PART 1: MEMORIES

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1.2

Amy walked through the hallway with Lucius by her side, their footsteps echoing off the reinforced walls. Her heart was racing—she was unsure if she heard muffled screams in the distance, or if it was just some machinery.

I hope they won't act yet. She thought of the backup waiting outside, of how Tom would be getting anxious with the bug being dead. They probably heard him say EMP just before it went off. Now if they'd just trust me…

Lucius stopped at a door. He unlocked the deadbolt and opened it. Before walking inside, he grinned slyly at Amy. Cautious, she followed him.

For a moment she forgot how to breathe. There was a small group of children sitting in a corner. They looked scared, despite their eyes appearing empty. Their clothes were dirty, tattered, and a little on the big side, making their tiny bodies seem even smaller than they already were. The room was about six meters high, with curtains shielding the windows near the ceiling. Improvised beds lay scattered across the floor, together with old toys and ragged plushies.

"K-kids?" Amy cursed herself for her failing voice.

"I call them lab rats." Lucius scanned the group. "Where's Timmy?"

Amy watched the children move away to reveal a small boy who had been lying in their midst. Shit, we didn't expect this! If this mission doesn't yield any more leads, we can at least arrest this guy for kidnapping. I need to find a way to inform the squad, get these poor kids back to their parents!

"Children are a lot easier to keep than adults, and they're much more tender too."

Amy's stomach turned. "I-I suppose…" She feared she was falling out of her role.

Lucius walked up to the boy. "Timmy…"

He stirred and groaned—he was looking awfully pale.

With a sigh, Lucius returned to Amy. "Anaemia. I'll have to make sure he gets some extra attention later."

The colour drained from Amy's face. Dear lord, the poor souls. What has he been doing to them?

Lucius grinned. "I see kids are not your thing, but I already expected that. Come."

A shiver ran up Amy's spine. Just hang on for a little bit more! I'll be sure to save you all!

They left the room, but Amy felt like she had lost something in there.

Lucius walked across the hallway and stopped in front of a metal door. The advanced lock that was on it opened after verifying his fingerprint. "I hope you feel honoured. You're going to be the first person to willingly set foot inside." He smiled coyly as he pushed the door open.

Shocked, Amy realised that the sound she had heard earlier was the soft wailing of a woman. Where is she? What's happening to her? She glanced around. There were weird metallic constructions against the walls—some looking like modern-day versions of the iron maiden—and empty tables in the middle. Where the hell is she?

Lucius had gone from her sight while she had been scanning the room for the woman and his sudden presence behind her made her jump.

"Now, now… Perhaps you weren't ready after all?" He looked deep into her eyes, his head slightly tilted.

Amy shook her head. "No, it's okay. I am, I assure you. It's just… Well… It's a little confronting, you know…?"

He grinned. "Then I got something for you. I prepared it just before you arrived." He revealed a plate that he had been hiding behind his back, presenting her with the large chunk of meat that lay on it.

Amy swallowed as she stared at it. It had been partially cooked, the edges greyish brown whilst the centre was still pinkish.

"Come on, try it. It should still be warm." Lucius' eyes glimmered with excitement.

It's too late to go back now—I have to do it. If not, I would endanger myself. Her stomach protested, but she took the piece of meat from the plate. "It's not fully cooked," she stated as she inspected it.

"True. I wanted to let you enjoy both raw and cooked—see which you enjoy more." His eyes were locked on her, waiting for her first bite.

Although disgusted, she had known this was going to happen. Tom had ensured her that she wouldn't be prosecuted if she went along with it. Slowly, she brought the piece of meat to her mouth. The fact that it smelled good troubled her. She licked her lips and nibbled on the cooked edges. The taste surprised her—or rather, it didn't.

Is this really human flesh, or is he fucking with me? She bit off some more. It tastes a lot like pork, though slightly sweeter. Dear God, please don't tell me we went through all this trouble just for some scammer? The room filled with children flashed through her mind. Okay, fair enough, it doesn't really matter. Cannibalism, human trafficking, child porn… A shiver went up her spine. I don't know which one I should be hoping for to be true. I'd guess human trafficking, but when it involves children, it often ends up porn related anyway. A wave of despair went through her entire being. How I fucking hate the human race at times.

Lucius scrutinised her. "Not what you expected?"

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Amy pushed her thoughts away as she tried to fall back into her role. "It tastes like pork. I wasn't expecting it to taste like pork. Is this real or are you screwing with me?" She looked at him intensely whilst still nibbling the piece of meat. She was almost certain it was pork, though she tried to catch the taste better. "You better not be trying to scam me."

He grinned. "Why don't you wait here; I'll show you something that will clear this up."

Amy bit in a piece that was raw, but warm. It didn't feel right somehow, so she returned to the cooked edges.

"It'll take five to ten minutes—don't grow impatient." He winked at her and walked away to a metal door at the other side of the room.

The moment the door closed, Amy sprinted towards the exit, taking the piece of meat with her.

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"Amy!" Tom exclaimed. "Thank goodness you're alright—we were about to invade the place."

Amy panted from her sprint and she presented the piece of meat to her chief.

Tom frowned. "What's this?" He took the meat from her and smelled it. "Pork?" He carefully nibbled it.

"What the hell are you doing?" she exclaimed, baffled. "If I am to believe him, that's human!"

Tom spat out the contents of his mouth. "Dear lord, so it is true?"

Amy grabbed her backup gear that lay against a tree trunk. "So far I haven't seen anything that proves it but have that meat checked." She quickly fastened a holster with a small pistol around her ankle and ensured her jeans covered it neatly. "We can take him in for kidnapping kids; he has a whole bunch locked up in there!" She picked up her earpiece and turned it on.

