The Girl in the Abyss

Chapter 1

  When I was born, my mother gave me a storybook about a young princess who was held captive in a very tall tower by an evil wizard. The princess would sit by her small window every day wishing to be free while looking at the beautiful world far behind those rusted bars. On one sad day she begged the heavens to send a hero to save her, and to her surprise, a small pixie appeared and told her never to lose hope. She expected the Pixie to leave like everyone else in her life had but instead she stayed quickly became the princess’ very first friend. Just a few days later the evil wizard was defeated, and a kind hero saved the princess. She thanked the heavens, her new friend, and most importantly the hero before heading off into the beautiful world together. This little storybook was my most important possession, in fact, it was my only possession, and after I learned how, I would read it every day while praying to the heavens for a hero to save me too. One day, a little before my fifth birthday, I thought my prayers were finally answered when a man arrived and told me I was going to my new home.

While holding my hand, we left the small windowless room I lived in for most of my life. We traveled through dark halls while passing many of the people who hurt me before arriving at a set of glass doors. I could see sunlight peeking in and outside there was a road with a long gold car waiting at the sidewalk. The doors opened by themselves frightening me but I didn’t make a noise or jump back, I was trained never to cause trouble for my new master. After passing through I looked up as we walked, the sky was blue just like in my storybook, but sadly the sun was hidden behind the tall buildings.

Once we were a few steps away from the long car, a new person who looked like a butler quickly came out and opened the door for us. My new master entered first before permitting me to sit beside him. It was my first time using a seatbelt, so I was struggling, but Master helped fasten it and then with a wave of his hand we were on our way. Master was very handsome and even reminded me of the hero from my storybook. He had short blonde hair, blue eyes, and beneath his fancy suit were big arms. When he noticed me staring, he smiled and started speaking to me.

“Hello little miss, my name is Robert Teller. You are Ellie correct?”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

“Good, do you know why you are coming with me?”

“You are my new master, sir.”

“Good, good! Jason never fails to ensure his stock are properly trained! Do you know how hard it would be to get slaves nowadays if it wasn’t for him? People without money just don’t understand the need for them; they are truly brainless. I guess that’s why they have no money!” He began laughing at his own joke and even slapped his knee. I did my best to smile although I didn’t really get it.

“Now what is it you’re holding there?”

“This is my storybook, sir. Its called The Princess and the Hero.”

“Hmm… would you mind reading it to me?”

“Of course, Master! I read it as much as I can every day!”

I enthusiastically read it to him but when I finished he didn’t say anything. I was worried he didn’t like it and slowly became more and more scared as the silence persisted. Finally, he calmly asked me a question.

“Ellie, are you hoping I’m a hero who's come to save you?”

He looked at me waiting for an answer. I was so scared; I didn’t know how to reply.

‘Would he really be willing to save me after buying me?’

I’ve been trained to be a slave for as long as I could remember. Cleaning, cooking, proper etiquette, and even how to make people happy but most importantly angering your master results in being hurt or thrown away! Despite this, I desperately wanted to say yes even for the smallest chance of being free so with tears in my eyes and every ounce of courage within me I nodded my head yes.

“I see, that is enough for now. You may look out the window if you like.” He turned away.

I didn’t understand and I immediately regretted my decision.

‘I may have angered Master, why did I do something so silly? I should have just been grateful he was kind… The people from the tall building would probably scold me if they were here.’ I ended up staring at my feet ashamed for the rest of the drive.

Upon exiting the car, I was met with a walkway leading through a beautiful garden filled with many different colors and two large stone fountains. At the very end was a massive silver house that was just as beautiful or even more so then the garden and fountains.

‘The buildings I know are tall, but this one looks so much prettier, It's like a castle! Is this where I’ll be living from now on?’

The same person who opened the car door walked in front of Master and I as we followed the garden path. I felt like I was in a different world, just this morning I was being threatened by the people in the tall building and now I was somewhere so wonderful.

