Inhale

chapter.5

"Ah, Jason~!" The flashy man caressed the side of his face as he spoke to Jason, who stood at the door. He prowled towards us, a sickening grin on his face while inching closer to the corner of the room we were in. Every fiber in my body was screaming at me to run, to find some way to get away from that man. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand, as I swallowed the lump in my throat. Out of instinct, I stretched my arms out, in front of the others and pushed them behind me. I didn't want him to touch any of them, I didn't want anyone else to get hurt... but neither did I... want to get hurt...

        "(L-L/N)-San..." Hinami looked at me with bewilderment, questioning my actions.

        "Nico." The man wearing the clown mask scoffed as he crossed his arms.

        "Sorry, that one seems to be a bit of a nuisance." He stomped over to kick me in the face, sending my head back and hitting the wall. He continued kicking me, more force being added with each hit until he decided to pull me by my hair. "Now, stop trying to be a little hero, or else we're gonna end up having more fun like this." I stayed silent, not bothering to put my arms down. This man was obviously angered by that, hitting the top of my head as he forced my face onto the cement, digging the heel of his shoe into the back of my head. I felt my nose being crushed, my teeth ached as they hit the cement, causing my bottom lip to split. The pain was overwhelming as the burning sensation spread throughout my forehead to the back of my head, only to go back to the forming bruise. I tasted iron in my mouth as my face was smeared in my own small pool of blood. It felt warm... My mind was fuzzy... It was hard to breathe while both my nose and mouth were full of blood. I wanna sleep... I'm tired... It hurts...

        "Nico." Most of the warmth was taken away, the only thing I now felt was the unbearable stinging from the bruises on my face. I couldn't see anything anymore. I was being pulled up by my hair again, I can't think straight... What's going on? "Interesting, seems like she's already been through another form of torture before." He ran a finger along one of my arms, slowly trailing up to my sore chin. I felt like vomiting, except my mouth was too busy bleeding. He wiped off the blood on my bottom lip, letting out a deep chuckle. "Don't mess up my new toys so quickly, Nico." He inched closer to my face, his breath hitting my right ear. "I haven't even had a chance to play with them yet." The blood in my eyes was already drying up as it practically glued them closed, not letting me open them and see his all too obvious grin. He let me go, his footsteps getting further away as he left. "Be more gentle with them, will you?" His footsteps ceased for a moment. "Ah, I'd like to borrow this one." I heard a gasp, followed by a sob coming from behind me.

        "Kiko!" I heard shuffling, Hinami pulled me over to her, shaking as she cried silently. I barely had enough energy to lift my arms, yet I still tried, managing to remove some of the dry blood on my left eye. I could see the younger girl grabbing onto her older sister tightly, as she was being pulled away by Nico.

        "Onēsan!" She continued kicking until Nico punched her in the stomach, kicking her older sister as well before walking out of the cell. "Suté!" Her shouting was then muffled by a rag.

        "You stupid girls are so annoying." He sighed while walking away, taking the young girl with him. I felt myself begin to lose consciousness, the only thing I could hear now was Suté's screams as she held onto the bars of the cell.

-

        I groggily woke up, I didn't know how long I've been asleep again. I still couldn't see out of my right eye and my face was beyond sore; it was obviously swollen.  I could tell that my robe was stained with blood as it stuck onto my skin. My eye landed on Hinami. Her face had changed greatly, despite the small amount of time we've spent here. She had heavy, dark bags under her eyes, her lips were chapped, her fair skin was becoming a sickly pale white, her hair was progressively thinning out, I also noticed a few strands were white and grey; all results due to the stress of being in this kind of situation. Tired brown eyes looked back to my (Eye Color) eye.

        "(L/N)-San..." She shakily lifted a cold hand to my face, causing me to flinch. "S-sorry." A tear slipped out from her eye, the small droplet sliding across her face and falling onto the floor. She sat up, the door had been opened, Nico walked in as he brought a large tray with food. He was no longer wearing the clown mask, as his eyes landed on me, he gave me an insolent grin before walking out. I looked over to the bowls in front of us, mine having vastly less than the other two. I looked at it vacuously, expecting nothing more from my previous actions. As I stared at my food, I saw another bowl pushed towards me. I looked up, seeing Hinami giving me a brittle smile. "Here." She pulled her knees up to her chest as she looked at me. "I'm not hungry, so you should have it." I picked up my bowl, pouring all its contents into Hinami's before sliding it back to her.

        "You shouldn't suffer for my own actions." She shook her head, seemingly afraid, terrified even.

        "No!" Tears poured out from her eyes as she continued shaking her head. "You're hurt!" She held her head as her body began to spasm violently. "It's my fault... It's all my fault... Please... Please forgive me..." Her voice cracked as she rocked herself back and forth in the corner of the room, mumbling incoherent apologies to me while sobbing. It hurt to see such a timid and sweet girl become so distraught. I didn't want her to blame herself for this, seeing as there was no way to avoid it. It seemed like she was killing herself to save me; that was what this would lead to if I didn't stop her. I picked up the spoon from her bowl and fed her, forcing her to eat. If I were to be completely honest, I was hoping I had died earlier. I still hadn't seen Kiko come back, I've been worried. Suté wasn't doing well either, she had simply stayed in the opposite corner of the room, curled up in a ball for who-knows how long. I haven't seen her eat yet, I can't expect her to not be upset after everything that's happened. I can't expect that from anyone, seeing as we've been taken hostage by some random men, being physically abused and emotionally tormented. I'm still hoping that it wouldn't go any further than this, but I'm not that stupid... I rather be the one to end up that way... instead of anyone else... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared, it's normal after all. But it's still so strange... despite everything up until now... I rather experience pain than watch another suffer.

         My nostrils were filled by the earthy scent of trees and dirt, a gust of wind blew onto my face, as I felt a dull pain on my bare ankle. I had an old scar on my Achilles heel, the old stitch marks were still visible. I couldn't recall how it happened, nor where. I just know that I've been having it for the past five years. This dreadful desire to want to die felt somewhat familiar, I almost felt like crying just at the thought of it. I finished feeding her, my mind going blank for a few moments before I was sent flying towards the wall, my already injured head, receiving more abuse. I felt like my skull was being crushed as Nico's foot continued pushing harder. I honestly thought my head would explode any second now.

        "Get up, bitch." I shakily stood up, getting a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked at him, seeing a smirk on his lips. "Jason has a little job for you."