Farfalla, vola via

by jse_chickennug01

Summary:

How long can it take to save someone’s life from tragedy? But how long can one take living in another’s? An old world is swapped for another, a world of violence, sex, addiction and more that shaped a young girl into the woman she is now.

Based in the world of the ‘Ice on my Teeth’ MV Comeback, a Mini Series.

Chapter 1: Written in Red Snow

 

Frantic footsteps slap against the pavement, quick as they run through the streets and narrow alleyways, past homes and people none the wiser to what or where they were running to. Oblivious to the feet belonging to a teenage girl, dawning a look of pure worry, sprinting like an Olympic runner shooting for gold. Only this runner was shooting to make it to her home in time. Her fingers curled a death grip on her phone secured in her left hand, its screen situated on a messenger app.

“Please, God, don’t let me be late,” she spoke between her harsh breathing, rounding a corner and taking a short cut through her neighborhood she knew would save some time. As she runs through another alley, she steals a quick glance at her phone, and her pace hastens. No time for safe running through the streets as she chooses to scale and jump over any obstacle in her path. Walls, dumpsters, boxes. A parkour enthusiast would be jealous. The text from her phone motivation for this display of skills. A warning.

A text that read: “Tick tock.” The messages above them the origin for her exhausting journey home. Pictures of her father, bloody and beaten, with a caption that read ‘Come home.’

And just five minutes later, she did. Bursting through her front door already cracked open, stopping just a step beyond it’s borders to the scene inside. What she saw was more than what she could’ve anticipated.

Their home in tatters, broken glass and wood scattered throughout their hardwood floors. Paintings ripped, shelves destroyed, their coffee table smashed through it’s center. It appeared something straight out an action movie. Just at the part where the hero or whoever stops an ambush on his home terf. Wishful thinking, she supposed.

But the aftermath of debris was not what caught her eye. No, her father unmoving on the floor stole the spotlight the moment she stepped through the door. He looked identical to the picture. Face sporting bruises and a brewing black eye, blood masking his once strong features, hands tied tight behind his back. He didn’t seem to notice her or react to the new face in the house for that matter. Her heart dropping at the realization as she started a silent prayer in her head.

“7 minutes and 37 seconds. Impressive, Mrs. Valentina.” A voice spoke through the fog, it’s formal address of her last name bringing her attention to its source. Her eyes led her just above her father, to a man sitting on their couch behind him, watching her with interest.

“Though it should be no surprise, I suppose. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree, hm?” He commented again, giving what looked like a stopwatch to one of the men in the room. Now that she saw one, she noticed another just to her right. Then another behind her. Two more to her left. All dressed in clean cut suits, black with silver pins fastened on their right pec. Two of them holding metal bats in their hands, the one taking the stopwatch having two, silver knuckles braces on either hand. Her gaze then landing back on seemingly the one in charge, dawning a blue suit instead of black, right knuckles red as she watched him flex his hand.

“I’m talking to you, young lady,” the voice interjects, more assertive than the previous statements. Inara’s eyes shoot up to his, catching the look of intimidation fade into an inviting one. She swallows, calming herself as much as possible before speaking.

“Who are you? How do you know my father?” The man stares back at her, pausing on her question, before a smirk crawls up his lips. A huff of a chuckle following shortly.

“He never told you?” Inara fights to give him a look of confusion.

“Told me? Told me what?” She retorts with confusion. The man sighs as she speaks, his gaze falling to her father below in front of him.

“Makes sense, all things considered. Wouldn’t want your child to question how your work in this business got you both a life of lavish and comfort for 15 years. A lie is always sweeter than the truth, I always say. But the truth always finds a way to bite you in the ass. How terrible that today had to be the day your sins found their way to your daughter, eh?” The man lightly kicks Inara’s stagnant father, who groans quietly in response. Groans who brought relief to the young girl’s aching heart.

“Hey, I’m talking to you,” Inara speaks up, using his words against him with a shaky confidence. Words that bring the boss’ eyes back to her, eyes that nearly shook her our of her already diminishing confidence. The man stands tall from his seating position, his height impressive over the rest of his men. Inara basking in his shadow as he comes around to face her front. It felt like God’s willpower was needed not to crumble in his close proximity.

“I’m terribly sorry. My manners escaped me. Inara is your preferred name, correct? You can address me as Mr. Kim. Might I say you really are a striking resemblance to your father, despite him keeping you a secret from me,” he addressed as a light chuckle ended his compliment, voice charming in it’s nature as he held out a hand to shake. Inara glares down with disgust, noting the plethora of rings on each finger before returning the same stare to him while ignoring his comments.

“Shame you don’t share his sense of hospitality, though,” he sighs as he takes back his hand. Inara couldn’t help but scoff at his words.

“If you mistake hospitality for forced obedience.” She could feel the looks from other men in the room at her remark. A satisfied hum left Mr. Kim shortly after.

“Defiant. Another trait you and your father share. I wonder what other similarities I’ll discover between you two.”

“You seem to know a lot about my father, yet he’s never mentioned your name once to me.” Mr. Kim takes a step her right.

“Smart man. I’d have done the same if not for my position.” Inara keeps her eyes glued to him as he continued to step around her.

“Are you gonna quit with the vague comments and tell me what exact business you and my dad do? Or are we gonna keep playing this little guessing game to get my answers?” Her snarky comment brought a humorous snort from Mr. Kim behind her.

“Ah, a sense of humor much like my sons. Perhaps you and him would get along, if you see to meet him.” Her chest tightened at the comment, but to Mr. Kim, her composure remained still. She moved her mouth to retort his comment, but his voice was quicker than her tongue.

“But I suppose it would be rude of me to leave you in your naivety. What leader would I be if I didn’t set an example to my people, hm?” He asks in a rhetorical sense, his presence stopping just behind Inara’s tense body. She could smell the expensive cologne dawning his body, herbal and woody with hints of floral in the mix. It washed over her, engulfing her senses. Had she not been terrified, she might have passed out from the overwhelmingly pleasant smell.

“You see your father,” he pauses as he sternly places his hands on her shoulders, causing her to flinch, “Mr. Valentina here, has worked for me for quite some time my dear. 11 years this year actually. Served well and close to me, truly was fantastic at his job. The best, some might say myself included, isn’t that right, boys?” Hums and nods of agreement ensue from his question and Inara could feel a satisfied smile from the man behind her. A second of silence passes through the two as she clears her throat.

“Well, what did he do?” Something in her head told her that was a stupid question. The hands on her shoulders give a small squeeze as Mr. Kim leans in her ear.

“Look around the room, my dear. What do you see?” Despite already having analyzed the room, the girl couldn’t bring her gaze just above the floor, never realizing they had been stuck there.

“I’ll ask again. What do you see? Who do you see?” Mr. Kim asked lowly in her ear, his voice turning almost gravelly as he gripped her chin to force her gaze around the room. Inara swallows, finding it harder to keep a brave face.

“I see...five men in suits with…broken furniture everywhere,” Inara states, nearly stuttering on her words. A hum of satisfaction brews in his throat.

“Very good. And what do you think they work for me as?” The men all wear a look of malice in their eyes, each giving Inara a glare that would send most to cower.

“As bodyguards.” She almost sighed in relief when he let go of her chin.

“Clever girl. Now, tell me. From the information I’ve shared, to what you’ve told me, let’s answer the question. What does your father do?” Her mouth stayed shut. Whether it was from from fear or defiance was beyond the girl. Her resolve was nearly gone, just about extinguished like a dying flame. Head shaking, refusing to solve the question she knew the answer to.

“Come on now. You sought answers earlier, did you not? Practically pining and furious I was giving ‘vague’ answers to your questions, your words not mine. And after I’ve lended you my help, I’m sure you can supply me the answer, no problems or complications. So please, enlighten me, what did your father do?” All eyes on her now, all patronizing and heavy in their attention.

“A bodyguard. My dad was your bodyguard.” She spat out with venom, turning her head to glare daggers into Mr. Kim’s hazelnut eyes. Eyes delighted at her answer.

“Ding goes the winning bell.” At his metaphor, Inara found something in herself to retaliate. A spark returning to her, a push that flamed her frustration against the man playing games with her. Who’s responsible for putting her father in the condition he lays in. For fucking with everything and turning her life all on its head.

“Screw you,” Inara boldly seethed. Instead of the reaction of anger she was expecting, he smiled. Wide. Like he was trying to show off how white his teeth were, how perfect they were just like the rest of him.

“I like you, Inara. Your defiance, your bravery, your loyalty, how you wear a mask despite the fear that you so desperately try to hide from me since you walked through that door.” Inara’s eye’s narrow, her heart dropping into her stomach.

“It’s all so admirable. Young and strong, yes, you’ll make a great replacement for your father.” The pit in her stomach deepened. Her throat closing as it dried faster than a desert. Her eyes moved to her father in a deliberate motion. One of his eyes barely open, the other too bruised to even form a crack.

“What?” Her voice squeaked hoarsely, sounding less like the brave girl Mr. Kim was just praising.