‘I wish I hadn’t angered Master… I will do my best to work hard so he forgives me!’

The man who was leading us opened the large front door while bowing. Upon entering a row of women wearing black and white dresses on both sides bowed. “Welcome home Master!”

The room was amazing! A big chandelier was above us, more big rooms were to our left and right, and in front was two grand staircases leading to another floor. Everywhere I looked things far more valuable than me could be seen, paintings of people that looked like Robert lined all the walls, and various shiny things were on the shelves and tables. Reaching the middle of the room a tall woman wearing a fancy dress and jewelry walked over and kissed Master. She was very pretty with long brown hair, green eyes, and a sparkly dress which showed off her thin figure and large chest.

“Welcome home Honey! Is this the new one?” She said while moving her head to look down at me.

I immediately bowed and greeted her. “H-Hello Madam!”

“Yes, I thought she would be more interesting!” Master laughed.

“Hmm, interesting indeed. You two get her out of this and into her new uniform, meet us in the basement when you're done. Don’t keep us waiting!”

“Yes, Madam!” Two women to our right spoke simultaneously while still bowing.

They stood up waiting for me to come over, I made sure to bow to Master and Madam before following them. We made our way down a small hallway titled servants quarters to the right of the stairs, the surrounding rooms were smaller here but they still looked much better than the tall building I was from. We eventually stopped at a room that had a big mirror and some shelves with different types of clothing on it. Looking at all the pretty uniforms I asked them if I would be wearing a black and white dress too, but they ignored me.

The woman with black hair and purple eyes pushed me in front of the mirror and started undressing me while the woman with red hair and green eyes went to grab the uniform. They were both very good looking and had their hair tied back however I could see dark circles under their eyes. I set my storybook down beside me so that it wouldn’t get in the way.

This was my first time in front of such a large mirror and I could see my whole body! My hair was brown ending a little above my shoulders and matching my brown eyes, my skin was light but not pale, and my body was very thin. Most of my features could be summed up as “small,” but that was normal since I was little. After being completely undressed the red-haired woman came back with my new uniform. While she was making sure it would fit I did my best to try and be friends with them.

“I’m Ellie; it's nice to meet you both! I’m sorry for asking about my uniform before introducing myself. I know I’m little but I will do my best and work hard! I hope we can be friends!”

The black-haired woman on my left, who was about to start dressing me, began crying. “I can’t do this! She’s too young! She doesn’t even know what’s happening to her!”

“Are you going to take her place or try to stop it!? If not, we have orders, and I do not plan on making Madam angry.” The red-haired woman was getting upset.

‘I don’t understand; do they think I don’t know I’m a slave? Why is the black-haired woman crying?’

“Miss are you okay? I know I’m a slave so you don’t need to worry! Master was kind to me and this place is very beautiful. I look forward to living here!”

The black-haired woman started crying even more and dropped the undergarments she was holding.

“Hand everything over I will do it myself! You need to go clean your face, meet me back here so we can head to the basement.”

As the black-haired woman was leaving I apologized, but she didn’t say anything. I thought it would be best for me to stay quiet from now on as I was only causing trouble by talking. The red-haired woman dressed me in my new uniform which was a simple white gown with no socks or shoes. As we exited the room, the black-haired woman was already waiting, so we quietly returned to the entrance room and then went into a similar hallway on the left side of the stairs. The small hallway quickly became winding stairs leading down to a cold stone basement. The maze-like hallways were lined with uneven stones which caused my feet to become very cold and I even stubbed my toes multiple times. Eventually, we arrived at a stone wall with a metal door where Master and Madam were waiting. I immediately bowed and thanked them for my new uniform even though I didn’t like it very much.

“You two may wait for us at the stairs. We will take her from here.”

The two women bowed and left leaving me alone with Master and Madam.

“Ellie, I was telling my lovely wife about the storybook you have! We were wondering what you thought of the evil wizard? You may speak freely.”

I was confused again. ‘Why would master want to know that?’

