PART 1: MEMORIES

༻ ∞ ༺

1.3

Amy was on her hands and feet, gasping for air between the spasms of her stomach. It's worse than we thought—he's beyond insane!

She got up too fast and went down seeing black stars dance in front of her. Slower now, she rose again. With some trouble, she managed to stand in front of the hellish machine. The trapped woman was still wailing softly.

There must be a way to shut it down! She looked closer at the machine. This undercover operation ends now.

As she examined the outside of the construct, she retrieved her earpiece and turned the volume back on. As clearly as her trembling voice would allow, she stated, "I need people in here now. Call an ambulance, too. I have a seriously injured woman."

She waited for a response, but the line remained silent.

"Hello? Tom? Anyone?"

She took the earpiece out to examine it. The door behind her slammed shut, startling her. She dropped the piece, ducked, rolled back, and grabbed her gun. Aiming it at the door, heart pounding in her throat, she realised she was still alone.

Was it the wind or did Lucius hear me?

She swallowed, the taste of bile still heavy in her mouth. She rose and sprinted to the door, but it was locked.

Shit, maybe he used a secret passage! She tried to force it open, but it wouldn't budge. Fuck, fuck, fuck! How could I be this stupid? She cursed herself as she looked around the room for another exit—only the door Lucius had gone through seemed to be an option.

The earpiece lay on the ground and she huffed, realising the surrounding metal and concrete were probably blocking the signal.

Fifteen minutes was all I was given. How much time has passed? Just … try to remain calm. Backup's coming. You got your gun; if Lucius returns, you can handle him.

She went back to the trapped woman, her cries barely audible now.

I might be able to wait for backup, but she needs a doctor NOW.

Refusing to put her weapon away, she kept it firmly in her hand while she searched for a way to turn off the blades endlessly shredding away at the woman. The smell of blood triggered a new wave of nausea, but she managed to keep the rising bile from escaping her mouth.

Squinting, she noticed something shiny behind the victim. It was near the back, to the side—a safe distance away from the grinder. Thinking it was the switch she was so desperately searching for, she reached for it. Just as her fingers almost touched it, it went away. Her heart skipped a beat, but when a firm hand grabbed hers, it almost stopped for good.

"Did you really think you had me fooled, Amy?"

Shock delayed her action for just a second. She raised her gun while she searched for a spot to aim it at—she had to ensure she would hit Lucius and not the woman.

Lucius yanked her arm roughly, causing her to hit her head on the metal frame. Her knees gave way and she collapsed, but Lucius still held her wrist tightly.

The machine came to a halt. There was a muffled shot and the woman went silent. Amy's eyes widened as she realised what had just happened.

"I must say, I never expected you to actually eat the meat I gave you. Remember little Timmy? It was a piece of him that you so willingly ate."

She felt lightheaded. Oh God, you sick fuck! She tried to regain her focus and lifted the gun again. With the woman dead, she only had to ensure she wouldn't shoot her own arm in the dark.

"You have caused me a lot of trouble; I had to get rid of all the lab rats."

The kids? But … I just saved them. She imagined Lucius shooting them all one by one before they got outside. "No," she whimpered as she aimed along her own arm.

"Yes, Amy, and all because of you. Well, your friends to be more precise. I could have easily taken care of just you, but you had to bring along some company."

Shit, when did he figure it all out? She squinted and guessed Lucius stood to the right of her. She was about to pull the trigger when he yanked her arm again, causing her head to slam against the metal. The gun fumbled out of her grasp and fell into the gore below with a sickening splash. Dazed, she grunted as blood trickled down the side of her face.

His grip on her wrist intensified, the bones shifting in an attempt to avoid breaking. The pain caused tears to roll down her cheeks.

"Don't you know that firing that thing in here would permanently damage your hearing?"

Amy gritted her teeth. "I would gladly shoot you and become deaf myself, you fucking monster. Your game's up, though. We got this place surrounded."

Lucius laughed. "You think I don't know that last bit? Oh yeah, I know your friends are on their way. They are storming in as we speak."

She frowned. Something's not right. If he's telling me this, then—

"Ah, they're inside. That's one mistake your friends are making: they only left eight people to guard the outside."

