Youth

#43 - Anywhere But Here

Kinda sorta a bit of a torture warning coming up. It's a bit dodgy lol

    How long had it been? [Y/n] couldn't tell anymore. She knew it hadn't been more than a day despite the dreadful feeling of hopelessness that forced her mind awake, no matter how tired she became. He'd left her on her own in the basement. It was dark, though a couple of lights flashed on and off over by Rayne's desk like the little LEDs of a charging computer. Experiments here and there would make subtle noises, too. A continuous endothermic reaction produced the sound of cracking ice now and again, and many other experiments dripped and splashed. Despite the silence, the sounds began to grow deafening. At one point [Y/n] had covered her ears to distract herself from them but was instead given the sound of her thunderous heartbeat. Somehow, ice and water and been a less terrifying sound to listen to.

    [Y/n]'s head snapped to the door when she heard the other door slam shut. Footsteps approached, quick and steady down the stairs, and finally the room was soaked in light. Rayne stood in the doorframe, his eyes narrowed slightly in a thoughtful gesture. He didn't so much as glance at [Y/n]. He flicked the lights on and walked over to his desk, sitting down and scrawling hurriedly on a sheet of paper, before scrunching it up and tossing it behind him as he went to rewrite it. The crumpled ball of paper landed close to the cage. Taking a deep breath, [Y/n] leaned forwards and reached through the bars for the piece of paper. It was just out of reach. [Y/n] allowed her hand to lay on the floor near it, letting out a sigh as she hung her head.

    A sudden pain shot through [Y/n]'s hand. She raised her head hurriedly; a certain man with his foot pressed down on the back of her hand was the cause. [Y/n] tried to pull her hand back but Rayne didn't budge.

    "How nosey," he spat, pressing down harder, before releasing the pained female. "Though you wouldn't have been able to read it anyway," he shrugged. "For starters, my handwriting tends to seem illegible for those who aren't used to it. And it's in our language." He tossed her the piece of paper.  [Y/n] was greeted with a mess of unintelligible foreign scribbles.  Dejectedly, the girl tossed the piece of paper back at Rayne.  She stared at her lap, only raising her head when the click of a lock could be heard.  The door to the cell creaked open and Rayne grabbed [Y/n]'s upper arm, heaving her out of the cage.  Without a word he pulled her to the chair to the left of the cell and shoved her into it.  Once her movement was restricted, he looked away.

"Do you miss Nyais?" he questioned.  [Y/n] narrowed her eyes at the strange inquiry.  The answer was obvious so why had he asked?  She stared at her cuffed wrists and narrowed her eyes. Was it a trick question? Slowly, she raised her gaze to meet his. The expression on Rayne's face was chilling — he didn't seem thrilled about what he was doing. He didn't seem excited. It wasn't the sort of sadistic enjoyment that Seishin or Kori might display... he looked entirely devoid. Perhaps a little disgusted. It was different from how he'd looked before.

    A thought suddenly crossed [Y/n]'s mind. The boys had trusted Rayne, a serial killer, to 'fix' [Y/n]'s will to leave. But... who's to say Rayne is trustworthy? He may be no one's direct enemy but he's no one's direct ally, either. He does things for him. This situation was on his terms. He called for a few days off work because he was busy, though the thing he seems to be busy with happens after he stops Laion and Aytsa going to work.

    He'd planned this.

    "[Y/n]? You know, you're lucky to still have your tongue. Answer my question." [Y/n]'s eyes narrowed.

    "Why am I really here?" [Y/n] spat.

    "Answering questions with questions is for people who aren't tied to chairs," Rayne hummed, picking up something from the movable table (which was positioned just out of sight in [Y/n]'s blind spot, partially behind the chair). He walked behind her, his steps almost inaudible. [Y/n] got a good idea of what he'd picked up when fabric covered her eyes, leaving her unable to see. Rayne tied the blindfold tightly, the pressure causing [Y/n] slight discomfort, though she didn't want to show that. "Though I'm curious, why do you ask? You know why you're here — you threatened Aytsa and I in an attempt to escape. This was the deal."