Bloody Beginnings

by Laura Hysell

  I sucked at his wrist, coercing the blood to continue to flow into my mouth. Henri made a sound of pleasure and I opened my eyes to look at him. His eyes were open and staring at me like twin black coals and my blood had tinted his lips red. He gently pulled my hand away from his wrist and stole a quick kiss.

  “Sleep, my dear, sleep,” he said softly. My eyes grew heavy and I floated down into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 16

  I was freezing again. I opened my eyes slowly, wondering what had woken me. We had stopped, I thought, noting the lack of movement immediately. The rumbling sound of the motor suddenly ceased and I squirmed around in my cage until I was in a sitting position. I heard the sound of metal scraping, and a door opened, letting a beam of light into the trailer.

  I looked around, quickly trying to take note of my surroundings. Jared and Kirk were in cages near mine, curled up and wearing the same pink boxers still and nothing else. Jared was awake and looking at me, while Kirk snored softly. The trailer was mostly filled with empty cages, although there were several boxes stacked at the very back.

  The other trailer door opened and I focused my attention there, watching as Jin leaped into the trailer easily, followed by the two bodyguards. “I’ll take the girl,” Jin said as he began unhooking my cage from the side of the trailer.

  I sat poised, ready to leap out the moment the cage door opened, but Jin simply hefted my cage up and carried me out of the trailer. I looked behind me in time to see the bodyguards grabbing Jared and Kirk in the same manner. So much for getting out of the cage, I thought.

  We were parked in what looked like an old warehouse building of some kind. My cage rocked with each step as Jin carried me through the warehouse, past Sarah’s car and through a door into a large room filled with cubicles. We continued through the room, meandering past several sets of doors and down a hallway at the back of the room. Jin carried me to the end of the hallway and opened the last door on the left. He deposited my cage unceremoniously on the floor and quickly left the room.

  The room looked like an old office, with tacky brown carpeting and beige walls that looked like they may have once been white but had discolored over time. The only furniture in the room was a metal chair, a small table and a large filing cabinet that took up most of one wall. There was no window, but since the offices were in the middle of a building I wasn’t really surprised.

  Moments after Jin had left, the other two bodyguards came in carrying Kirk and Jared. They deposited their cages on either side of mine and left, shutting the door behind them. They hadn’t turned a light on, so the only light was the dim light coming from under the door. It wasn’t much of an improvement from the trailer, but it was considerably warmer.

  Kirk was making whimpering noises and I tentatively reached through the bars of my cage toward his. “Kirk, er… Rover, are you okay?”

  “We’ve been here before,” Jared said from the other side of me.

  I turned and looked at Jared, but he sat curled up with his head on his knees. Kirk whimpered again and I strained to reach him through the bars, my fingers just touching the edge of his cage. “Rover, it’s okay. It’s okay,” I said in my most soothing voice.

  I moved my whole body, scooting my cage closer to Kirk’s until the cages were almost touching. I reached through once more and my fingers just brushed his shoulder. Kirk stiffened and looked at me with wide eyes. Tears were streaked down his face and I thought I saw a glimmer of recognition before he turned his face away. I touched his shoulder again and he leaned back against the cage, giving me better access to his body. He was still bowed over, the one arm with the cast on curled against his chest.

  I heard a noise from behind me, and turned to see Jared scooting his cage next to mine as well. I smiled as his cage slammed into mine and he reached his fingers through the bars. I reached my hand out as well, grasping his fingers with my own. Despite the circumstances, I felt better with human contact.

  Kirk’s tears trailed off and he finally turned and looked at me, his hazel eyes red-rimmed. He leaned his head against my fingertips, letting me caress his cheek. “Kirk,” I murmured softly.

  Kirk looked at me, a small frown marring his face. “Izzy?” he asked tentatively.

  I heard Jared jump up in the cage beside mine, but I ignored him and kept my focus on Kirk. “Yes, Kirk, it’s me,” I said. Jared squeezed my fingers, encouraging me to continue. “Kirk, please, talk to me.”

  Kirk swallowed visibly, his eyes darting around the room before resting on mine once more. “Can’t… can’t call me that.”