“I, um, I don’t think he’s a nice person.”

“Is that so? He never hurt the princess, she seemingly had food, and he made sure she had a nice room. Did the hero even ask why he was keeping the princess there before he killed the poor wizard?” Master and Madam both watched while waiting for my reply causing me to become nervous.

“I-I don’t know sir, t-the story said he was evil.”

“That’s the problem Ellie; people just label someone evil without understanding that person at all! For example, the woman who cried when she was supposed to be dressing you, she labeled me evil because I purchased a child for this very special position. She doesn’t understand that slaves in today’s age, like herself and you, are no one. People that served no purpose. I have purchased all my slaves to give them purpose.” Master had a proud smile and as he spoke the last sentence.

I was becoming more and more frightened. I had no idea what Master was talking about.

‘Did my storybook upset him this much? Should I apologize and say the wizard was not evil? Maybe thank him and apologize for the black-haired woman?’

“S-Sir I am very grateful that you purchased me, I-I am sure she is sorry.”

Master knelt and started patting my head. “You don’t need to worry about her Ellie, I already made sure she is sorry. She won’t be able to call me or anyone else evil ever again.”

I was starting to panic I didn’t know what was happening. “Sir I-I don’t know what you mean.”

“Stop toying with the stupid girl Robert! Ellie that woman will be severely punished because she disobeyed my orders and insulted her benefactor. We are very kind owners, so she won’t lose her life, just her tongue.”

Master got up and started complaining to his wife that its no fun unless it's dramatic but I was no longer paying attention to what they were saying.

‘The black-haired woman was hurt because she cried for me?’

Master looked at me as I was holding my gown tightly doing my best not to cry.

“I’m sorry Ellie, I got sidetracked, so back on topic! I’m going to give you a purpose! You see my wife and I have a rather… unique hobby. We met each other because of it! To put it simply we enjoy others suffering especially those who are far below us. In today’s world you can’t just go killing and torturing any peasant off the street so we use people like you. Therefore, I am not an evil man Ellie, you are someone that no one wants, if anything, I am a hero for giving you this opportunity!”

‘I’m going to be hurt? Did my storybook cause all of this?’

I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer; it was just too much and I was unable to keep up with it all. As I silently cried Master opened the metal door and then ordered me to go in. It was a big white square room with the same uneven stones lining the ground. Half of it was a cage divided into three cells and the other side had many weapons and scary devices. In the left and right cells were two women who were both extremely thin and had bruises and cuts all over them. The left one was a girl with long light brown hair and brown eyes standing and bowing and the one on the right had short messy dark blonde hair with yellow eyes and was sitting while looking at us.

“Ellie, the one bowing is Stacy and the one sitting is Kendra. These two will be your roommates! My beautiful wife will provide your first meal once you get into your cell.”

‘Why was this happening? I didn’t do anything wrong and I try my hardest never to cause trouble, why? I don’t want to be hurt! I don’t want to be in a cage!’

Holding my book, I ran out of the room as fast as I could. The uneven stone tiles caused me to trip and I even got lost in the hallways, but I kept going, I didn’t want to be in a cage! Eventually, I bumped into someone as I turned a corner, looking up I saw the red-haired woman who dressed me. I immediately grabbed her leg and through my tears I told her everything that happened, what they said about the black-haired girl, and that they were going to hurt me. She picked me up and said it would be okay; she kept repeating it while rubbing my head as I cried into her shoulder, just as I was about to look up I felt someone else grab me. ‘I’m back in the white room! The woman lied and brought me back!’ I struggled but it was meaningless, Master threw me into the middle cell and slammed the gate.

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“Master I found her in the halls while waiting for your and Madam’s return. She dropped this when she found me.”

She handed my storybook over to Master before bowing and leaving. Madam came over to the cage and spoke to me while Master looked through my storybook.

“Ellie I’m disappointed, you were being such a good girl… I guess we’ll put this escape attempt behind us since it's your first day but you won’t be getting any dinner tonight!”

