NIGHTMARE

chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

They say that the eyes are the mirror of the soul, but his eyes were cold and dark.

Sano Manjiro sat in front of me, arms sprawled lazily over the side of the chair, and my vision was brought to his face.

He has short white hair with a middle-part undercut hairstyle and a Bonten tattoo on his nape.

His eyes were a cold and lifeless black that seemed to be able to look straight through to the soul of a person.

His jaw was unbelievably defined, outlining his strong bones and face shape; this man had been perfectly molded in heaven, a fallen angle.

His appearance was built, and his muscles were defined underneath the expensive suit that he wore.

This man was fine-deadly fine. How did someone get to look this good?

Sanzu and another man who looked to be in his early twenties approached Mikey and stood either side of him.

Sanzu bent down and whispered something into his ear.

Mikey slowly crept his head up and brought his gaze around the room, eyeing every single one of the men there.

"Ginro," he called out.

From the crowd of men emerged a small and scrawny-looking boy of about 25.

His hair was tanned and wispy, and his eyes were terrified and big.

"Yes, sir?" he stuttered, tripping over his words.

His eyes scanned and darted from face to face around the room, either pleading for someone to help him or begging that one of them didn't shoot him first.

"I've heard word that you've told others of your involvement within the Bonten," Mikey spoke, his tongue like poison, the venom spilling out over his lips with each word he spoke.

The boy shook in his boots, quivering and trembling.

"Sir, no, I would never," the boy begged helplessly.

Mikey didn't stare at the boy but rather flicked at parts of his gun, admiring it with such passion and giving it his full attention.

It was as if the gun was more important than the boy.

He was meaningless and disposable, just another pawn in his sick game.

"Then why has your sister been telling all of her friends that her brother is in the Bonten?" Mikey hissed coldly, sending a shiver down my spine.

"She promised she wouldn't tell anyone!" the boy pleaded.

"You know the punishment for breaking our code, Ginro; your sister will be joining you soon too." Mikey aimed his gun, and with the slight movement of the trigger, a bullet was fired through the middle of the boy's head.

My stomach churned as he fell limp to the floor, blood oozing from his now-lifeless head.

I gagged but managed to choke down what was nearly vomit.

Mikey's eyes remained indifferent, cold, heartless, and uncaring for the terrible act he had just committed.

"You," he pointed a finger to Mai, "clean this up, whore," he demanded.

Mai gulped; her already pale and lifeless face had seemed to grow even whiter in color.

Turning to me, her bottom lip trembled, and there was a clear lump in her throat.

"Blood makes me sick," she choked, covering her mouth for fear that she was going to throw up.

Fear lingered in her vision; disobeying an order would mean certain death.

Sanzu had made sure I learned that.

"You'll die if you don't clean it," I whispered back softly enough that Mikey wouldn't hear.

I shot a glance back at him, and he pointed the gun, aiming it at Mai.

I heard the next bullet slip into place; his hand was on the trigger, ready to fire.

"Now whore," he demanded her.

Slowly and unsteadily, she rose to her feet, taking baby steps towards the boy's lifeless body.

He threw her a towel, covered in the stains of the previous victim's blood.

This was sick-utterly sick.

Mai bent down cautiously, gagging and sobbing as she went, unable to look at the scene in front of her.

Mikey placed the gun in his lap, turning behind him to start up a conversation of hushed whispers with Jay and the other man, leaving Mai to do her work.

Rindou's eyes fell on me before returning to Mikey.

Fuck, were they talking about me? Suddenly, though, Mai froze; she began to gag and choke.

If she was sick now, he was going to kill her.

"I can't do this," she spluttered, turning away from the body, her terrified eyes finding me and begging for mercy and help.

I shoved my eyes back on Mikey, who had momentarily paused his conversation and was picking up the gun from his lap.

Fuck this shit.

I was going to die anyway, whether that be today or tomorrow; I had no idea in this place, but I wasn't about to see another person laying dead on the floor in front of my face.

"No!" I stood up frantically, using my body as a shield for Rosa's.

She whimpered and sobbed herself silly, hiding behind me like a small and terrified child.

"You can't shoot her." I attempted to make my voice sound as demanding and venomous as his.

The room, however, just erupted into a fit of judgmental laughter that made me feel smaller than I already was.

A look of surprise crossed his sinister face for a split second before it turned malicious again.

I kept my eyes locked on his black ones, wondering if he could see right through my fake confidence act.

The pool of fear in my stomach continued to rise, and we were locked in a battle of eerie and awkward silence.

His face remained like stone, expressionless and cold, while my mask of strength began to crack under the pressure of his glare.

His gun was still raised and pointed squarely at my chest.

He could kill me if he wanted to.

I had never felt so embarrassed, so worthless, or so small in my entire life.

I would have rather been dead than trapped in a cage for the rest of my life, owned and used like an object.

He could have shot me right here, right now, but he didn't.

Instead, an evil smirk crossed his venomous face, and he broke the silence with two sinister and sickeningly evil words. "Come here."