Rebecca D'Anjou was just caught snooping from an unsavory character working on his illegal plan. She was left trussed up in a secluded room, wondering what to do next.
Perhaps I was watching them a little too closely. Rebecca had thought too late
Then, out of nowhere, a man enters the room, pulls out a pistol and fire all his rounds near each ears
The deafening gunshot caused Rebecca to whimper in agony
"Now that's what I call HEAR NO EVIL"
Rebecca let out a horrified scream as the gun went off! Yet, after a moment of terrified quivering, all that was hurting was the painful ringing in her eardrums. She couldn't even tell that her captor had mocked her helplessness, all she could do was hope her hearing wasn't permanently damaged - and that was all this horrible monster wished to do to her!
Her abductor checked on her, as if he was mocking her current situation
"NOD IF YOU CAN HEAR ME." He yelled without consideration for her deafening ears
She wasn't sure what he said after those shouts, but Rebecca knew it was nothing good. Her ears still ringing having shut down the last of her senses, there was no easy way for her to escape. Certainly not before her tormentor returned! Still, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her bawl and held back the sobs with muffled sniffles.
"ARE YOU OKAY?" He yelled again
Despite her eardrums nearly bursting from the loudness of the gunshot, Rebecca can still faintly hear him. She nods her head as confirmation
"Good, because later on you won't be" Her captor said with a grim smile on his face before leaving the room.
Normally, Rebecca would begin struggling to escape, but with what happened a few seconds ago, her senses become scrambled. For the first time in her life she encounter a kidnapper with a sadistic streak, let alone experience the fear of being killed by her captor. Rebecca started crying through her blindfold
A few minutes later, her captor returned with an apple in his hand. He removed her beret and placed the apple on top of her head. She sensed his return from the trembling beneath her, and most certainly felt her beret being removed and something else placed on it. It was already apparent what he's going to do to Rebecca
"You make the apple fall you're dead" He sternly warned her
Her hearing had returned enough to listen to his instruction, and she couldn't even nod in response! Not just out of fear of losing the apple, but of the sheer terror of what he obviously had planned! She quivered in place, though holding herself as still as possible to steady the apple as well as his aim! Her life certainly was at stake, but he wouldn't be that careless, could he? Truly?
He took 3 steps away from her, as if he was preparing for a shooting duel. Before he could start, he stared at the audience and broke the fourth wall
"Don't even think about giving her hope. This is reality" he said as he readied his suppressor
Rebecca was shaking in fear, yet she tries to calm herself. It was her life at stake
The first shot rang. He just missed a few inches left of the apple.
"Dang it" he cursed
Meanwhile, Rebecca tried to remain herself still as the first shot rang. It took all her focus not to wince at the firing of the first shot, though her reduced hearing did help greatly. She knew even a simple wince can bring down the apple. The apple didn't move, however, and she whimpered ever so faintly behind the gag.
Her captor, somehow feeling defiance from her, made a life threatening warning to her
"You better pray I shoot this apple for the third shot, because the fourth will go through your liver, the fifth will go through your lungs, the sixth to your spleen, and the last goes to the heart."
That sent shivers down her spine. He was clearly toying with her life. Fear was slowly creeping her
He then fires the second shot. It was nearly perfect until she winced a little bit, causing him to miss. The threat earlier made her blood run cold, and there wasn't enough focus not to flinch at the second shot.
"Awww... it was nearly perfect." He complained
The abductor walks towards her and whispered something in her ear.
"That shot could've saved your life had you stayed still" he taunted before walking 3 steps back. The realization that she may have ruined her chances only drove her further into chills, but it also helped freeze the terrified heiress in place.
"Better pray for me to hit the apple" he warned
Rebecca stayed still for possibly the last time. She was fortunate the apple stayed on top of her head for the second shot.
Please, she thought desperately, please don't miss!
The third shot rang. A moment after the shot, and Rebecca was still frozen in place. The bullet hadn't hit her, yet the apple hadn't left her head either. Had he missed again? Had she ruined her chance again?
