Sitting down on the bed, I watched Alissa run around our new chambers with a rejuvenated amount of energy. A huge smile was painted across her small, innocent face as her legs seemed to be fuelled with an infinite amount of stamina. Her smile brought back much ease into my heart that had been missing for however long I had been trapped here. Watching her brought a smile upon my very own face as I stood up and made my way towards her.
Seeing me, she sprinted up to me, clutching tightly onto my leg and looking up at me with a huge smile, her eyes shimmering and sparkling as it did back home. My face softened, and I knelt down in front of her. Seeing her like this again was comforting. Her smile, her eyes, her soft face, everything came together so perfectly like a puzzle.
I pulled her in, wrapping my arms around he and embracing her into a big, tight squeeze. I held on dearly in fear that if I ever let go again, she would vanish from me forever. The fear that he had placed onto me was much more potent than I realised. Just the simple possibility, the single risk that my very own child could be thrusted into incomprehensible dangers, kept me on edge. He wanted me to be afraid. And he succeeded.
Alissa returned my embrace, wrapping her small, fragile arms around me, a confused yet worried expression on her face. She rubbed my back, slowly trying to comfort whatever had washed over me as she continued to smile through her concern. I stared at her, gifting her a reassuring smile as my face eased back into a much more content form of comfort.
I softly patted her head before standing up and making my way to the kitchen that was given to us. I turned on the stove, lighting a fire as I placed a small circular pan on top of it. Pouring in some cold water, I let it boil for a while before placing in some potatoes that I had cut a while back. The Scientist had only provided us with the bare basic ingredients to cook with. Alissa, who had finally run out of energy, slumped onto the sofa dangling her arms of the edge as she gasped for air.
After I finished cooking the food, we sat down as I handed her a plate of potatoes and rice. Before we ate, we performed our mundane prayer that we did back home, and Alissa dug into the food ferociously. Her lack of energy only fuelled her hunger more as she ravaged through the meal like a wild beast, occasionally giving me a glance accompanied with a smile of satisfaction. I smiled back, feeling happy that she was enjoying her meal, yet deep down, I felt this unusual sense of unfamiliarity coming from Alissa.
Ever since our encounter with that man in the lab, Alissa's behaviour has changed slightly. It is hard to notice from a normal view, but from a father's view, from the person who raised her and was with her through her life, it was different. Almost as if something inside her changed. Like her brain waves warped, and her personality shifted, turning her into a different person entirely. It was uncanny. Almost as if some creature had taken the place of my daughter and now mimicked her every move, fooling me with each step.
Yet, I brushed it off, thinking that it was just this place we were trapped in that caused me to have such wretched thoughts towards my very own daughter. As a father, my mind even drifting it in that direction was sickening as I silently repented of having such twisted thoughts.
As we finished eating, Alissa offered to help me with the dishes. I smiled and accepted as we washed away in silence. Back home, she always wanted to look after everyone. Even as young as she was, her desire to help and care always pushed through just like her mother. A solemn expression filled my face as I reminisced about our times back home with my wife and Alice. We were such a happy family until I accepted this hellish invitation.
"Daddy, are you okay?" Alissa asked, tugging on my shirt, concerned about my sad expression.
"Yes dear, I'm just missing the rest of our family." I replied with a smile.
"I... I miss them too. I want to play with Alice and Mommy again." She spoke softly, looking down.
Crouching in front of her, I embraced her in a hug.
"Me too. But don't worry, we will get out of here soon. And then we will all go on holiday together, I promise." I said, comforting her.
Suddenly, the room plunged into darkness, leaving me and Alissa defenceless without any vision. Scared, Alissa clutched onto me, her body trembling in my arms. I stroked her hair as I tried to hush her to calm down. Standing up, with Alissa hiding behind me, I made my way out of the kitchen carefully towards the main room.
Squinting my eyes, I tried my best to make out the objects inside the dark, my senses giving mixed signals, making it impossible to navigate through the dark area without fail. Stretching my arms out, I guided us towards the fuse box in the corner of the room. Opening it up, I noticed that the cord had been cut, leaving us with no way of fixing the power in the room anymore.
Plunged into eternal darkness, I opened the door to our bedroom and placed Alissa on the bed, covering her with the blanket. Shutting the door, I placed a chair against the handle and moved the cupboard in front of the door before residing back in bed with Alissa. As she held my hands, I could feel the ice-cold touch seeping into my hands. She was shaking with fear.