Amy was still on her knees, the metal contraption pressing painfully against her ribs while Lucius' grip on her wrist was close to shattering her bones. Unable to move away, she gathered her courage and pushed away her disgust. She lowered her free arm and flinched as her fingers found the warm goo on the bottom of the machine. Her stomach protested, acid flooding into her mouth, but she continued to search for the gun she had dropped. On the other side of the machine, she could hear Lucius pressing buttons.

"There, that's only six, four, two, and … no-one left outside."

Confused, Amy's hand stopped its search. What did he just—

A large explosion shook the room.

"And that's no-one left on the inside either. That leaves only you now. Amy, Yllona, Hecubah." He yanked her roughly towards him again, nearly dislodging her shoulder. "But don't worry: I won't get rid of you."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

She screamed as a needle entered her arm. "Wha—" Her tongue failed her. Oh, fuck… Everything blurred before fading to black.

༻ ∞ ༺

Amy opened her eyes.

"Welcome back," Doctor Langston said. He poured her a glass of water. "I'm allowed to tell you at this point, that what you've told correlates with the investigation done in the area you've been remembering."

Amy sat up straight. I don't want to go any further than this. Trembling, she took the glass and drank. "Could you … please tell me what happened to my colleagues?" she asked with a weak voice.

Doctor Langston nodded. "The officers outside were shot, all in the head. There was no report of any disturbances, so they think it must have been a sniper. The officers that went inside all died in an explosion, although that's just a guess…"

Amy frowned.

"There was a clear blast radius visible around the entrance area, but as the entire complex burned to the ground with use of thermite, there wasn't much left to investigate." He was silent for a minute or so. "Can you remember how you left the complex?"

Amy shook her head. "He drugged me. I remember waking up somewhere else, but—" She shuddered. "Please, let's continue this tomorrow. I can't handle any more memories right now."

༻ ∞ ༺

Everything was black. Where am I? Hello? Anyone there?

It took Amy a moment to realise that she wasn't speaking out loud. She tried to repeat herself, but her lips refused. Scared, she tried to reach for her mouth; her hand had barely moved when a sudden pain in her wrists made her realise that she was bound.

Fuck!

She tried to free her hands but stopped when she heard footsteps. Her breathing slowed down in order to catch every little sound around her. The steps distanced, only to return moments later.

Someone removed her blindfold, but she closed her eyes to shield them from the intense light. Slowly, she opened them. The moment she realised that it was Lucius standing before her, he gave her a right hook.

Amy was knocked to the floor, together with the chair she was bound to. Blood flooded her mouth but being unable to spit it out she was forced to swallow it.

Lucius placed the chair upon its four legs again, gave Amy a left hook, and placed the chair back up yet again.

He's going to kill me…

He firmly grabbed her chin, his fingers digging into her already sore flesh. "You've caused me a lot of trouble…" He ripped off the duct tape that had been covering her mouth. "Scream and I'll make sure it's for a reason."

Lightheaded and nauseated, Amy hadn't even considered screaming. This isn't happening, this isn't real. I must be dreaming. I'm not going to die. I'm not he— Lucius punched her in the gut and she gasped for breath.

"Now, let's put down the ground rules." He grabbed the chair that stood behind him and took place in front of Amy.

Oh please, God…

He grabbed her chin again and made her look to the left; there was a chalkboard on the wall. "See that? Those are the three levels of punishment I will give according to your behaviour."

The white letters danced in front of her eyes. She was unable to read it as tears blurred her vision.

"Level one punishment consists of physical punishment in any form, without the aid of tools. Loss of blood with this punishment will be … accidental."

Tools? Loss of blood? What?!

"A level two punishment is also that of the physical kind, however with the use of tools. These can vary from tools to pull out your fingernails, to whips, to whatever I can think of. Loss of blood with this punishment tends to be inevitable."

Amy's world spun. This isn't happening. We had him surrounded. I was armed. How did I end up here? Where's everyone?

"Then there's the level three punishment. Unlike the previous punishments, this one is intended to actually remove tissue from your body. And with that, I mean more than just a little bit of blood or a nail."

Her stomach turned and a little bit of acid found its way up. Tissue… She remembered her fingers moving through the gore to find her weapon. He knew what was going on. We failed.

"If you're a good girl, you won't need to be punished—remember that." He turned her head back so she would look at him. "Do you understand?" His face was ageless, emotionless, but in his eyes a raging fire was visible. He sighed. "As you're still new to this I'll explain… When I ask you a question, you will answer it."

