Damned

Chapter 7: Hanahaki

Everything hurts... Hard to focus... Need to remember... Pills... Where... Deep breaths... Deep breaths...

"Miller... Hey, Miller... You still with me?"

I can hear Miller's heavy breaths in the dark of the room. He isn't responding. After what just happened, he's probably in the throes of shock right now...

"Miller... I need to to pull yourself together, or neither of us are getting out of here."

The breathing gets heavier, interrupted by an occasional gulp. He's trying to say something but can't choke it out.

"Mateo!"

"Gah-! Adrian! Adrian it fucking hurts, man, I- ghhh..."

"I know, I know it hurts bud, but right now, you need to focus. I'm having a heart attack. You need to break out of that chair."

I can hear the sounds of him struggling, but it seems to be all in vain. Who am I kidding... I could expect him to break through a solid steel wire, not with that wound in his eye... By now, he's probably hitting an adrenaline crash.

"Adrian, they're... I can't break the wire, God dammit, I can't break it! What do I do!?"

"I'm not sure, Mateo... I can't see... I can't think... I need you to think... I'm going to pass out... If you don't get out... If you..."

"Shit shit shit... I-I'll figure it out! Stay awake Adrian, I'll get ᵘˢ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ..."

His words seemed more and more distant... Everything did.... Losing consciousness... Fading to black...

When I wake up, I look around. My chest no longer hurts, and my vision is clearing. Even the skin on my hand is back in place. Did he get the medicine? Did he get us to a hospital? No, no that doesn't make sense... Nothing makes sense, everything's foggy... As I sit up, I realize; I'm not in the same room I was before. I'm in... What is this... A colosseum? It's dark, but there's deep red lights all around the sides of the stage I'm on. As I stumble to my feet, I can see I'm not alone. That crazy bastard in the labcoat... Looks like he's talking to someone. Well, at least he thinks he is.

"Have I not given you all enough!? I have done all I can, I give you pleasure, you ask for pain! I give you pain, you ask for pleasure! What is it that you want?!"

There he goes, talking to those invisible people again. Maybe this is my chance to- what? Shit, I can't move my legs. The harder I pull, the heavier they feel. What the hell is going on?

"N-No, I swear, I mean not to speak back! I just ask for directions, clarification! I know not what you want, oh my dear umbral god! I wish for nothing more than to please you so I beg, give me clear instructions! Show me exactly what you and the rest of my infernal audience desire!"

He cowers away, like an abused animal afraid of being hit. What the hell is this guy talking about. Infernal audience, umbral god... What, is he talking to devils? I'd say he's lost it, but... With everything that's happening tonight, I would even be surprised at this point. The man falls to his knees, and starts to cry and wail. Jesus... If he hadn't tied me to a chair and cut Mateo's eye out, I'd almost feel bad for him. While he's distracted by his 'audience', I start feeling through my pockets for my phone, my gun, anything but... No. Nothing. Didn't I have them before? It's hard to remember. Everything's so... fuzzy right now. It's hard to remember, it's hard to think... It's only getting worse the longer I'm here, wherever 'here' is.

"Please, my dark lord, please just one more chance! I need it, this is all I have! I only wish to put on a show for you!"

He starts spinning, desperately pleading to the devils that aren't there. But, the closer I look... The more I see them. It starts with the lights being smoky, but the smoke starts shaping. The smoke forms into a roughly human-like shape. I close my eyes and shake my head. I have to be going crazy, or this has to be a dream or... or something! Once I open my eyes, and there they are. Demons. God save me... Everything about them is twisted and backwards. Their skin is covered in boils, infected wounds, and scars, all of them varying shades of grey and black, with white particles all over them, almost as if they're covered in white sand. Their eyes are all bloodshot, and teeth rotten and yellow, filled with holes and cracks in the few teeth that remained. Their horns are horrifically misshapen, jutting out in random directions, even growing back into their own skulls. Just as I was starting to catch my breath, I saw it. I... I don't even know what 'it' is. A bundle of wings, but not like the wings of a bird. The wings are rotten, almost nothing but bone and burnt, decaying flesh is left. The wings are full of holes and they're constantly shifting and molding, seemingly fading in and out of existence. I can't hardly make sense of what I'm seeing...