Alissa never liked the dark. Who the hell could have even sneaked into here without us noticing? Alissa was standing at the doorway that aimed towards the main room. If someone was going to enter through the main door, I would have seen them. There has to be a secret passageway. Then again, I'm not surprised there is. Of course, he has ways to enter without us knowing. I just have to pray that there isn't one through our bedroom.
As Alissa held onto me, we waited out the time in our room, hoping that whatever was lurking out there would stay outside. All of a sudden, we heard the sound of distant footsteps. It was slow and random. It was almost as if multiple people were walking by. The sounds grew louder and louder, causing us to sit there on the edge.
Unexpectedly, the footsteps became much quicker, and the sounds became impossible to have been made from human feet. It was like an insect scurrying across the floor and even the walls. The speed of the sounds was inhumanly fast and almost impossible for someone who wasn't a freak athlete at the least. After what seemed to be four seconds, the footsteps would stop directly outside our door, knocking four times and then scurrying around the room again. It repeated this process over and over and over again without fail.
Erratic and fast movements, coming to a halt, four second countdown, four knocks, repeat. The continuous repetition of the same pattern caused us to slowly fall onto the brink of madness. Alissa continued to hold onto me closer and closer after each pattern, fearing that soon the door would be flung open and whatever was outside would take us away.
Suddenly, silence fell. There was no more knocking, no more footsteps, and no more loud noises. A chilly, eerie, horrific silence filled the room. We sat there for a few minutes waiting for something to rush in or some loud noise to demolish our ears, but nothing happened.
Carefully, I made my way towards the door, making little sound in case whatever was out there did not become aware of our existence. Placing my ear over the wall beside it, I listened carefully for any movement from the other side. A bead of sweat trickled down my face, soaking my beard before dripping to the floor with a thud. My breathing was faint and low, almost like I was losing oxygen by the second, as my hand lightly shook.
Was I feeling fear? Me of all people? In front of my own daughter, I was the one who was afraid? Ah, of course I am. Even I understand, that...there truly are monsters in the world. Not the so-called monsters with sharp teeth and long claws in the fairytales but vicious monsters. Ones that roam around us in our everyday lives, undetected and unbothered. Their teeth soaking in the pain of others, their hands flowing with the urge to strangle, and their minds clouded by nothing more than the want to cause chaos. Those monsters do exist. And, coming here has made me realise that they are truly alive and evil. Humans. The greatest monsters that have ever roamed this world.
As I continued to listen, my mind slowly began to feel an unusual sense of comfort. My body relaxed, and my beads of sweat started to disappear. I had no clue as to why such a thing was happening, but my mind subconsciously forced me to let my guard down. Forced me into thinking there was no threat. No problem.
My hands moved away from the walls, my ear lifted off from the dry paint, and my legs stepped back away from whatever was out there. My body let out a sigh of relief or of annoyance, I knew not which, as I shut my eyes for a brief moment.
"AHHHHHH!"
My eyes flung wide open as I heard a chilling, blood curdling scream from behind me. It was young and feminine. My body turned around abruptly as my eyes filled with fear. My pupils bounced around my eyes like a metal ball in a skee game. Right there, in front of me, my very own daughter was lifted into the air by her hair.
A creature that I had no intention of describing held her hair by the edge, covered in darkness. It was tall as it towered over me, and all I could make out in the dark was its pair of angelically white eyes that spewed out light like a pulsar directly at me. There were no defining features. It was almost as if the darkness itself had come to life and began wildly attacking anything in its way.
Alissa's face contorted with fear and pain and agony and whatever other emotion God had granted us humans to feel, as I stood there, frozen like ice, nothing more than a coward who couldn't even move to save his own daughter. Alissa continued to move her body madly as she screamed out my name for help, the thing still holding onto her hair tighter and tighter.
Even with no features to pull out, no emotion to understand, no thoughts to make of what stood before me, I knew that it was smiling. That it was thrilled by her reaction. By my reaction. By our pain. I could envision a huge, wicked, demonic smile planted across its black face as its eyes continued to light up with joy, beaming with happiness, if it even felt such a thing.
Suddenly, my legs moved on its own as I rushed towards the monster to aid my daughter. Letting out a punch, I aimed to kill. But to my surprise, my fist went right through it as my body followed. Startled, I turned out as I stared in confusion.
