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Chapter 6 - Barely Breathing

On the floor laying deathly still was a beaten and starving man. He kept as quiet as possible because he knew if he drew attention to himself that he would be punished. It had been years since he had gone anywhere, except when he was sent to acquire new torment methods, that later were used on him. He didn't fight when they'd dragged him out into the night, fresh air was a luxury in the damp, cold, concrete room, he'd shared with twelve other partially breathing criminals.

The sound of their heavy boots hitting concrete was the only warning before he was forcibly pulled to his feet. When he looked up, two pitch black orbs coldly greeted him. He was tossed from one creature to the next, then pushed out into complete blackness.

The long walk ahead was treacherous as he continued the unsteady rhythm of collapse, forced to his feet, and pushed ahead. He didn't dare ask where they were taking him; the stories that flew between prisoners who'd broken the rules seemed to wire his pale lips closed. Instead he did everything they silently directed.

Eventually a large decrepit building loomed ahead and fear threatened to consume him. An old memory began poking at the back of his mind but strayed to far from his weak grasp. This place felt horribly familiar. The creatures continued pushing him through a door and down several long hallways until they stopped in front of yet another door. They pulled him to the side without checking to see if he'd stayed on his feet or stumbled to the floor.

He was forced to stay in the hallway for what felt like an eternity, until a young, see through, crimson eyed, white haired, woman in an enforcers uniform became visible. Silently, he watched her move away through wry crimson eyes before once again being forced to his feet.

As swiftly as possibly the trio moved down the hall toward the room she had come out of. One of the creatures pushed him back, while the other kicked the door in, then they both began tearing the place apart. He stood silently in a corner and watched as a box spring bed was thrown into a heavy wooden dresser. They seemed to be looking for something and it didn't take them long to destroy whatever this strange woman once had. He couldn't shake the familiar feeling he'd had upon seeing her. Except this memory also refused to surface and danced a little to far out of his reach.

When it became apparent to the creatures they weren't going to find anything, four pair of pitch black orbs collectively shifted toward him. A large hole was made in the wall directly adjacent to the doorway then he was shoved inside.

He waited for them to do anything more. It felt like several hours had passed by and still nothing happened. Until he heard a strangled breath and closed his eyes out of fear. Except he'd shifted his body to far and ended up tumbling out of the wall.