Chapter I

She came to with a thudding headache, eyes closed against the dull pain. The back of her skull throbbed like a whore's heart; she bit out a curse and moved her hand to inspect the damage – except that it didn't move. Something was restraining her arms. Her legs, too, were immobilized, as she noticed when she tried to get up. To get up... so she was lying prone. The violent hum of electricity streaking through the air assaulted his battered head, calling forth a grimace of agony. A steady dripping echoed all around her, but it seemed to come from a single source.

A runny tap, or a leak in the roof.

How long had she been out cold? Her lips were parched and hunger growled in his stomach. She cracked open her eyes to better percieve how deep in shit she was. Blackness continued to engulf him. A tremor of panic vibrated in her core. He was blind, sightless, motionless, restrained. She was as good as dead, a lamb awaiting slaughter. Poultry breathing its last lungful before the bloodied knife would steal it forever more. That slight tremor increased in intensity until she physically shook in time with it.

It's all a dream, all a dream. Only a nightmare. I'll wake up any second now. Just a dream. Not real, not real. Not real!

She tried to wrench her arms free and felt narrow straps dig into her flesh. She cried out in pain and kept battering at the straps with her forearms. They sawed in deeper and drew blood, but she was too far gone to notice it. Her every instinct forced her to fight this unseen enemy, to escape these bonds, to run free once again.

She snapped her head back, the impact dizzying her for a moment. She hit the metallic table again and again with the back of her head, pounding away at his restraints. She yelled out, a shout mingled with fury and panic. The stuffy air invaded her mouth, causing her to gag. How hadn't she noticed before? The metallic scent of blood mixed with the stench of excretion, like fingers of decay forcing their way down her throat and lodging in her heart.

Her strength was beginning to ebb; her poundings came at longer intervals; her feet beat the painstakingly slow ryhtym of a burial march. She drew in ragged breath after another, inviting the foul fingers back down her throat again and again – a demented adult film of sickening proportions.

A squeak from rusty hinges; someone was coming in – or going out, she realized. They were leaving her there to die of hunger and thirst.

No! No, no, no, no! Why? What have I done? Let me free, let me fly again!

She tried to cry for help, but her throat was raw from shouting and her lips were long-deprived of liquid; a gasp bubbled from her lips instead. The distinct sound of swishing cloth reached her ears. It was coming closer. Closer, closer, and then past him, the faint footsteps receding into the other direction.

"Come... ba-..." she croaked as loud as she could. "No... Don't..."

She listened for an excruciating moment. They weren't coming back. They had left her to rot, to die in the darkness. They had left her hanging over the open maw of Satan, suspended from chains. Her tortured throat let out a pathetic cry as she  attacked her bonds with the remainder of her strength. She would get free, she would. She'd escape. She'd walk in the sun again. See him again.

Azazel...

She thrust upwards with every muscle she had, gritting her teeth when the straps tightened around her form, trying to overcome her captivity. She could feel the joinings groan in strain and she pushed harder. Hope. It existed. Just a little more... A few inches. One of the joinings popped out of its socket, cleanly as a twisted arm. She clenched her teeth harder. A few more and she'd be free.

"Hey Doc, it seems our patient is awake," someone said above her, his voice was brimming with sarcasm

A set of dragging footsteps echoed into his struggles. A doctor? They'd set him free.

They'll help me. Trust the doctors, doctors help. They do. Help. Help!

She let her aching body collapse onto the metallic surface,breathing heavily.

The footsteps had stopped. She heard soft breathing. Something nudged her hip painfully, a questioning prod from the shadows; she shirked away from the sadistic touch the best she could.

"Hmm. It does seem so." This voice was crisp and cool, all warmth drained by lack of compassion. She wasn't sure if the speaker could even be human. "Well, let us gaze upon her. visage."

The implications of this request hadn't the time to register in her mind before a hard fist wrenched the rough bag from her head, ripping out some of her hair in the process. Her cried out as bright illumination wormed its way through her eyes and into her brain, eating away at her nerves, biting them raw. Blistering scabs were ripped open inside her head as the parastic rays of light feasted upon her flesh, flaying her bloody from the inside. Through the haze of agony, she heard the two voices conferring above her prone form.

"-ugliest motherfucker I've seen in a while."

The inhumane voice answered to the female, "Who are we to judge? They all look the same on the inside with all this useless covering gone. Take away all the decorations and we're all as ugly. We hide demons devoid of conscience inside ourselves; we keep them hidden in the secretive corners of our hearts, livers, lungs. It's our job to bring them into day light, to let them burn in the purge of the illumination. Which is exactly what she must be going through now." The cold voice grew an egde of lust. "Her hidden demons are contorted in spasms of agony as we speak. They twist and writhe in time with the physical spasms of her body. See her squirm and moan! That is her darker side answering to the caress of light."

She gasped and moaned, eyes rolled back into his head. She tried to close her eyes, but someone was keeping them open. Froth danced on her lips, and her whole form shivered in faint spasms, all the fight gone from her. Sweet oblivion slowly accepted her into its grim grasp; her body went limp.



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