“Ah yes, I’d almost forgotten, the whole reason we’re here today,” he speaks, an obvious tone of sarcasm to laced in his performance just now.

“Well, as you’ve figured out, my dear, your father was one of my closest bodyguards for the majority of your fragile life. So close to me I considered him a trusted friend, my right hand. Close enough I was nearly oblivious to his rebellion accumulating right under my nose.” As Inara listens intently, she notices two men from either side approach her father on the floor, each grabbing both of his arms to hoist him onto his knees. His head hung heavy like a rock on a chain till one of the men entangled his fingers through his brown locks and yanked his head back with more aggression than necessary.

Inara attempts to lunge forward to her father, only to be jerked back against Mr. Kim. His hands still clung tight to her shoulders. So tight she cringed at his nails digging their place into her skin through her school shirt.

“Patience. Don’t you want to hear how your father diligently worked to overthrow his friend in secrecy? How he rallied others to his cause, planted in their minds false lies, manipulated some of my people against me? Betrayed and sabotaged a bond for the sake of his premeditated ideals of right and wrong?” Inara felt Mr. Kim now direct his attention straight ahead. To the man responsible for his accusations, whether they be right or wrong. But from the corner of her eye, she could see his face drop from its earlier charismatic, manipulative attitude. Now replaced with a more somber look, blank and denounced.

“What a success it did him. Which now leads us to today, your father paying the price for his disloyalty. And now,” Mr. Kim hovers his head just beside her, his breath hot in her ear, “his daughter as well.” The girl struggles in a fruitless strive to escape the devil’s claws, her struggles muted as she’s thrown backward into the arms of the other two men behind them. Her thrashes swelled in aggression with her grunts and shouts for help. Their neighborhood was well acquainted with each other. Not close friends but not complete strangers. In any case, all she needed was one house, one person, someone, anyone to hear her.

But her cries were cut short, curtesy of a fist connecting with her right cheek hard from one of the men holding her. The punch hard enough to send her in a disorienting daze in tune with the burning sensation on her cheek starting to bruise. She could feel it was a nasty one, no doubt. Pulsating with pain that wrought a cringed expression on her face. Her head lolled forward, overwhelmed, the feeling of the men’s calloused hands clinging to her arms helping her focus on something other than the pain.

“Easy, Right Hook. We’re keeping her, not killing her. Although I must say,” Mr. Kim’s presence leans down close to Inara’s face, “Incredible tolerance. Most are out cold after Mr. Landon’s punch here.” Inara felt a hand grip her chin and force her head to who she knew was there. Yet, her half-lidded eyes were barely starting to open again, her eyes connecting to two staring with a forbidding undertone. Mr. Kim gently slaps her face away, the clicking sounds of dress shoes echoing away from her.

“However, I cannot speak in the same luck for someone else.” Her father’s grunt filled her ears, nearly sending her out of daze completely. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach when another came shortly after.

“H-hey, wait,” Inara stutters, her struggling beginning anew. Mr. Kim spares a small glance at her and from what Inara could see, the smirk crawling up his was enough to send another shiver of fear down her spine.

“Mm, yes, see. You’re father betrayed me. Severed my trust in pursuit of his falsified morals. An offense I don’t take lightly.” Mr. Kim’s words darkened as he finished his sentence. His eyes mimicking the tone in their scrutiny on the man below him.

“As such, a fitting punishment for this fault is obligatory. A fault of this degree, a traitor willing to throw away the good that was given to him, should be met with expiration. Him and everything he holds dear.” Inara is tugged back into place like a dog on leash. But she changes her regard to her father, at last able to form a sentence despite the mass amounts of crimson in his mouth.

“N-no. Not m-my daughter,” her father rasps, his voice sounding as if it were a cheese grater incarnate. A cry almost escapes Inara as she’s filled with a new incentive to break out of her captivity. Something to which Mr. Kim takes notice of, his eyes now on her.

“How noble. A sentiment I once thought you shared for me.” Her father’s head hangs low, coughing up blood as he cleared his throat.

“Please, Kim. I beg, just kill me,” her father pauses to avoid coughing once again, “she has nothing to do with this.”

“Dad, no. Please,” Inara pleads, still trying desperately to reach her father. He ignores her as he continues.

“Spare her. It’s all I ask. Please.” For the first time this whole interaction, Mr. Kim’s smile dropped. Replaced with a deadpan expression, eyes filled with something indistinguishable from Inara’s perspective. The room felt bloated in the uncomfortable silence lasting longer than it should. A silence almost befitting to the situation.

“As undeserving to you as it is, she will be. What you did was unforgivable, treacherous. Unmistakably blasphemous to me. However, a reunion on the other side is a punishment still too good for the likes of you. For the likes of all who joined your cause. But same for them, they’re children will be spared the mortality.” Mr. Kim begins to walk around her father, her dress shoes clicking against the floor till they stopped just behind the tied man. He fiddles with the rings on his fingers and fixes the cuffs of his suits as he continues his monologue.

“Yet they will not be spared other consequences.” A clink sound could be heard from inside Mr. Kim’s coat with something black becoming visible between his fingers and hand. Once fully revealed, a tear streamed down Inara’s cheek, almost crying out as she once again attempts to earn her escape.

“After today, I’ll be down quite a few bodyguards. Adequate ones, too. As a result, their children with take the traitors place and serve under me in their sentence. If they survive to fill the position.” Her father breathes softly as he feels the gun press behind his head. He flinches as the safety turns off, his eyes never leaving his little girl’s glossy ones, bringing onto him an abundance of conflicting emotions.

Fear, regret, worry, love, sadness. Too many to name in such little time. Time he wished he shared more with her had he known this day would come so early. Perhaps if he did, he would’ve never tried the risk. Hell, perhaps never dared to enter into this line of business in the first place. Instead try ti find another way to give the life his daughter deserved.

But money was tight. Options were low. What else was a single father to do? Seeing his girl suffer in poverty another day was more torture than any beating could ever bring to him.

Yet here they were, his daughter forced to sign a contract she never wanted. Dealing with a devil she could’ve never foreseen.

All his choices, all his decisions leading to this moment, watching the tears and cries spill from his daughter wrought tears of his own with no sounds of sadness to accompany it. A man in a silent cry as he wallows in his defeat. If only he could hold her, comfort her one more time before he was sent off this plane of existence. So much he wanted to say to her. Yet the clock said otherwise.

“Even under my gun, you still find ways to hurt me, old friend.” Her father chuckles half heartedly at Mr. Kim’s comment, one last tear streaming down his face as he stares intently as Inara. He wets his lips and takes a deep breath.

“I love you, Inara.”

BANG.

The sound of a gunshot rings through the air and through Inara’s ears. She sits for a moment, stunned and frozen, almost in denial of the scene in front of her.

She wanted to turn away. Despairingly she tried. Yet her body forced her to look like a cruel twist of the mind. Her mind coerced into conceiving what was in front of her. To watching the blood pour from her father’s head with his inert body and lifeless eyes, face still bloody and bruised till the image was burned in her head. A reminder of today, a sliver of a memory that would play in her head on repeat for God knows how long.

And when she finally took it all in, a deep cry passes her lips. Water flows freely from her eyes like waterfalls, body shaking with anger and despair that was still held in two strangers arms. No longer did she care for her pride or dignity if the men saw her as weak. All she cared for in the moment was getting to her father and holding him till she woke up from this fucked up dream. She’d arise from this nightmare and see her father come to comfort her like all the times bad dreams plagued her. He’d be right there with her, cuddling her till she passed into slumber with a peaceful mind and calm body. The morning sun serving as her wake up call, signaling her to prepare for school later that day. Her father already ready with her breakfast and lunch as he smothered her with love she took for granted.

Such a simple life, pleasant and mundane. How had something that had been so routine for her become as disregarded as a fleeting wish?

Voices spoke muted around her, possibly the men still holding her. She didn’t know. She still cried and wailed even as her throat grew hoarse in her torment. The physical anguish wouldn’t stop her from manifesting her lament even if she tried.

“Load her in the truck after you’ve sedated her. We still have the others we need to see,” Mr. Kim orders, voice calm as a lake on a sunny day. Pocketing his gun and fixing his demeanor, he exits the house just before the men sedate and calm the weeping girl. It takes mere seconds as the cries die down till the house is filled with silence once again. One of the men carries Inara bridal-style out the house with the rest following close behind.

Inara’s placed in the spacious area of the moving truck, limbs secured as she’s locked in the compartment. Locks click in place as two doors to the truck are closed with one of the men pounding his fist twice on the metal to signal their time for departure. The vehicle hums to life, the girl in it’s stomach sleeping peacefully within. Unaware as she drifts farther away from a place she would once call home. With memories she’d probably lose to time as she’s thrown into a life where others will take their place.

Chapter 2: Judgement Day

Summary:

Her old life gone yet the wounds remain fresh. Just when she thinks all is lost, God graces her with relief in the form of friends. At least until the Devil comes back and reminds her who put her here.

