Through Hell Barefoot: Chapter 1 (WIP)

Through Hell, Barefoot: Book One - The Dark Gentleman

Chapter 1: A cage, A severed head, and the Dark gentleman



Balled up in the corner of the cage, opposite of the severed head, Alicia sat. Her mind racing with many questions,  and fears as it struggled to process her current situation and predicament.  The bars of the cage were rusted, thickly coated with blood a smaller bits of gore.    The floor under the cage was wood, and well taken care of, it shining the light of the candle that rested atop the cage.  Unfortunately, there were no other sources of light in the room, darkness swallowing everything a few feet away from the cage its cloak of mystery.  She could hear whispers within the darkness, a strong sense of foreboding carried with them.  The air was cold on her nearly nude body, only a pair of snow white panties and matching bra to protect her from the harsh chill.  The head that laid before her unnerved the poor girl  the most.  She was having a hard time determining what was more horrifying about it.  The fact that it was what it was, a severed head, or the fact it seemed so well taken care of and prepared.  It was cleaned, no blood anywhere to be found on it, even makeup was applied.  Its hair done, its expression being eerily blank.  Held in its mouth was a key beautiful and shining.



Just as she started to gain some control over herself, a new terror soon gave her reason to fear once again.  Footsteps!  Heavy, slowly paced, and not alone.  Accompanying the loud thuds which sounded like work boots was the sound of something being dragged.  Quickly her eyes peered in the direction from where the sounds were emanating, only darkness to be found.  The sounds grew, coming closer with each beat of her heart, their path seeming to be set on her.



"Help" A simple word she knew not to give, though her heart begged for it to be screamed.  Her lips sounded out the words instead, her eyes staring still into the darkness.  Slowly, a Tower of what appeared to be man-like came into view.  Dressed in robes it walk along side of the cage, giving it little to no attention as it neared.  Its mere visage was like a blade of raw terror, being shoved deeply into Alicia, her body shivering as it approached the cage.  Her heart should have burst through her chest as it passed by, giving her a glimpse of what was causing that dragging sound.  Two bodies, one male, one female, cut down the middle, the clean perfect cut stopping just above the pelvis.  Their faces in a stuck look of terror, their eyes transmitting a feeling of hopelessness.  The contents of their chest seemed to be removed with surgical precision, what a sickening sight for someone so young to view.



The towering figure, and his victims moved into the darkness, leaving Alicia alone, her mind lost to her once again.  "This can't be happening, it has to be some kind of nightmare.  Damn it, it's not, I know it not, but god I wish it was!  Why am I here, why can't I remember how I got here, all I can remember was that moon!"  Her racing heart paused her mind worked feverously to dig up some memories that would explain how she came to this hellish place.  "The moon, all I can remember is the moon.  Pale...it was so pale.  Wait!  I turned red...no!  It bled!  Then...then..."  A painful streak raced through her head, her fingers clawing at her hair as she grit her teeth.  "Then nothing, darkness...and nothing.  I was just...here..."



The pain digging itself deeper into her, feeding on her fear, her panic, the pain felt both physically and mentally.  Twisting, growing, its heavy weight  crushing her, combined with the feel of spikes digging not only in her mind, but her body as well.  Her panic turned to anxiety, she had to escape, there was no question of such now.  If she didn't, she felt as though her mind would tear her apart, every thought of the terror of what will become of her if she didn't find a way out feeding the pain and desperation that flooded so suddenly.



She examined her surrounds a bit more carefully, noticing a rather elegant lock on the cage, hanging just low enough for her to reach.  Strange how it was turned to face inward into the cage rather than the other way around.  her mind instantly noticed that the locks design was very akin to that of the key.  She pondered to herself only for a moment as to how strange it was to leave the key to the lock inside with your captive, but also just how bizarre it was to turn the lock to be facing them as well.  Clearly something was amiss here, but at the same time, it was definitely more safe to be in the open, rather than locked in a cage, waiting for someone, or something to come.  She wasn't quite sure what would happen to her, but it was clear that it wouldn't be anything pleasant.



Though it was obvious to her that she had to escape, having to retrieve the key from the disembodied head wasn't quite as simple.  It exuded a aura of silent horror.  Just its presences gave off a calm, relaxed sense of fear, unnerving Alicia as she stared at it.  Despite this fact, the thought of that 'man' returning to cut her in half like the two poor souls he carried along with him, was more than enough motivation to force her to reach out for the key.  The metal key was cold to the touch, her hand touching the tip of the key, its teeth being of a more medieval design.  Slowly she pulled the key away from the head, taking a good look at it for just a moment.  Its handle was beautiful, covered in ivory of the highest quality, trimmed gold and silver into a intricate and amazing design.