  “Yes, I can. You are Kirk, I am Izzy, and that is Jared. We are not animals, no matter what Sarah says. Please, Kirk, you have to hold on.”

  “She hurts us here,” he whispered, his face pressed against the cage.

  “Here?”

  “We’ve been here before, Izzy. This exact room, actually,” Jared said quietly, his voice thick with emotion. “This is one of her torture rooms.”

  The words hung in the air and I felt a shiver of fear. My body may heal quickly, but I still felt pain. Sarah had already broken Jin and turned him mad before making him a vampire. Kirk seemed to be quickly on the way to madness himself. Jared seemed stronger, but if Kirk could break I doubted I would last very long.

  The door opened suddenly and all three of us scooted to the backs of our cages as the hallway light illuminated Sarah in all her pink glory. She carried a large candle with her that had three lit wicks and smelled of lavender. She strutted into the room and kicked the door closed behind her. Sarah wore a long pink trench coat and pink high-heels that had to be 4 inches tall. She sashayed across the room, swinging her hips as she held the candle to her face.

  Kirk was curled into a ball, whimpering once more when Sarah stopped in front of his cage. “Stop that, Rover. No crying,” Sarah ordered, and Kirk’s whimpers immediately ceased. Sarah smiled, looking up at me while she spoke. “There’s a good boy.”

  She walked up to my cage and I watched her eyes turn to black instantaneously. “You will obey me and call me Master,” she ordered me. I felt a pressure like I had before when Patricia had tried to control me, but it had no effect on me. I wondered if this was part of Henri’s power to me. “Who am I?”

  “You’re a sick, twisted bitch,” I replied.

  Sarah’s face contorted with rage and she looked at me once more with her black eyes. “I am Master. You obey me.”

  “You’re a fucking bitch. Now let me out!” I screamed back at her. I grabbed the bars of the cage, trying in vain to bend them. Apparently the strength Henri gave me wasn’t the physical kind. I was just as weak as I’d always been.

  “It seems I’ll have to break you the old-fashioned way. Good thing I have been practicing,” Sarah said softly. She backed up quickly and stopped at Jared’s cage, holding the candle above his cage as she peered down at him. The candle light illuminated the sadistic smile on her face and I cringed as Jared scooted back in his cage. She set the candle down on the small table and pulled a key out of her pocket, tapping it in her hand as though in contemplation. She moved to Jared’s cage and put the key into the padlock, unwinding the chain that was around his cage. She moved to each of our cages in turn, pulling the chains off.

  The cage doors were still locked and now she pulled a second key out, twirling it dramatically in her fingers. She moved in front of me and picked the cage up easily, carrying it to the other side of the room. “I want you to have a good view,” she said softly to me as she lowered my cage to the floor opposite the others. “Will it hurt you more to watch me break Jared, who has hung on for so long? Or will it hurt more for you to watch me with your old flame, Kirk? Does your heart still yearn for him? I know his still yearns for yours. Or, it did anyway. Oh, choices, choices. What shall I do?”

  I looked at Jared and Kirk across the room and saw the fear in their eyes. Sarah opened Jared’s cage and pulled him out, tossing him across the room as though he were a ragd
oll. He rolled onto his feet quickly, but Sarah was quicker. In a flash she grabbed Jared by the neck and seated him in the metal chair, wrapping one of the discarded chains around his body and securing it with a padlock.

  Sarah reached out and grabbed the candle, holding it above Jared and letting hot wax drip slowly onto his chest where it solidified quickly. He didn’t move or make a sound until she reached out and ripped his shorts off. His eyes darted back and forth in panic as Sarah lowered the candle and dripped hot wax across his manhood. He winced and looked away, his eyes settling on mine.

  I held Jared’s eyes the best I could as she peeled the dry wax off and set the candle down. Sarah glanced at me, smiling widely as she moved to the filing cabinet and opened the top drawer. “Burns are some of the worst pain. Don’t you agree, Isabella?” she asked.

  I ignored her, my eyes trained on Jared’s. I was his lifeline in this moment. I couldn’t escape or stop the torture, but I could hold his eyes and comfort him the best I could. I heard the tell-tale sound of a match striking. I looked up in time to see Sarah drop a lit match in my cage. I winced as the match hit my arm before the fire went out.