Notes:

I’m so sorry this took way too long to come out. I’ll explain my absence at the end but for now no more stalling. Enjoy the chapter, ladies and gentlemen.

Rumbling. The first thing to wake her from her rest, an uncomfortable movement in her stomach. Resulting in a rest not too generous on her, small pits of black pooled under her eyes with a silent plea for Inara to return to slumber. Had her stomach not been ringing for the dinner bell, she might’ve tried to get more sleep. If it were possible in a place like this.

Inara gazes up at the concrete ceiling as her eyes reluctantly crack open. The disgusting grey of the stone welcoming the now-awake prisoner dazing into its space. Metallic odors filled her nose, droplets of water crashed onto the floor of the same material, an occasional cough or stir from someone else down the hall occupying her senses. Her home of the last two weeks, or at least what she’s perceived as the last two weeks since she got here. The passing light of the sun coming through the one window in her cage was the only indication of time here. For all she knew, little as days or longer than months could’ve passed since Mr. Kim took her here.

In that two-week time, he threw in someone else unfortunate to befall the same fate as her and their parents’ fate. Another girl, just a year younger named Asha who dawned long, black hair with light skin, sharp eyes and a small frame. Although small-scale, her demeanor and personality largely made up for what her size lacked. Addressing Inara with a warm smile and a shake of her hand as soon as she stepped into the cell. Helped lessen the tension just a little, but Inara was no less grateful. Getting to know her, she was an only child with a father and mother in a neighborhood 15-ish minutes from where she lived. Only her mother worked for Mr. Kim and took part in the uprising against him, unfortunately failing with her dad and paying the price. She had no idea if her father knew or not since they were both being ‘handled’ by Mr. Kim by the time she walked home from school. However, she was lucky enough to avoid witnessing their fates like Inara, instead dragged away before she could step through the door to see her parents. Guess not everyone got special treatment.

Inara told only the surface level details of her story; what happened and how she ended up here after everything went down. Explaining that they broke into the house, a scuffle took place, they knocked her out and she woke up here. The other details of what happened to her father she kept to herself. No need to open a still-fresh wound along with the graphic images of red pooling around her father’s head and empty eyes staring back at her just too early to reiterate. And thankfully, Asha didn’t press further, instead indulging in Inara’s company as she was indulging in Asha’s. A company that brought the two close surprisingly fast. They were the break they needed from the chaos, from the force of nature that had turned their lives upside down. Of course there was no denying the severity of their situation, but Asha provided a break of sorts for Inara. Something to take her mind off the looming threat above their heads. Of what fate Mr. Kim had in store for them. A sigh of relief and something Inara thought impossible since the first day here. Someone to call a friend for however long she’d be here.

However, soon another joined the posse. A few days after Asha’s arrival, yelling and cussing out his captors was a boy being hurled roughly into the inhabited cell. He wasted no time and banged on the bars, his ferocity high that lasted longer than one would expect. And when he was done, he turned to face his new roommates, the girls getting a good look at him. He stood tall, at least 6 foot or a little under, his curly, dark hair draped over his face that failed to hide the fire in his gaze. Expressive eyes and a rugged face with a robust build to boot. The boy looked akin to a young, promising athlete in his early college years, though Inara was never good with guessing ages. He proved her point when he revealed he would be graduating high school in a couple of months. Or was on schedule to be.

He wasn’t much for a conversationalist, though. Apart from his age and what sport he played, he had yet to share his name or any other information, spent most of his time to himself or maintaining his physique with pushups or other generic exercises while still trying to find someway of escape. A precaution Mr. Kim took seriously as Inara learned herself through her early failed attempts. So, his frustration in his failures didn’t go without her sympathy. Watching him jogged her memory of her trying everything and anything out of this hellhole, only to be met with disappointment and irritation. Asha’s saving grace of her upbeat nature rescued her from sulking deeper in despair and Inara hoped Asha and her could do the same for him.

So they tried some icebreakers, introducing themselves, starting up small talk or jokes with no luck on their first few tries. But finally, after a few attempts at cracking his shell, Asha got a sentence out of the boy. More like a response of attitude to one of Asha’s attempts at comfort, but a reaction nonetheless. Happened after the two girls noticed a diminish to his spark, thanks to another fruitless escape attempt that seemed to seal the nail in his coffin. A coffin he shared with two. Those this one had some ‘relief,’ so to speak. Offered an extended hand, or hands, that were dealt the same cards as him. A chance to speak about his perspective on this whole ordeal. Make the weight less burdensome. Why suffer alone when it’s more comforting to do it with someone else?

“You ever been to a concert before?” Silence from the boy yet again as Asha asked her query. Inara shook her head in denial, an uncomfortable silence passing after waiting if the boy would answer. Yet Asha continued in her stride.

“Last one I went to was last winter. A Weekend concert, if you know who he is. Amazing artist, maybe one of the best of our generation if you ask me. But anyway, got the chance to see him again past winter with my mom since she got the tickets wayyy last minute. I swear, I couldn’t sleep that night from all the damn excitement. Like the night before a big event and you’re just too giddy to sleep and now you’ve stayed up all night and now you’re too tired to actually sle-,”

“Asha, focus,” Inara interrupts, hiding a smirk at her companion’s giddiness.

“You’re so right. Did it again, so sorry. Anyways, despite the totally unrelated example I just ranted about, I powered through and stayed awake to enjoy the concert, with the help of an energy drink or two.” The smirk Inara tried to hide now present from Asha’s messy storytelling, something she appreciated with a small smile.

“How long was it?” The boy questions, his voice soft spoken. His question caught them off guard, but they wouldn’t waste this opportunity.

“8 to 10 long hours.” Both Inara and even the boy’s faces shift to one of shock, Inara more so than the other one.

“Again, God speed to those energy drinks. The real lifesavers of the night. Except from the crowds of sweaty people, pushing all against each other, practically shoving everyone with more force than needed and frankly, way too rude for something as awesome as attending a Weekend concert like if you were gonna be a bitter party than why even bother-“

“And you still enjoyed your time there?” The boy interrupts her mid sentence, a slow relaxed expression takes over Asha’s face along with Inara’s. But neither dares to call the boy out.

“Well, overall, yeah. Sure, there was some eh moments and if I’m being real, a lot of downs. But the negatives of the event didn’t outweigh the positives for me. Despite it all, I managed to still enjoy my time there, probably thanks to my mom with her high spirits and annoying optimism. Always telling me that looking at the bad can make you lose sight of the good to be found,” Asha ends her explanation in a dry chuckle. Her gaze fell to the floor as if something on the dirty granite floor caught her eye.

“What I wouldn’t do to be annoyed by her words right now.” For the first time since she arrived here, Asha seemed…sad. Distraught. No longer hidden by that mask she’s done well to keep up. The only surprise to Inara was that it took this long to drop. And thinking quick, Inara thought of a story to distract her.

“Reminds me of the time my dad and I waited over an hour for some paleterias, popsicles in Spanish,” she paused to explain. “It was hot summer day, and my dad wanted to buy us something after our hot walk through the neighborhood. The line was long, but my dad swore the wait would be worth it. Almost 20 minutes had passed, waiting all that time for two popsicles, you’d think they taste like God himself made it, right? Wrong. Super disappointing, definitely not worth the wait, so not a good combination with my already pre-sour mood since I’d just gotten off a shitty day at school and was not in the mood for anymore ‘favors’ from life.” She pauses again as further recalled its contents.

“I complained for a good 10 minutes after that. Nearly the whole way home as we walked back. But my dad? Ate his, no complaints. Though I could tell he also didn’t enjoy it since his face always scrunches up a little whenever he didn’t like something. It was a funny looking face, something like this I think.” Inara’s face cringes in a silly manner as she mimics her father, getting short chuckles from the group.

“Your dad sounds like a cool dude,” Asha comments.

“He was.” Inara pauses again, but not by choice. She swallows the lump in her throat before she continues.

“Then, he sees that I wasn’t having as good a time with mine, plus my nonstop whining that he couldn’t ignore. So, he offers to have mine. I ask him ‘Why? You didn’t like yours.’ He responds with ‘How do you know? I finished mine already, so I’ll have yours since I can see you struggling to keep it down.’ I remember being so stubborn, that I tried to take a huge bite out of it just to prove him wrong but instead, started choking on it and spat it out while coughing up a storm,” Inara chuckles lightly, Asha snickering with her. Hell, the boy even smirked in amusement to Inara’s past self suffering.

“My dad was crying with laughter. Seriously, he was holding his stomach cackling, and I swore I saw a tear slid down his face. To say I was embarrassed would be an understatement. But instead of rubbing it in, my dad just took the popsicle from me and started eating it for me.”

“But why didn’t he just throw it away?” Asha comments to which Inara shrugs her shoulders.

“My dad was never one to waste things. He was hoarder like that. Even the things we didn’t like. He always told me that you can gain something from everything, even the things you turn away from.”

