Ello Poppet

I woke covered in sweat; my eyes darted around the small dingy room frantically. I tried to move, to roll over, to do anything. I frowned. I thrashed around, my torso twisting and turning. My movements must have triggered an alarm system of some sorts, as blinding florescent lights came flickering on. I surveyed myself through squinted eyes, and let out a moan of horror. Although I could only feel my torso, I could see the blood seeping out of my hands, my tiny pale hands. I tried to ignore the rusty nails jutting out of the center of my palm, its ruddy tint making the rivers of blood flowing from my palms look black. My head slumped forwards, resting upon my chest as I looked down at my feet dangling limply below me, swaying gently from my numb body. “So this is how Jesus must have felt” I laughed hollowly, screwing my eyes shut as hard as I could. Suddenly, my head was jerked up by my long tendrils of black hair, and I was staring into the black eyes of my captor. His face, it reminded me of a rat. Long and pointed, the nose stuck out at an angle, I assumed he’d had it broken recently. His bushy eyebrows shadowed his merciless black eyes as they peered out from behind thick bottle cap glasses. His smile curved up, showing off jagged, broken yellow teeth.

“'Ello Poppet” he breathed up at me, his shattered teeth gleaming in the bright lighting. I glared at him, feeling the horrible pain from my hands and feet course through me, setting fire to my veins. He moved aside, pearly white lab coat swishing as he revealed a stainless steel table, an assortment of surgical tools and other various instruments of torture lay on it, gleaming in the harsh light. Letting out a scream, I writhed on the wall to which I was nailed. I immediately recoiled; the pain shooting from my hands was too much. I went limp, letting out a choked sigh as I watched him let out a maniacal laugh from underneath my hair. He stalked over to the table, and selected a wicked looking knife from one of the left hand corners. He twirled it around in his fingers a couple times, before stabbing the air a couple times. His smile only grew as he turned to me, looking at me with savage eyes hidden behind his thick glasses. He took a couple steps towards me, as I fell limp again; giving the impression that I knew resistance was futile. I smirked as he got closer and closer. I should have been scared, but I wasn't. Laughing, I brought my bare foot up into his crotch with all my might. He fell, crumpled, to the floor, gasping and moaning as he clutched his bruised balls in both hands, the deadly knife been discarded to the side. Another kick to the side of his grimy head was all it took to knock him out. I looked at his crumpled, unconscious body and smiled, the side of my mouth creeping up until I was grinning like a madman. Throwing my head back, I let out an inhuman, distorted laugh. I liked this feeling. This maniacal, intense feeling was making me see stars as they whirled around the room. High on whatever drug I was on, I readied myself for what was coming next. With a bloodcurdling scream, I ripped my hand out of the wall, only to be slapped in the face by reality as I felt ligaments and tendons tear. My eyes widened into moons and my mouth gaped in a silent scream for help as white hot pain shot through my body, coursing through my bloodstream like cyanide. I stared at the blood gushing like a waterfall from my hand, or what was left of it. My poor, tiny pale hand was nothing more than a mangled, bloody mess. Fingers hanging idly to the side and the white strings of nerves hanging out, if the loss of blood didn't kill me, the tetanus sure would. I pushed that thought from my head. I didn't want to die, and I sure as hell wasn't going to. Gritting my teeth, I ripped my right hand from the wall, and let out an ear-splitting scream of pain. I crumpled to the floor, my naked body covered in blood, as I frantically tried to pull the rusty nail from my right hand. Shit, it would take years of therapy before I could write again. I started to feel dizzy, the walls around me started to spin and they wouldn't stop. Gritting my teeth, I dragged my limp body over to the unconscious mound of my captor. I rolled him onto his back, discarding his glasses. I snarled, picking up the rusty nail I had pried out of my hand, and gripped it as much as I could. His eyelids began to flutter, and I felt a rush of adrenaline course through me as I brought the nail down into his left eye. Blood splattered my naked body and a horrific scream of pain shattered the silence as I pulled the nail out of what was left of his eye. A red haze filled my head as I brought the nail down again and again. I felt my mouth creep back up into a vicious smile as he fell still, his head a mess of blood, bones and brain matter. Looking over my masterpiece, I started chuckling, the laugh evolving until I was rolling around, splayed on my back, my sides aching in a wheezy, breathy gasp for air. I sat up, fully taking in my surroundings, the blood splattered walls, the pristine floor now covered in grey brain matter. My eyes flickered to the security camera on the wall, its little light flickering on and off as it watched me. Smiling insanely, I watched as the camera dropped dead, the power switched off. I stood up, my stark naked body covered in a thick layer of dirt, blood, and grime; I walked over the dead body of my captor and towards the door. I couldn't control my body anymore. All that was going through my head was images of the dead man’s head, crushed to pieces, with bits of rust littering the carnage. Tilting my head, I reached for the doorknob to exit my cell. I twisted it, surprised that it wasn't locked. I leaned against the wall with one mangled hand, leaving a bloody smear along the wall as I walked slowly down the corridor. I looked out from underneath my hair; my beautiful hair was hanging down in tendrils, matted with blood. Tucking them behind my ear, I continued slowly down the corridor until I found a room. Frowning slightly, I tried to read the plate on the door, but everything had gone red and blurry. Blinking slowly, I reached for the doorknob, my frown deepening as I couldn't get a grip on the door. The handle was slippery from the blood still seeping from my hands, and I couldn't make my hands work anymore. Letting out an annoyed sigh, I reached down and took the handle in my mouth, twisting my head to open the door. I gingerly licked the blood off my lips, tasting the sweet iron on my tongue. I smiled again, enjoying it. I kneed open the door, to be faced with a huge TV with multiple video tapes scattered on the floor beneath me. I sat down, feeling the coolness of the floor seep up into my feverish body, settling my mind and easing the constant pain. I began to pick up the tapes with my elbows, each of the tapes displaying an unfamiliar name. I whimpered as I picked up a tape, the familiar name Charlotte inscribed on it in black permanent marker. I stared at the tape blankly, wondering if it was actually me or perhaps another Charlotte. I sat there on the cold floor for a good 5 minutes, looking at the tape, not blinking. I got to my feet with little trouble, and pushed the tape into the player. I sat back down on the floor, cradling my hands to my naked chest as it began. I watched as two men in white lab coats drag an unconscious girl, presumably me, and placed her up against the wall. I could feel myself pale as one of the two took a couple of rusty nails out of his pocket and start nailing me to the wall. Whimpering, I continued to look on as blood spurted out from my hand onto his coat. I saw myself moan through my unconscious haze, and flinched as one of the men slapped me hard across the face. I raised one of my mangled hands to my face, touching tenderly the place where I had been slapped. Once they had finished nailing me to the wall, they left; a female came in, and gently began to remove my school uniform. I stared at my feet, eyes tearing up in embarrassment as she removed the last of my garments. She walked back towards the door before pausing, looking up into the camera with teary eyes and whispered a nearly inaudible

