Disturbing screams echoed in the air as Damon, a young boy no older than 10 years of age slowly opened his eyes. His mind was swimming with a constant pulsing pressure. Feeling groggy and out of place, his eyes drifted down a long dimly lit corridor.
shadows of flames danced along the walls as ember light spilled from a partially open door. The crackling sound of wood burning, slowly drifted down the hall before another gut wrenching scream was heard followed by numerous thrashing sounds of clanking metal.
Glancing around slowly, he shook his head lightly as if trying to shake off his discomfort. His head felt unbalanced and the positioning of his body was unnaturally uncomfortable. Attempting to move, he discovered he had been confined with shackles on his ankles and wrists.
From what he could tell, he was in dark room of sorts, and with how his body was currently positioned. He was confined in more ways than one. Damon had been shackled to a wall, and at the moment he was trying to get his mind together.
He could clearly hear horrifying screams like someone was being tortured, but his body and mind wasn't reacting how he was really feeling. He immediately knew he was in danger, but lacked a sense of urgency. Something was off, it soon became clearer to him as more time passed.
A vale of some kind began to lift from his mind and he had begun to feel more which informed him he had been given something that dulled his senses while clogging up his head.
With every passing minute, a piece of the haze tampering with his mind faded and the natural emotions of someone afraid had begun to surface.
As he watched the flickering shadows of the flames and hearing the crackling sounds of burning wood. He could occasionally see a human shaped shadow move across the corridor wall, which sent chills throughout his body. It wasn't hard to tell something terrifying was going on.
The sound of clanking metal became more distinct as a burning stench entered his nose. The smell wasn't overbearing, but Damon knew what it was, or at least what he believed it to be.
"Hair and meat " He mumbled to himself.
"Someone is being burned to death" He thought.
A feeling of dread swept over him as his eyes widened in fear. Seconds later the door swung completely open and stepping through was a large man like figure.
Damon could feel the floor vibrate slightly with each step as the figure walked in his direction. The corridor became dimmer for a moment as the large figure blocked most of the light behind him.
Not knowing what else to do, he dropped his head and relaxed, letting his body go limp.
"Mmmm...now let's see, which one shall I do next." Spoke a deep gargling voice. The man spoke as if he had a ton of saliva near the back of his throat.
Damon remained as if he was still unconscious, doing his best to stay as still as he possibly could, but his heart was pounding against his chest like a drum. His hands became moist and he could feel the build up of sweat between his fingers as he nervously twitched them together a couple of times.
As the man walked by Damon, a sudden light was casted. Revealing multiple figures chained against the wall all around the room. Damon eyelids twitched as he forced them to stay close, failing not to react. Luckily the man had already passed by him and the orb of light was mainly shining on other captives.
Unable to keep his composure, he slowly opened one eye. He could see multiple kids that looked around his age of both genders confined in the same way he was. The man slowly moved the orb of light which floated mid air across the room.
He firmly grabbed onto each chain link shackle that binded their wrists for a few seconds and looked into their faces with a mischievous grin until he came across the next intriguing captive.
"Oh, well aren't you a pretty little thing." He said while rubbing his fingers across a young girl's face. The man twirled her white wool like hair in his fingers before planting his nose firmly against it taking in a deep sniff. Her eyes were white as snow with sky blue pupils and a light pink iris.
The girl was awake, and the look on her face wasn't of fear. Her thin dry, cracked pink lips were balled up and her eyes were searing with anger as the man continued to gently touch her face.
"Awww, don't look at me like that, You're making the anticipation of having fun with you more intriguing. I love the way pain changes a person's tune, it's like a natural instrument that pleases my ears."
The man's eyes rolled back a bit as if he was getting off just thinking about it.
"You know the best part about it, is each one of you have different notes, a distinct sound that feeds my mind. It's a magnificent pleasure that i can't explain." The man said while setting the top shackles free that kept her mounted on the wall.
The girl thrashed around a bit, but with her restraints still firmly in place, she couldn't resist much as the man throwed her over his shoulder head first. Turning around, the man walked back towards Damon who had closed his eyes playing like he was still unconscious.
A whistling tune escaped the man's lips as he looked over the shackled kids once more. The light brushed over Damon, but this time he managed to stay calm and completely unfazed by the light as the man continued whistling.
The tune was low, smooth and steady with 3 sudden short high pitch whistles with a pause. Four more high pitch tunes followed by six low whistling beeps. The rhythm began to repeat and fade as the Burley man walked. The man turned and the light dimmed making Damon relax and open his eyes.
The remaining light casted on the walls reached Damons face making his sunset colored eyes reflect like a low burning sun in the barely visible corner he was chained to. Damon mouth slightly opened as his eyes and the young girl's locked on to each other as she was being carried down the hall over the man's shoulder.
Everything happened within a couple of seconds, but their gazes upon each other felt like it lasted for minutes before the man opened and walked into the side door, closing it completely this time. As complete darkness surrounded Damon, the girl's beautiful colored eyes meeting his was the only thing he could think about.
The time dragged as Damon looked out for screams of pain like he had heard before, but this time there was nothing but the sound of thrashing chains and muffled noises. He continued to move and wiggle as much as he could to no avail.
Many thoughts surfaced in his head like where the hell was he, who was that man and why was he there. The main thought coming forth was what could he do to get out.
Whatever drug or paralyzing sediment he was given had worn off and he could feel his mind becoming clearer. The thrashing sounds of chains suddenly stopped and the door flung open.
" mmmm, I thought i heard rustling back here, looks like it's your turn next boy." The man said as a beam of light was casted on Damon.
It happened too fast, Damon had no time to play unconscious. As big as the man was, he was pretty quick and cleared the small hallway in a flash.
The man grabbed him by his throat while unlocking the top chains. Now that they were face to face, Damon could see the man features clearly. His brown dirty hair was matted up like a birds nest and hung to his shoulders. His dingy pale skin was rough looking with a few burn marks near his neck and bottom jaw on his right side.
"That pretty girl was a rough bird, I didn't like her. She had no type of elegant vibe, her melody was trash. Oh, but I'm sure yours will be much different, aye boy." He said tossing Damon over his shoulder walking down the hall.
Damons heart began racing as many thoughts poured into his mind. He squirmed and moved, but the man had a firm grip on the chains that held him in place. Even if he had managed to roll or squirm off the man's shoulder. He would do nothing but hit the ground which wouldn't help him at all.
Damon began to yell and shout at the top of his lungs. Before he knew it, tears flooded from his face as he jerked around helplessly like a fish on land.
"Ahhh, yea. That's it, that's the type of soothing melody I love to hear. Cry, beg....sing me a song, a song filled with fear." He said with a grin pushing open the door.
Damon continued to yell and cry. Sobbing while pleading with the man to stop.
"Why are you doing this, what did I do ?" Damon asked with tears.
The man said nothing, the next moment Damon's shirt was removed with a simple tug as he was placed on a hook that hung from the ceiling. The man turned away walking towards a large firepit that had multiple iron rods sticking out of it.
Twirling around helplessly Damon could see four other kids hanging on hooks further back. Including the white wool haired girl from earlier. Their bodies were limp and unmoving, but Damon could see they were still alive.
They too had been stripped, and their bodies slowly turned in a circle as they hung from hooks as well by the shackles on their wrists. The beautiful girl and another girl with pink hair, also a large red haired boy along with one more Damon couldn't clearly see. The girls clothing were only partially ripped not exposing their chest unlike the boys.
"Some kind of brand, what the hell." Damon murmured with wide eyes as he saw a blistering odd shaped burn on the back of the beautiful girl's shoulder.