“You didn’t gain anything though.” Asha’s words came out with confusion at her dad’s statement. A moment passed, Inara’s smile softening as she pondered between both her friends’ and dads’ words.

“Maybe not physically. But I did get a funny moment with my dad. A memory, something I’ll never lose.” But something she’ll get never get with him again. The thought threatened to replace the smile on Inara’s lips with something of gloom, her mind almost recalling the last moments she saw her father, moments leading to this place becoming her new home.

Then a hand gracing her shoulder halted her minds’ incoming assault. Somber eyes followed up the arm on her shoulder to the girl responsible.

“Keep them then. Your dad wouldn’t want you to lose them, right? He’d want you to use them to stay strong and escape, at least from what you’ve told me about him,” Her friend stated in a voice as soft as silk. Asha’s encouragement about her memories, to keep going nearly wrought a tear from her already damp eyes. But despite the threat of crying, Asha was right. She had to keep them close. They were her comfort and sanctuary. Her fuel of motivation to escape. After all, her father would’ve left this world for naught if she gave up this soon. And looking into her friends' gaze, still full of hope, Inara’s smile gave a silent promise of their own from Asha’s regard as the two stayed in a moment oblivious to the world around them.

“Andrei.” The boy’s steady voice broke the bubble around the girls. Staggered expressions made its home on the pair’s features.

“What?” Asha questions.

“Andrei. That’s my name.” He pauses, adjusting to all the attention on him.

“You guys were sharing some pretty private stuff to say the least. Thought it’d be fair if I did the same.”

“But a name isn’t as private as family,” Asha chimes in, to which Andrei shrugs.

“To some people it can be. I just happen to be one of them,” he retorts in a nonchalant tone. Before Asha could counter, Inara steps in with a sigh.

“At least it something new out of him that’s not a tantrum.”

“You’re so right, now that you mention it.”

“Hey, what happened to friendly vibe we had going on?” The boy interrupts the two, wearing a playful smile.

“Bold to assume there was one,” Asha counters, much to Andrei’s amusement.

“I think I’m gonna ask for new roommates.”

“Bold to assume they’d let you,” Inara counters, retorting Asha’s words as she rides of her friend's comment.

“Haven’t our wonderful conversation topics not been entertaining enough for his highness?” Asha chimes.

“Not my preference for small talk, no.”

“Oh? Then do tell, what is your preferred subjects for ‘small talk?’”

“I don’t know, maybe something that doesn’t make our situation more depressing that it already is.”

“Wow would’ve never guessed that from your angsty, keeps-to-himself persona you had going on,” Asha jokes while motioning to Andrei.

“Hey, I’m not angsty,” the boy retorts to which Inara cringes and lets out a soft hum in disagreement before voicing her peace.

“We don’t blame you. I was like that when I first got here too.”

“How’d you get better?”

“She met me, duh,” Asha jumps in, sporting a cocky smile that earns her an eye roll from Andrei and a snicker from Inara.

“Hopefully, I’ll get to meet the person that helped Inara out of her ‘angsty’ phase before we die here,” Andrei comments.

“I’m an acquired taste; my personality will be the reason why we’re NOT gonna dying here.”

“When I see you on the other side, I’m gonna be laughing at you till the end of time as ghosts.” The smirk Andrei wore earned a thumbs down from Asha, still smiling at him.

“I think I liked you better when you were quiet and emo,” Asha counters with a playful smile.

“Now you’ve gone too far.” Asha just shrugs at Andrei’s comment.

“Though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised given your comments about me a few minutes ago,” the boy smirks, a scoff leaves Asha’s lips.

“He got you there, I fear,” Inara remarks, resulting in Asha sticking her tongue out and blowing raspberry. The action wrought a laugh from the trio, one of comfort and camaraderie as if they’d known each other for years. A laugh to help ignore their current resident, forget their looming fate, slight the anxiety of what’ll happen next. Just this small moment of companionship, it was all they needed to remind themselves to hold on. If only for a little while longer. How much longer it would be, only Gods knows.

“Lights out!” A guard down the hall shouted, the area quickly shrouded in darkness with only the blue of the moon seeping in from their cage’s window. A routine the three had become accustomed to in the last few weeks. Their conversation now forgone as two pairs of feet shuffled towards the bunk bed in one corner of the room, the last pair of feet moving towards the opposite corner. Asha takes the bottom while Inara takes her top bunk and Andrei mimics Asha as he claims the bottom of the other bunk. As they all get comfortable, their cage returns to silence once more. Only this time, it doesn’t bear the same tension and awkwardness as before.

The air seemed lighter. Calmer, almost relaxing despite the circumstance. Seemed Inara wasn’t the only one to recognize this, the established hums from her friend below sounding more cheerful since their beginning of their time together.

“You know, when I first got here, I found that humming kinda creepy,” Andrei spoke from his side of the room.

“I know. I remember how you ‘politely’ yelled at me to shut up because it was scaring you in your words,” Asha replies, her humming coming to a halt.

“Freaking me out, not scaring me.” Asha and Inara giggle softly at his correction.

“But now, after today and the little talk we had just now, it reminds me when my mom would come in my room and sometimes hum or sing a song whenever I couldn’t sleep. I asked her to stop doing that when I turned 14 since I thought it was embarrassing to my pride or some other stupid reason. Of course, she didn’t care and kept doing it till this day.” Andrei pauses to spare a lighthearted chuckle between them.

“Crazy how easy we take stuff for granted, huh?”

“You’re telling me” Andrei agrees, his gaze looking to Asha. “But glad I could give some sense of home to you, I guess. Just don’t get used to it,” Asha quips, earring a scoff from Andrei.

“What about you, Inara? Anything Asha does that strangely reminds you of home?” Asha blows a playful raspberry to the boy while Inara thinks. She turns on her back, her gaze stuck to the ceiling.

“Well, my dad wouldn’t hum or sing like that, but I do remember one day, he noticed that I had been having trouble sleeping properly after school started up. So, when I was sulking in our backyard one night, he came up to me and gave a little gift, a small butterfly knife.”

“Wow, a real one?”

“No, a trainer. Why would an adult give a 13-year-old child a real weapon?”

“Fair enough, keep going,” Andrei shrugs.

“He told me he got it on a work trip a while ago and told me to try it out. He told me that sometimes, when he was nervous or anxious too, he would take it out and just twist it between his fingers or try to learn some new tricks with it. And whenever he did, it would help take his mind off whatever was bothering him. I was terrible with it, but I gave it a shot to see if it would work. I didn’t touch it the first couple of days but picked it up after a not-so-good day at school.” Inara pauses, feeling her throat tighten ever so slightly.

“And did it work?” Asha’s voice sounds from beneath her, just a little far away but no less present. Inara takes a breath to her question.

“Yeah. It did. A lot more than I expected. Always had it on me from that day, actually. Started playing with it so much my dad would call me ‘Mariposa’ sometimes. Even let me try out his real one, too, despite my confusion about it. Another work trip, he told me.” A work trip that ended up costing his life and her eyes threaten to water.

“What happened to it?”

“They must’ve taken it from me after putting me here.” She’d have to thank Asha for the distraction later.

“Well, when we get out of here, I’ll buy you a new one to celebrate.” Inara huffs in content, a smile replacing her quivering frown.

“Thanks, Asha. I’ll find something to get you, too.”

“Do I get it a gift?” Andrei quips from his side of the room.

“Mmmm, we’ll think about it,” Asha answers for them both.

“I’ll take it.” Once again, the three share a moment of content. When it dies down, the somber period became lost to the past, the energy comfortable enough for sleep to claim its victims. Each bed shifts, the children letting the day’s final hour take over and their slumber taking them to a world where they can imagine a place less incarcerating. Though, this time would be different. As now, to each of them, confinement wasn’t seeming as distressful as it was several weeks ago.

——————

“WAKE UP, YOU LITTLE SHITS!”

Red, blunt alarms blared through the hallway, sounds of harsh rattles from the guards' batons running along the cell bars that reverberated and agitated through each cage. Enough chaos for all who heard to be thrown out of their beds, the trio included, Inara almost falling out hers.

“The fuck is happening?!” Andrei cusses, scrambling out of bed.

“I don’t know! This hasn’t happened before!” Asha retorts as she joins Andrei, Inara jumping out of bed and following suit. Their heads turn to the outside after joining together, seeing the hordes of children of various ages being escorted down the hallway with guards coming into other cells across and near them to grab anyone inside and forcing them into the growing horde.

Asha was right. This was new. So far, they would wake up from procedures that would be one guard max knocking on their cage then taking them out once they were awake to the eating areas with the other children. That fact was concerning enough without accounting the new numbers of children marching through the corridor, the mass only growing in numbers.

“Whatever happens, we stay together.” After Inara’s words, Asha clasps her hand while taking Andrei’s in her other. They all knew they couldn’t afford to separate now. Seemingly in the nick of time too, as the door of their cage swings open with a violence unbeknownst to them since the day they were taken. Two guards enter, one holding a baton, the other thankfully unarmed. However, the look in their eyes was more than necessary in sending a message than any weapon could hope to conceive.

