Redrum Origins: Part 3

Part 4: Cruelty

Disclaimer: I do not own Redrum. Redrum is a game developed by Anarchy Enterprises. I only own the OC characters

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The ball of white fire suspended in her open palm cast eerie flickers along the damp stone walls. She would be lying if she said this place wasn't creepy enough to make her jump at every small sound. She heard small scurries at least twice now, both were rats escaping the harsh light she emitted. Currently, it was the most she could do at the moment, what with whatever dampener Fraud had. She shivered, dreading what would happen if any of their assailants decided to show themselves.

Maddie scoured every inch of the passageway she travelled down, staying alert for any threats that made themselves known. This particular corridor seemed to stretch on for miles, the hall continuing after what felt like ten minutes. This network of tunnels must be larger than she initially thought. Throughout all this time, she hadn't yet come across a single door.

The teen wondered how Rose was doing. Yes, it was the girl's idea to split up, but this was no place for a twelve-year-old to fearlessly delve into these tunnels. It was no place for any human for that matter, only for monsters who looked like humans, like Fraud and Rose's doppelganger. Her stomach clenched at the thought of the clone. She asked herself if she would be willing to hurt, or, if it was absolutely necessary, to kill the spitting image of someone she deeply cared about. Honestly, she didn't want to know the answer to that.

She was so lost in her musing that she nearly missed the door. It was rusted with age, another wheel crank fixed to the front to open it. She stood there staring at it for several moments before steeling herself. Every door could have a booby trap ready to trigger inside, but she wouldn't know until she stepped through. Dousing her flame, she gripped the crank, turning it until the door swung open on squeaky hinges.

It was exactly like the dungeon in the doctor's office up above, except the only thing that the dimly lit room contained was the iron maiden, tall, foreboding, and empty. The body and the thorns that were inside it had been removed. She shuddered at why Fraud would keep this down here, leaving it open and waiting, ready to embrace its next victim.

Maddie cautiously entered the room, approaching the cruel torture device, warily eying it in case it decided to spring to life and enclose her in its spiky jaws. She stood directly in front of it, inspecting every sharpened point, black and nasty-looking. "The hell," she muttered, making a face. "Why are you such a sick son of a bitch?"

She heard the rushing footsteps much too late, whipping around in alarm just in time to feel something push her violently into the steel coffin, spikes piercing her flesh. The doors closed in on her fast, sandwiching her body, sharp points digging into her on all sides. She let out a pain-filled gasp, the sudden assault stealing her remaining breath. She turned her gaze to whoever was holding the doors in place, pressing mercilessly onto her body.

She was met with a face with no skin and a wicked grin. Rose's doppelganger. Malicious and ruthless, she was nothing like the Rose she knew. Another monster of Fraud's creation. Maddie tried to find her voice to curse at the clone, but the doors bore down on her harder, making her cry out. She felt the spikes scraping along her ribcage, making it difficult to breathe. After one final push, the doppelganger released her pressure on the medieval contraption, burying the spikes as much as she could in the teen's flesh. She turned and ran from the room, her cackling laughter echoing down the passage.

A cruel trick that she fell for, again. She would curse herself out later, but right now, she had to get free of this thing. God, this was going to suck. She attempted to push her body against the doors, shrieking from the jab of agony that ripped through her torso and back. She paused, panting heavily, before gritting her teeth to try again. Come on, she urged herself. You've had worse injuries before. After several, painful seconds of pushing, the doors eventually creaked open, slowly removing the spikes from her flesh. She whimpered as they did, continuing despite the suffering it caused. She was able to get her arms free to brace them on the doors, pushing them open completely. From there, she let herself fall out of the contraption, her flesh making repulsive squelching noises as her back was peeled from the spikes.

She lay face-down on the stone floor, her body aching from the wounds. She panted in exhaustion, the effort of extricating herself from the iron maiden sapping up most of her energy. Whatever reserves she had left went to using her powers to heal herself, a long and strenuous process. Blood from her wounds dripped to the floor, staining it. The spikes in the iron maiden were slick with crimson.

She had to remain still to recover after the last of her injuries closed, struggling against the tug of sleep that creeped at the corners of her vision. Eventually, she decided that she could stand, wobbling once she had risen to her feet. She stumbled towards the door, catching herself on the doorframe, breathing heavily from the exertion. Once she had regained her composure, she stepped back out into the tunnel, eyes darting all around for her attacker.

Maniacal laughter echoed down the corridor to her right. She quickly followed it, catching the glimpse of a silhouette disappearing around the corner of another passageway. This new tunnel was empty, but the laughter echoed again. She ran after it, only barely reaching the specter before it disappeared again.

It went on like this for several minutes. It became obvious to her that she was being led through this maze, like a rabbit chasing a carrot tied to the end of a string. It was likely this would end terribly, but it was her best option at the moment. It was either follow this figure or wait for Rose's doppelganger to stab her again. The former would keep any other sharp, metal objects away from her.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped. She was left in a particularly cavernous tunnel, the ceiling several feet above her. Further along the hall, more doors were situated on either side. Apprehension took hold of her, her heart beginning to speed up. She glanced around warily, growing increasingly uneasy. "Rose?" Her voice echoed down the tunnel, reverberating back to her before fading out. She was alone. This was what the specter had wanted.

She was completely and utterly lost.

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Author's Note: Not that much longer, but longer nonetheless. I also kind of struggled in naming this chapter

Final exam whooped my ass, but I think it's all good.

Praise is appreciated and constructive criticism is encouraged.

See you next time!

-The_Mayflower