Gold Rush 4

In the halls 2 mysteries figures crept.

In the deep silence of the night it was uncommon to see that nobody slept.

The wriggled past any guards with ease.

Like the craftiest of foxes they moved like thieves.

Davie and Will silently crept around the house. They passed a number or beautiful men and women all wearing similar or the same uniform as Carlos. This confirmed their suspicions.

Davie would use his superior vision and reflexes to dodge behind objects for cover and would only move when he was certain that he could go by undetected.

Will however went for a more creative approach. Any person he passed "coincidentally" looked away from the direction he was heading. Wether it be a coin falling from their pocket of a strange sound from behind a closed door they would all be distracted one by one as he tiptoed past them.

They both arrived at the edge of an empty corridor. They could hear muffled sounds coming from behind a black oak door.

Both Davie and Will felt chills as they stared at the door. They both could feel that this was the right place.

Will looked towards Davie and gave him a slight nod of approval. They both stepped towards the door and felt an ominous weight on their chest. As if something was warning them to stay back.

Will looked at his hands. They were sweaty and shaking. Looking over at Davie he could see that he was only slightly better than him. He was still able to keep his composure.

Will looked back down at his shaking hands and forcibly clenched his wrist. The shanking stopped and he looked forward once more.

He slightly pushed the door open. A thick miasma of rotting humans filled their nostrils. Due to their own life experiences they've smelled worse so they barely reacted and continued to shuffle forward.

In the distance the could hear distant cries. They looked at each other and continued to walk forward.

The reached a spiral that lead them deep underground.Dim torch lights etched the halls flickering in and out of existence casting shadows wherever they lit up.

As the inched around the room they passed cells and each one contained a human in different conditions.

The first cell they passed. It was a young man his head was completely shaved and his face was badly broken and bruised. Every few seconds from beyond his lips an inky golden fluid would drip.His upper and low body wasn't chained to the ground but his arms and legs were disjointed and tied up almost like a marionette. His hands faced the wrong direction and his feet lay limply on the floor at an inhuman angle.

Sensing the presence of someone he creaked his head upwards and by some miracle he waved at them before his head fell down and his body seemed to lose all life.

They shuddered but continued forward.

In the next cell there was a young woman. Her face was beautiful. Her eyes shined like crystal gems as she stared deeply at the two trespassers. Looking down at her body you could see that she had remained there for a while. She was bloody and covered in filth. The skin on her legs was cracking due to a lack of moisture and her feet were cut badly.

She continued to stare at the two but her eyes lingered on Will. Letting out a surprised expression she began praying feverishly. Will and David decided not to stick around but Will did feel and odd premonition.

This weird trend continued on for a while. They did not know why they were kept in these unique conditions but they were very close to being able to distinguish the cause of the anguished cries at the edge of the corridor.

Every few seconds the cackles of a whip echoed on a surface. Ahhhhhhh! A deep bellow of pain followed. A deranged voice could be heard singing a song.

Oh Carlos your cries are mighty Divine

It almost makes me wanna give you a lifeline!

But your ugly now!Oh my your far from sublime!

*Whip*

Mmmm cry some more ,

make me feel loved like a little whore!

*Whip*

Whats wrong you ran outta breath?

Hmmm i wonder what I can do to you next?

Rip your nails from their roots or feed you skin off your palms as a soup?

I just cant decide!

Oh- Hmm would you look at the time....

I'll see you later it seems we have some uninvited guests.

I wonder what pain i can inflict on my new victim

I hope they can stand my Test!

Ciao

Davie and Will had watched as Dr Sombra whipped and abused the already mangled carlos.

His hair which was a muddy orange was now a gouey mixture of black and red. Parts of his skull and caved in and his previous injuries were just worsened by whatever torture the Dr. Had put him through. His chiseled abs were now ripped open exposing some of his intensities and digestive track. Parts of his ribs were exposed and you could see them rise and fall as he continued his labored breathing.

Carlos thought back to how he ended up in this twisted world. He wasn't always beautiful.