He has the eyes of a devil. She opened her mouth, her teeth stained pink with blood, but no sound came from her throat. Is he going to place me in that grinder if I don't play along? Nausea washed over her.

Lucius raised a brow, awaiting her answer.

"Ye—" Amy's body convulsed and she threw up all over herself; Lucius had retreated his hand just in time. Stars danced in her vision and the world spun. Oh, fuck… She fainted.

༻ ∞ ༺

Amy awoke with a gasp, eyes wide open and sitting up straight in bed. Wait, bed?

She looked around the dimly lit room. No windows, an empty bookcase, and a toilet. Feeling the almost painful pressure in her abdomen she quickly got out of the bed and relieved herself.

Where are my clothes? Or better yet, where the fuck am I?

The memory of being taken by Lucius and awakening to a beating came back to her. Fear twisted her insides and she grabbed the sheets to cover herself up with.

Well, that explains the swollen, aching face and the lingering taste of blood in my mouth. Shit, I have to get the fuck out of here! I may still be alive, but I doubt that's a good thing. She thought of the woman trapped in the grinder and shivered.

She investigated the metal door. It had no handle and pushing against had no effect. Frantically, she looked around the room for any kind of weapon to defend herself with. The bed was welded to the floor, the lights were out of her reach and integrated into the ceiling; as for the empty bookcase, that would probably still stand after an earthquake. The only loose objects in the room were herself, the bed linen, and a roll of toilet paper.

I doubt I could defeat Lucius with a pillow-fight, let alone by throwing a damn roll of TP to his head. I could try and overpower him, but then what? I have no cuffs or anything else to bind him with quickly. I can't assume there's anyone coming for me, either. She took a deep breath and, despite her better judgement, yelled, "Shit!"

Mere seconds later she heard someone on the other side of the door.

Okay, fuck it, better to have a pillow than nothing at all! And she quickly ran to the bed to grab it. Holding it as if it was an actual shield, she stood next to the door. She looked for the hinges to try to determine which way it would go, but the moment she realised that it was a sliding door it was already opening.

Normally she would have had the guts to take action, but now she was just glad she had already taken a piss. Petrified, she stared at Lucius. The mere energy he radiated sent shivers up her spine. She noticed his hair was black now and a different cut. He held a taser in one hand and a metal suitcase in the other.

"My, my… Aren't you looking cute, all wrapped up in a sheet, cuddling a pillow." He placed the suitcase on the floor and slid the door shut. Slowly, he walked up to her. "You weren't intending to hit me with that, were you?"

Amy shook her head, hugging the pillow close. He's armed and I'm naked, better try to keep him as friendly as I can. Though, maybe… Maybe I can overpower him and use the taser against him? She tried to analyse the odds of that plan succeeding.

"Our last conversation was cut short sadly, but that doesn't mean I was done talking to you."

The taser crackled and Amy backed away, bumping into the bed. I can't believe I ever dared sleep with this psycho, all alone in that motel! She swallowed. What if he had abducted me then? What if I had been the one in that grinder, a victim for another agent to find? She gripped the pillow tighter.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice."

She bit her lip. Even if I got past him, even if I made it through that door, what are the odds of getting outside, of getting away?

The taser crackled again and Lucius grinned. "Tic, toc…"

Amy closed her eyes for a second and slowly took in a deep breath. She placed the pillow back on the bed and moved as if to sit down. As she did, her hands clutched the sheet around her body. Before her butt touched the mattress she jumped back up and threw the large cloth at Lucius. He disappeared in the sea of white, the taser crackling angrily underneath as he stepped towards her, his other arm trying to free himself out of the mess.

That was all the time she could buy herself. She evaded Lucius, deciding against trying to tackle him, and rushed towards the door, slid it open, and sprinted through a barren hallway. The massive iron door at the end came in sight, she grabbed the handle and…

It was locked.

The touch of Lucius' cold hand on her shoulder was accompanied by the taser's power in the small of her back.

"You just raised the level of your punishment," Lucius whispered as she blacked out again.

༻ ∞ ༺

"Please, isn't this enough? Can we just stop here, please? I don't want to remember any more!" Amy pleaded her therapist.

Doctor Langston simply shook his head. "You've given us a lot Amy, but we need more if we want this guy to be imprisoned for a very long time."

Amy sighed. The memories seemed to have been unlocked as they kept coming to her with frightening ease now. I don't want to remember what happened next.