“I’m so sorry. Please forgive me”

I sat, shaking on the floor, oblivious to the sirens and red flashing lights that were going off around me. Staring blankly at my hands, which lay twisted and claw like in my lap, I felt my breath come out in short ragged gasps. Tears slowly started to form in my eyes, dripping down and running down my red stained cheeks. I felt hollow inside, I was nothing now. I had been humiliated, tortured, and crushed. I had no reason to live anymore. Slowly, gradually, I got to my feet, blinking the tears out of my eyes as I exited the room, only to be faced with a wall of gun wielding men, the words SECURITY stitched to the front of their bulletproof vests. I watched them as they studied me, my torn and bleeding hands, my torso covered in blood and brain matter, and my body trembling uncontrollably. Suddenly, one of the men commanded in a gruff voice

“Stop right there, or we’ll shoot”. I tilted my head at them, and began smiling in an insane fashion. I took a step towards them, pausing only to hear the unmistakable sound of guns being loaded and hammers being cocked. Blinking slowly, I advanced again, but my body was jerked to the side with a flash of pain as a bullet ripped through my upper arm. I looked at my arm, watching as whatever lifeblood I had in my cascaded downwards. Gradually, the pain faded. I was going numb. I stared at the men, who watched me warily. I sank down onto my knees as the world began to fade away, and a warm feeling drenched me. I smiled softly as I crumpled to the floor, closing my eyes and gently drifted away, out of pain… away from this cruel world… away…