Bounded to a chair, a girl screamed in agony, her voice echoing as the dim light above her flickered faintly.
"Answer me! Who do you work for?!" A man with torn lips and one eye bellowed, his voice filled with rage.
Beside him was a table, scattered with tools, pliers, a rusted saw, and a container holding some red powder.
The girl convulsed, denying every question asked of her, yet the man persisted.
When no answers came, he silenced her with a knife to her neck. The gurgling sounds of churning blood filled the dark room, accompanied by an eerie stillness.
---
Darkness enveloped a tiny body, trying desperately to cling to it, to consume it entirely.
But it couldn't.
The small figure stirred, slowly rising from the ground. It moved hesitantly, like a rabbit, as if unable to see.
It searched for something solid, something to lean on. With no sense of direction, it relied on touch as its last option.
The feel of the wall around it didn't show the way but gave it the courage to move forward.
Without that, it might not have moved at all, perhaps it would have crawled, but not for long, as the will to continue would have quickly faded.
"Argh..." it groaned, clutching its head, where heavy and sharp edges pressed into it.
"No! What have they done to me?!" the figure screamed.
High pitch echoed into the walls.
It was the voice of a girl who called herself Mia Akane. "Help!" she screamed, but no help came. No reply, no sound, it was just her.
She cried, wandering through the deep darkness for hours, but there was nothing.
"Why... Why... "
Suddenly, a light shone from afar, its ray piercing the darkness and revealing grime and dark rocks beneath.
Under her breath, she whispered, "Mia, just a few meters ahead, keep going."
Those words of encouragement ignited a fire and strength within her as she moved toward the light with both hope and desperation.
Mere words were enough for this lost girl.
Her mind rattled, thought after thought screaming in her ears, but none of it mattered anymore, for she was finally outside.
What lay in front of her was a vast forest blanketed with lush green vegetation, stretching endlessly across the earth.
"Nooooo..."
She screamed in agony, lost and trapped, feeling no escape. Loneliness crept into her heart, filling the void with despair.
She cried, her voice muffled, her knees buckling as she sat on the nearby rock, her face down, the sun glaring above, scorching her skin. It had no heart, shining as brightly as ever, even on the gloomiest day of her life.
But it didn't matter, it never would. This was hers to face, hers to solve.
Moments passed before the little girl finally found the courage to confront the problems ahead. She wiped her tears, crimson red and stinging. But she had worried too long already.
She got up, felt different, and knew she had changed.
For long in the cave, she noticed her changes but was too scared to admit to them. But now that she was in light, she finally has the mind to notice.
Something felt wrong with her body, it was strange. Her hair was gone, replaced by hard, horn-like carapaces. Solid and unyielding, she tried to pull them off, but they wouldn't budge.
Her eyes, too, bore the marks of change. Popping veins left deep crevices across her face, a sensation that startled even her.
Before this can distract her more, she jumped down the height, the fall was short.
Landing on her legs, she rolled for a bit to reduce the acceleration force, combating the impact of inertia.
Looking around she notices nothing different, it was an ordinary forest with tree as normal one could find. However, there was something else that bothering her, the forest was too quiet.
Generally, it was an indication of an apex predator roaming nearby. But no matter how long has passed it never was felt or seen by her.
Maybe it was an intuition, but that was enough for her to attain the courage to roam in the forest, an unknown one at that.
Trees rustled with the cool breeze shuffling their leaves, the kind and cool air was refreshing, anything this young girl in suburbs has ever inhaled, she felt rejuvenated as she moves through the forest floor, alert as ever also enjoying the forest charm it brought.
She clasped her foot, rustling the dried leaves scattered on the ground.
But nothing happened.
For a moment, she forgot the danger that might be lurking as she carelessly made a lot of noise while walking.
Echoes of rustling followed behind her.....
.....
Something was wrong....
While wandering through the forest floor, she encountered no one but herself, which truly surprised her. However, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and continued on.
The trees were enormous, some offering shade from the harsh sun. After walking for hours, she was exhausted. She spotted a nearby tree and sat beneath it, seeking refuge from the blazing heat.
"What was I doing again?"
Before the thought could settle in her mind, it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Her eyes grew heavy, and she was now struggling to keep them open.
"What is happening.....I am not tired....am tired."
A calm voice whispered gently from the trees, "Yes, you are tired."
Startled, Mia tried to look towards the source of the sound, but her eyes closed on her.
Echoes of laughter and giggles reverberated through the forest, but soon their sound turned whimsical and maniacal. No longer pleasant to hear, the laughter became stifling, almost suffocating. Red and purple marks began to appear on her skin as the lost woman's complexion grew paler and paler, while the maniacal laughter mocked her relentlessly.
Suddenly, a crimson ray burst through the sky, engulfing the entire forest in flames. It tore through the sinister laughter, obliterating the forest in its own doom.
Destruction and chaos consumed the ground and sky alike. Hovering in the air was a man, his bloodshot eyes burning with thirst and hunger. His parched throat cracked under the glare of the relentless sun.
"Shut up!!!" he screamed.
His cry made her eyes open.
Mia, surrounded by flames. Her eyes burned slowly, and she felt herself melting away from the heat.
"Someone please help!!!!!"