I strolled slowly, hands in pocket.
The ground was the only thing I could bear looking at-even though it felt like it could collapse beneath my feet.
My mouth and tongue still kept muttering his name quietly, even though it ran dry.
I swallowed while reaching the end of the hallway, on the right lead to another path.
Less doors to explore, but could potentially be containing the best friend I remember…
I spun on my feet, facing the right, and began walking slowly again.
We will never find him…
The spark of hope that once ignited my courage, died down to a small, wretched ember.
I was close to turning back…
And accepting that he is no longer with us…
*
The dead end met me with a blank greeting.
The only noise that I could hear was my heartbeat, the inhaling of possible contaminated air and footsteps…
But some were not mine…
I kept my head up, eyes peeled at the front.
As I passed the doors, each had a window, showing the story behind each of the doors.
But the stories never ended happily…
One person in a room was hung upside down,
A pink tongue laid on the floor, bloody and vile…
Clothes were brutally ripped apart, tears spreading from their chest to their sneakers.
Some parts of the clothes were stitched onto the skin…
Really… On the skin.
Dried up, leaked pus coated the stitches.
I shuddered violently as I kept staring longer, noticing details that I should have never known.
…
The next tester, their hands were stuck together, not with stitches this time.
But possibly with super glue…
The skin stretched as desperation tried to pull away free.
Their eyes were blood red, nose was broken badly.
They had a compound fracture on their right shin and left arm.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
They remained in a paralyzed pose, too afraid to move or speak up for help…
Helplessness trapped me,
my chest wrenched as I thought of the torture they possibly went through.
…
I stood still for five minutes, frozen, before finally moving on again.
I wanted to sprint, cry, or burn down this place.
I would never wish this on anyone, even on the person who finished off my father…
…
I paused, finally reaching square one.
Even though I tried to fight back the unwanted temptation to reminisce,
my mind still projected the nightmare…
*
“Papa!” I cried out, trying to break free from the guy’s grip…
My mother was down on the polished floor, hands on head as one of the partners pointed a gun, close to her skull…
I saw my father…
The leader locked their arms around his throat.
Tall… with ugly, messed up hair.
Their nose was painted with red, attempts from my dad fighting back…
“You take your hands off from my daughter and my wife!” Father yelled as his right hand was restrained.
“Tell me, what do you know about it first?” The leader queried, trying hard to be mysterious.
A wicked smile spread from his face to the rest of his colleagues.
…
“I won’t accept silence as an answer!” he bellowed, driving his foot into my dad’s head.
CRACK!
He roared in pain, the guy holding my mother down laughed viciously as he pushed the gun onto my mother.
The firing point touched her scalp…
“If you do not reply, might as well speak up to say goodbye to your ‘beautiful’ world,” he stated as he gazed at my mother, giving an off-putting smug look.
I knew not to say anything…
But my retort began building up at the back of my throat.
I bit down my tongue, trying to restrain the words that could lead us into a bigger problem.
Don’t do it.
Don’t do it.
Don’t do it…
Don’t do it…
“Leave my father alone, you ugly idiot!” I yelled, everyone turned to face me.
I lost… horribly.
…
“Kill that kid,” The leader let go of my father and pointed his short finger at me.
The little heart of mine was now beating like a rollercoaster.
My head was slammed on the floor harshly, I could hear the bones crushing in my head.
The armed partner dropped my mother, her body landed with harsh thud.
His polished shoes thumped on the floor, slowly approaching me.
He raised his gun at me, pointing it at my fluttering heart.
I clawed at his shoes and at the floor, but it hardly made an effort.
“Any final cries, kid?” he scoffed.
BANG!
The sound shook me, I gasped for air.
I was slouched behind the wall.
My chest was pounding hard, with fear and pain…
BANG! THUD!
The sound of punching and knocking got louder, it was not something to ignore…
I stared at the hallway path, exhausted but scared…
I got up slowly, clamping at the wall for support.
Bending my knees slightly, I made slow, alert steps.
Both of my shivering hands curled up into a fist.
The hallway became clearer, like wearing glasses…
I placed my ear next to each door, trying to listen where the aggressive knocking is from,
Not this one…
I stepped away slowly, it felt like I was in a landmine field and had to walk with caution.
The next door faded in slowly, I pressed my ear against it
No… not this one.
This time I went to the doors opposite me and checked each of them.
Nope, no banging.
Not this one either.
All I could hear is air whispering in each door.
No sounds of banging or knocking.
That’s when I remembered;
The previous floor I had been to has a couple of doors.
I quickly took off, reaching towards the nearest steps.
I grasped the railing tightly like a child.
I took some breaths in to calm my hummingbird mind.
Finally, I went down the stairs, my shoes slamming on the gritty staircase.
BANG! BANG!
The noise came back, this time it was much noisier.
“Someone! Help me, please!” a desperate, muffled voice came from one of the doors.
I still kept holding the railing but this time I tried to walk steadily.
The hallway is the same as it was on the other floors, but this time, each door had a radiation sign.
“Please!” The voice cried desperately again.
I halted as the punching kept on going.
Is that a survivor?
No… I’ve never seen a person walk out of this place.
Wait… I think this voice is kinda familiar…
The familiarity was a huge hint.
That’s when it pieced together…
It was Akira…
