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I woke up to a terrible pain at the back of my head. There was something that felt like cloth covering my eyes, obstructing my vision, but I could feel that I was chained up. I had a muzzle covering my nose and mouth.
The air reeked of blood, strong enough that it made me want to throw up. I felt a warm liquid pooling around my bare feet. I knew what it was, but I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t know where I was, I couldn’t see anything, and I was scared.
I heard a faint noise that sounded like metal to my left, and I frantically turned my head to where the noise came from, trying, in vain, to figure out what had made the noise. I tried freeing my hands from the chains. Suddenly, I felt a white-hot pain traveling up my arms from my wrists. I bit back a scream, doubling over from the pain.
“Oh I wouldn’t try that,” an American male voice said from my left, sounding amused.
I suddenly knew what had made the noise as I felt chains wrap around my neck.
“I doubt you want to be punished,” the voice said, darkly. “But,” he said, his tone lightening, “you did only just get here, so I’ll excuse you for today!” He suddenly tugged my head forward with the chains around my neck. I could feel his hot breath on my face. He spoke softly, voice sinister and cold. “And today only.”
“Well,” he said cheerfully, all darkness gone from his voice, “I’m afraid I must bid you adieu! I have other matters to attend to.” He released the chains around my neck, and I heard him start to walk off. “Till tomorrow,” he sang, and though his voice had not changed in tone, there was something about it that sent shivers up my spine.
I heard a heavy door close and lock shut, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I shivered again, suddenly realizing how cold I was. I still could not see, for he had not taken the blindfold off. The smell of the blood was starting to make me light-headed.
I couldn’t imagine how I had gotten into this predicament, or what I had done to deserve this. I could not remember the last time I’d eaten, but judging by the ache in my stomach, it had been a while. I was in a lot of pain, and I just wanted to go home.
Home? Did I even know where my home was? Where I was? I could not remember. That thought terrified me. I could hardly remember anything leading up to this! I couldn’t think straight. I started to hyperventilate. I could barely breathe, and the muzzle was not at all helping.
Tears leaked out of my eyes, wetting the blindfold. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see, and I was absolutely terrified.
If only I had known then that things were about to get so, so much worse.
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I must have passed out at some point, because I woke up to hear the man’s voice saying, “Morning, Darling.”
He must have taken off the muzzle at some point, because I could move my mouth again. “Who are you?” I found myself asking, “Where am I?”
The man tsked. “No greeting for your Master? How rude.”
“I prefer not to swap pleasantries with my captor,” I snapped, somehow finding my courage.
“Oh my,” the man said, a grin evident in his voice, “I was hoping you’d be a feisty one. Those are always the most fun to play with!” He leaned closer to me, “And the hardest, but most satisfying, to break.
“I love a good challenge,” the man continued, as the voice moved a few feet away from me. “It’s thrilling, really,” he said gleefully, “Watching people squirm and refuse to give up. Especially when you know they’re just minutes away from breaking!” He laughed, the insane kind of laugh you’d hear in a horror movie.
I whimpered quietly.
“Oh, Dear, are you scared of me?” He sounded thrilled by the idea.
“No,” I said, finding my voice. “I’m not scared. Not of you. I’ll never be scared of you!”
“Your determination is charming, My Dear, but I’m afraid you are very wrong. You will fear me, and I believe you already do. I can’t wait to see your face when you realize exactly what I can do to you. If you don’t fear me now, you will soon.
“This actually works out perfectly for me! There’s something I’ve been meaning to do, and this is the perfect time to do it!” He exclaimed, excitedly. “But first, I’m going to have to take this thing off of you.”
I felt hands go to the back of my head, and remove the blindfold around my eyes. The room was quite dimly lit, but having been in darkness for so long it hurt my eyes to keep them open. After a minute, I opened my eyes again and took a look at my surroundings.
The first thing I noticed was the man. He appeared to be in his early 20s, with tousled, blond hair. His eyes were shining emeralds and had a crazed look about them. He had blood stains all over his lime green hoodie, and his hands and face were covered in it, most of it fresh. I didn’t think I wanted to know where it had come from.
