Haisley
Laurie is next, confessing how she accidentally poisoned her sister when she was only four. She barely remembers the event, but the screen doesn't care. It shows the moment in agonizing detail.
Sasha, living under a stolen identity for years, committing fraud. Another life unraveled before our eyes.
And then, it's Blaze's turn. But she doesn't move. The question hangs in the air, but Blaze remains silent, staring ahead with wide, glassy eyes. She isn't shaking her head. She isn't pleading. She's frozen.
Fear? Shock? I can't tell, but every second that ticks away is dragging us deeper into this nightmare.
The demon's anger grows, the countdown slipping closer to zero. The air becomes charged, the room darkening. I feel the presence of something—multiple somethings. Three large, shadowy figures crawl up behind Blaze, but she still doesn't move.
And then, with the final second, the chair vanishes beneath her, and the creatures pounce.
Blaze screams, thrashing as they drag her to the floor. My stomach turns in horror as her clothes are ripped from her body. She fights, her voice ripping through the air, but the demons are relentless, holding her down. And then one of them mounts her.
I snap my head away, unable to watch, bile rising in my throat. Her screams fill the air, the sound of flesh being torn, the grunts and growls of the creatures as they violate her. And then—sudden, deafening silence.
I force myself to look, and what I see freezes my blood. Blaze's body lies in pieces, torn apart, discarded like meat. She hadn't just died. She had been violated, desecrated in the worst possible way.
And now I understand Olivia's silence. This is the punishment for defiance.
The portal shifts, and my restraints release. My body is weak, shaking uncontrollably as I try to stand. The images of Blaze and my mother's murder twist together in my mind, a sickening blur of death and destruction.
I step over the line, barely able to hold myself together as I look at the other women.
"Don't refuse," I manage to whisper, my voice shaking. "Whatever you do… your secret isn't worth the punishment. It's not worth the slow death for staying silent."
My legs give out beneath me, and I collapse to the floor, trembling uncontrollably. Whether from shock, fear, or something else, I no longer know. All I know is that the demons are watching. And they aren't done with us yet.
With each woman who sat in that chair, I knew they would return changed, broken in some way. But Deb and Eva never came back. The silence they left behind is suffocating, a constant reminder that they refused… and paid the price.
The rest of us? We're too afraid to speak of what happened in that cursed portal. Too afraid to acknowledge the horror we witnessed, the way the truth clawed its way out of us and left us shattered. I'm okay with dying. But the rest? The slow, torturous unraveling? I can't face that.
It's been hours since I got out of that chair, but my body won't stop trembling. No matter how much time passes, I can't shake the cold dread that's settled in my bones. Everyone else seems to be recovering, at least enough to keep their hands steady. But not me. The shaking won't stop, like I'm caught in an endless cycle of fear and despair, and I can't figure out how to break free.
The others have huddled around me, their presence a weak attempt at comfort. But it's useless. Nothing they do can calm the terror coursing through me. I'm lost in my own mind, unable to make sense of anything anymore.
My eyes flick to the screen.
Zyraxial – Samantha, Haisley, Laurie, Blaze, Sasha
Malgorath – Anna, Rose, Bella, Luna, Cassandra
Ashurith – Claire, Juliet, Megan, Susan, Louise
Belzharon – Willow, Eva, Rachel, Alexa, Sophia
Xarnathor – Michelle, Trixie, Nicola, Brenda, Gina
Vraxul – Paola, Deb, Annalise, Dahlia, Greta
Tzalyx – Cora, Julia, Paula, Ava, Star
Vorathiel – Maya, Fleur, Emily, Daisy, Lisa
Sargoroth – Brea, Olivia, Irene, Skye, Lucy
Kaelgrym – Kelly, Ashleigh, June, Vivien, Zoe
Each team of five under their demon has lost someone. Some have lost two. The message is clear: many couldn't bring themselves to confess their darkest secrets. They chose death over the shame and torment of speaking those unspeakable truths.
I wonder, for those teams where two have died, how did the second one fall? Did they hesitate? Did they try to flee, or was their refusal a quiet surrender to fate?
After seeing Blaze… after witnessing the horrific violation that followed her silence, I know I could never refuse again. The thought of dying isn't what terrifies me—it's how I'll die. What will happen to me if I refuse to play their twisted game?
No… I'll obey. I have no choice. Whatever they ask, whatever they demand, I'll do it. Because if I don't… the horrors waiting for me on the other side are worse than anything I could ever imagine.
And the worst part? I can't even hope for an end. Not while the demons are still watching, waiting for us to crack, to fail.
We're trapped in this hell, and it feels like it's only just begun.
We drift in and out of restless sleep for hours, but there's no real peace. Only the darkness pressing in, suffocating us with the weight of our unspoken fears. The room is thick with dread, each of us knowing it's not over. We all sense it—something more is coming. But none of us want to face it.