Stitched Elysium

Without making any sudden movements I tried to regain the control of the rest of my body, but to no avail. I was limp like seaweed, but what I could notice was the feeling of my lower body being dragged across a stone floor, and both of my arms grabbed by the elbows, moving in a single line. The constant shifting of my arms up and down lead me to believe that I was being dragged by two guys, but where I was or where they were taking me was a mystery to me.

After a while I started seeing dim lights slowly make their way towards me and then out of view, a new pair appeared about five seconds as the previous pair disappeared, which lead to an idea that I wasn’t in some random cave tunnel, but a proper underground structure. Honestly either one wasn’t preferable, but being in a structure opposed to a cave I could start piecing together where I was a bit easier. Just as I was about to try and make sense of my situation the two individuals that are carrying me came to a sudden stop, they muttered a few words that I couldn’t make out, being barely conscious and all that, a quiet beep noise followed by the grinding of two rocky surfaces fills my head with a sharp and piercing tone, it was almost as if my brain was grinding itself into a fine powder inside my head. I gritted my teeth and forced my eyes shut as my head was filled with a painful sensation, powerful enough to even raise the dead from their slumber. After what seemed like an eternity, the grinding of rock came to a stop, and my body was starting to move once more, but not to long after did I come to a stop and the two individuals started to lift me up and eventually drop me down onto a rather uncomfortable metal chair. They took my arms and placed them onto what I presume is a table in front of me, and proceeded to put my hands into some contraptions akin to a pair of handcuffs, the same was done to my ankles which were cuffed to the chair. Right after ensuring that I couldn’t go anywhere the two individuals left the room without closing the door, thank god for that.

I needed to figure out where I am, because frankly I doubt I’m getting out of here any time soon. Guessing who caught me would have been rather impossible, considering the sheer amount of people who would love to see me half-dead and restrained to a table. Being in an actual building or a bunker of sorts was a good way to thin out the group of potential captors, meaning they either had a lot of money or were aligned with some group. Although this train of thought would eventually lead me to a dead end, due to me pissing off just about everyone at some point in my life. During my pointless thinking, I took a note of a faint clicking noise that echoed down the hall I was just dragged though, it had a fairly consistent beat to it, only stopping on occasions before continuing once more. I assumed it was just some faulty wiring or something like that and continued to brainstorm potential captors, however the clicking persisted, and the noise itself became louder, and louder, as it moved closer to me. At this point all my attention was on the clicking, as it made its way to the door that I just went through, some muffled noise came from the opening, talking perhaps, before a sudden burst of laughter filled the entire hallway including my room. It had a deep female tone to it, and as the laughter subsided I noticed that the clicking noise has stopped, meaning that she has heels on, probably a suit too, that would rule out any ordinary street gang if I was correct.

The clicking of heel continued into the room I was in, this time a bit slower, more cautious then before. She was afraid, even though she held all the cards. She took about five steps before a rather unpleasant sound of a metal chair being dragged across the floor filled every inch of my brain.

She sat down and placed some stuff on the table in front of me, she took a deep breath and said, “Well take that thing off his head then. No point on having it on anymore.”

A familiar sound of footsteps comes into the room, the guys that dragged me here were still in front of the door, the individual got right next to me and swiftly took off the sack off my head. It didn’t take me long to adjust to the already dark room, as I try and take a look at the guy all I manage to see is his back as he darts back out the door. Appeared to be a scrawny white male in some uniform, with a black vest that had a logo on the back but I didn’t get to have a better look.

I turn my gaze to the female that sat across from me, although the lighting was fairly dark her porcelain white skin shined as if it was producing a light of its own, she had the hair braided into a singular huge bun on the top of her head, giving it a weird vase shape.

“Close the door please. And turn the light on.” She said, bringing her arm up and doing a circular motion with her finger.

Immediately the rock door started to grind once more, and I instinctively close my eyes shut and grimaced as the violent noise filled my head once again. After what felt like an eternity I opened my eyes only to be blinded by a bright light that now filled the room. It takes me a while for my eyes to slowly adjust to the shift in light, and even when they do start feeling somewhat comfortable the vision remained blurry, just enough to make out my surroundings but nothing more.