  “Oops,” she said, smiling down at me. She turned back to Jared and sprinkled lighter fluid over his body in a couple small splashes. She lit another match, this time holding it up to Jared’s skin until the flame spread across his chest from the fluid. The flame went out and she lit another match, pressing this one against his thigh until the fire caught. Jared winced in pain, but held still until she put the fire out. I sensed her pleasure at his reaction, and she continued to light matches and flick the lighter fluid randomly across his body.

  She lit three matches at once and set them on Jared’s thighs, watching him squirm and wriggle away as she held the bottle of lighter fluid up dramatically. She cast a glance at me over her shoulder and the smile on her face had me cringing. Then she turned and squirted the lighter fluid across his lap. Jared screamed and flung himself around, trying desperately to put out the flame that spread across the most sensitive part of his body. His eyes darted around the room, seeking escape.

  “Stop it, Sarah!” I shouted and her eyes turned angrily on me.

  “Hmm, no more fire I think,” Sarah commented as she swiftly put the fire out. Jared’s skin was blistered and red, but Sarah just moved across the room to the filing cabinet. “It’s just too slow.”

  She pulled a metal clamp out of the cabinet and held it up, examining it briefly before stuffing it back in the drawer. Next she pulled a hammer and a handful of nails out, turning dramatically toward Jared. He shook his head back and forth, struggling in vain to free himself. I could only imagine the pain he was already in. Sarah turned back to the drawer and grabbed several tools before walking back to Jared and setting them on the table for him to see.

  “Stop,” I pleaded and she turned her eyes to me. “You already hurt him enough. Please, just leave him alone.”

  I shrunk back as she walked to my cage, her black eyes flashing angrily. “You want me to stop playing with my pet? He is my pet! I will do whatever I want to him!”

  Fear coursed through me at her words. She stood in front of my cage holding a small knife. “Please,” I murmured as I darted a look back to Jared. He wouldn’t be able to take much more. Would he break like Kirk or would Sarah kill him first?

  “Hmm, I like seeing you plead with me. I did have plans for Fido though. He’s really not a very obedient pet, but I suppose if he promises to behave I can be more lenient.” She glanced at Jared, who was nodding his head furiously. Sarah turned and walked back to the table and set the knife down before walking back to the filing cabinet purposefully. She rifled through the drawer and quickly came out with a container full of sewing pins. Sarah moved back to Jared and quickly slammed a pin into his thigh to the tip. He cried out at the suddenness and Sarah smiled wickedly before shoving hundreds of pins into his body from head to toe in the blink of an eye.

  Sarah stood back, admiring her work. Jared looked like a sewing lesson gone wrong, covered as he was with pearl-tipped pins. The pins were sticking out everywhere, particularly in the most sensitive areas of his body where painful burn blisters already covered his body. His face was the only place on his body that was free of pins. Jared’s eyes were wild with pain, darting around the room before finally settling on mine once more.

  “If you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll take the pins out,” she said to Jared as she caressed his cheek. “I might even treat your burns.”

  Sarah unwound the chains from around Jared and grabbed his arms, pushing some of the pins in deeper and drawing a cry from him. She moved him backward, dragging him as he struggled to gain his footing. She reached up and grabbed something from the ceiling that I couldn’t make out in the dim light, attaching his arm to it. She moved to his other arm and did the same thing, so he stood with his arms up above his head and his feet barely brushing the floor.

  Sarah turned and opened Kirk’s cage, ordering him out of it. He complied, crawling out of the cage and squatting at Sarah’s feet. Sarah moved across the room until she stood in front of me. “If I were Fido, I wouldn’t move a muscle,” she commented, casting a glance over her shoulder at Jared. She turned back to me, leaning down close so she could whisper to me alone. “I hope you know that what I do is your fault. I need your brother to cooperate...” she trailed off as she sauntered over to Kirk.

  “I can be a generous master as well, Isabella. It doesn’t have to be all pain. Learn to obey me quickly, and the rewards can be great.”

