Rest In Peace (sequel to After They Died)

21- Ellie

The masked man comes back in my room but this time without the gift of food. He grabs my bony wrist and tugs me along behind him. I stumble in his path, barely managing to remain upright due to the slow starvation weakening me over time.

We walk down a narrow hallway before reaching a door. The man unlocks the door by punching in a code then shoves me inside.

It's empty apart from another masked man standing at the other end of the room. Who are these people? "What— why am I here?"
"You'll see, don't you worry." I can just picture the merciless smile concealed by his mask. What's going on? Am I going to die? I don't know anything about anything anymore, but what I do know is that no life should be left behind. I need to try and survive despite the odds not being in my favour.

Looming over me the masked men take off their masks. One is a woman? I did not see that coming. She looks powerful, someone you don't mess with. The man is practically drooling in awe at the sight of his partner. Regaining composure he grins at me. "No point in hiding our faces from you if you're going to die, is there?"
I knew it, it's over. Why bother trying? I may as well just kill myself to save them the effort, although they don't seem to consider it much of a hindrance. What kind of psychopath enjoys seeing an innocent girl in excruciating pain to the point of death? I don't even want to know what they're planning.

"Hold her still." The woman orders, like I am a mere object in her way. Obeying, the man holds me in a vice grip which I can't wriggle out of despite my desperate attempts. She cracks her knuckles and shakes her legs, appearing to be warming up. Why do they want to kill me? What have I done?

She first aims a blow at my face. Her fist connects with my nose and I can feel my bones breaking upon the impact. My legs collapse and I am held rigidly upright by the man behind me. He laughs callously as I howl in utter agony. The lady then kicks me in the stomach and I double over, unable to control my reactions. A deep pain in the pit of my stomach grows as I am forced to stand upright. My head lolls as a white light fills my vision. Drooping like a wilted flower I welcome the numbness. Any distraction from the pain I will take willingly.

Then she whips out a glint of shining metal from her pocket which is unmistakably a knife. Relief floods through my weak body: it's over. I want to laugh darkly at the irony, but the pain is too much. But instead of giving me a fatal wound to end it all, she plunges the knife into a clump of flesh in my arm.

Waves of agonising pain shoot through me like bolts of electricity. A pool of blood grows, staining my clothes a deep red. The man drops me onto the floor, kicking me and I groan inhumanly. The room spins until a deep black consumes me.