Let The World Burn | 18+

chapter two

let the world burn
chapter two
i can make you scream... in pleasure or pain

##

「 ✦ PRINCESS ✦ 」

After we're all led to the main hall, they force us to sit down on the ground, huddled together in a small space. The room feels huge, but somehow we're packed tight, like sardines in a can. The four masked men have now become seven as three more join them, making the atmosphere even more suffocating.

I keep quiet, my mind racing. Pulling any attention to myself right now seems like a terrible idea. My heart is pounding in my chest, each beat echoing in my ears. One of the men is circling around us, his eyes sharp and predatory, watching our every move. It's like he's waiting for someone to step out of line, to give him a reason to act. The tension in the air is thick enough to cut with a knife.

The leader, the guy from the parking lot, stands far away in the room with the other five. His eyes occasionally glance over at us, at me in particular. Every time his gaze lands on me, it feels like a spotlight shining directly in my face. My skin crawls under the weight of his stare, but I keep my head down, trying to make myself as invisible as possible.

My mind keeps flashing back to the moment in the parking lot, his intense eyes sizing me up, that smirk. Now, here we are, and he's in control. The reality of the situation is surreal, like a nightmare I can't wake up from.

Around me, my classmates are equally terrified. Some are quietly crying, others are just staring blankly, probably in shock. I hug my knees to my chest, trying to make myself smaller, to disappear into the background. Panic is clawing at the edges of my mind, but I force it down. I need to stay calm, need to think clearly.

As the tension thickens in the air, one of the masked men breaks away from the group and strides purposefully towards a girl sitting not far from me. My heart skips a beat as I recognize her—it's Idalia. We've exchanged polite greetings in passing, but beyond that, we've never really spoken.

The man's eyes rake over her, his gaze predatory as he slowly smirks. My stomach churns with dread as he looks back at his leader, a sinister glint in his eyes. "While we're here, you wouldn't mind us making the most of our time, right boss?" he asks, his voice dripping with malicious intent.

The leader's brow furrows, his expression darkening with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. My breath catches in my throat as he shoots me a glance, his eyes boring into mine with an intensity that makes my blood run cold. It's like he knows exactly what's going through my mind, like he can see the terror churning inside me.

And then, to my horror, he simply nods at the man, a silent approval that sends a shiver down my spine. My heart pounds in my chest as I watch helplessly, paralyzed by fear and helplessness, as Idalia is dragged away into the shadows.

I want to scream, to protest, to do something, anything to stop it. But I'm frozen, trapped in a nightmare from which there seems to be no escape.

As I hug my knees tighter to my chest, trying to block out the sounds of Idalia's cries echoing through the hall, another wave of terror washes over me as I hear the commotion escalate. Another girl is dragged away, her cries joining Idalia's in a cacophony of fear and despair. It all happens in a blur.

I keep my eyes closed and my head low, hoping to avoid drawing any attention to myself. But the silence that follows is deafening, broken only by the sound of my own ragged breaths. I'm so lost in my own thoughts that I don't realize someone has stopped in front of me until I feel a presence looming over me.