To Lose your Mind

Chapter 5 - Release

   Peter is nowhere to be seen the next morning, and Kar informs Sasha that he had to leave again. She feels somewhat betrayed by his sudden disappearance again, wondering why her father wouldn't have at least stayed to farewell her, although Kar just mutters about how there were things that needed to be done, and he leaves it at that.

As if nothing had changed, the pair return to their loose schedule, continuing to train. Sasha is doing particularly well today, using her disappointment in her father's absence to fuel her blows, although it all comes crashing to a halt when the pain in her back spikes.

She collapses to her knees, crying out in agony, feeling as though something were clawing at her back from the inside, trying to escape. Kar drops down beside her, offering her a bottle of water, his cool, calm exposure that he uses for fighting now replaced by a much gentler, concerned expression.

"I'm fine," she lies, gritting her teeth in an attempt to pass her grimace off as a smile. It fails, however, and she drops it, squeezing her eyes shut and ducking her head, waiting it out as the pain slowly dissipates. Once it's gone, she takes in a deep, raggedy breath, trying to keep herself together. "What's going on?" she asks, her voice a husky whisper. Kar catches her gaze, holding it steady. She doesn't like the look in his eyes.

"Perhaps we should..." He trails off, but she has a sickening feeling that she knows what the rest of his sentence was going to be. She swallows the lump in her throat as it forms, tasting the promise of the return of her breakfast stewing in the back of her mouth.

"How?" she croaks. He shakes his head slowly, probably wondering the same thing. He can only come up with one answer, one that neither of them will like.

"I know a guy..."

...

Sasha lays on her stomach on the crusty mattress in the small, decrepit apartment, her bare back exposed to both Kar and his 'friend' as they prepare themselves for what is to come. She winces as Ryan slides the needle into her skin, administering the local anaesthetic. Her eyes flutter closed as she bites back the tears, the terror washing over her, regretting having consented to this 'back-alley' surgical procedure.

She feels Kar's fingers intertwine with her own, and she glances up at him with watery eyes. He offers her a small smile, and she manages to force a tight one in return as she feels a slight tugging on her back. A moment later, something starts dripping profusely down her side.

"First incision made," Ryan states, shuffling slightly as he moves his instruments to the other side of her spine. There's another, painless tug, and a second wave of fluids flood out from her body. "And second. Grab some towels?" Kar stands, retrieving the items from the closet behind him, bringing them back over to the makeshift surgeon.

Sasha glances back over her shoulder, curious to see what's happening, although she regrets it immediately.

Where there were scars previously, there are now two large gashes in her back, leaking from which is a river of blood, pus and fluids. Bile pools in her mouth and she heaves over the side of the bed, her body shaking as she empties her stomach onto the grotty tiles below. Kar takes a step back to save his shoes, although Ryan appears unfazed as he slides a gloved hand into one of the incision points.