What the hell. I did make contact. Didn't I?
I thought to myself as I turned around, looking at it. Slowly and inhumanely, it turned around to face me. I felt livid, as that mocking smile creeped across its face. It had no mouth, no way of expressing emotion, no nose and no ears, no hands, nor a body, and yet, I could tell what it was feeling. What it looked like.
"How pathetic."
Those two words that spewed out of its imaginative mouth came out of my brain as I felt anger. Instead of going for it, I turned my attention towards Alissa, who was on the verge of passing out. Rushing towards her, I reached my hand out as I tried to grab her.
Crash.
Huh, what happened?
I thought to myself, as I looked up. I was on the floor, by the cupboard in front of the door. I looked up, the monster looking down at me, Alissa in its clutches still.
I did grab her. I'm sure I did.
Standing up, I faced the creature again. Weirdly, it moved Alissa, who was now unconscious, in front of me as it continued to hold her by the hair. Carefully, I reached out towards her wrist as I tried to break her from its hold quickly. My body froze. My eyes widened as I felt like my blood vessels in my eyes would pop out at any moment. My blood flow slowed down, and my heart was on the verge of stopping. My body trembled, and my lips quivered.
I can't grab her. I can't hold onto her. My hand went right through her. Just like the creature, I can't grab my daughter. I can't save her.
Without thinking, I flailed my arms like a madman as I tried to hold onto her, hoping that one of my attempts would succeed. I screamed as I continued to try my best to latch onto her, but I couldn't. No matter how much I screamed, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't hold her.
Defeated, I fell to my knees as I looked down at my trembling hands. My breathing was slow and low as I felt like I had been stabbed by a thousand knives. Tears pricked the corner of my eyes as my body slowly shook.
The creature loomed over me as Alissa's body hung just in front of me. Her body was lifeless, her face emotionless, and her breathing unregistered. It revelled in my pain and futility. And I couldn't bring myself to look up at it. To give it the satisfaction it wanted. But it already knew that I was done. I had been defeated. I failed to protect my daughter. Again.
And then it disappeared with Alissa, leaving me on my knees in a pitiful state. I didn't move, I didn't budge, and I didn't speak. My mind was blank as I stared down at my hands with no sense of life in my eyes. My body slumped as I stayed there like a statue. Tears unintentionally flowed down my face, small puddles forming on the floor around me as my face did not change to match the liquid flowing out of my eyes. My eyes themselves had no life nor emotion to it. My body didn't want to move. Nor did my mind want me to lose consciousness. My energy had been spent, and I could feel my muscles aching with the smallest of movements.
Yet, it was as if the world wanted me to stay awake. To continue living the aftereffects of the torment that I had just faced. It wanted me to continue to understand how pathetic I am. How weak I am. I wasn't some hero set out to defeat my own captor. I didn't have the strength available. I knew that. And yet the world went a step further and crushed me like an act. I wasn't even worthy of being a father. Definitely not after failing to protect my child. The world knew that. And it continued to remind me of that as well.
"Well...that was...unfortunate." A voice said from a speaker. "You put up quite the fight... even if it was one-sided."
"Shut up." I whispered.
"I mean, you were outclassed, so of course you would have lost. You shouldn't be so hung up on it." He continued.
"Shut up." I continued to whisper.
"To be fair, it was for your daughter's life. Which you lost. Just so you realise that." He rambled on.
"Shut up." I whispered again.
"How amusing it was to see you flail and wail like a barbarian. Fear truly is a wonderful concept. How it turns the most ordinary men into savage beasts or the sanest people into psychopathic animals. This was truly a wondrous watch. Thank you, Harold, for entertaining me." He spoke boldly.
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up." I mumbled nonstop.
"I can't hear you, Harold. Would you mind speaking louder?" He asked in an unusually sarcastic tone.
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut...up." I continued to mumble, my emotions slowly resurfacing
"Poor Harold! Always getting the short end of the stick. All that muscle and strength and yet... you can't even protect your own family. How hilarious. How ironically hilarious. Seeing such a man with your ability, struggling in vain like a cockroach, is truly a sight to witness. Tell me, how does it feel? How does it feel to be so unbelievably weak? To have your own strength be of no use to it? Please, enlighten me." He spoke, almost pleading me to reply.