He smiled at me, there was something unsettling about that smile. He looked ready to kill. He probably is, I thought.
“Well, well, well, My dear boy, you can see me at last. I must say, you're much more appealing when I can see your eyes.”
The way he looked at me, it frightened me. He looked hungry, like he would devour me. I blinked and the look was gone. I briefly wondered if I’d imagined it.
“Well, my boy? Aren't you going to thank me for the compliment?” he asked, daring me to disobey.
“T-thanks,” I said hesitantly, not wanting to test him.
“Wonderful!” The man exclaimed. He turned to go, but then stopped at the door.
“I almost forgot,'' he said, chuckling to himself. “I’m going to need your name, Dear boy.”
I wasn’t sure if I remembered my name, but the name Tommy sounded right.
“Tommy,” I responded, in a voice I hoped sounded confident.
“Tommy,” he said, as if trying it out. “I like it.” He then proceeded to walk out of the room, closing the door behind him.
As soon as he did, I began to survey my surroundings. The floor, the walls, and the ceiling were all made of concrete, and chains were attached to almost every surface. There was a table in the corner with chains on it, about big enough for a person to lay on. The table was spattered with blood. Thinking about its possible uses made me queasy.
Other than that, the room was relatively barren, and quite dark, the only light coming from a small window, about seven feet off the ground. The window had bars over it. Even if I could reach the window, I’d never fit, and I was chained. I wasn’t getting out of here quite yet.
My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. The man came back in, followed, obediently, by a tall boy. The man was holding a chain in his hand, and to my horror, I realized it was attached to a black collar around the boy’s neck. The boy’s clothing was in tatters, practically rags, and he looked like he hadn’t showered in a month. His dirty blond hair was greasy and unkempt. He was covered in bruises and dried blood, and his wrists were tied behind his back with rope.
The man tugged him to his knees in front of me with the chain attached to the collar. He looked at me with fear in his eyes, silently begging me to help him, but his eyes also held pity, like he knew what fate was awaiting me. He probably did.
“Ranboo,” the man suddenly said, addressing the boy at my feet, “this is Tommy, the newest plaything I’ve acquired. Say hello.”
Plaything? I thought, fear growing. My muscles tightened as I stared down at him.
“Hello, Tommy,” Ranboo said, obediently. I noticed that he, as well, had an American accent.
The man looked at me, expectantly, and patronizingly gestured toward Ranboo with his head.
“Uh, h-hello, Ranboo,” I said, nervously.
“Wonderful!” the man exclaimed. “You’re learning!” He smiled at me like I was a dog who had spun on command for the first time.
“Tommy,” he said, changing the topic. “Let me tell you a little bit about what it is you’re doing here.”
I looked up at him, suddenly curious.
“What I do, is I send my men out to find the best specimens for my experiments, or to be my pets, and have them bring them here. The better looking ones, I keep to be my pets, and the others I use in my experiments.”
My mouth went dry as questions filled my head. Pets? Experiments? Who is this guy? Which one am I? Pet or experiment?
He seemed to sense my growing anxiety, because he said, “Don’t worry, My Dear. You are a treasured pet, not an experiment. You’ll only get hurt if you misbehave.”
Ranboo clearly had misbehaved quite a lot. The thought made me queasy, but at least now I knew I wasn’t going to be experimented on.
“Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I brought Ranboo in here with you.”
I was curious, but something told me I wasn’t going to like the reason.
“I told you that you’d fear me. This is how I’m going to ensure it. Now, as I said, this is something I’ve been meaning to do, so don’t feel bad. This was always going to happen. Except now, you get to watch!” He seemed thrilled at the idea.
“Now, Ranboo, I’ve owned you for two years now. It’s the longest I’ve ever kept anyone. You’re my prize possession, and my best pet,” he said, fondly, “But recently,” his tone changed, “you’ve gotten boring, old; I know what to expect from you. On top of that, you’ve also started to misbehave. Because of that, I’ve had to punish you. It’s a shame, really. I’m terribly sorry, but it must be done. It’s for everyone’s own good,” He turned to look at me. “And now that I’ve finally found someone worthy to replace you as my favorite, well…” he trailed off. “I don’t really have any use for you anymore.”
