The Pleasure of the Pain

Three- RYTH

No...the word rose as I surfaced. Snap. Something closed around my ankle, making me flinch. I tried to force open my eyes, but exhaustion weighed them down, keeping me under. 

No! No! NICK! I snapped awake with the words, driving myself to the surface. Nick...Nick...the image of him rose slowly in my mind. Lying on the concrete, bleeding, desperation and rage burning in his eyes. The sight was a shot of adrenaline. I forced open my eyes.

"Easy," someone snapped at my right. A sting came at my arm, making me wince. I turned my head, squinting at the glaring light, finding a man dressed in black pulling a needle free. Panic moved through me, making my heart thunder.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I tried to push up, but the room swayed.

"Easy." The man pushed me back down, the bed hard and cold underneath me. The spotlight pulsed. Throb. Throb. Throb.

"Let me up," I growled.

"Nick. Nick. I have to save—" The room tilted with any movement. Buzz buzz buzz.

I tried to blink with the sound, but that darkness reached for me, dragging me back under.

"Gotta stayeee awwakkeee...Niiiccckkk..." I tried to fight that cruel grip as it clutched my ankle and tugged me back down and as I succumbed to the emptiness, that grating sound echoed once more.

Buzz buzz buzz... Ryth! Nick's screams surfaced. Faint, so very faint. RYTH! Only darkness waited for me now, pressing down like a weight. Until a sound drew me higher. The heaviness that weighed me down lifted a little.

A hand pressed against my mouth.

"Shh," a female whisper came against my ear.

"If they find me in here, they'll take me." Air trickled in when I sucked in a breath, but warmth pressed over my mouth, making me jerk open my eyes.

I blinked into the murky gloom, seeing movement over me. In an instant, the room came rushing back. The sting in my arm. The panic I felt. The man...the man.

"Easy," she urged, her voice soft and careful.

"I'm gonna take my hand away, okay? Just don't...scream." The hand slipped away, leaving me to gasp and stare.

"I'm Viv...Vivienne," she whispered.

"I saw them...when they came for you. You can get out of here, can't you? I mean, not right now...but soon. Soon they'll come." My slow thoughts crept closer until they slipped away again.

"Who?" She stared at me.

"The ones who rammed the gate." The gate? What gate? I dropped my hand to the cold steel beside me and shoved, wincing as agony pummeled my head. I blinked and tried to think.

"Where am I?"

"Don't you know by now?" she murmured.

"You've come to Hell, a brand new version." Her head snapped up, her eyes moving across the room before she moved back.

"You gotta survive this place, gotta get free. They'll come for you now that you're awake, but I'll find you. I'll find you and help you get out of here. Only when you leave, you gotta promise to take me with you." She stepped away, moving toward the door.