A Bite of the Apple

17 - Despair

They came for me in the night again. Three Nightmares surrounding my bed. This time, however, they did not take any chances.

I startled from sleep to the sight of them around me. Then one of them waved their hand and cast what must have been a kind of sleeping spell. I was knocked out cold.

When I came to, my head was clear. No hint of any grogginess or fatigue. It was almost like the Nightmares had hit the pause button on my consciousness. I was thankful for that, because I wanted to know where I was.

I inspected my surroundings. I seemed to be standing (in my pajamas no less) in the middle of an ornate, pre-revolutionary French style mansion. Glittering chandeliers shattering the light within and casting the shards all over the room. Graceful marble banisters on a set of stairs leading to heavens-knows-where. And there was of course the expensive red carpet that lay beneath my feet. It was soft and comfortable. I didn't know it then, but I would later learn that this was the House. The House. The source of all magic.

When I tried to move something other than my head, I found I couldn't. I was bound by magic, like I had been with Siyeon. Except this time, it was against my will. That made my pulse spike, and my breath quicken. Where was Siyeon? Was she safe? Did they get her too? I didn't know.

Then a Nightmare materialized before me.

"You are here as bait for the witch Siyeon," the Nightmare said in its thoroughly unsettling voice.

I blinked. "Well, thanks for that. I wasn't expecting such a straightforward explanation."

The Nightmare ignored my quip. "The witch Siyeon has placed a tracking charm on you that activates when you are in pain. To lure her here, we are going to torture you." It raised a hand.

All levity in me was replaced by a chill. "You what now?"

The Nightmare stabbed my left thigh square on. Its blade-like finger pierced skin, muscle, then shattered bone. A scream tore from my throat, blindsided by the pain.

But it didn't stop there. The Nightmare continued pushing. Through my hamstrings. Its finger tore out the back of my thigh. I cried out. Tears streamed down my face as I sobbed and cried and screamed in agony.

The Nightmare wrenched its finger out of my thigh, tearing another scream from my throat. It waved its hand over the wound. The blood stopped flowing, but the pain remained, throbbing violently from the trauma.

I was crying in big, ugly sobs. "You don't have to hurt me. Please don't hurt me," I said. "I'm a normal human, I don't have anything to do with this."

"You became part of this when you allied yourself with the witch Siyeon," the Nightmare replied. Then it stood perfectly still. It seemed to be listening, waiting for something. I didn't know what.

Time passed unknowingly. I begged several times for the Nightmare to let me go. I tried offering deals, or barters - wild attempts at negotiating myself out of this situation. But the Nightmare ignored me and remained perfectly still. It was a while before the tears stopped, but the pain remained, almost as prominent as before.

Then the Nightmare stirred, seeming to have received orders of some kind. It raised its finger again.

"No, no, no, no, no, please no!" I started at normal volume, but my voice became shrill. "Please don't hurt me, please!" I began to cry again. "Plea- "

My begging was cut off by the stabbing of the Nightmare's finger into my right thigh this time. It punctured skin, then muscle, shattered bone, ripped through more muscle, and tore through the other side.

And I screamed. I had never been in such agony in my entire life. I screamed. I screamed and screamed and screamed as it twisted its finger in my thigh. My throat became hoarse and dry, but still I screamed. There was nothing I could do. No tricks. No escape. The pain was there, everlasting. All I could do was scream.

I wasn't even allowed to black out. When I did, the Nightmare cast a spell to wake me up, and the torture continued. More cuts. More stabbing. More blood. And then I was healed, only to be torn open anew. The Nightmare seemed to have limits. Only my legs were targeted. To guarantee I would stay alive, maybe? But that didn't stop it from being hell. My blood soaked perfectly into the soft, red floor, and it left not a mark in sight.