She slid across the cage making sure to not bump her head on the rather disgusting ceiling of the cage, as she moved the key to the mouth of the lock.



Without warning a scream broke the silence of the room.  It was obvious where it was coming from as the eyes of the disembodied head gaze at Alicia, blood pouring from its tear ducks as a look of excruciating pain was washed across its face.  the scream was beyond description, its gaze a mix of boiling hate and gut retching insanity.  It was as though Alicia could feel worms tunneling their way underneath her very light bronze skin.  Fear turned to terror, terror turned to action, and just as the vines of insanity that seemed to sprout from the head, started to ding themselves into her mind, she forced herself to break away from its unyielding gaze.



Her mind focused on the single thought of escape, she plunged the key deep into the lock, and turned the key.  The lock opened without much of a fight, and soon the rusted change gave a painful moan as it swung open, Alicia broke out into a sprint, only darkness ahead.  She had no idea if what was lost in the infinite dark, would it be safer then the cage, or would much fouler horrors exist.  Though her mind was lost in worry and fear, her instincts moved her forward into the darkness.  The more she ran, the quicker swallowed the cage, and with it, the voice.  Finally, the voice was completely consumed by the void, Alicia alone, still running, but to where remained a mystery.



The room echoed her footsteps, the cold touch of the floor only spurring Alicia to move faster.  Her mind freed of the previous invasion, she was able to think clearly once more.  Her mind bombarded by so many questions, most important, where was she, and why was she brought here.  So many possibilities entered her head, she knew full the evils of man, their twisted desires and the cruelty that anyone could visit upon another.



Suddenly a glimmer, perhaps her exit, or something far more terrifying then the head she left back in the cage.  Though her mind froze, her legs continued to carry her forwards.  The dim light came into view with time, almost beckoning her towards, perhaps a moth to the flame, or the light at the end of the tunnel, who knew.  She could barely make out what stood before, but a sense of hope washed over her, only a short distance away, a door, two candles lit, and what seemed to be light beaming from the space between the door and the marble floor.



Another scream shout out of the darkness, but it wasn't from behind this time, but where!?  Another, this time her right, but just as to where, she couldn't make out.  The two combined overpowered the sound produced from Alicia's feet as she pick up speed, terror made motion as she closed the gap between her and the door.  As she neared, however, a new fear was planted into her, the screams grew in number, swiftly, some screaming, but others...laughing.  Swearing, Sobbing, Cries for help, some for death!  Her mind gripped with fear, terror, and dread so heavy, leaned against the door after slamming into it.  She took a look, the candle light barely enough to give her a view at what was happening.



Eyes, shining wildly in the golden light, face locked with fear, rage, pain, and such sorrow.  To her, it was like a glimpse into the depths of hell, their gaze, beyond words.  Her hands clawed madly at the door handle, as she felt her head fill with a pain she had never knew.  Though only 19, the girl was well versed in pain, but pain like this could eclipse most of what she knew.  The feel of her father's belt was but a prick from a thumbtack, but it fueled her survival instincts, and with one push of will, she felt the door swing open.  She was swift, rolling herself around the door and slamming it shut with her body weight, the large oak door giving a loud thud as it slam shut.  She fought for air, and though her effort was given with such passions, her lungs just didn't want to comply.  She leaned hard against the door, slowly regaining herself.



A low tone filled the air, followed by the sound of another door slamming. "Paaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiinnn..."



Her head locked to the direction from which the voice emanated from, her eyes scanning the door.  She slid to the floor, the room filled with the warm soft glow of the nearby stone fireplace.  She could hear the crackling from the fire place mixed with the sounds of footsteps, walking away from the recently closed door.  Alicia didn't have time to relax, nor to fall apart, she was still in a very unfamiliar place, one that to now proved, time and time again to be quite unfriendly.  She needed baring, some idea of where she was and what exactly was going on.  Again she attempted to remember how she got here, but only the burning thought of a blood soaked moon came to mind, its haunting visage filling her with terror she thought she long had forgotten.