The trio stood their ground, prepared for whatever the guards may try.

“Come on, kids. Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be,” one of the guards speaks while his friend and him approach with purpose. One grabs Inara’s forearm with a death grip that nearly yanks her out of their chain. She fights back best to her ability, much to the guard's annoyance. Cries of resistance sound from beside her, Inara’s attention brought to the guard currently trying to tear Asha from Andrei’s grip. Their struggle momentarily distracts Inara from hers as she cries to their help, something the guard takes advantage of and rips her from Asha and Andrei.

“Stop! Let me go, bastards!” Inara shouts, Asha screaming in protest as well till she’s taken away too. Yet their screams to each other did naught in gaining sympathy from the guards. Their protests only attracting more attention, a third guard coming in for Andrei as soon as Inara is forced out of their cell from the guards. If only she fought against the one holding her long enough to see her friends join her before being tossed into the crowd.

Gaining her balance, Inara pushes against the masses as she shrieks her friends' names. But only after a minute, fighting against the mob seemed pointless. Only serving to tire her muscles and deepen the pit of confusion this situation opened for her and her friends, wherever they were. The surrounding march of chaos overwhelmed her senses as she surveyed the other victims. Children equally confused and scared being led to a foreign location since this direction was leading away from the eating areas. It was a guess of chance wherever they were heading. The pit in her stomach dropped deeper into worry the more she thought about it.

Sobs and yells flew in the air with their questions going unanswered.

“Where are we going?“

“What’s going on?“

“Are we gonna die?”

Voices from kids, both younger and older than her, filled with distress swarmed her ears that grew the divide in her heart. The realization from this mass number of children, all descending from the traitors of her father’s rebellion put into perspective the consequence of their loss. She naively believed her father only had the support of a size-able group that had the numbers against them. Now it made sense why Mr. Kim took this more to heart than she expected. Not only did a considerable number of people from his own organization tried to revolt against him, they were lead by someone who he put his upmost trust in. And now, everyone was paying a price they couldn’t afford to quell a pain that would never be satisfied.

“Through the doors! Now!” A voice from a guard further ahead penetrates through the crowd, arm pointing behind him. Eyes following to the area in question, Inara could spot large doorframes looming over the herd the closer they were pushed to it. What was inside was still unknown to her, only darkness being present beyond its borders. Darkness which brought the fearful cries to a crescendo that made Inara count herself lucky her hearing was still intact.

A push from the hands behind her thankfully jolted her back to focus, the floor missing out on a new, bloody doormat today. Resounding grunts and bodies falling against the cement signaled the others not as lucky as her. And with how the guards were aggressively pushing them along, there’d be almost no chance of them getting up in time from that awful fate. Though, with the unknown swallowing each child that passes it door, she wondered if an end via trampling would be better than whatever hell waited for them once they walked inside. Inara only prayed her friends made it through the other side as she was pushed into the jet-black void along with the others.

Once she and the others filled the spacious room, the light from the doorway cut off with a slam of the doors, leaving them in its absence. Screams erupted shortly after, confusion spreading further amok throughout the minds of its victims all desperate to find their sight again. However, her friends' names were the only things running through Inara’s mind and lips. Her shouts loud like they hoped to breech the insanity muffling her. It ought to be a tsunami the way it muddled her cries and drowned her other shrieks for her friends.

So, she figured she’d push through the mass of bodies till she bumped into a familiar pair. Next best option, she supposed. Even if it was the only option.

Inara takes a breath, deep and sturdy, bracing herself as she forces her way past one teenager then another quicker than the chance they had to yell at her for it. Just as she was about to piss off a third child, a small circle of red flashes bright to the right above the crowd. All words and activity ceased to a halt, everyone curious and afraid to move a limb. But just a quickly as the first, another flash appeared next to it, this time in the color orange. Barely half a minute passed before another red light flared to life on the other side of the first one. Same thing repeated as another orange mirrored it’s counterpart. Another red, then another orange like clockwork. The same pattern repeating till they formed a large circle around them. Red and orange hung high, at least more than 10, maybe 15 feet. Measurement was never Inara’s strong suit, evidence of her C in math and physics. But she knew wherever they were gave them the length and width necessary for walking, jumping, but not so much running. Now with area clear before her, she could see there were moderately-sized sections still in need of filling. Nearly half the circle was left incomplete despite the numbers. And with those high walls of metal, Inara returned to her mission with haste, a pang of nervousness struck her heart as those lights blinded her. Lights seeming to be curtains to reveal the real show beginning.

“Welcome, children!” A voice booms overhead, all heads turning to the source. Looming atop the crowd lay a moderate sized platform that interrupted the circles’ completion like a commentator's box in a stadium. Though when she took a peek at the commentator, Inara’s heart dropped into the bowels of her stomach at the sight of the figure speaking.

“I understand most, if not all of you must be very confused as to who I am since I did not personally accompany my men in their visit to you. And to that, you have my apologies. A pressing matter unfortunately took priority and needed my upmost attention.” Though she couldn’t properly see his face past the glare of the lights, the feeling of his eyes boring into her was more than discernible. Knowing and ignominious. It made her grateful for the lights and their over-the-top glare. She turned her attention away from the stage to continue her search, calling her companions names loud enough to not reach him but adequate enough for her friends to hear.

“As a result, an introduction is in order. My name is Mr. Kim, head of the ‘organization’ your parents once served their labor and loyalty to.” He takes a pause, the confused chatter inflamed by his words. Inara, however, still gaining no luck as she traverses one-third of the circle.

“What exact organization did they pledge themselves to that landed you in this predicament? Well, I’ve always believed in the right for others to form their own answers through the world around them. So, I implore you all to take a look behind these gates, study your observations of this place and take a guess as to what we do here.” Children gasp at the sound of lights flashing to life on the other side of the barrier. One by one, each headlight ignited with a harsh flicker sound where more and more people became clear. Clusters of men and women, all wearing different varieties of sleek, black suits with gold pins stuck in their right pec and/or breast. From a distance, the pins seemed to dawn a letter or obscure shape of sorts, but all were the same, as were the crowd’s gaze on the children below. Inara ignored their gazes, apologetic as she pushed past worried faces as the entire space was nearly looked through. Yet further upsetting with no sign of her friends and an uproar growing out of nowhere. The children around her began to go into a frenzy as some had figured out the puzzle, her head swelling with the overstimulation of taunts from above and cries around her joining in disjointed harmony. Her only goal was to find her friends now, and her gut was telling her she was running out of time.

“Please, children, please! Settle down,” Mr. Kim roars while wearing a smile at the chaos.

“Asha! Andrei!” The voices begin to die off, one by one, and Inara’s heart drops.

“I see that the most of you have at least some indications of what we do here. And to the few, I cheer to your comprehension.” A few bubbles of laughter start and die quickly around him. Mr. Kim was the only voice speaking now, well apart from a child or few still crying in confusion.

“Inara!” A few feet to her left. Her body whips towards the sound, calling out one more time before the last of the voices die one by one.

“We’re here!” Just as the last of the children dulled their noise, Inara pushes past two boys to see Asha already running towards her. The two quickly embrace in relief, Asha pulling away to let Andrei wrap his arms around Inara who couldn’t stop her erratic heart. Her mission was met. Her friends were safe. They were together again, thank the lord. And this time, Inara would be sure not to lose them from her sight again till they got through whatever Mr. Kim had in store for us.

“Now for the ones that understand to a relative degree, that profession of your parents is what brings us all here to today. And particularly, your residence here.”

“Fancy way to say imprisonment,” Asha whispers, earning a small snicker from Inara the broke some of the tension.

“To put it straight, your parents' betrayal and attempted uprising against me is what led to their termination and thus, your stay here. All orchestrated by a man who believed my system wrong and his ideals superior enough to justify my assassination. As such, the termination of your parents was the cost in their loyalty of his moral pursuit. And now, the judgement you will all undergo today because of him.” As Mr. Kim announced this exposition, his smile fell in tune with the speed of his words. Dropping lower and lower till something close to a frown took its place at the last word. His expression made the room feel colder to Inara yet no one else shivered like her.

“The judgement in question? A challenge.” Murmurs in the crowd echoed to life again. Children glancing between other, whispering questions of what this challenge could entail. Inara and her group, while quiet, were infested with curiosity themselves.

“Children, where you stand is a trough where my guards participate in strenuous activities that determine their strength and place in my bodyguard hierarchy. A place where they can prove themselves above the rest in terms of combat skills and willpower.” The guards around them began to chuckle and cheer in encouragement.

“A ring where only the worthy may rise in my ranks. What do we call it, boys and girls?!” Mr. Kim shouts, his eyes landing on Inara.

“Pit With Teeth!”

“Pit With Teeth!”

“Pit With Teeth!”