“I do apologize for the side effects, they will continue to be a problem for another day or so. At least that’s what they told me.” She said in a rather condescending tone.

I locked eyes with her and now that her already bright skin was shining even more I could see the details of her physique better. She had red hair, braided into a comically large bun right on the top of her head. Her face was long and pointy, with really distinct cheek bones and ears pointy like an elf’s. The eyes were small, compared to the rest of her head, and were bright green by the looks of it, her lips were stretched out and extremely thin. Just by looking at her I could see that her veins carried nothing but rich blood, probably came from the Golden Halo too.

Her clothing was rather simple, comprised by a bland white button-up shirt and a black vest over it, similar to the one the scrawny guy had. There was a logo on the back of the vest, if I got to see her back I would most like be able to see who I’m dealing with, although I knew the answer will come to me sooner then later.

She leaned forward on the metal table and said, “I understand that your situation can come to you as a little shock, but I assure you, if you help me then I will help you. All I need from you is to answer a couple of rather simple questions, just to make sure that your basic cognitive functions are in order. Is that alright with you?”

It was quite off-putting hearing a rough and deep female voice come from a clean and elegant face such as hers. As I contemplated that thought, I squint my eyes and without breaking eye contact say, “Your voice really doesn’t match your face. Its quite off-putting if I’m being honest.”

“I get that a lot, but thank you.” Her already stretched out lips went even further as they curled into a wide smile. She cocked her head slightly to the side and said, “That is something I’ve been dealing with all my life, but enough about me, lets talk about you.”

She turned her gaze to the table and brought forth one of the three rather thick folder that were sitting right next to her, opening it and flipping several pages before stopping. “Now, first question is as follows. What is your name?” She says as she turns her gaze back to me.

“Who are you people?” I ask.

“That information is unnecessary. Now answer the question so that we can move on.” She responded quickly.

“Oh fuck off. You seriously can’t expect me to answer any questions without getting something in return. Any good interrogation has to start with a little exposition, don’t you agree?” I answered with a weak grin on my still numb face.

After a moment of silence she speaks up. “Alright how about this. I tell you who we are and you answer my question, how does that sound?”

“I’m all ears, pointy” I slowly lean back into my chair.

She closed her eyes for a second when I called her “pointy”, before she continued. “We are The Golden Link, I’m sure you’ve heard of us.”

The Golden Link, yeah I was familiar with them, until recently they were only called The Organization, changed their name in hopes of re-branding themselves, the new name didn’t really catch on with the masses. They were a nasty bunch, went after people like me primarily, but would take any poor son of a bitch for their fucked up experiments. All my life I was able to evade them, that’s what I was trained to do, but somewhere down the line I guess they managed to catch me though I can’t recall how, my memory of the past couple of days is still rather hazy.

I let out a chuckle that by the end turns into a coughing fit. “Yeah I’m familiar with you fuckers. Now I really don’t want to answer your questions, as a mater of fact, you can go fuck right off.”

“Is that so? Fair enough.” She slightly turned her head back and gave a nod.

It was at that moment that a searing burst of electricity shoot straight into my body. My body shoot straight up, every muscle and bone in my body felt as though it was replaced by thousands of needles, all moving back and forth at light speeds. My vision turned white apart from the red veins that were slowly extending over the white expanse. The only thing I could feel through the overwhelming sensation of sheer pain, was my guttural screaming that came from my long dried throat.

The electricity eventually stopped, it took me a good minute of hyperventilation before my body could calm down after such a shock. I was no stranger to being tortured for information, but something about me felt strange ever since I gained consciousness. Every inch of my body feels numb, and the parts that I can control are only barely functional, I thought of the possibility that I was drug with something and while that was highly likely, I wasn’t familiar with anything with the effect that consists of completely loosing your memory of the past couple of days. I felt strange, like all of this was a dream, but then I remembered the excruciating pain I felt but a few moments ago, that was no mere illusion or a nightmare. They were going to play dirty, whether or not I cooperate didn’t matter, they knew the answers to all of the questions, why they felt the need to interrogate me anyway was beyond me.

