Alo navigated the maze-like streets of Sif with determination, his gaze looking over every shadowy corner and dimly lit alleyway. The name Samuel burned in his mind, driving him unrelentingly forward.

Alo questions all he passes, scanned the faces of those too far to speak, checking every dark corner and hidden drug den, refusing to rest until he finds the man he seeks . As the hours wear on and the sun dips below the horizon, Alo's determination remains unshaken.

As Alo enters an alley he sees the man for whom he has been searching, slouched over a barrel no doubt reeling from a bender. As Alo closes the distance between himself and Samuel, his eyes lock onto the familiar figure standing before him. Samuel was tall and skinny, with shaggy blonde hair that hangs untamed around his face. His blue eyes widen in fear as he recognizes Alo approaching, and his hand instinctively goes to the hideous scar that marks his left cheek, a reminder of the last time he and Alo met.

Despite the passage of time, the scar remained as solid as ever, as Alo approaches Samuel begins pressing his back against the rough brick wall behind him. Alo glares at Samuel, his expression hard and unforgiving as he confronts the man who had caused him so much suffering. There was no sympathy in his eyes, only hatred.

As Alo continues to approach Samuel, the air fills with tension, and Samuel's eyes widen in a mixture of fear and desperation. "Alo, wait" he began, his voice shaking.

Alo cuts him off with a sharp gesture, his anger barely contained. "Don't you dare fucking speak to me," he growled, his voice low. "You lost that privilege the moment you betrayed me."

Samuel recoils, his back pressed tightly against the wall as if trying to escape through the wall itself. "I swear, I didn't mean for things to turn out this way, we were friends Alo" he pleads, his voice filled with terror.

Alo's jaw clenched, his fist tightening at his side. "Do you have any idea what you fucking did to me?" he demands, his anger growing with each word. "You ruined my goddamn life, Samuel. You destroyed everything I had worked for."

Samuel's eyes filled with tears. "I never wanted to hurt you," he insisted, his voice barely shaking with fear .

Alo remains steadfast. "Intentions don't matter," he snapped. "You made your choice, and now you have to live with the consequences of your actions.”

"You don't understand," Samuel pleads "I never meant for any of this to happen."

Alos patience begins wearing thin. "I don't want to hear your excuses," he snarls at Samuel. "You have been dead to me since you betrayed me and soon you shall be dead to everyone else as well." With a final glance at Samuels terrified face Alo pulls his knife from its holster. “I am going to enjoy this much more than you”.

With a swift movement Alo places the blade to Samuels throat “I’d prefer not spill your blood here in the street and I know your pride won’t let you die in front of so many. Now follow me into the sewers if you would, so we might have some privacy.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

With a shove Alo begins leading Samuel through the darkened streets with his knife in the center of his back “The young and old alike beg to live here, yet you will soon beg for death. There is a twisted beauty in that ding you think Samuel?” Alo pulls out his coin pouch “I have enough here to change the lives of any number of these people but I won’t because as meaningless as they are we need them here. Without the bottom rung there can be no ladder to climb. I have climbed that ladder Samuel, despite your actions I shall soon have my peace, a true home.”

As they near a small iron gate atop a staircase that leads into the depths Alo pushes his knife slightly harder breaking the skin on samuels back. “Open it and go down now.” Samuel pushes the gate and with a slight squeak it opens and descends the stairs “ It doesn’t have to be like this Alo, we can work this out.”

As they reach the bottom of the stairs Alo shoves Samuel to the ground and slices the shirt from his back. “That’s where you’re wrong old friend, this is the only way.” An evil grin crosses Alo’s face as he leans over and whispers in Samuel’s ear. “I am going to enjoy this.”

With expert precision Alo slices the tendons in Samuel’s legs so he can no longer stand. “Crawl you fucking worm.” A blood curdling scream leaves samuels lips. “Damn you, I’ll fucking kill you ”. With 2 more precise blows Alo slices Samuel’s arms, “How will you kill me? Because I know exactly how you are going to die.” Alo plunges his knife deep on the right side of Samuel’s spine slicing the whole length of his back then the left.

Alo plunges his hand in the wound on Samuels back, gripping a rib. With a force he rips and twists the rib from his back with a sickening snap. Samuels face contorts in unimaginable pain as Alo reaches in and grabs another rib and does the same. Through gasping sobs Samuel whispers “Please stop, just kill me.” But no sooner than the words left his lips Alo’s fist comes down on the back of his head “You ruined my life, now I shall ruin your death.”

As Alo continues to pull each rib from samuels back his cries echo through the empty tunnels. With each rib removed from their resting place an unimaginable pain, a hell beyond belief. As the last rib is removed Alo snarls “Now you shall gain wings but you shall not fly to the heavens, but instead descend into hell.”

Alo once again plunges his hands into the wounds on Samuels back causing him to let out an inhuman scream. Warm blood clings to his hands as he grips his right lung and lays it over his shoulder. He then plunges once more for the left, squeezing the thick flesh tightly and placing over his other shoulder before standing and spitting on his mangled body. Samuels wheezing breaths become more shallow as the pain becomes too much to even form words.

Alo’s tattoos begin to glow and the skitter of rodents' feet begins to draw closer. “This will not be quick, it will not be painless. You will pay for the pain you caused me, Samuel.” With a slight chirp at Alo the first rat begins to burrow itself into the wounds on Samuels back.

A weak scream leaves Samuels mouth but soon another rat enters, then countless more, feeding on his innards all while being kept alive by Alo. Their constant chirps and movement are the only sounds other than the weak cries escaping from Samuel. A warm meal is a rare treat for them and Alo is happy he could provide it for them.

After a time it begins to become too much on Alo’s body to keep Samuel alive and he begins to walk up the stairs back to the city above. The scent of copper hangs in the air as he finally allows Samuel to take his last breath. Alo stops at the gate above and takes a last look down and whispers “goodbye old friend.”