"Just... shut up." I replied, defeated. "Leave me alone. You had your fun, didn't you? I bet it was amusing. Now let me despair in peace."
"How unfair." He replied solemnly. "You are withdrawing useful information. I would love to get more insight into what is going on in your mind. What thoughts are coming to fruition. How are you feeling? There is so much knowledge and wisdom just waiting to burst open. And here you are, hiding it from the world. Isn't that unjust?"
"Unjust." I chuckled weakly. "You, of all people, can not speak on justice. After everything you have done, the things you put us all through, you dare to demand justice?" I spoke my voice lightly, raising.
"Why shouldn't I? It is my right after all. Justice is blind for a reason. It doesn't discriminate between a saint or a sinner." He replied back.
"Justice is blind, not deaf Scientist. It hears all. It understands all. And it knows all. So, in the name of justice, which one of us do you think has been unjustly treated?" I asked.
"Why, of course, the answer is both of us. Justice isn't always in regard to pain or torment. I have been unjust to you by harming you and taking your daughter away. And you have been unjust to me for not granting me access to more knowledge. One that could prove useful in the grand scheme of the universe. The question lies, which unjustly act shall Lady Justice deem more severe?" He replied, amused by my question.
"Knowledge can be given at any time. Pain and torment is an extended thing. The pain I feel at this moment, the torment and weakness I possess at this state outweighs any kind of knowledge you wish from me." I spoke unenergized.
"And how can you be so sure of that? Knowledge has more value than despair. The knowledge to despair. The knowledge to give despair. Everything is bound by the knowledge of the concept itself. Without such knowledge, can you really understand what you feel? Can you truly say you feel that way? That, when your heart aches, it aches in pain. Or when tears flow down your face, it is out of sadness. No, you can't. The knowledge of such concepts allows you to be certain of what is happening. What turmoil is bubbling inside your body. So, I ask you again, which punishment is more severe in the ears of our dear Lady Justice?" He retorted.
"And yet, this leads to nowhere. None of us will accept the other as right. We will continue to stand our ground and believe what we hold is the truth. We are human, after all. We never accept what others think. What they value. What they believe. And so, we can continue this back-and-forth game for all of eternity. And yet, after all that, we still won't budge. That is the problem with human stubbornness." I spoke.
"A valid point, my dear Harold. You are much wiser than what people see of you. I am glad to have been given the opportunity to analyse such a subject. But, please, I wish for you to tell me of the torment that lies within your heart. Tell me how you feel."
"You want to know how I feel? I'll tell you." I started without any emotion emerging from my voice.
"I feel pathetic and weak and useless. All this strength, all this training, all this belief that I had in me was for nothing. All the things I stood up for, I went against, was for nothing. Anything that I had done was for nothing. I couldn't even save my daughter again. No matter how big I get or how much I train, I can't win. It's infuriating. It's frustrating. Why am I so weak? Why can't I protect my family? Why do I even live if I keep failing?" I continued.
"I vowed to keep them all safe. I vowed to be there for them. And yet, in the face of the universe, I am nothing but an insect. It is sickening. My daughter, my beautiful daughter, is in the hands of that thing, and I am here like an idiot unable to do anything. Why, just why...why am I so weak? Why are we so weak? We can't win against such things. So why do we have such pride in ourselves? Why are we not humble enough? Such monsters lie out there, and here we are bloating and feeding our ego. Why are we so pathetic? Answer me, Scientist. Why?" I elaborated.
"Because we are human. It is in our nature to be egotistical. To be human is to be prideful. Humility was never our strong point. Empires have come and fallen. Wars have been lost and won. People have been saved and killed. And yet, all that remains inside us is that immortal ego. That pridefulness that we latch onto. Because it fulfils us. It makes us feel good about ourselves. It stops us from the reminder that we are pathetic. That we are weak and our place in this vast and captivating universe is insignificant. Believing that we have strength is a beaty, yet it is our biggest ugliness." He explained.
"I see. Then, to be better, I know what I have to do. If I want true strength, I need to cast aside that pride. I need to destroy that ego. Humility is a virtue. And virtuous people are the ones with the real power." I spoke softly.
"How admirable. You truly are a wondrous creation, Harold. Well, I can't wait to see if you are able to obtain such a virtue." He replied slightly amused.