Carlos POV -

One day a strange man appeared at our home . He rounded up all the children and told us that we were going to work hard for his matron.

We grew up working in a factory at the edge of the island hidden under the deep layers of canopy. We farmed a special fruit that could only be grown on our island.

As we grew older life changed. More and more of us collapsed from the harsh working conditions. Every year the older ones would be taken away for rehabilitation.

Year by year I watched my friends disappear beyond the golden light of the factory entrance. We lived slept and ate in the factory. Never seeing the light of day. Year by year more of us came and even less of us left. But time still ticked on.

Some died from over exposure. Some died to exhaustion but at some point a body dropping next to you could be an old friend and you'd languidly look at their corpse and step over it with ease.

What kept me going? I don't even know myself.

I didn't have a will to live like the others. I didn't have a fighting purpose. That might've been why it was much harder for me to break.

A human with no purpose cannot be broken. Same way an empty window cannot be shattered.

But in all honesty it was pure luck that got me this far. And on the fateful day I turned 18.

Finally a spark arose in my eyes. I was escorted out of the factory beyond the blinding lights of the outside world.

Without even checking I took a deep breath of fresh air. But what was that?

Cough!Cough!Cough! Its the same fumes. I looked around to see that it wasn't just one factory anymore. There were 10s of them. All pumping out toxic fumes.

I felt a cool sensation run beneath my bruised feet. It was water. It felt cold and it was almost translucent and reflected a variety of colors. The more I stood in it the more my body tingled.

I was then lead into a carriage with a few others. Some were in worse condition than me. But we all could remember entering this manor for the first time.

The lies they fed us were so sweet it could swindle their own tongues.

After checking our physical condition. They made a select few of us bathe in these baths filled with a mysterious liquid. The women all became alot more beautiful and gained strange supernatural abilities.

However...the men didn't get anything other than a boost in attractiveness. Some even experienced adverse side effects...

And it didn't take long for us to see the bad side of the business. And soon enough we realized we were already on it.

It became easy to us. Killing. Slaughtering. "Keeping people inn" as he liked to call it.

"Taking out those who were 'bad for business'"

He didn't even care how we did it. As long as the brand wasn't attached to it. He did all this for a good public rating.

Even going as far as to remake the whole town in the image of a stupid fruit. Have fake buyers and sellers entrance people who come and go. Making this island a literal unforgettable experience.

Dust on the street? Don't worry when night comes the innkeeper always comes and sweeps.

And the scariest part is he's not even the head of this organization...

I've passed that odd gazelle sculpture for most of my adult life. Its always watching.

Gabbana...Ive only ever heard him say that name once. Even The Doctor seemed scared while speaking to them in his office. It was obvious that they were not in Dr. Sombra's league. They were leagues above him.

But still. I'm glad even the big bad wolf has its own predators. I wonder who will blow his house down.

" Take out anyone whose bad for business " those words echoed in my mind for a long time.

Oh- Someone is here...

POV- END

Davie and Will walked up to him. He used whatever strength he had left to raise his head. He stared at the boy who had caused him to end up here. Instead of anger the only emotion his eyes held were a deep sadness.

" Are....Are you ok?" Will thought about how he might be feeling and though it nice to him a simple question.

Carlos looked up at Will causing parts of his brain matter to shift and his body convulsed unnaturally. He couldn't respond so he turned his limp head towards the door beside him.

Davie looked at it and walked towards it. As he opened it the smell of salt and vinegar came through and he sneezed.

Will remembered this familiar scent as it was the same as when Apathy advanced.

Davie rubbed his nose.

" Shit I'll never get used to the smell of that shit. Once was enough. Bleh"

Understanding what Carlos meant. Will stared deeply into the light fading from Carlos's eyes.

He contemplated. Waited. And finally looked towards the sky.

" Good luck "

Davie who leaned in the archway the entrance patted Will on the back.

As he entered the shadows Will's golden eyes beamed with a new light.