The can she put towards me was cat food which I would have at the tall building sometimes. This cat food however smelled really, really bad and it looked like something was moving in it! I threw up on the floor from the smell alone.

“Don’t worry Ellie; it’ll be waiting for you tomorrow. Honey, I am heading upstairs for dinner.” After kissing Master, Madam walked out of the room with the can. Shortly after master finished looking at the storybook and walked towards my cage.

“Ellie, you didn’t tell me your mother wrote a note on the last page! Let me read it out loud so your two new roommates can hear! Dear Ellie, Mommy loves you so much. We don’t have a lot, but I hope this story helps you through any sad times in your life. Xoxo Alice.”

I read that phrase just as many times as I read the story itself, it was my favorite part. I had no memories of my family but I always dreamed of being together with them. Someone to hug me when I was sad, teach me lots of different things, and read books with me, it was all I ever wanted.

Master held it up to the cage and then slowly ripped the page out. I begged him to stop and reached for the book but he was too far. Once it was removed he folded it and put it into his pocket then looked down at me again.

“Ellie, would you like to know how you became a slave? Jason told me, its pretty funny.”

I stopped begging and looked at him. I always wanted to know but none of the people in the tall building would tell me. I nodded my head while wiping away tears from my eyes.

“She sold you Ellie! She sold you for a night’s worth of drugs!” He began laughing.

“M-Mommy sold me?” Tears I just wiped away swiftly returned.

‘I thought that I was stolen or she was in an accident, but my mommy sold me? She didn’t want me?’

“You see Ellie? There is only one person in this world who wants you, who can give you a purpose, that’s me. As for the rest of this book…”

Master pulled a lighter out from his pocket and lit the edge of the pages on fire, I begged him to stop but he just watched me with a smile as my storybook burned. Once over half was gone he throw it towards my cage where it landed just out of reach, I stuck my arms out as far as I could, but I was unable to get it. When only ashes remained he walked over and kneeled in front of me.

“This will be your home until the day you die; no one will ever save you.”

Master continued laughing as he left the room. When the metal door closed the light also turned off leaving nothing but darkness. I fell back landing in the puke from earlier and cried the hardest I ever cried.

