As I stirred awake, a cacophony of noises assaulted my ears, pulling me from the depths of unconsciousness. A bright, intense light hovered above my head, momentarily blinding my eyes, and my surroundings blurred into a whirlwind of shadows, dancing around me like ethereal specters. I existed in a state of wakefulness, yet it felt as though I were trapped in a strange dream.

Numerous silhouettes gathered around me, their voices loud, talking, and shouting in a chaotic symphony. My mind struggled to make sense of it all, trying to grasp the reality of the situation. Was I truly awake, or was this a figment of my imagination? The confusion enveloped me like a thick fog, and for a moment, I felt disoriented and lost.

As my senses gradually returned, I became aware of my surroundings and the masked faces peering down at me. I found myself strapped to a chair, with my hands and legs tightly restrained. The room was dimly lit, with the only source of light shining down on me. A pungent odor filled the air, reminiscent of the foulest stench imaginable.

Before I could even inquire about what was happening, one of the guys to my right interjected with a groggy tone, "Shouldn't we just get rid of him? He said we can do whatever we want."

"… except killing a noble," the man in the middle responded, leaning in to lift my chin, revealing his gleaming red eyes. "If this bastard dies, the lady will be sad. And the entire nobility will be on our tail. We won't survive a day."

My mind struggled to grasp the situation. Were they seriously discussing killing me? And when did I become a noble? This couldn't be some kind of medieval drama, could it?

"I can help her," the same guy replied with a faint chuckle.

"With that dead stick you call your dick," the guy to my left retorted with a small laugh. "Get a new dick, then talk."

The man to my right groaned in frustration and walked toward the window behind him, through which rays of white light were seeping in. It appeared that night had already fallen, but wasn't it just afternoon? I had only taken a nap, and now I found myself being interrogated.

Whoever these people were, they must be quite capable to bypass the security and kidnap me from my apartment. However, there was nothing to worry about. It was only a matter of time before my disappearance would be noticed, and backup would be sent to secure me, both physically and politically. I just had to play it cool until then.

"So… who are you people?" I asked, my mind a bit clearer now, but a slow headache creeping in. "Mafia, Yakuza, DEA, FBI… Homeland security, which one?"

"What?" The guy still holding my chin shook his head in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

"I asked, who are you?" I restated. "What's so strange about that?"

He let go of my chin, stepping back, and I continued my investigation, trying to maintain my composure despite the lingering headache. When I get out of here, I'll make sure to find that asshole who paid for this hit.

"You don't want to say it. Fine. I get it." I said calmly, suppressing any signs of fear. "Tell me, what do you want? Names, money, location… anything."

"Uh… shouldn't you be scared?" the man questioned, seemingly taken aback by my composed demeanor. "No one knows you are abducted. We could do anything to you. Even kill you."

A confident smile crossed my face. "If you could kill me, you would have done it long ago," I replied with a tired chuckle, my mind racing to find a way out of this predicament. "And yes, I am scared. But fear won't help me now. So, why don't we be practical and make a deal?"

"Make a deal! Really?" The guy to my left added, sounding skeptical.

"Yes. Of course." I affirmed with a wide grin. "You be happy. I be happy. We all happy. And then go home."

The trio exchanged confused glances; despite cloth covering half their faces, I could still read their eyes.

"So, what do you guys want?" I asked, not letting them think too much. What was there to think anyway? They must know my identity and worth to abduct me in the first place.

"I am not so sure you could give us anything…" the man in the middle mumbled.

"What do you mean you aren't sure?" Now I was confused. Did these dumb fucks not research me? Or were they playing tricks? I couldn't be sure. I had to stay one step ahead of them.

"You know I could give you anything," I said firmly. "Just say the name and you shall have it."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Really?" They all drew closer, intrigued by my assertion.

I nodded, eager to know their demands and figure out the mastermind behind it all. But then, suddenly, the wooden door before me swung open, and a bulky man barged in. He was huffing loudly, as if he had been running to get here.

"For a fucking nobody, you talk too much," he said, gritting his teeth, and approached me while cracking his knuckles.

My heart raced with fear and desperation as the bulky man delivered a solid slap to my cheek, silencing my words. "Hey there, big guy…" I managed to utter before the pain intensified.

"Hold the chair," he barked at his accomplices, and the two men closest to him quickly obeyed, securing me in place.

"Hey, hey… Listen to me…" I cried out, trying to reason with him, even in the midst of the searing agony. "We can talk this out, we can…"

But my pleas fell on deaf ears. The man's fists came crashing down relentlessly, each blow finding its mark on my vulnerable face. My nose and eyes took the brunt of his rage, causing a fiery pain to surge through my entire being. I fought back the urge to black out, determined not to give them the satisfaction.

