【ｔｈｅ ｈｏｕｓｅ ｉｎ ｏｕｒ ｄｒｅａｍｓ．】 (twd)

A Glimpse of the Devil

I AWOKE to the sound of the door opening, its old hinges creaking as it scraped against the stone floor. I quickly straightened up, using one hand to hold my upper body up, away from the ground. There were no windows in the room, which meant no sunlight, which meant I had no way of knowing how long I had slept. I squinted my eyes as the two men from earlier stomped into the room, dragging a steel chair behind them. One of them gripped my arm roughly and picked me up of the cold stone floor, pushing me towards the chair.

"Alright, alright..." I grumbled, rubbing my arm. "No need to be so rough."

"Sit your ass down." The taller man from last night put his hand on my shoulder and slammed me down in the chair.

"Ouch!" I yelped as pain blossomed through my skin where he touched.

"Shut your mouth!" The other man yelled in my face. I put my hands up and turned away from him slightly, sitting back in the chair and doing what he said. I wasn't going to fight, I wasn't stupid. Fighting got you killed, the best thing to do right now is to do everything they said and hope they would let me go once they realized the misunderstanding. "Hey boss, he's ready for you."

A woman stepped into the room, strutting towards where I was seated, standing between the two men with her hands on her hips. She smiled down at me with full lips and a piercing blue gaze. But not the kind of smile that humans gave each other, it was more just a movement of her mouth. Her cold eyes stayed trained on me, boring holes through my forehead. I remembered the first time I saw a garter snake in our backyard in San Francisco. It was so slender and beautiful, but its unwavering stare chilled me to my bone. As beautiful as it was, I knew the damage it could cause if I let my guard down, even as young and naive as I was then, I still knew. This one didn't look like a San Francisco garter, but I was still thinking: snake.

"Start talking..." The woman said, in a smooth and calm voice, one that didn't seem to be coming from her.

"I'm confused, he wants me to shut my mouth," I smirked, gesturing towards the man who had told me to keep quiet, "But you want me to start talking?" The woman flicked her head and one of the men beside her pushed me back on the chair and slammed his fist into my nose. I heard the dull pop before I felt bright and deafening pain blossom through my face.

"Motherf-" I moaned, as my head whipped back and I brought my hand up to my nose to give myself some comfort.

"Does that help clear things up, honey?" The woman asked, in that same sugary tone. "Or do you need another one?"

"Okay, okay!" I stuttered, quickly flinching and putting my hands up as the man who hit me moved forward again. "What...do you want me to say?"

"Oh, dear me." The woman said, suddenly cheerful as her blue eyes brightened for a moment, clasping her hands together. "Why, we haven't even introduced ourselves. I'm Nina Nantucket, and this is Sal," she said, gesturing towards the taller man, "and this old boy is Ramone." She put her head on the shoulder of the man who had hit me. "He's my number two. And you are?"

"Uh..." I paused for a moment, clearing my throat and wiping blood away from my nose. "Roach..."

"Roach?" Nina repeated, her eyes wide and filled with intrigue. "As in cockroach?"

"As in cockroaches survive everything." I said, plainly, crossing my hands over my chest with pretend confidence. She laughed, sending chills down my spine, before putting her hands on either side of my chair and leaning in close. My shoulders sunk as her icy gaze melted away any last shred of confidence and dignity I had left.

"Oh, not everything. I'm going to have fun with you." She put a hand on my chest and smiled, the same deranged smile. "Look how fast your heart is beating. I love it." I gulped, my throat suddenly feeling dry and parched, as she moved away and snapped her fingers. "Bring the girl in here." I furrowed my eyebrows, confusedly watching Sal walk out of the room with a crooked grin on his face.