The metal gates shake with each bang of fists that pound against its barriers. Proud chants follow in sync with the fists, ringing through every ear willing, more so unwilling, to listen, the chaos morphing to panic among the children below. But not yet Inara nor her friends. They couldn’t afford the panic for whatever was to come, especially here and now.

Just after the last chant, the heavy creaking of the double doors sang behind the children, all heads swinging to towards the way they came in. Darkness was still present beyond the entrances’ borders that did little to ease the already high tensions.

“The rebellion of your parents lasted for a total of 17 minutes. Their failed assassination attempt that put all 57 of you in my domain. Here, all of you will have 17 minutes to try and defeat the head of my guards, Mr. Landon.” The familiar face of Right Hook as Mr. Kim nicknamed him steps out of the shadows, still clean as the day Inara was taken. But with him, so do several dozen others follow in his steps. Men and women in suits like the ones above them. Some holding bats. Some palming knives and daggers. Only Mr. Landon displayed his signature silver knuckles around his hands, a crooked smirk foreboding on his lips.

“Knock him out, you all get to go free. I pray that you all complete the task before the time runs out,” Mr. Kim explains as his guards move closer, pressing the children against the wall he stands behind.

“What happens when time runs out?” A random boy shouts up at Mr. Kim, to which he shrugs in response.

“I suggest not waiting to find out.” As the guards get closer, crying kids step backwards till room runs out. Some resort to climbing the fences or finding a hole in the grates, all unfortunate in their attempts.

“One last thing. There are no rules in this pit, only it’s adage. ‘Let it eat you or pass it’s teeth.’ My children, welcome to Judgement Day.” All but Mr. Landon charge into the horde of children, their immediate response being to cower in fear and scream as they bunch up together on the opposite wall. Some keep trying to climb the fence, some try to plead with the guards on the other side. Whatever they tried, nothing was of use. True chaos was dumped into the pit with the children being the unlucky ones to drown in it.

“Don’t separate!” Inara screeches as she grips Asha’s hand with her other connected to Andrei, all holding with a death grip as they maneuvered their way around the crowd and away from the approaching wave. Dread crept up her spine with panic threatening to join the dance as she thought through their situation.

17 minutes.

57 children.

Charged with an impossible task.

Suddenly, a cracked scream erupts from her left, ending with a heavy thud on the floor.

56 children. And it’s barely been a minute.

“Kayla!” Another girl screams, something Inara catches before seeing her get ambushed by the same man that took out her sister. She turned away before she saw more, but not being spared the sound of a knife through flesh. 55 children.

Scattering like ants, the children spread out in a panic at the first two kills. The rest of Mr. Kim’s men and women follow suit, rushing to retaliate in groups. Some children run, some get caught. Inara catches a group trying to overwhelm one guard in their gang up, nearly successful in taking his weapon to finish him off. But time nor luck were on their side as two more guards came up quickly and stopped the group of five from taking out their colleague just before putting them out of their misery. A sight similar to the two girls fate at the start yet Inara couldn’t find the strength to pull herself to look away at the different fates that befell the group. She only hoped the ones with contorted necks were given a quick death than two others left to bleed on the floor.

“Inara! We have to keep moving!” Andrei shouted as he shook Inara out her trance. His words blurry but she understood enough to get her eyes off the scene and towards wherever her friends were heading. The screams and nauseating sounds of death kept her mind sober and away from giving into her curiosity, her friends being her saviors in leading the way.

“Where are we gonna go?!” Asha shouts as another body drops across the circle.

“It doesn’t matter, just keep moving!” Andrei shouts back with his head on swivel. Two more drop opposite of the last body, a bit closer this time. The trio moves close to the gate, close enough their bodies almost touch the patterned wall.

“Where?!” Asha screams over another trio’s screams just a few quarter inches behind the trio. 14 minutes left.

“Anywhere! Just move!” The boy shouts back while avoiding children dropping left and right.

Then a kid, probably no more than 9 years old, falls next to Inara just as Andrei finishes his sentences, calling for her aid. Her hand reaches for him and before the boy could latch on, a stampede of children fleeing for their lives quickly turn the child into an extension of the concrete below. Inara winces away, now noticing how sticky and slippery the floor has become. And now, how fast their numbers are dwindling. God only knows now since she lost track two bodies ago.

“Inara, watch out!” Asha pushes her friend just in the nick of time, a guard tackling Asha into the metal wall in Inara’s place.

“Asha!” Inara shouts with Andrei, quickly turning to help her friend as she runs along the wall. Just as she was two steps from her, her vision goes dark as her body collapses from a weight falling onto her. A weight big enough to send her into unconsciousness for a quarter of a second.

Her head rings when she comes to, the shouts and wails muffled into a static haze around her as she struggles to bring herself up from the crimson-stained floor.

Whatever had fallen on her made the attempt quite difficult, almost impossible, the slippery red coating her palms that made it hard to gain a proper grip on the floor to stand. Though, her time spent struggling allowed her mind and ears to properly recover as her audio and vision became clear. The haze now lifted, her ears turned to the attention of a scream to her right.

It’s pitch all too familiar. Inara’s head shot toward the direction, her eyes widening as they landed on Andrei pinned to the floor with hands curling around his neck. She followed up the arms, the pit in her stomach growing at the realization of the person responsible.

“Keep the other one busy! This one won’t last long,” Mr. Landon shouts as he continues to increase his death grip. Inara looks to the ‘other one’ in question, her worry growing deeper at seeing her other friend being held by another guard, a woman similar in height to Mr. Landon but not as muscular.

“Andrei,” Inara grunts as she continued to wrangle her way free in a painfully slow pace. She just needed an arm free then she could make it to them and every second lost was another second closer to losing her friends. Grunting in agony, she finally gets one arm free at the cost of nearly dislocating her shoulder but she ignored the pain to push herself out from under whatever was on her. And when half her body was free, she got a good look of what caused her predicament, and she nearly hurled at the sight. No wonder it, or rather he, was so heavy. Kid was Andrei’s age, probably younger with the same body type. Only the face was covered with way too much red to be recognizable.

Inara squirmed to try the rest of her body away from him as quickly as possible, trying to get the image of someone looking too similar to her friend out of her head and to Andrei, whose sounds of protest were starting to die down by the second. Inara, her body just inches from freedom, exerted her muscles to the breaking point, not stopping till she felt herself standing.

“Fucking come on!” She screamed, almost shooting out her vocal cords that gave her the push she needed and her body loose. Now free, arms sore and wet with red, Inara dashes towards her friend while weaving through fights and falling bodies. Acting like a frog as she leaped onto Mr. Landon’s back before harshly digging her nails into the side of his neck with immediate effect. More blood spilled from the wounds that nauseatingly mixed with the ones coloring her arms, enough of it to force the affected to withdraw in pain and grunt in response. His attention now switched to the girl attached to his back as he swung his arms behind him to try and pull her off.

Inara’s focus locked on him, heavy and unwielding. Focused on avoiding his swings at her while thinking of ways to take him down, give her the advantage. Maybe rummage his arsenal to find something to give her an edge. So, while putting Mr. Landon in a headlock the best her underage arm could manage around a grown man’s neck, her other hand dipped through his pockets and belt till her fingers felt something, anything of use. Then she heard Andrei suck a deep breath in before coughing back to consciousness and her gaze turned to her friend; alive, breathing with Asha. She smiled lightly, her focus torn, just as her hand locked onto something, a handle, in his pocket.

Then an arm hooked over her, grabbing and throwing her forward to the sticky floor. Inara grunts as she lands, the weapon flying out of her hand. She attempts to scramble to her feet and find it again, just to be kicked onto her back with a boot slamming against her chest. Mr. Landon hovered above her with a soiled look; hair messy, face wearing a look mixed between annoyance and enjoyment, chest heaving with harsh breaths.

“Looks like you’ll get to see your dad sooner than expected,” the brute of a man chuckles with a sadistic smile, motivating Inara as she thrashes harder under him. Her eyes dart back and forth to quickly survey her surroundings for a sign of the weapon, then stops her head to the right as her eyes find it.

“Tell your pops I say hi.” She reaches out for it, just short of it when Mr. Landon grabs another knife from his pocket. Inara’s fingers just breach the handle of the weapon from her, but not fast enough to stop the sharp metal currently flying towards her.

It all felt like slow motion. Her eyes wide and her heart dropping, the hopelessness of the situation sinking in as she realizes her luck’s run out. If only her dad could see her now. What would he think?

“Inara!”

Mr. Landon gets shoved off her with a blur. He grunts, hard, his feet now freeing Inara from an early trip to the other side. She takes a deep breath, never realizing she’d been holding it in the first place. And when she gets her bearings, she looks to find her savior.

To her worry, hope itself in the form of Asha is wrestling with someone twice her size. Well, wrestling being a generous description of a high school girl trying to subdue an adult man of pure muscle with all her strength. Unfortunate that it merely lasted three seconds before he gains the upper hand, putting her in a headlock.

“Asha!” Inara rushes to her feet as fast as she can. But then she saw Mr. Landon pull out his knife again. Her heart raced and her feet moved faster. But not fast enough.