‘The tall building had people that hurt me when I made a mistake and fed me bad food but I never expected I would go somewhere even worse! Mommy sold me, my storybook was gone, and now I was going to be hurt for fun.’ On the cold, uneven stone ground of my cell, I cried until I fell asleep.

~~~

I awoke later to the same darkness. I was so cold and the wet puke on my uniform only made it worse.

“H-Hello?”

“So, you finally woke up? I can’t believe those psychopaths picked a child. You will probably be getting most of their attention for a while, so I will do you a favor and explain how your life is going to work. Your name is Ellie correct?”

I quietly replied yes.

“I’m Kendra and the girl on the other side of you is Stacy, she won’t talk to you so don’t bother. Stacy believes she will someday be set free if she shows absolute obedience, I can tell you right now it’ll never work. With introductions out of the way lets get onto the daily routine. Most days will consist of Sharron giving us disgusting “food” with water then Robert torturing whoever he wants later that night, speaking of which, he will probably be here soon.”

“You don’t call him Master? Sharron is Madam, right?”

“Yes, and yes, there is no point, it won’t help you. The bucket in the back of your cell is to go to the washroom and the cells are cleaned once every seven days, at the same time a servant will hose you down and provide new uniforms. You can keep the old one and use it as a blanket, bedding, or extra outfit. Lucky for you, the cells were just cleaned today, it will get disgusting as the week progresses.”

“I’m really cold, can I borrow one of your extra uniforms?”

“No. Robert would take yours and mine away if he saw that. He treats the extra uniforms as a reward system. Ellie let me make something very clear; we are not friends. If I can use you to get out of even a single day’s torture, I will. I am only telling you all of this because I will be getting a lot of time off due to you.”

I was startled by everything she said and I could feel tears once more coming to my eyes. “I-If we’re here together why can’t we be friends?”

“Don’t start crying. I let it go when you first got here but I won’t listen to it again. You have not experienced the pain of being tortured yet, every single time there is a chance Robert will accidentally kill you. Do you think you were the first to be in the middle cell? Before you and Stacy there was two other people that are both dead, I will take every chance I get to avoid Robert’s torture. Now do you want to know the rest or are we done?”

“P-Please tell me the rest.” I didn’t want to know but I felt I would regret not listening.

“The routine is done but I’ll give you some tips. First, never throw up, no matter how disgusting the food or how painful the torture, you will regret it. The man who was in your cell before you starved to death because he kept throwing up. Second, if the food has bugs in it that means extra food, don’t pick them out. Third, try and keep your cell clean as that puke will now be there all week. Finally, try not to get anything on your uniform so that its cleaner when you get to keep it, I use my bloodied ones as the base for my bed. That’s pretty much everything, any questions before I ignore you?”

“Will the light turn on? I don’t like the dark.” I was shaking due to fear and the cold.

“When the light turns on that means the door is opening, anything else?”

“I can’t think of anything.”

“I’m glad to hear it, that means we’re done.”

I thanked her, but there was no reply. After curling into a ball in the middle of my cold cell I began to cry silently, not long after, the metal door opened and the light turned on. Just as Kendra said, he picked me. Tonight’s torture was using the page with my mother’s note to give me paper cuts between my fingers and toes before beating me till I passed out. The next day I tried to eat the food but threw it up into my bathroom bucket, following that I was picked again and tortured. I eventually learned to keep the food down but I continued to be Master’s favorite for torture. The type of torture changed a lot, but most nights ended with being beaten.

On average I was picked four nights a week, I quickly went from fearing the dark to wishing the light would never come back on. Time began to blur and I slowly became numb to the pain, before I knew it over five years passed and I was ten years old.

~~~

Today when Sharron delivered our food she told us Robert would be busy with work and a guest would be visiting me. This would occasionally happen when Robert’s Company had something important to deal with however I never had a guest before. Once she finished watching us eat the room became dark and I waited for my guest. After a few hours the door opened and a black-haired woman walked in with Sharron, it took me a little to remember but it was the woman who cried while dressing me.

“Ellie, do you remember Hailey? She’s the person you reported for not following our orders.” Sharron smirked as she stated the blatant lie.

Hailey started screaming things at me but it was all garbled and I understood none of it. Robert and Sharron obviously knew from another source yet they told this woman it was because of me that she lost her tongue. I tried my best to tell her Sharron was lying, but she wouldn’t listen, whatever they did to her took both her mind and kindness away. My cell opened and I was ordered to walk out, Hailey then used a wooden pole to start beating me.

“Hailey has been working very hard to earn our forgiveness. Today when I lifted her triple work duties she made a written request to be able to punish you. She disobeyed orders for you Ellie and in return you immediately betrayed her, I fear I wouldn’t even do something so horrid!”

The beating was not to bad; she was very weak compared to Robert. What hurt the most was the only person who had ever been kind to me was tricked into thinking I hurt them. In-between hits I continued trying to tell her that she was lied to but suddenly the beating stopped and everything began shaking.

When I opened my eyes I saw everyone including Stacy and Kendra staring blankly in front of them. They were all frozen in place and the shaking didn’t move them in the slightest. A few minutes later they returned to normal and Sharron, appearing to be frightened, put me back in my cell and told Hailey to close the metal door. Once darkness returned I heard Stacy crying, she never made a sound unless she was saying yes or thank you, so I became even more confused.

“Kendra what’s happening? Why did you all start staring at nothing? How did no one fall during the shaking?”

“It was God, he came down and spoke to everyone!”

“What are you talking about? Everyone just started staring in front of them during an earthquake!”

“I was standing in a glowing white room when God himself appeared in front of me, he was blurry, but I could understand him and feel his power! He told us our world alongside others were changing and to survive we needed to accept his Guidance! Now computer screens are in front of me and we have things called classes and skills that will help us. It's like a video game!”

