Consciousness returned to Evelynn when something cold splashed on her face.
The cold water went through her nose and gave her a headache. She coughed and used the last ounce of strength in her body to do so. The cold water dripped from her face down to her chest, making her feel even colder than she already was.
Her whole body hurt. Drained from her blood, Evelynn felt exhausted and sick.
She met the gaze of a man she loathed.
She struggled to move to the corner, frantic to be far from the villain in front of her. The silver chains on her hands and feet made a dragging sound as she crumpled in the corner.
Her skin burned at where the chains were.
Silver chains scared and weakened her. Even the mere sound of it can make her quiver in fear.
The man’s yellowish tartar-tainted teeth showed as he made a snide smirk and stood up.
He stepped aside only for Evelynn to see her abuser walking into the cell, smoking a cigarette.
He grinned as he approached her. The light from outside enlarged his shadow and made him look even more terrifying to Evelynn.
"Wow, I'm surprised," he mocked.
A three-lined scar accented his face. The scar looked like it was from a sharp-clawed animal.
"Those pretty blue marks look so good on you."
Evelynn's body ached on cue.
At the mention of her bruises, her body remembered the traumatic pain it experienced from the cruel man.
"And those wounds… goddamn! They look lovely!"
The man crouched down and grabbed Evelynn's jaw. His rough grip almost crushed her bone.
He stroked the wound on Evelynn's forehead. The latter tried to move her face in disgust and discomfort.
The man went berserk at her insolence. He made Evelynn face him again, and he pressed her wound on purpose to punish her.
Evelynn cried out in pain. She wailed like a helpless and dying animal.
As if the pain was not already enough, the man's huge palm slapped her.
The rusty taste of her own blood exploded in her mouth.
"I've let you live untouched up until this very moment. You've been a good darling in keeping cash coming. You're thin and weak, but luckily, you produce blood for me just fine," he snorted.
Then the two men laughed like crowned evils.
Evelynn's already drowned self-esteem hit rock bottom once again.
'I'm nothing but a blood-producing inventory…' Evelynn whispered to herself.
The man inhaled the butt of his cigarette once again. He brought it to Evelynn's arm and put it off right at her pale skin.
A cruel and creepy smile plastered on his evil face.
Evelynn bellowed in agony. The cigarette left a round burnt wound on her skin. Another addition to her cigarette scars.
She was everything to this man but a human being. He used her as revenue-producing livestock, a punching bag when he was mad about something, and even an ashtray for his cigarette when he liked it.
Her pain was a ten-star rated entertainment to him.
"It's time you serve your purpose to me as a woman," the man declared and snorted.
The man dragged his eyes to Evelynn's lower body to mock her.
"Not that you're that appealing," he taunted and guffawed. “And you stink, bitch! Don’t you shower?”
Again, their taunting laughs reverberated around the room.
He attempted to touch the battered Evelynn on her arms, but the latter squirmed out of his touch.
The man grabbed Evelynn's hair and banged it against the wall hard. Blood dripped from her forehead, and Evelynn felt her head circle around.
She was already squeamish due to lack of blood, and a hit on the head gave her double vision.
A series of kicks bruised Evelynn's already-bruised body.
Even after experiencing it many times, getting beaten was as painful as the first time. She thought she would get used to the pain after a while.
She got drained from her blood and could barely even breathe, and now she's getting beaten up again.
She had lost the drive to stand up for herself. Even protesting felt futile. She thought receiving the abuse was the quickest way to end it.
"Did you just refuse?" the scarred man exclaimed in disbelief.
He grabbed Evelynn's hair again and forced her to sit up.
"You might be a special item in our inventory, but I will hurt you just enough to not kill you!"
'Inventory…' Evelynn repeated inside her head. 'Is that all there is to my life?'
Her life consisted of nothing else but anguish. For as long as she can remember, she had been imprisoned, abused, and drained of her blood. She couldn't even remember the last time she saw the sun.
Only cries of pain, silver chains, and the smell of her blood filled her memories.
She groaned when she received another hard slap.
Her dehydrated body managed to secrete tears from her eyes.
'I refuse to live like this… this can't be my life's only purpose…' Evelynn murmured on repeat in her thoughts.
She jumped in and out of consciousness. Her vision was blurry, and her body felt numb, but she was sober enough to feel the man's hands on her clothes.
He began undressing her.
Evelynn wanted to stop the man. She cringed at the disgusting touch of his hands. Despite the desire, her body failed her again.
She felt dead.
She heard the familiar faint sound of trickling water from outside. It was her confirmation that she was still alive.
'Evelynn… Evelynn… you can't die here! You can't! You should see the sun before you die!' her subconscious kept calling for her.
Her life appeared to have no purpose. She had to use almost anything to keep herself sane and want to live.
But she was too tired and too sore to open her eyes.
Like a miracle struck the moment, the man abruptly halted his movements. Evelynn heard screams outside of the cell.
Whatever caused the commotion, she had no idea. Yet it was urgent enough to make the two men leave without bothering to close the cell.
She lay on the cold hard floor, hopeless. She was hyper-attuned to what was happening to her body.
The sound of her heart’s slow beating was amplified three times. It was so loud that it made her deaf. Her eyelids became even heavier, and her head felt so spacious. The wound on her forehead pulsated. And she felt like she was spinning around.
Her eyes opened and shut.
She stared blankly at the blurry sight of the opened door of the cell.
The light coming from the cell's door enticed her to move.
The cell was open.
That was a sign of hope. Hope for escape. Hope for a pain-free life. Hope to get away from the cold, stinky, and lonely cell.
In her mind, she crawled her way to the cell. She gave it her all. She was on her way to a great prison escape.
But in reality, the only part of her body that moved was a few of her fingers.
She had reached her limit.
Her eyes shut.
Evelynn could hear footsteps on the cell's floor even when she was flying in and out of her consciousness.
'Did he come back?' Evelynn thought. 'Is this my end? If I can't get out of here, I'd rather die.'
Death was a better idea than the torturous life with her captors.
When she opened her eyes again, through her blurred vision, she saw a pair of muddy boots.
'Please… let me die.'
And before she totally lost consciousness, she prayed that that would be the end of her terrible life.