Tom nodded. "I'll give the sign to raid the place then."

Amy shook her head. She started to walk away, waving the earpiece before putting it in, indicating she was switching to that. "I got to return. He's going to show me something important and I need to know what it is. He said it'll be a few minutes, so I got to go right now."

"Are you sure?" Tom frowned as he watched her leave. "What you just said gives us enough reason to infiltrate," his voice boomed directly into her ear.

"Just give me fifteen more minutes, okay? Then you can storm the place. If anything goes wrong, I'll use the codeword. I'm armed now, too. I need to try and see if I can get anything else out of him."

Tom sighed. "Okay, take care."

Amy removed the earpiece, muted it so only the microphone was working, and tucked it between her breasts. She took a few deep breaths and sprinted back to the house. As she passed it, she recognised the blinded windows of the room where the kids were. She tried to look inside, but couldn't see or hear anything.

Don't worry, I'll save you…

She hurried inside, but as she crossed the door of the children's room she had to stop. The area where Lucius had told her to wait was in sight, but she didn't see him.

Should I try it?

She bit her lip and turned to the door. She was relieved to see that the lock was a simple sliding one—unlike the other which had required his fingerprint—and she carefully entered the room. "Hey kids, you're free to go," she said softly. "Come on, hurry outside. Policemen will be waiting there. You can go back home to your parents." She wanted to say it more loudly but didn't dare.

The children didn't seem to fully understand as they stood up slowly, glancing at one another.

"Go on, you can leave now." She looked over her shoulder, but there was still no Lucius to be seen.

Finally, they started to move. Two of them were helping Timmy up as the rest made their way to the door. The boy leant on his friends as he limped towards Amy, his left leg dragging behind him. Timmy turned to look at her as he passed her on the way out. At first, Amy was relieved to see him smile, but her heart skipped a beat when she realised he had only one eye. His good eye looked at her, while the other was nothing but a dark, empty socket.

Stomach acid rose and Amy had to suppress the urge to vomit. Don't tell me he removed the boy's eye.

The children hurried away, taking poor Timmy along with them. Satisfied with their escape in progress, Amy snuck back to the room where she was supposed to be waiting. To her relief, Lucius hadn't returned yet. She made sure to close the metal door to the exact same point it had been before she had left, ensuring it wouldn't reveal her brief trip outside.

She thought of Tom. I hope he heard me talking to the kids just now. Get them to safety before this place gets stormed.

A little anxious about her limited time, she started to pace through the room. How long has he been gone now? Adrenaline coursed through her veins and she prepared herself to duck, roll, and grab her hidden gun should her cover be blown.

The soft sound of someone weeping was also still audible, but the room echoed the sound around, making it hard for her to locate the source. She realised she had forgotten to mention the possible other captive to her chief and she mentally facepalmed.

That's what you get for rushing! She bit her lip as she walked over to the metal contraptions. What exactly are these?

Some looked like large metal caskets, while others looked more like leftovers from a car crash. She went around to check them all, hoping to find whoever was being held captive. Suddenly, she realised the anguished sobs were coming from a vertical construction in a corner and she hurried towards it.

"Hello, anyone there?"

A weak wail was all the reply she got. It was dark in the corner, and it took Amy's eyes a few seconds to adjust.

To her absolute terror what lay hidden in the shadows became visible. A woman stood in the centre of the machine, her arms spread and chained. Amy tried to focus in the gloom, as there seemed to be something moving in front of her. The moment she realised what was going on she gasped, faced away and puked.

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"Amy, are you okay?" Doctor Langston stood beside her and offered her a tissue.

Amy had stopped telling what she was seeing; instead, she had turned her head and thrown up.

"Fuck, hell no!" She spat the contents of her mouth on the already existing pile of vomit. "Sorry about that…"

Doctor Langston shook his head. "Don't worry; I'll have someone clean that up later." He took her glass and refilled it. "You're not the first, so don't feel ashamed."

She gladly took the water and drank.

"What happened?"

Amy shook her head. "Dear sweet God, that woman… The poor thing… She was still alive! I don't understand why, or how, but she was still alive in that… That thing!"

"What thing, Amy?"

She emptied the glass. "He was fucking grinding her up! Slowly… Oh so very slowly." She shivered. "Why didn't she just die? Or at least pass out?" She closed her eyes as if that would erase the image burned into her mind. "It was like an oversized cheese-grater."

Colour drained from Doctor Langston's face. "A what…?"

"The machine he had placed her in was slowly shredding away at her torso. Hell, if she had breasts they were long gone." She placed the empty glass on the table and bit her thumb. "…a large part of her belly was gone too."

Doctor Langston swallowed; he seemed to be getting a tad green in the face himself.

"Her screams…" She shook her head again and sighed deeply. "Why didn't she die?"

Doctor Langston didn't answer, but as Amy remained silent he thought about it and said, "Perhaps he drugged her?"

Amy hugged her legs to her chest. "She just kept on wailing and sobbing as the blades advanced. I don't understand how she remained conscious. I-I tried to see if there was a button or switch—hell, maybe just a power cord—but it seemed that thing wasn't accessible from where I stood. It couldn't have been, as all the… As all the—" She suppressed a sob. "Dear lord, all the scraped off flesh was collected at her feet! A giant puddle of goo that flowed towards—" Suddenly her eyes went blank.

Doctor Langston waited a bit, but Amy didn't move. "Amy?" He snapped his fingers in front of her face, but she remained unresponsive. He gently shook her shoulder, but it was no use—she had gone catatonic. He sighed and mumbled to himself, "That was to be expected."