The room seemed to spin as my vision blurred from the force of the punches. Blood trickled down my face, adding to the surreal and nightmarish scene. Despite the pain and terror, I clung to the sliver of hope that I could still find a way out of this brutal nightmare. My mind raced, searching for any possible means of escape or negotiation, anything that could spare me from this brutal assault.

Moments later, he finally stopped, not because the ordeal was over, but simply because he grew tired of punching me. The room fell into an eerie silence, now filled with their laughter echoing around me as I forced open my swollen eyes and trembling lips to see and say something. But before I could attempt to speak, my heart sank as they brought in a chair alongside a knife and a hammer, all made of wood.

"Come on, guys…" I choked out, my voice filled with desperation. Having seen and done enough torture in my line of work, I couldn't help but recognize the horrifying potential uses of those tools in this scenario.

Rubbing his palms together like he was about to attend a feast, the burly man sat down, a sadistic grin spreading across his face. "Now the real deal," he said, lifting the hammer menacingly.

"No! No! No! No…" I screamed in terror and agony as he brought the heavy hammer down onto my left index finger. The impact was brutal, crushing my nail and bones to pieces. The pain was so overwhelming that tears streamed down my face, and I couldn't control the snorts that escaped from my nose.

My torment continued as he mercilessly crushed my middle finger, ring finger, and even the pinky one, each blow causing unbearable pain. I cried out and begged for him to stop, but my pleas went unheard. Blood gushed out like a river from my mangled fingers, and my throat felt raw from all the screams, yet the man showed no signs of relenting. No matter what offer I threw his way, he remained unyielding and unresponsive to reason.

As I teetered on the brink of unconsciousness from the excruciating pain, he dropped the bloodied hammer and picked up the knife, running his finger along the wooden, yet razor-sharp edges as I helplessly watched, my heart pounding in terror.

"What do you… want from me? Just tell me…" I begged, desperately attempting to hold my ground despite the agony ripping through my body. My mind raced, cursing at the people who should have found me by now. There was a tracking chip carved into my bone damn it; how hard could it be to find me?

The man clicked his tongue in response to my futile struggle and slid his chair to my right, his eyes fixated on my trembling right palm. I knew what was coming next, and panic surged through me.

“Listen to me… Hey! Hey!! Hey!!!” Desperately, I fought against the ropes restraining me, trying to pull my hand away, but they held firm, offering no escape. In one swift motion, the man drove the knife in between my nail and flesh, and another bolt of excruciating pain shot through my every limb.

“Fuck!” I gritted my teeth, the pain now a relentless torment that brought to mind the countless cries of men who had met the same fate at my own hands. This excruciating agony fueled my anger, and a burning desire for revenge burned through me.

“I will… kill you all. I will fucking kill you.” I gritted my teeth, vowing to ensure that whoever this man was, he would suffer a hundred times more than what he was subjecting me to.

But before that, why was I going through this hell in the first place? Was it for revenge, financial gain, or to eliminate me at the hands of my own people? None of these devils offered any answers, leaving me to believe that this ordeal might be rooted in some internal issue. Perhaps I had been betrayed, and this was a brutal form of death by torture. But why would they do this to me? I had been loyal for all my life, devoted to my cause and my people.

Then out of nowhere, I received my answer. The man's words sliced through the air, delivering an unexpected revelation. "It is all because of your father," he declared, raising the edge of the knife, and pulling my nail with it. "He should have listened and paid back what he owed… Yet he didn't. And now his heir suffers."

My mind reeled at the revelation, trying to make sense of his claim. "I…" I struggled to speak, desperate for more information, as I couldn't recall having a father in the last two decades of my life. My father had passed away when I was in college, and as far as I knew, he didn't owe anything to anyone. I had made sure of that, settling any debts he might have left behind.

The confusion only deepened, but there was no time for clarity. The pain in my hand grew exponentially worse as the man callously started pulling one nail after another, while reciting the same line over and over again. "He should have listened and paid back what he owed."

I didn't have a father, yet I was suffering this cruel fate. The contradiction gnawed at my sanity, but the unremitting torment left me with no space to process the truth.

Why… Why my father… Which debt he owed… To whom…

I wrestled with the questions, trying to find anything tangible to make sense of this nightmare. But before I could grasp anything, the pain seemed to go beyond my limit, and I felt my consciousness slipping away. My vision blurred, the agony becoming an overwhelming force that I could no longer endure.

And then, mercifully, darkness enveloped me as I blacked out.