"Yes, but first..." I faced towards the speaker, staring down on the floor as I positioned myself. Without hesitation, I prostrated towards the speaker at him as I placed my head onto the floor, the sight some would see as disgusting as I began to speak. "...I'll do anything. Just...just bring my daughter back to me. Please, I beg of you, Scientist. Bring her back."
Accepting my worthlessness and tossing aside my pride, I begged the man I despised for help. It hurt me dearly, my heart cried out in agony, telling me to stop. To not accept defeat and to continue fighting. Yet, I knew the truth. I was weak and worthless. And this ego and pride that had taken over me was killing me. I had to throw it away, and this was my first step. My path towards humility.
"Oh my...how amusing. I would never have expected you of all people to do such a thing. I see that you have chosen your path and understood your way of living. You truly are wonderful. Very well, I shall return your daughter. If you can survive what I throw at you." He spoke to which I nodded.
Suddenly, gas started to swarm the room as it slowly creeped towards me. Unfazed, I continued to stare at the floor as I prepared myself for what was about to come. My mind slowly reversed back to our conversation mere seconds ago as my heart, which was crying out before, now felt at peace. There was this unusual sense of happiness and fulfilment that started to creep over me. As if everything before this point had been insignificant to that one moment right now.
I see. So, this is what it means to toss away one's ego. I have a lot to learn and understand. God, if you are watching, guide me. Help me become a humble servant once again. Help me thrown away this pride that has devoured me. Help me become better.
My mind blanked as the gas entered my body. I fell to the floor as I lay there unconscious. When I was awake, I was in a dark room. My body was stiff, as I realised I had been strapped up onto a table. I tugged and moved, but the straps around my arms and legs were too tight for any sort of chance to escape. My eyes squinted in the dark as I tried my best to make out anything around me. I called out and shouted, hoping that someone would reply. Realising the futility, I stopped moving and waited for something to happen. For a while, nothing happened as I lied there bored. And then, I heard a door slowly creak open.
Slightly tilting my head up, I stared at a dark silhouette of a figure staring at me from the distance. My body froze as I felt an eerie feeling creep over me. The figure circled around the outskirts of the room, its hand trailing the walls as if navigating and mapping its surroundings. As it moved, it finally began to speak as my eyes shot wide open, realising who it was.
"I didn't expect to meet you again so soon. But he told me to come over. And now, we meet again, Harold." The voice said.
It was the man from before, who me and Alissa had encountered after escaping our prison. He walked over, his white hair flowing down as elegantly as it did before as he stared directly into my soul with those same demonic, red eyes. A psychotic smile was filled across his face as I could see the excitement beaming from his pupils. I knew he was excited to see me again and even more excited to torture me.
"Oh Harold, it truly is great to see you again. How have you been? How is C...oh yeah, your daughter. I almost forgot for a second." He spoke almost as if he was about to say something else.
I stared confused as my mind questioned what he was about to say, but my situation did not let me latch onto that thought long enough before I shifted my focus back to him.
"I've seen better days." I replied.
"Good to hear. Well, you won't be seeing better days for the time you are here, I am afraid." He responded.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Of course he didn't tell you. He wanted it to be a surprise. A torturous, wonderful surprise might I add. Alas, I shall explain when the time is right. Why don't we talk for a bit? " He chuckled.
"I'd rather not." I replied bluntly.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that. We are friends, aren't we?" He returned.
"No chance." I replied bluntly again.
"How mean. Well, I heard what happened. How you lost your daughter again. You really aren't good at this whole protecting family stuff, are you." He said mockingly.
"Shut up and do what you came here for." I responded, not in the mood to hear such claims.
"Oh, you will regret wishing that. Soon, you would have hoped you had actually conversed with me before we started. I do wonder how long you can...hold onto your sanity." He said before moving a switch beside him.
Suddenly, the sound of cogs moving came into motion as I heard something being lowered from above. A small dim light shined from beside me, allowing me only to see objects close to me. I stared up, unable to see what was being lowered yet curious, nevertheless. I squinted my eyes as I tried my best to make out what it was. Barely, I could make out the shape of a pointed object. It lightly glistened in the darkness as it hovered directly above my forehead. Suddenly, a small drop of water emerged from the darkness and struck my forehead, causing me to flinch.
"Wh... What is this?" I question startled.
