The Red Hunter

C h a p t e r 1 5

This chapter is dedicated to the Goddess of Graphics, MadelineSane, for the amazing cover! Thank you so much!!!! For those of you that don't know her, her graphics are out of this world and her stories are incredible as well! (And plus, she likes Stranger Things, which is awesome XD) Please make sure to check her out <3

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You're in a room and you're alone.

Your hands are cuffed to a table and you're forced to look ahead at yourself; at your broken reflection staring back through the indestructible glass. Mirrors cover all of the walls and you must watch, must see, must behold yourself in all your abject glory.

There is no escape, for there is no door and if there was, you cannot see it.

There is no sound, for the worst kinds of agony come silently and if there was, it would be the shrill screams of those still haunting this room.

There is no color, for there is no variation in sensation and if there was, the room would be stained in one kind of red--crimson.

Two figures walk into the room; one is Pity and the other is Judgement.

If both ask you to speak, which one do you answer?

Pity, who looks down upon you without seeing or Judgement, who can pierce every mask you bear?

As I sit here staring past Gabel and Sorrel, I make my choice and catch the kindling fire crackling in my eyes spark.

I will answer to neither.

Lost in my own world, I didn't notice until it was too late and the blood was already dribbling down my nose. Sorrel's hand slapped me, her anger clouding her judgement as she striked my cheek once more, just to get her message across.

I looked up into her eyes with challenge and waited, waited for her to ask her questions all over again like a record stuck on replay. A smirk made its way onto my face as I watched her fuming form pace back and forth in front of me, enraged and unsure of what to do with my reluctant form.

Although she only has one blue eye that was not blinded and scarred, she didn't miss the little rebellion dancing on my lips.

With smoke coming out of her ears, she raised her hand again to hit me, only to be stopped by Gabel who had been standing by cautiously watching her.

"Let go of me this instant," she hissed at him, her tall form vibrating with the urge to draw blood from my chained flesh.

"We've gone over this, you are not to touch her until one of the head Council members come to a hearing so that they can pronounce her fate." Gabel growled back, the creases on his forehead folding as he tried to reason with Sorrel. "By the Council's rule, you are not aloud to touch her until a member is present or the ruling has been dealt with."

Sorrel turned away from Gabel and instead looked back to me, her eye still burning with anger and frustration. A sour expression crossed her face as she debated the cost of striking me again.

"You cannot kill her," Gabel practically pleaded.

"Yet," she corrected, a new flame engulfing her eyes as she daydreamed about the thought. Sorrel took a step closer towards me and leaned down so that her nose nearly touched mine. Her dark, pixie cut hair brushed the sides of my face and her eye never left mine, making my smirk grow wider.