I never played video games, so Kendra’s explanation was of very little help.

“Why is Stacy crying then?” I asked confused.

Stacy did her best to speak while sobbing. “God’s Guidance picked a class based on a bunch of stuff like my life and dreams only to give me the slave class! Even God says I’m a slave! I want to be free; I want this to end!”

It was the first time Stacy spoke to me so I didn’t know what to say and I couldn't tell if this was a good or bad thing.

“I got Slave as well but the skills are still useful and its possible to get other classes! Ellie, it said he visited everyone, maybe you somehow skipped it? Try saying status to see if it pops up.”

“Status”

**ERROR**

A black screen did appear in front of me. “It’s only big red letters that say error?”

“Wow Ellie, God must truly hate you.” It was my first-time hearing true pity in her voice.

I didn’t believe in a god, but I guess I was wrong. 'Why would an all-powerful being let me live a life like this then not grant me a gift even Sharron received? How was this fair?’ For the first time in a while, I felt like crying.

“I guess nothing changes for me… I’m just going to lay down.” I crawled back into my uniform bed.

“Stacy stop crying! You have resistance skills, right? This could be our way out! Our class may suck, but no other slave would have these! If we gained a good class through hard work we would become very powerful!”

‘Would Robert really let them become regular slaves?’

I couldn’t help but feel jealous, yet I was also happy for them. God granted them a chance at escaping this horrible room. Since it had nothing to do with me I ignored their excited talking and slowly drifted off to sleep.

~~~

“Wake up!”

I immediately sat up, to my surprise the light didn’t turn on and Robert was carrying a torch. Stacy and for some reason Kendra were both standing and bowing already.

“Listen up! I need to know your classes! If its good, you may be able to get out of here.”

Kendra and Stacy both replied slave before he looked down at me.

Even more defeated then usual I replied. “I did not get a class. It just says error when I try to check anything.”

I saw Robert hold back a laugh as he took out a tiny blue stone and told me to put my hand through the bars. After reaching through the gem was placed on my palm and nothing happened.

“Ellie I was worried you would get a princess class due to that book you had! That mana gem would’ve absorbed a single mana point if you had a class or magic, you truly have nothing! I don’t know if this is amazing or sad. I guess it doesn’t matter, you three have a new role! I will be using you to train various skills, expect a large increase to our hours together! I will be back in a little bit after I add your classes to our list and make some arrangements.”

“Master, please wait!” Kendra yelled as Robert was about to turn around. “Master, we may have horrible classes, but Stacy and I have skills that no other slave would have! We have rare ranking resistance skills! If we were able to work hard and obtain a better class for our active class slots we could become your strongest slaves! Please give us a chance to prove our usefulness to you!”

Robert stopped and put his hand over his chin in thought. “Hmmm… You do make a good point Kendra, but I will have to think of something to prove your sincerity. Please be prepared for it when I return.”

Once Robert left Kendra and Stacy started speaking happily. I laid down in my uniform bed waiting for Robert’s return.

‘The skills Stacy and Kendra talked about were resistance skills, did that mean they get hurt less? If they’re the only ones with those skills I assume it's from being tortured.’

While I was trying to wrap my head around skills Robert came back with Sharron.

“I have discussed the matter with a few close friends and my wondrous wife. We have agreed to give you two a chance but we want to make sure you both understand something first. I received a legendary origin class and my wife received a rare origin class so if you think for even a second that you can disobey us, you will become nothing but experience points for our classes and skills. Now onto the test! Gain the first rank of Unarmed Mastery using Ellie within thirty days. If you don’t want to hurt her you may stay in your cage and keep living as you have been.”

Without hesitation Kendra and Stacy agreed. I closed my eyes and cried as the two people that suffered alongside me pulled me out and took turns attacking me.