“Well alright then, shall we continue, Dante?” She said as she leaned back onto the table.

I took a couple of moments to rethink my strategy before answering. “So, you know all the answers, that was apparent from the start. Well congratulations to you, I would clap but I’m physically not able to. Now that all the cards are on the table, I still can’t understand one thing, why the hell do you think interrogation is going to accomplish anything?”

I watched as her thin lips curled up into a hellish visage as she began to chuckle deeply, that chuckle then turned into a hideous and deep laughter that gave me nightmares long after that day. There was something to this woman, something that sent chills down my spine akin to the electric shock a minute ago, there was something hideous and mangled behind that porcelain skin. I’ve met my fair share of demons and vultures in my line of business, but she... She’s something that was dragged from the depths of hell itself.

“How about I let you in on a little secret.” She says in a hushed tone. “The interrogation is but a small and simple step, in an otherwise large and complicated plan that we have in store for you. But I wouldn’t worry myself about it if I were you, there’s still a long way to go until you get to the really fun part. Now that, I cannot wait to witness.”

It was far to clear to me that my chances of survival were slim to none, an opportunity to do tests on a Last-Gen like me probably didn’t come by every day. They weren’t going to kill me out right that was for sure, but they were going to make me wish that I was dead, and there’s nothing I could do about it. All my life I was able to avoid their grasp, but how did I still end up here? Dante, better known as Four, part of the legendary mercenary group The Rust Coats, and a protégé of the even more legendary mercenary Rust Coat, now in the clutches of the Organization. I could feel my spirit draining ever so slowly, I knew there was no way out no matter how hard I tried to find one, nobody was going to come and help me because nobody knew where I was or what I was doing at the time.

Without looking away I stared deep into her hellish green eyes, and mustering all the energy I had I lift my chin up high and flash a big toothy grin. I was backed into a corner with no escape in sight, but I’d be damned if I didn’t go out swinging and doing what I do best, rolling with the punches.

“Give me your worst, pointy ears... But remember one thing, and I will only say this once. I will find a way, and when I do, I will find you, and you will wish that you had never, ever, had met me. For I shall be the Grim Reaper that will lead you into the fiery pits of hell where you belong!”

I could see her wide smile turn into a frustrated scowl as her eyes widen and light up, as if a burst of hellfire sparked within them.

“There’s nothing in this world I will love more then to see that putrid smirk of yours dissipate into nothingness, as I personally rip every bit of your hope from within you!” Her words were barely audible through the intense grinding of her teeth. Her head twitched to the side once before she closed her eyes and leaned back onto the metal chair with her back straight up, composing herself and assuming her previous disposition. “But there’s no need to hurry, we now have all the time in the world to make you suffer in every way imaginable. You will pay for all the death and destruction you have brought to my organization, and especially to me. So go right ahead and think of all the cute ways you’re going to ‘send me back to hell’, because I promise you this, now that your mine you will never again see the light of day, and the same fiery pits of hell that you speak off will be your only hope of salvation, as you weep and beg for your miserable life.”

She crossed her legs as she leaned forward grabbing the already open folder. Her eyes scanned each page as she flipped them, finally stopping on one page, widening her lips into a grin once more.

“Seeing as though your having some trouble remembering the past few days,” She looked back up at me. “I think it would only be right for me to help you in this endeavor. What do you say we ‘jolt’ those memories back into your head?”

As she said that she brought her hand up with her fingers ready to snap. “Welcome, to your new existence.”

In that moment everything slowed down, as her fingers moved to produce a snap. That was the last time for a long time that I was able to feel the beat of my own heart, last time I was able to feel anything besides endless pain and torture. The tingling feeling of electricity building up filled my body as my vision got more blurry and blurry, until that searing pain coursed through my body once more, finally turning my vision into pure darkness. For the next year my existence was nothing more then a barely alive husk that kept being poked and cut and mutilated in every way imaginable. There was no hope, no light, no future and nowhere to run or hide to. Somewhere along the line my mind had snapped, only to be stitched together with needles and syringes, bone-saw’s and knifes. It was to be molded into something disgusting, vile and foul, it was to become my new existence... and my new hell.