“You little shits are really getting on my nerves.” At the last word, his arm plunged the knife itself into the side of Asha’s torso. Her mouth hangs open in a pained expression, yet nothing comes out. Not a gasp, nor scream. Just a breath. All in the span of seconds.

Inara catches her before she drops to the floor, Mr. Landon discarding the girl like trash to a fire. Asha’s body drops like dead weight, her breathing already labored. The world was fading around the two, Andrei crawling to them in her peripheral with a look of pure disbelief, a couple of choked sobs leaving him his throat as he calls out to Asha. And Inara couldn’t figure out what was worse: her’s friend blood covering nearly half her body or Andrei being torn from them to hold off Mr. Landon, quiet sobs being heard from him.

“Asha?” Inara whispers, her voice strained yet unwavering. Her hand caresses her face with a care she didn’t know she had. Though, it didn’t look like Asha could tell.

“Hey, hey. Stay with me.” Coughing is her only response, her eyes struggling to face Inara’s as more red spills from her lips.

“I-Inara-“

“Don’t speak. Save your energy. Just hold on, please.” Slowly, Asha’s hand comes up to hold the one holding her face. Her fingers weakly wrap around the hand; a harsh grunt being heard in the distance as Inara reciprocates the gesture, tightening her fingers with a choked sob.

“Inara…thank you...f-for being there for me.” Weakly, Asha moves her other hand up till it clasps her face.

“Stop talking, please. Stay with me.” A tear falls from Asha’s face as a smile spreads across her lips.

“Protect each other.” A choked chuckled escapes her lips, her eye lids starting to fall.

“Asha, please. Stay.” Inara wanted to yell that last word. Scream it. Loud enough that by some miracle it’d help her stay alive longer. But they came out as just a whisper. A repeat, each one weaker than the last. Dying out like her friend in her arms.

“Don’t…let them break you. Stay strong.” Asha exhales a long breath before her head falls limp to the side.

“Asha?”

No response.

“Asha?”

Nothing. Only the weight of her breath pushed from her lungs. The shine from her brown eyes dim. Gone, in a blink of an eye.

It seemed so slow yet happened so fast. Her friend just breathing and struggling minutes ago. Now quiet in her arms. Inara’s face stuck in shock, eyes darting between Asha’s, as if hoping she’d see the spark just there seconds ago. The light she’d grown used to waking up to over the past weeks here. Eyes filled with hope and humor that got her through the godforsaken place. Another piece of her taken like none of it mattered.

She wanted to scream. Cry. Wail into the air. She wanted to. So desperately, just waiting for her body to lash out and release the metaphorical blood that spilled from her heart. But it seemed not just her face was stuck in a trance, her body had turned to stone, hard and stiff to move as tears cascaded down her face into the dark crimson beneath them. Her face and body frozen like Medusa herself passed by, though found no want to break the curse. Then after what felt close to forever, Inara hugged her old friend close to herself, one arm wrapped gingerly around Asha’s back with the other curled securely around her head till her skull fit perfectly in her palm.

Inara held her nice and tight, clinging like a koala to a tree as she replayed every memory of them. Every word, every laugh, desperate to keep her memory fresh as she cried to herself. Everything down to her smell and how she smiled. To the words she last spoke to her moments ago. Trying to not let her last memories of her be her death and last wishes.

‘Don’t…let them break you.’ Inara hugged her tighter.

‘Thank you for everything.’

‘Stay strong.’

“I’m so sorry,” Inara rasped in a cry, just for Asha to hear.

‘Protect each other.’

Those words, that sentence stayed stuck in her head on repeat. Replaying over and over, its message bringing a beckoning from Inara. A realization dawned on her, and suddenly her situation brought her back from her trance. She lifts her head, slow as a snail but heavy as metal, to reevaluate her bearings. Children still fighting, dropping dead around her quicker than flies in the heat. The harsh smell of copper and death filled her nostrils as screams replaced the static in her ears. Trembles moved across her body when her eyes found Andrei; held back by one guard as Mr. Landon was beating him within an inch of his life. Just like that, anger gradually replaced the fear the flooded her body, her other motivation being present in her lap as she looked down again.

‘Protect each other.’

She felt her words wrap around her mind, body, and soul. Inara got up, slowly lowering her friend gently on the floor before brushing a stray hair from her eyes.

‘Protect each other.’

Inara finds the weapon she lost in her scuffle, just inches away from her right. Bringing it closer, one half of the handle dislodges from the other side, the blade swinging as it drips with the blood of her friend. Familiarity spills into her veins as she further inspects the weapon. Two blue handles with intricate patterns finished with a beautiful, black metal as the blade that shined in the orange and yellow light. A butterfly knife.

‘Protect each other.’

She stands tall. Knife in hand. Her eyes never leave her friend as she walks to the scene, flicking the knife into a helix spin then catching the two handles flawlessly, gripping with a force so hard white bleeds into her knuckles. One last time, Asha speaks to her. Soft yet strong. Then she breaks into a sprint.

‘Protect each other.’

“Hey, hijo de puta!” She yells at the top of her lungs as her heart pounds in her chest, ears buzzing with adrenaline. Tunnel vision took her sight and Mr. Landon stood in its middle, staring straight at her. His silver knuckles tainted with red. Eyes burning with depravity that mirrored the smirk creeping up his lips.

“Your turn, sweetheart?” He turns to give his full attention to her now sprinting form. Opposite to his, Inara’s eyes were blown wide, focused and brimming with vexation. Each movement of her body calculated as it ran through the carnage ‘till it finally reached the target with a cocked-back arm, equipped with the sharp end pointing away from Mr. Landon. His cocky demeanor shrugged in anticipation, winding back his own limb and shooting forward in a counter attack.

But it missed. Just above the girl’s head as she slid forward into a split-slide, ducking down and sliding the armed limb across his right thigh. A loud slice through fabric and flesh stilled in the air, quickly followed by pained grunt from the affected, Mr. Landon falling onto the knee hard with gritted teeth. Inara takes the opportunity, using her momentum to quickly wrap around him and jump onto his back. Her left arm slithers to put Mr. Landon in a chokehold, much to his dismay as he relentlessly swings himself back and forth to get her off, grunting and grumbling like an animal in a cage. His injury was catching up to him and the young teen was determined in her grip.

“Get off, you brat!” Mr. Landon roars, uncontrollably swinging his arms the same a lunatic would, even catching Andrei’s attention despite the poor boy being barely conscious. Others around were also allured to the scene, but unbeknownst to them, Inara huffed at his wish. Her right palm flips the knife through her fingers in a swift motion and lowers the arm holding his neck, just slightly, to give the other room to put the metal across his throat.

Inara whispers in his ear. Only known between the pair.

“As you wish.”

As quick as her words, a thin line opens across Mr. Landon’s neck from the slice of the knife. No more than a few seconds later, blood bubbles at the line then falls, Inara following by example and sliding off his back. And as she does, several gasps all around beckoned her attention. But the only thing that retained her focus was the man in front of her desperately clawing at his throat. Pathetic gasps and quick breathes left his mouth, though they soon turned into gargled moans as the blood clogged his throat. It called Inara to come around to see his face properly. To see the man who caused so much pain, not to just to her. To her father. To her friends. To these children.

“Feel that, Right Hook?” Inara taunts his nickname to the dying man. He looks up to her, a glare reflecting her blank stare just before an arm swings at her in a feeble attempt of an attack. His words, at least his tries for them, drowned in his throat. Harsh coughs of red replaced his speech, panic seeping into his mind as the realization of her words, of his situation dawned on him. It turned his face crooked with fear and hysteria with each failed breath he took. To Inara, her faced remained unfazed. Unmoving. Blank. No trace of emotion or a slight of a reaction breached her features, hiding her satisfaction at his struggles.

“Keep that feeling. It’ll be your only company.” A grunt in response. Then a sob before his body flops forward onto the cement. He turns in pain, twists and writhes like a maggot would in dirt. ‘What a fall from grace,’ some would think. Inara being no exception.

Slowly, his efforts softened, second by second. Inara watching him to his last choked gargle and that final breath that signaled the result of this fight. Only when Mr. Landon’s efforts slumped to a stop, head heavy hitting the floor with a dull look in his gaze did Inara step away. Just before the blood could touch her feet and after seeing the spark gone from his eyes.

Inara took a moment to stare at the body. A part of her trying to tear herself away, yet she couldn’t find it in her muscles to force any movement, nor did she want to find it. Her mind ran on overdrive, one part thanks to the adrenaline and the other due to the actions all leading to this. But the part that had her in a trance wasn’t the large mass of a man dead at her feet. It was the eyes. Rather how they were just seconds ago. How they were filled with emotions seconds ago; anger, sadism, glee. Now reduced to a devoid picture of what they used to be.

The moments of those changes, the process of death replaying in her head from him and her friend. Mr. Landon and Asha’s faces playing side by side in her head as if comparing the two. Both scenarios vastly different, both scenarios invoking different emotions.