Ranboo’s eyes went wide with fear, and his voice trembled as he asked, “What are you going to do to me? Sell me? Turn me into one of your experiments?”
“Oh, no, of course not! You are far too good and pretty for that fate.” Ranboo started to sigh in relief before he continued, “I’m going to kill you.”
His face paled, and his eyes widened even more than before. “No! Wait, please!” he begged, “Please don’t! I-I’ll be perfectly behaved! I’ll do whatever you want me to! Please!”
“I’m sorry, Ranboo, but it has to be this way. Don’t worry. I’ll make it quicker than I’ve made my other executions. Don’t struggle. I don’t want you getting more hurt than necessary.”
He started to pull something out of his pocket, and I realized something I probably should have caught on to sooner. He was going to kill him in front of me, and I was going to be forced to watch.
“Is this really necessary?” Ranboo continued to protest, frantically trying to escape, “Can’t you just let me starve?”
If he wants the slow, painful death of starving over this, I thought, then what he believes is about to happen to him must be terrible.
“Now, Ranboo! Really!” the man exclaimed, annoyed, “You should be grateful! At least I’m not turning you into one of my lab rats, or selling you to Schlatt! Surely you remember what he did to Tubbo!”
This seemed to calm him down slightly. I didn’t know who this Schlatt person was, or what he did to this ‘Tubbo’, but if he was worse than our captor, I didn’t think I wanted to.
“You’re right,” the boy said, sounding defeated, as he calmed down, “I should be grateful. You’ve treated me so well for these past two years. Thank you, Master. I’m so sorry I spoke out of turn. I was fearful, but I should accept my fate like a good boy. Do with me as you wish.”
His words made me sick. What had the man done to him to make him like this? I hoped I would never find out.
“Oh, My Dearest pet, I forgive you,” his tone was gentle, kind, comforting even, “It’s not your fault you’re such a weak and pitiful creature. You can die knowing that I was not disappointed in you.”
His words, though kind sounding, sent shivers up my spine. He was right. I was terrified of him, and he hadn’t even truly done anything yet.
He pulled the object out of his pocket. It was a knife, but there was something off about it. There seemed to be something coating it.
“This, my pets,” he said, holding up a vial he got from his other pocket, “is Venom. It is a poison that in too large a dose can cause death, but in smaller doses causes intensely painful muscle spasms. I have it coated on this blade to make your death,” he turned to Ranboo, “even more entertaining,” He grinned. It was a sick grin, and I knew in that moment he would kill both of us without remorse if he thought it would be worth the entertainment value. Ranboo teared up, in spite of himself.
“Don’t worry, Ranboo. I’ll be sure to kill you quickly.” With that, he plunged the blade into Ranboo’s stomach.
He screamed.
It was a scream that will forever haunt my nightmares. It was shrill and high and terrible. He spasmed and jerked, but it only served to drive the blade deeper into his stomach. Blood gushed out from his stomach as tears flowed down his face. Even so, he smiled.
“Thank you,” he said weakly, “for ending my pain.”
The evil creature, for no human could do such a thing as this, then twisted the knife. Ranboo’s life ended with one last, anguished, scream, as blood bubbled out of his mouth.
I nearly threw up at the sight before me. I couldn’t believe that that was something I had just witnessed. I didn’t need my memory to know that it was the most awful thing I’d ever experienced.
The monster looked at me coldly. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”
“Y-you killed him!”
“As I said I would. There was no use left from him here. Please me, and you will last even longer than he did. Maybe I won’t dispose of you at all. See you tomorrow, Toms.”
With those words, and an unsettling smirk, he walked out of the room and closed the door. I could hear the click of a lock.
I started to cry. Soon, I was sobbing. He’d just left Ranboo’s dead body in here with me, knife still sticking out of his stomach. His glassy, grey eyes stared up at me, and I knew it was hopeless.
Alone with just a corpse for company, I knew there was no more hope for me than there was for Ranboo. All that was left now was to accept my fate and wait for death to claim me, for I knew that there was no way to escape this hellish place I was now forced to call home.