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Chapter 7: Shadow

Chapter 7

Shadow

September 15th, XX57

My body hung empty from chains binding my wrists. It was pitch black inside this dark cold cell. Who knows how long I had been kept down here this time around. I didn't.

Yet i knew my torture was coming to an end when the lashes stopped hitting my skin. The screams and memories faded to deafening silence. The blood stopped trickling out and my skin began to close on its own. Sweet sweet relief from what i assumed was days of non stop torture.

The cell door swung open loudly. With it comes the release of the chains, dropping me to the floor. I barely caught myself before standing and looking at the two tall men who had come to fetch me. I smirk cockily and tilt my head at them. "What took you so long?" I asked as I rubbed my aching wrists. Even in this darkness I could see the skin had been rubbed free from them, leaving the muscles underneath and bits of bone exposed. The result of long hours spent pulling at the chains for freedom. Mason crossed his arms as Trick sighed next to him.

"How did you know?" asked Trick with a frown.

"know what?" I asked, letting my arms drop to hang at my sides.

"The child" he spoke with a frown.

"So, she was indeed pregnant then?" the two nodded, wiping my smile away. I took no pleasure in killing the innocent or young. Many times I had even been punished for protecting them rather than striking them down. "Simple," I said as I walked towards them. "I felt no kin of mine within her soul" I gently brushed past the two of them. Trick made a sound as if to speak but was soon silenced by, I assume, Mason.

It was well known that the creatures of hell had a hard time repopulating. Many masters tried several methods from steroids to surrogate mothers to reproduce those strong beasts of fire that ate the souls of their enemies. But no one had succeeded. The only time they ever seemed to reproduce was willingly and with someone they would care for. Yet even then the odds were not in their favor. Many couples would live without ever barring offspring.

Only few knew what happened when a pair was successful. Due to them being so hard to produce, the mothers that became pregnant with a hell's child would be guarded by the father. As they came closer to term the father would become ever more protective of his mate and future charge and eventually would see everyone as a foe, even if they were family. Only other creatures of their species could get close enough to touch the mother but not by much.

I knew that if she had indeed accepted my seed within her body, I would never be able to harm her. Rather I would sacrifice my very life before ever allowing a drop of her blood to touch the floor. Yet hurting her was as easy as breathing, with only the emotional torment being painful.

I walked up the long stairs that lead from that dark dank hellish basement, back to the surface. The torment chambers we appropriately called "Hell" were located five miles below the earth's surface. preventing any of us from ever escaping or calling out to others as they were taught their lesson. The stairs were long and differed from house to house. This one was straight up in steep small steps with walls four feet from either side of you as you ascended. The climb was always annoying. Yet as I walked I could feel my body relax. My muscles slid underneath my skin to their resting positions, though they were quite stubborn about it. My jaw unclenched as the light from above came into view. My eyelids closed half way and taunted me with sleep. But most importantly, the further away I got from those cursed cells, the more my mind and body began to heal from its tormenting memories. By the time we reached the top, my wounds had healed, my hunger growled loudly, and my body collapsed with exhaustion.