~~~

After a month of over two times the usual torture, they still hadn’t obtained the skill. The final night towards the end Robert told them it was enough, and they passed, it turns out he just wanted to know how long they would go for. From this daily and unending torture my body was starting to give out. I was starving, could no longer move, and the last attempt left me bleeding pretty severely.

Seeing my sorry state, Robert came and kneeled beside me. “It’s a shame… If you obtained a class and skills I’m sure you would’ve been one of my most powerful slaves. Unfortunately, there is no longer a need for slaves in your position, not when bandits and monsters give much more experience. As a reward for being my loyal little punching bag I will let you die. Not even I can give someone who's been rejected by God a purpose in this new world.”

Robert got up and ordered Stacy and Kendra to begin dragging me to the basement stairs, during which he walked alongside us and continued speaking.

“People sure are strange. Before if I purchased one slave I was evil but now when I slaughter monsters and bandits with an army of slaves I’m labeled a great hero! My name has spread across the state and people are rushing here from all over to gain my protection! I’m probably going to set myself up as the Hero King, sounds cool doesn’t it?”

When we arrived at the winding staircase Hailey and Sharron were waiting. Robert ordered for me to be dropped and then explained how my life would end.

“Stacy and Kendra this is the final test I have for you, as for you Hailey this is your reward. There are smaller groups in the surroundings that are refusing to join us while also remaining neutral. We will be using Ellie here as a fake rare class holder sent by these groups to kill me. With this ingenious plan we can get the people living on the property riled up for war! You will carry her out at sundown while telling all of them that she attempted to slit my throat when I was sleeping. Once everyone is angry, I will make a heroic appearance and let them know she is from the smaller groups in the area. After that, you can then take her out into the woods behind the mansion and get rid of her. Hailey will take you both to get regular servant uniforms and I will carry Ellie to the entrance room. We begin in 15 minutes!”

Robert picked me up and carried me under his arm. While we walked he stuck his hand into my wound and rubbed my blood on himself, I couldn’t tell if it was to hurt me one last time or to make the lie look real. Once upstairs he threw me on the ground by the main door. I stared at the chandelier above me and noticed my vision becoming blurry.

‘Was I really going to die? I was in so much pain, maybe… maybe it's for the best that I die. My mother didn’t want me, God didn’t care about me, and even if I lived it would just be more pain...’

I ignored everyone who returned and eventually felt myself being dragged. When the door opened I saw a beautiful twilight sky.

I reached my shaking hand out towards it. ‘I wish I could go far away.’

The property was covered in hordes of people, tents, and trailers. I heard Kendra and Stacy’s voices then finally Robert’s before feeling myself being lifted. In front of me was a sea of angry people looking at me and cursing my name. After being dropped, Stacy, Kendra, and Hailey dragged me around the right side of the mansion. With everything I had left I begged the surrounding people to save me. Some watched me with scorn, some looked away, and others called me a liar. No one spoke out for me.

‘How could they let this happen?’

As we passed the tent and trailer city that surrounded the mansion we eventually made it to the tree line. Inside the forest I was dropped on the ground and not long after I heard digging. Looking over I saw Stacy, Kendra, and Hailey working away with shovels.

“This seems about right… Drag her in.”

I begged the heavens for someone to save me. ”Please… someone, please… I don’t want to be buried alive…” I tried to move my body, but I only felt pain, nothing was responding to me. My arms were grabbed and I was pulled into the hole. As dirt fell on me I cried out and pleaded with them to stop but it was ignored. When dirt covered everything below my neck I tried once more to tell Hailey it was a lie, but my final pleas were met with her smile as dirt fell on my face.

I turned my head to the right trying to stop it from going into my mouth and nose. As the dirt moved in around me I took a deep breath and tried to make a small air pocket to breathe from using my face but the packed dirt wouldn’t move. Hoping one last time that God or a hero would save me I held my breath for as long as I could, but no one came. The crushing feeling on my chest forced me to breathe but only dirt entered my nose and mouth. I felt the last of my tears soak into the earth before painfully suffocating.