Slowly she rose to her feet, her eyes scanning the room she was in, hoping to find some clues to her current predicament.  This room was a nice change of pace, though dimly lit, there was enough light for her to figure out that she had escaped to the kitchen of this building.  Knives laid on the table, each one seemed to be well taken care of, sharp, and polish to a mirrors shine.  She came to the quick decision to take the larger clever with her, thinking it would come in handy if anyone were to attack her.  It was then that she realized that nobody had in fact attempted to harm her, and despite the heads, nobody had seemed to have given chase.  Things were adding up, but the picture developing wasn't quite clear, why hadn't they came to mind but for a moment when she noticed another clue to the mystery.



In the far corner of the room, Alicia found a rather simple white dress, with a note attached, her name eloquently written.  Cleaver in hand, she walked towards the dress, careful not to create any more sound.  As she approached the dress, she could make out the faint echoes of what seemed to be a soft scream, yet this one was different, it didn't cause the heavy and painful reactions that the severed heads had in the previous room.  She shook it off for the moment, reaching out and picked the dress up from off its stand.  She opened the note quickly, only receiving a rather simple command.  'Wear this, and meet me outside, use the door nearest to the dress, and go straight forward, do not linger, as I cannot promise everyone will obey the rules here.'  Again questions flooded her mind, who left this for her, why!?  This, added with the other questions only caused a feeling of panic to fill the poor girl.  Another scream, followed by a twisted laugh, broke her away from her thoughts.  She couldn't ignore the fact that she was nearly nude, in a hostile environment, and thus far this was her only sign of hope in the situation she was in.  The whole world around her felt like it was moving at breakneck speed, but she knew she had to hold it together.



She quickly slipped on the dress and with clever in hand, opened the door as she was instructed to, now entering a dark hallway.  Finally a light at the end of the tunnel, A large wooden door with a glass window stood before her, to her right was a open area, also filled with light from outside thanks to a large window, sadly she couldn't see much outside thanks to a deep fog.  To her left were 3 doors, each beautifully design and decorated. Freedom rang out in her mind as she stared forward at the door that lead outside, she started to sprint forward, but was frozen in her steps by another scream, this time coming from the middle door on her right.  Freedom was at hand, but curiosity...well, despite the horror she had already witnessed, it has a way of turning even the wisest of us into the greatest of fools.  She gripped the blade tight as she made her way over to the door, a small beam of light pouring from its keyhole.  It seemed everything in this building or home was built back in the 1700's now that she thought of it, the wood framing, the floors, heck even the dress she wore, despite being a simple slip on, had a very Gothic Lolita vibe to it.  She put the thought away and focus back on the sounds emitting from just beyond the door.  She knew better, but at the same time, if she could save somebody, she was willing to put her life on the line.  Slowly she bend down to get at eye level with the keyhole, hoping she would be able to see what all was taking place within the room.



Shock and fear ran across her body as her eyes peered on at the vision before her now.  A woman, no older than herself, hands ran through the palm with a large steel hook, her body being violated by two men wearing somewhat tribal masks.  There was no pleasure in her face, only pain and suffering, her pleas for mercy acting more like fuel to a fire, the men seeming to adore every moment of her pain and torment.  Alicia could only watch in horror as they took turns, using a small blade to cut at her back, arms and legs, her blood running its way down her abused and broken body, mixing with her tears as the fall to the ground.  Try as she might Alicia couldn't help but gasp at the sight, a mistake she quickly regretted as suddenly the men turned and faced the door.



Almost on cue, the front door swung open, shocking Alicia to the point she fell back, the cleaver sliding across the floor, barely out of reach.  There stood a dark figure, his eyes glaring down upon the petite woman as she tried to pull herself back together.  The situation became even more grim as the room door holding the two masochist slowly opened, both men standing next to each other, their eyes also locked onto Alicia.



"Touch her, and I'll feed your entrails to the dogs!" The dark figure at the door shouted toward the men as they slowly stepped towards the 'new meat'.



"Gavish...you hold no sway over us!"  The alpha of the pair spoke out harshly, his eyes never leaving Alicia's body, both staring with such hunger in their eyes.



"Doesn't mean I won't take great pleasure in hearing you scream as I dissect you."  Gavish spoke softly this time, his words having enough weight alone.  There was a battle wagging before Alicia, and though she didn't have any reason to, she felt the man at the front door wasn't there to harm her.  Instincts finally won over fear and Alicia rose to her feet, her eyes still on the men, watching their ever step as she walked towards this 'Gavish' person.  "You should have listened better to the note I left you."