"You see, the Chinese were a fascinating group of people. They had many amazing inventions and many powerful empires. Yet... one of the things that truly separated them was the way they tortured their victims. And yet, funnily enough, this invention, despite being named after them, has no ties towards them at all. It truly is a curveball. The earliest version of such a torture device was actually in Bologna documented by the man called Hippolytus de Marsiliis. It is not like the other devices that you would see or hear of. No sort of physical pain is ever inflicted onto a person. It's all here." He explained as he pointed towards his head.
"What does it do?" I asked.
"It's a simple device. A sharp needle is pointed directly at your forehead. And we have a vast amount of water above it. Slowly, moment by moment, a drop of water will exit the end of the needle and land onto your forehead. Thus, it is called the Chinese Water Torture. A bit on the nose if you ask me." He said, trying to be funny.
My eyes flew wide open as I heard the name. I knew of its existence, and I knew the devastating impacts that it had on a person. I moved my body as I tried my best to break free, fear taking over me.
"Easy now. You aren't escaping. Just accept it." He spoke as he moved his finger down my cheek.
"Get me out of this thing right now." I retorted.
"Well, if you leave now, there will be consequences." He spoke sadly.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, you said that you will get anything if you want your daughter back. And this would be breaching the deal. So, if you want to quit this, then you can, but Alissa won't come back." He explained.
"So, what is the deal?" I asked.
"Simple. Survive this for a whole month, and you will get Alissa back. You can say you want to leave whenever you wish, and we will stop it all and take you back. But, if you leave before the month is over, Alissa dies. That's all." He spoke with a huge smile.
"You're kidding." I spoke in utter disbelief.
"We do not joke about such thing here, Harold. So, do you accept the terms?" He asked.
For a moment, I hesitated. My mind didn't know what to think of it. I was left in a dire situation either way. And I had no clue what to do. A part of me wanted to say no to stop this madness. And then my heart came into play. My heart told me not to even think twice. To save my daughter. To save my family. I felt a deep hatred towards myself for even having to stop for a moment to think about such a thing. I hated myself for that. And I hated myself for even thinking of putting my life before my daughter.
"I accept." I replied, to which he smiled and clapped his hand.
"Well, be sure to make this worthwhile. I'll do my regular check-ups on you...so that you don't die. Well, see you later, Harold." He said as he turned around and left the room.
I was left in darkness with only the small lamp on my left to give me any light at all. The darkness brought an uneasy feeling into me. The light was dim, and I could barely see much. And then it fell.
Drip.
The first droplet hit my forehead as my body jolted. I could hear the echo from the drop for a few seconds before there was no sound again. I stared up into the pitch black, my eyes darting as I tried to look for any signal of the next drop. I waited and waited and waited, trying to predict when the next drop would come so that I could brace myself. But no matter how long I waited, that moment never came. And so, I relaxed my body again and positioned myself into a comfortable place.
Drip.
Another drop struck me as my body reacted violently. Sweat already began to cover my forehead as the anticipation and execution killed me. My body could not handle the torment that was being put onto my mind, and the thought of dealing a whole month of this was horrifying. The faint light mixed with the pitch-black room and the random dropping of the water caused deep fear to swell up into my body. Fear unlike any other. It wasn't the type of fear I had faced when fighting the skeleton army, nor the fear against that man before. This fear was much more potent. A natural killer. And it continued to consume me inch by inch, savouring my suffering as it teared me apart. It was an awfully slow and painful death.
And yet, my fear of such a thing was not even close to the fear of losing my daughter. The constant reminder of who I was fighting for, who was on the line if I gave up, always rejuvenated me. It was as if I had been reborn after every thought came back to me again. For now, that was. I let out a sigh as I closed my eyes to control my breathing. I tried my best to calm my body down and to ease my mind. And then it hit me. Like a wave. The sudden urge to sleep. The tiredness and the eyelids are growing. And as my eyes fluttered shut, it slapped me again.
Drip.
My body yet again reacted violently.
Bastards. They are waiting for the perfect moment to strike me. At this rate, I don't know how long I will be able to stay sane. Oh God, I think I might have made a mistake. What have I done? Is this my punishment? Is this what I deserve for not being able to protect Alissa? Please give me strength to survive. Give me the strength to pass this trial you have given to me. Help me save my daughter. Oh God, help me...
Drip...