The memory of Asha’s was wrenching, to say the least. Watching the soft smile fade with her eyes would haunt Inara as the last thing she’d remember her friend as, no matter how much she’d try to forget. Despair and lament dancing hand in hand at the thought. But before tears could threaten to come, the memory of Mr. Landon’s death faded into conception.

Each moment replaying, down to the last detail, down to them wrestling, to the blade swiping clean across his throat, to the blood spilling, to his final breath, then to his eyes that she couldn’t pull away from.

Especially his eyes and the moment they became empty. The process of death she felt for him compared to Asha’s.

Of course, they weren’t anything similar to each other. She’d considered herself mad if they were. What scared her were the emotions she didn’t expect for Mr. Landon. Not anger. Not shame. Not even hate.

No, the only thing she felt for him was nothing short of pure satisfaction.

“Inara?” Andrei called to her from her side, voice raspy and spent. Turning her gaze to him, her body quickly follows as she goes to check up on him and scooping him in her arms as she did Asha. As she knelt to hold her friend in his arms, voices around them became clear. She’d almost forgotten they weren’t alone, her trance like state been harsher than she thought.

“Holy shit, is that Mr. Landon?”

“Oh my god, no way he lost to that scrawny thing.”

“Wait, he’s actually dead?”

“No way! That girl did it?”

Inara’s eyes dart nervously at the gossiping patrons. ranging from bodyguards to the children remaining. They chattered amongst themselves, the fighting seeming to have come to standstill. Her clutch on Andrei instinctively tightened as all eyes came to them. To her. All of them waited on bated breath for someone to break the confused chatter, either with words or actions.

“Enough!” Supposed that someone was Mr. Kim, as any chatter died instantly. Though Inara was somewhat relieved everyone turned away from her to Mr. Kim, she couldn’t help but grow anxious. In the short time she’d come to know Mr. Kim, it would be expected that her stunt just now wouldn’t be met with at least some type of backlash. Especially considering she had just slain his second-best bodyguard when they were instructed to only knock him out.

Now, Mr. Kim had come down to the pit himself, the heavy metal doors of the entrance creaking loud on their rusty hinges. Her thoughts interrupted, attention only on him. Her focus on the man walking through the crowd that parted like the sea. His demeanor exuded nothing short of fear and respect. The clicks of his heels echoed through the pit, never minding the puddles of gore that stain its floors and the soles of his shoes. Chin high, back straight, face neutral, eyes scheming and calculating. A man who was hard to read, yet her father apparently knew him enough to nearly get away with mutiny without him knowing. But Mr. Kim found out somehow, someway. And looking up at him, she understood why he was the leader of this organization and why her dad failed.

Two fingers trap her chin, further tilting her eyes upward to meet Mr. Kim’s. There was a hooded look to his eyes, as if he were studying her features for the first time. In her position, Inara braced herself for the inevitable punishment in coming.

“Quite the show you put on, Miss Valentina.” Mr. Kim turns his head, surveying the scene of the crime where his right-hand lay unmoving.

“Truly. Couldn’t take my eyes off it, beginning to end. To the part where your friends separated, to your unfortunate friends’ fate,” he spoke with vain sentiment, “to when you sliced Mr. Landon’s throat here like paper.” His eyes finished back on hers; his lips curled into that familiar, haunting smile.

“My right hand,” he whispers, almost scoffing to Inara. As if she knew it’s lie like him.

“What a show. What a show, right!” He turns to ask the audience, arms outstretched as he circles to face everyone. His arms fall heavy to his sides when he faces Inara again, this time smiling down at her. For thinking a smile is supposed to ease your worries, his did wonders is worsening hers’.

“Now what to do with you? Hm? What suitable punishment should be decided for you? What proper actions should be taken for the murder of one of my best men when I only order you to knock him unconscious? So many options desired for you, an abundance of scenarios for your ramification. But it’s not about what I want. No, it’s about what you deserve, my dear,” Mr. Kim announces in a deceptively soft tone, brushing a stray hair out of Inara’s face. He holds a moment of silence with her, eyes boring into her soul, almost silently daring to break contact.

“Ah yes, I know just what to do with you.” He turns to the crowd once more.

“Everyone! Due to the results of the Miss Valentina’s victory against Mr. Landon, the gauntlet will be cut short as promised! Please, a round of applause for her display of perseverance!” A round of applause started, small at first from the hesitant guards, but quickly grew in volume thanks to patronizing claps and whistles from the ones in the stands as well. Even the remaining children joined in the chorus, albeit less enthusiastic than the guards.

“Yes! Yes, a well-deserved applause,” he shouts, putting up a gentle hand to bring the roar to a generous whisper.

“And due to such an inspirational act, it has beckoned me to carry out one of my own. Perhaps not one of strength but of generosity. So today, I will be adding a rule in part of Miss Valentina’s victory. The remaining few will now be allowed to join us and given a chance to climb our ranks, to prove themselves like Miss Valentina today. They’ve made it this far, what kind of leader would I be to deny them the chance? What example would I be to my people if I denied them the same right as I gave you?” He shouts among the crowd, garnering shouts of encouragement and agreement.

“So let it be known today that while the Pit has scourged its victims, it has blessed us with new members deemed worthy of passing its teeth. Let these lucky 14 take the place of the ones we lost to mutiny and see if they replace the pride and strength that makes the most feared organization on these streets!”

The crowd erupts with a simultaneous ‘Yeah!’

“Tell me, who makes that organization?” He shouts among the guards.

“US!”

“And what. is. our. NAME?!”

“ATEEZ!”

“ATEEZ!”

“ATEEZ!”

Stomps from the guards hard, leather boots echo in tandem with the chants. Everyone chanting, synchronized, their cheers swelled to the brim with pride. The noise pounded in Inara’s ears yet it entranced her like a sailor to a siren. Watching the guards in their chorus with its melody surrounding her was inspiring, in a strange way. And of course, intimidating. A cocktail that shouldn’t have worked, all thanks to the man responsible for its mixture. Mr. Kim at the center of it all, that wide stretch of a smile basking across his face.

“Let us welcome our newest home. My guards, please escort the remaining into the sanitizing quarters, give them a fresh wash up before they rest in their rooms. They deserve a little leisure before the demanding work begins,” Mr. Kim smiles as he watches his guards take the children, noticeable gentler this time. Two guards come to her and Andrei barely conscious in her arms. Her arms tightened like a snake around him as they try to take him away.

“I assure you, Miss Valentina, we are here to help you now. I am a man of my word,” he speaks as he comes to the little fuss she’s made.

“You’ve earned your reward, both you and your friend. Let us take care of him as we’ll take care of you.” She eyes him, the guards, then him again. Then realizes her place in this situation and sees her lack of options. So, cautiously, her arms loosen just enough to give one of the guards room to scoop him up and into his arms. By now, Andrei’s fully out of it, not even flinching as his body is carried bridal-style in the air. Though just before she’s escorted out, Mr. Landon stops the guard holding her and leans in close to her ear.

“Their blood is now on your hands. And if you’re half as notable as your father was, then maybe they’ll live past their parents.” Inara, despite her better judgement, pulls her eyes to him. To say it would haunt her thoughts would be sorely underhanded.

“Welcome to the family, my dear.” And with that, the other guard tugs at her arm towards the exit of the pit with the others blessed or cursed enough to leave this forsaken place alive. Inara’s eyes stayed glued to Mr. Kim. Call it instinct at this point with how much he had a grip on her to call her attention, no matter how much it sickens her every time she looked at him.

Cause each time she did, she couldn’t just see the man responsible for her father’s demise, for so much carnage and anguish. But also the man her father once used to call a friend till his morals dictated his fate. She wondered how her father would react to this. To what she’d done, to what Mr. Kim declared for her and the rest of the children. What about Asha? Her death still fresh in her mind as well as her final words. Then to the memory of Mr. Landon, how she took a man’s life and felt satisfaction for it.

But with all this uncertainty of her and Andrei’s fates as well as the children, she was certain of a few things. She’d do everything to keep her promise to Asha. Then, find a way to make sure everyone gets by in this place alive. And finally, as she entered through the darkness of the hallway out of the pit, she made certain of one last thing.

Avenge her father and burn everything here to ash. If it were the last thing she’d do.

Notes:

So I know this chapter took way too long to write. Unfortunately, way too many personal things cause the writing for this drag, certain parts of the story needed to be refined and I was way too much in my head with certain bad emotions that I’ve finally sorted out.

Hopefully the chapters won’t take as long to come out cause I’m so excited to publish the rest of this story not just as an erotica but as an actual story lol.

As always, feedback is appreciated as well as any types of comments for chit chatting.

Until next time, love you all!

Notes:

Hello everyone! The first chapter in the mini series based off the Ice on my Teeth MV. So good that I decided to write a whole story around it that I can’t wait to unveil. Please feel free to comment whatever, your critics, love, or both. I love interacting with you guys.

Hope you guys enjoyed and see you in the next chapter!