A Bloody Smile In The Dark

Another cog in the murder machine

Sharp unbearable stinging pain makes it hard to concentrate. It's a lot of adjectives, i know, but it gives the idea of how poignant the situation is. The fact that i feel like on drugs most of the time doesn't help either. Technically i am on dope, actually. After my strange accident, the world decided it'd be fun to use me as their little diversion, taking care of me to keep their minds off of their own preoccupations. The thing is i owe them not only my life, which still holds close to no meaning to me, but mainly the amount of cool experiences i'm living, though with mixed results. Nobody ever told me exactly how they made it possible for me to reside permanently in this fluctuating city without me moving a finger but again, i don't dare to ask. The subtle medication *A Lost Opportunity* put me on has thinned even more drastically my already questionable short-term memory, somehow allowing me to perform decently on regular activities at the same time.

Wolfie asked me out for a drink after work, and the outing went wonderfully fine catching up, telling each other about our pasts. Apparently we have more in common than i believed possible. However, no matter how badly my subconscious wanted to spend the rest of the night getting laid, this is not how i had imagined it. I'm not one to turn down some kinky action but laying on a butcher table with an indented blade between my legs is a tad excessive, even for moi.

My ankles are tied to the table so tight i'm almost paralyzed from the pain. I look to my right making no sound and what i see brings back memories of what went on after we left the pub.

Several gun shots thundered loudly as we approached our cars, and soon enough a group of bulky men dressed in black head to toe began circling us shouting angry words we couldn't understand. As we tried to escape, some women who were inside ran out all bloody and instead of gassing away, we went back in to see what had happened. We had to hide under the counter to avoid being caught by an unstable fool who was randomly stabbing people while talking to himself. Ryland managed to dial Hémile's phone and a few minutes later we heard familiar sirens coming nearer. It wasn't over yet because when we made it to the parking lot, the unknown figures began shooting like crazy once again. I heard crying from a nearby car and noticed a young girl trapped inside. I struggled to break a window to pull her out but made it just in time before the vehicle exploded seconds later, catapulting us feet away. Gunfire cracked the air without interruption with bullets raining around us for what seemed like an eternity. The last thing i saw was a sea of blood gleaming thanks to the bar's neon lights; then, one big blur.

The wall against which i'm pressed stinks awfully and if i puked now i'd surely suffocate in my own discard. It's broad daylight from what i can see through the windows. A ninja is sleeping under one of them while another is whispering to Ryland, who in return is duck taped to a chair in the middle of the room and, from what i can see, the guy's pincers have already been put to use. There's a massive chest at the other end of the room with someone leaning over it and, most importantly, what i believe is a woman is hanging from the ceiling behind Ry in a crucifix-style pose.

"Oh. Looks like your sleeping beauty's awake"

And with this jab he grabs a rock tossing it at his friend who immediately jumps to his feet.

"It's time to get this show on the road"

The short man comes closer activating the rotating blade in front of me as Ry kicks the leader in the knee. He responds by shoving the pincers across his face, the room echoing with his pained grunt.

"You'll sit here and watch her die. I might let you pick a side to cuddle to as i cut you into pieces later as well, if you behave"

"Go to hell!"

He still has strength to shout, bless him. In a plot twist only the heavens could send us, the bastard's dumb shoulder took a stumble dropping his gun, angering him to the nines.

"You fucking idiot, come here!"

Gathering all i have left, i wait for them to turn their backs on me to start stretching myself reaching for the weapon. The blade is dangerously nearing my core so this is now or never. My bones are hurting and i can feel my skin ripping at every stroke. Ryland's eyes are watering with hope and resignation while mine are going black from the strain.

"It's all over, man. We've completed the task, let's just have some fun with these scumbags and we'll be free to go. Come on, beware"

Right. Beware. It doesn't end today, not this way.

I pull the trigger as many times as it allows and watch the men in black fall to the ground. I'm bleeding but not going down without a fight, so i thrust my hips upwards shifting my right thigh facing the blade to give it more meat to slide through to hopefully gain time. Just as i try to speak, Ry throws himself to the floor breaking one of the chair's legs. At this point it's an Houdini kind of stunt; he manages to slide the rope off with his feet and forcibly crawl my way with the back of the chair still glued to his. I watch him jolt as the metal makes a horrible shrieking sound coming in contact with my leg bone, but luckily for me he recovers quickly enough to kick the machine off before it can transform me into some bloody stew. I thank him quietly and free myself completely before releasing him as well unsure of what to expect from our next move. Every inch of our bodies hurts more than words can explain but we also don't want to die buried alive in this loophole, so after many attempts to get ourselves steady on our feet we begin to study the situation. Our keepers are down and out allowing us relative freedom. Ry goes straight for the door, not too surprised to find it double-locked while i, on the other hand, am quite shocked to see that god is indeed a golden-locked woman. There's obviously no signal to call for help so we grab the pincers and smash the window. He jumps out making it seem too easy for the Swiss cheese piece he is at the moment, and shoots the door open, letting me fall to the floor in relief.

"Hey! Hey please hang in there"

"I'm alright, just claustrophobic. I think...i think Cal's still breathing..."

"Cal? Fucking hell. I didn't even notice"

"Who's the guy over there?"

"No idea. H will be here soon"

The two of us both physically and mentally too exhausted and devastated to move, we sit next to the door holding each other begging the other to stay alive. It's good enough for now.