up at Mask with nothing but anger lacing your e/c orbs. If you dropped a pin right then and there, you're sure it would reverberate inside the forest like a gunshot. Eventually, Mask turns to his right.
'Toby.' He once again says, overly calmly and you can swear the goggles flash a dangerous orange.
He cocks his head to the side and takes a few steps towards you, ignoring the fact you try your best to scoot over and avoid him, coming to a stop right in front of the vulnerable you. Your eyes widen and dare not move from his face. Gulping hard, your heartbeat has moved to your ears.
He's too fast for you when he finally moves.
His foot comes in immensely hard contact with your unprotected stomach and you can actually feel his heavy boot sink inside the tender flesh. Whatever scream you were about to release is cut short as you find no air in you to actually get your voice out, left only with the excruciating pain to wash over you like you've just been hit by a truck. The next blow finds you in the ribs, which give out with a painful crack audible even to the deranged killer standing above you. Maniacal laughter fills your ears when you close your eyes and try your best to endure the scorching pain killing you from the inside out. Goggles laughs insanely, delivering hit after hit with no mercy whatsoever. Drawing blood from every surface able to give it and counting all the bones he's able to crack in half like twigs. Your screams never reach your ears and the gurgling sounds you produce as you cough up copious amounts of blood are nothing but mere images you see in a distant screen; while he laughs and laughs and laughs, drawing a sick pleasure out of hitting you like you were mere vermin under his feet, sparing you no mercy. Your nose is already broken. Left hand has been stepped upon and broken so much you can't possibly move it at all. Chest feels like it's being ripped open and you can't see too clearly with all the blood cascading your face; you know you are in pain, you know you are afraid as you watch him kick you with everything he has, but after what seemed like forever everything is a blur and pain is numbed. You must be dying.... Please, please, just die already.
When you finally stop reacting at all, he stops. Bending down, he grabs a fistful of your hair and pulls you violently up, bringing your face mere inches from his own.
'Next time remember your manners, gorgeous.'
No stuttering. No humor. Only haunting calmness.
Even if you wanted to answer him, there was no soul left within you to do so. Instead you are left there like a rag doll, until Mask and Goggles grab you respectively from your armpits and start dragging you over the edge of the forest and into a huge meadow. All you can actually do, is watch from afar as they pull you with no difficulty at all against a huge tree standing right in the middle of the clearing, with Hood producing a large rope they use to tightly tie you down to it; they talk among themselves for a bit before finally leaving towards the forest on your right, leaving you all alone inside the tall weeds.
You have no power to even keep your head up. Instead, you have leaned as forward as the rope enables you to, gazing straight ahead of you but not really being there. This part of the forest was extremely different than the forest you've last found yourself into, running away from those lunatics: the tall trees seem to have lost all of their vivid colors and instead acquiring dull, blackish and whitish colors that make them appear as if it's really the case; it doesn't help that their massive height enables the shadows to lurk around the tree trunks like a thick mist, creating a haunting scenery that most definitely will give you nightmares. If you survive that is. Above you, the vast sky is thickly covered by the grey clouds, without any ray of sunlight piercing through to reach the harsh ground. Everything is cold and the wind blowing through the ashen grass surrounding you chills your very soul. Honestly, you didn't know if the lack of colors was due to your rapidly deteriorating eyesight which collapsed into spots of black and grey edging on the sidelines of your vision and steadily progressing to swallow your sight whole or if it was indeed the case of actually being black and white. The pounding in your ears had miraculously stopped and only silence prevailed.
Time seemed to slow down and eventually stop all around you.
There was no way to actually understand if seconds, minutes or even hours passed, since nothing seemed to change on the scenery around you. After so much torture in the hands of those lunatics, your body had started to feel cold and numb in various places, while dizziness settled in your mind. Blood still dripped down from every wound, aiding the fatigue to throw you into a lethargic state; it was so easy right now to fall asleep, just close your eyes and sink yourself into the tempting numbness of sleep that seemed to have a certain finality in your deteriorated state. Yet your eyes still remained fixated in the front, looking but not really seeing and your heart pounded steadily and calmly inside your almost mauled chest. Cold. You were so cold. Maybe they did leave you here to die. It would be easier for you actually, since what kind of Master meets his subordinates in the middle of the woods. Soon enough, darkness would descend upon you and with it, all the dangerous creatures lurking inside a forest at night. If you were lucky, you'd die before that happened, but in all honesty, these ropes were so tightly tied around you that it was impossible to even shift just a mere inch in case you miraculously stayed alive.
