The Monster in The Black Room (Hero & Villain story)

What Lurks in The Darkness

   Supervillain was a powerful crime lord, whose son, Villain, was a rebellious but crafty and clever kid who is always getting into mischief. Supervillain allowed his son to go wherever he wanted in the giant headquarters building, with only one rule: never go in the Black Room.
   Villain had always been curious as to why. The first day Supervillain showed him its location, he had wondered why the door was made of 4-inch reinforced steel. What could it be holding inside to be made so secure?
   But he trusted his father's judgment, and steered clear of that room at all costs. But he couldn't help noticing all the times Supervillain used that mysterious place as a threat against his henchmen. 'Obey or I'll throw you in the Black Room for a night, see if you survive'. 'I will send you to the Black Room if you keep this up'.
   And Supervillain sometimes made good on his word, dragging screaming prisoners or traitorous henchmen to that room. They always seemed terrified of it, kicking and panicking and struggling as they were dragged away. What could possibly be so terrifying behind the door Villain was never permitted to go beyond?
   Villain had tried pestering his father for answers a few times, but Supervillain always brushed him off and never gave even a slight hint at what he was hiding in the Black Room.
   But today would be different. Supervillain was gone for the day on some business elsewhere in the city. It was the perfect opportunity for Villain to sate his ever-growing curiosity. He snuck through the headquarters despite knowing he was allowed to, anxiety gnawing away at his stomach as he finally reached the Black Room's door. The one place he was restricted from accessing.
   He'd swiped a keycard off of Supervillain's desk earlier, and now he held it in hands trembling with nervous excitement as he held it up to the electric scanner next to the door. It beeped once, and the door unlocked. Success. Villain let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He heaved the giant steel door open with a grunt of effort, slipping inside and closing it behind him to avoid suspicion of any henchmen walking by.
   It was pitch-black inside, and Villain fished around in his pockets for a flashlight he'd brought, flicking it on. Maybe that's why it was called 'the Black Room', because it was dark like death. And there was an odd, stale odor in the air.
   He was standing at the top of a concrete staircase, and he carefully descended down it, having the unusual urge to do it as silently as possible. Like his mind knew there was hidden danger that could be awoken at the slightest sound.
   Once at the bottom, Villain swept his light around the room, barely stifling a gasp of horror to see bones on the floor-- human bones. Is this where Supervillain sent all traitors to die? Is this why everyone was so terrified of this room?
   Villain's soul nearly left his body in fear when he heard the quiet rasp of chains rattling across the floor behind him, followed by an agitated hiss.
   Something was alive in here. He wasn't alone. He whipped around fast, a strangled shriek escaping him when the beam of his flashlight illuminated thin, bony hands lunging for him, someone lurching out of the darkness with an animalistic hiss. Whoever it was slammed into him hard, winding Villain as it flung him backwards and pinned him against the wall with a hand on his throat.
   Villain lost hold of his flashlight, which clattered to the floor, lighting up a pair of bare feet caked in blood and dirt. His heart hammered painfully in his chest, pounding against his ribcage with ice-cold adrenaline. He was staring into the barely-visible face of a woman, whose amber eyes were dull and cloudy, near-lifeless. Her face was hollow, bones highly visibly beneath tightly-stretched skin. She looked like a living skeleton, all skin and bones held together by weak muscle. Emaciated beyond belief.
   And Villain recognized now what the strange aroma in the air was. It smelled like /death/ in here. He should have listened to his father and never come. Now he'd die.
   Villain whimpered fearfully as the woman leaned in close to him, sniffing his hair like an animal, her grip tight and restrictive around his throat, making breathing hard. He tried to shrink away, but there was nowhere to go, pinned in place.
   "Please..." Villain managed to croak out, desperately begging. "Please don't kill me..."
   The woman didn't respond at first, continuing to sniff him curiously, before she let out a low growl that came from deep in her chest, making Villain flinch. Then, miraculously... she released him, letting him slide against the wall to sit on the floor as his trembling legs gave out, in too much shock to run.
   She lowered herself to sit as well a short distance away, chains rattling with the movement -- chains attached to metal cuffs on her wrists, Villain realized. How long had this woman been kept down here like an animal?!
   She reached and plucked the flashlight from the floor, tapping the metal casing experimentally with a frown, the light bobbing around.
   "W-Who are you?" Villain managed to sputter, paralyzed by fear.
   The woman's sunken, red-rimmed eyes flicked up to meet his, a spark of canny intelligence glittering through the cloudy white film in her pupils. Her hands moved on the flashlight -- clicking the button that turned it off, plunging the whole room back into total darkness.
   A new kind of terror gripped Villain in vise-like jaws. He couldn't see the threat anymore, couldn't see anything but endless black. He had no idea where the woman was now, the scrape of chains his only clue.
   "...You have his face, but you are not him..." a hoarse, raspy voice suddenly echoed. "...You are not cruel. So who are you?" The words were wheezy and sounded ancient, spoken with vocal cords that sounded like they hadn't been used in ages.
   Villain shivered uneasily, pulling his knees to his chest and curling up protectively from where he sat. Should he answer? Was it dangerous to engage in conversation?
   But there wasn't exactly a way to escape, not with the suffocating darkness now enveloping him. He could try to make a run for it, but that might anger this stranger, and at the moment she didn't seem hostile. Wary and guarded, but passive... for now. Maybe he could keep her talking and distracted long enough for someone to find and rescue him.