  She untied her trench coat, letting it fall to the ground at her feet. She was completely naked, except for the high-heels. “Come, Rover,” she called to Kirk.

  Kirk stood and walked to her, head bowed and shoulders hunched. Sarah turned the chair around so it faced Jared and sat down. She spread her legs out wide and beckoned to Kirk. I was wide-eyed and transfixed, wanting to look away but unable. Kirk stopped before her, his eyes catching mine briefly. The quick glimpse was noticed by Sarah as well, and she smacked him hard across the face, producing a brilliant red welt across his cheek.

  “I give you pleasure, Rover,” she said, pointedly using his pet name. “You will keep all your attention on me. Now, take off the shorts and show me what you’ve got.”

  Kirk slipped the shorts off, his eyes focused solely on Sarah. I averted my eyes when he began kissing and touching her, but it was hard to ignore with them just a few feet away. She moaned loudly and I cast a glance upwards at Jared, catching the strained look on his face. Small dots of blood littered his skin from the pins and his eyes were wild.

  I looked directly at Jared, trying to draw his attention. The moans grew louder and I cast a quick glance at Sarah and Kirk before quickly looking away. This was a show Sarah was putting on for me, and I imagined this was only the beginning. It seemed to last forever until Sarah screamed loudly, Kirk making noises in return. Jared had closed his eyes and was singing softly to himself, trying to distract himself from what was happening.

  I was hunched over with my head down when Sarah’s shoes came into view. She knelt and opened my cage. I backed up and reached for the knife at my side, but Sarah was too fast and grabbed me by the leg, tossing me across the room. I skidded into the chair and scrambled to my feet, but Sarah’s hands were on my arms in a flash. I couldn’t compete with her speed or strength. In the blink of an eye I was seated in the metal chair, one of the chains wrapped around my body.

  She turned around so her back was to me, but I could see her playing with the items she had placed on the table. I wiggled against the chains, but they held tight. My arms were held against my sides and I wriggled my fingers, trying in vain to reach the knife strapped to my thigh. She hadn’t strapped my legs down, so I pulled my legs up as far as I could. I waited for her to turn around, my legs coiled for attack.

  “I wouldn’t try anything stupid,” Sarah mused as she picked up the small knife I’d seen her with earlier.

  She turned
around and I thrust out with my legs, aiming for her chest. She easily caught my legs with her hand and pushed me backwards with such force that my chair tipped over and I skidded into Jared. She stalked toward me and I wiggled and squirmed, managing to free one arm just as she reached my chair. Sarah lifted my chair with one hand, holding me in front of her briefly before she dropped me down. My teeth jarred together with the impact. I moved my hand toward the knife, but had no chance to grab it as Sarah screamed and sliced the knife across my arm.

  I screamed out at the sudden pain and watched as blood began pouring down my arm. “Now look what you made me do!” Sarah screeched as she sliced another line on my other arm.

  The pain was sharp and immediate, but the blood flow stopped quickly as the wound began closing up. Sarah watched the wound heal and a smile spread across her face. I was more fearful in that moment than ever before.

  “Hmm,” she mused.

  She turned around and set the knife on the table before grabbing the candle and holding it in front of me. I thought she was going to drip the wax like she had with Jared, but instead she grabbed my arm that had come free and held it over the flame. I tried moving my arm away from the heat, but she held me tight. The pain was slow to build, not as startling as the cuts had been. She flipped my arm over and examined the burnt skin as the other side burned.

  “Fascinating,” she said as she flipped my arm over once more. The smell of burnt skin and hair began filling the room and I grit my teeth against the pain, determined not to cry out.

  Sarah looked at my face and I imagined she was disappointed by my lack of reaction, because she removed the candle and began looking through her table of tools. She picked up the lighter fluid, but thankfully set it back down. Instead she picked up a pair of pliers and grabbed my hand, grasping one of the fingers with the pliers. I stared at Sarah’s face, knowing what was coming and trying to prepare for it. She grinned wickedly just before she broke my finger and I screamed out at the sudden sharp pain. She grabbed my hand, watching as the finger adjusted and realigned. My broken arm hadn’t realigned before, but whatever Henri had done to me was making me heal better and faster.