So you keep breathing and looking right in front of you. Waiting for something to change. Waiting for your inevitable end slowly crawling its way towards you.
As if that wasn't enough, there's a faint pressing against your lungs. Weakly, you cough and notice there's a bit more blood running down from your nose. Strange. How much blood do you actually have in you before you completely drain out? Another cough and a small crackling sound erupt in your ears. Well, you guessed this was only natural by now, alas the more you cough, the more the crackling sound begins to intensify. It's as if you're listening to a broken radio and to say it's started to get annoying would be the understatement of the century.
That is, until a violent coughing fit erupts from your chest. It begins to get difficult to breathe and as you cough, you can see small specks of blood catapulting into the air at the same time that a rusty taste floods your mouth; you're coughing up blood! Oh God. And the crackling still picks up in pace, ringing painfully in your ears and joining in with the pain your violent coughing is giving you. Exhaustion is more than eminent now and aches and pains erupt throughout your body, totally different from your wounds in a strange way. A feeling of déjà vu pricks your foggy mind and instinctively, you focus right ahead once again.
Only for your eyes to open wide with surprise. Breath is cut and if you could, you'd scream.
Someone is coming towards you.
No.
Not someone. Something.
It is tall, easily reaching 3 or 4 meters high and if you hadn't seen it take a single step towards you, you'd easily ignore it like another strange branch. Only that it wasn't. It was tall and extremely thin, with what appeared to be prolonged limbs dangling towards the ground in a serene way with each step it took towards you. Dressed in a black and white tuxedo, it seemed to drag the darkness of the forest along with it, hauntingly stalking the shadows. Yet the most horrific characteristic it had was the complete lack of any facial features. Struggling to understand exactly what you are seeing, your brain is confused. Alas there's no mistaking it; its face was nothing but a blank white face. The crackling and ringing sound is deafening right about now and if you could, you'd long ago be screaming out but the only thing that comes out of you is choking, gurgling sounds as blood fills your mouth and you struggle to breathe.
The creature advances towards you and it seems like its non-existent face is fixated upon you, never straying, never failing to push you to the edge of all sanity and slowly but steadily push you over the edge. What on earth is happening? What kind of creature is this? Wha-!
He enters the vast meadow with fluid motions forcing all of your thoughts to an abrupt stop, walking over to you and making you more and more aware of its towering height. Along with it drags what appears to be long black tendrils lazily moving in the soft breeze, being six or seven in number; in the back of your mind, you can still feel your thoughts form and you are vaguely aware that you think you've seen enough hentai to know where this is going... Its presence is making every sense you have pound excruciatingly, vision snapping like an old TV and ears constantly listening to this sibilant sound threatening to liquefy your brain. Before you know it, you're convulsing violently and the tall creature is standing right before you, observing you closely.
It is too late when you see one of the tendrils move towards you, slithering in the air and reaching down to wrap around your left hand, the moment it comes in contact with your scorching skin, words fill the crackling and pounding and it's as if it is speaking to you. Tears run freely from your eyes and the blood loss is getting more and more severe by the second. Rapidly killing you. With you unable to do anything else but listen in to the weirdness of the crackling that translates into words. Until a burning sensation engulfs your wrist and now you are screaming straight into the creatures leaned down face; it's so close to you and you're screaming so hard you can feel your vocal cords almost snapping.
Words still flow inside your brain.
Black spots fill your vision and you pass out before you have the chance to understand what's happening.
When you are woken up, the three men are untying your restrains and the moon is shining brightly above the dark forest.
The creature is nowhere to be seen along with the pain it brought.
Relieved, you embrace numbness once again.