"I have used up three bullets and the apple still wouldn't fall off" He mused
That realization brought Rebecca into despair. She steeled herself for the worst
"That being said, I didn't think the apple would just stay still after that shot"
Rebecca's despair suddenly turned into a glimmer of hope. His revelation that the shot had simply bore through the apple had her sagging with the hugest sigh of relief in her seat. A relief that lasted up until his next words.
"You're one lucky snooping damsel. However, we still have a long way to our fun" He mused as he took off the suppressor on his pistol
If this was his manner of fun, she wasn't sure if she would survive the night even without him harming her! This was becoming too much for her poor heartrate to bear!
Then in an instant, just like before, he makes a separate shot near both of her ears that left her eardrums ringing again. before she could try to let out a muffled plea, she was jumping with a scream in her seat as the bullets blasted past her ears again. She could barely hear his taunt through the ringing, and she was now shaking her head desperately!
"Pmmnphm! Hnfm mnn hnn mnnngh? N'mm nn nnmphhnng nf mnn'mm phnmpmm mmph mm gn!"
The captor caught up to her pleas
"Got something to say? Or did the cat got your tongue?" He taunted while actually sticking out his tongue, as if he was mocking her
His taunts received no answer, Rebecca unable to hear anything beyond the painful ringing in her ears. Before he left the room, he inserted a special collar into Rebecca's neck. Though the design is unknown, it was certain that the collar is meant to keep her in check.
"If you can still hear me, let me give you one last warning: Leaving this room would be the end of you" He warned sternly
She remained stuck still until she felt the door closing, it was only then that she bowed her head with a sniffle. Who was this horrible man, and why was he torturing her so?
While she might plea for her release from this horror in a desperate attempt at their pity, the heiress refused to completely break down in front of him. She would never give him that pleasure! Once the ringing had died down again, only then could Rebecca find some restless sleep as tightly tied as she was.
The very next day, Rebecca had already fallen asleep recovering from her ordeal when the captor returned carrying a food cart
"Hey lady, food is ready" he reminded Rebecca, who quickly awaken from the smell. She was still snoozing when the smell of the food hit her senses, and she slowly stirred with a muffled moan. She can't recall how many hours she had been stuck here on an empty stomach. How long had it been since her last meal? How long had she been here to begin with, time having lost any meaning.
He immediately undid her restraints. To her surprise, she felt the ropes being removed, leaving her to take off the blindfold and gag herself. For the first time she could finally see her captor, or at least his appearance. Tired, yet still wide expressive blue eyes instantly found her captor, and there was a soft hoarse gasp. He was a slender man with a short, frizzy hair, wearing a skull-styled face mask and a tinted sunglasses. His flair for the dramatic even went as far as his mask! "Oh goodness."
"Here your food. At least enjoy your fill before I start asking questions" He demanded
For a man as sadistic as him, he had a good taste when it comes to picking food for her. That he had provided such a good meal was quite the surprise, however. There was a moment of hesitation to see if there were any further surprises before she began to eat with dainty bites. "Goodness, thank you," she said graciously, even after the previous day's events. Regardless of what had happened, she still had her proper manners. Though now she was rather curious as to what questions he had.
After letting her finish her meal, the masked man tied her arms again, and added additional handcuffs for good measure. She expected to be re-tied, and Rebecca didn't resist even as she noticed he was adding handcuffs. He certainly was a thoroughly smart, if cruel, one. He brought another chair and sat right in front of her in an act of intimidation. His attempt at intimidation was only met with a soft, if still weary, smile, perhaps an act of rebellion of her own.
"Now, miss whatever-your-name-is, time for a hot seat"
He brought up a picture of a blond woman with tattoo on her arms and wearing a leather jacket
"Do you know who she is and what's her relationship to you?" he asked Rebecca
"Oh goodness, I do know her! She's a rather good friend of mine." A soft gasp, "How is she involved in this? Was she caught snooping as well?"
A pause, "And my name is Rebecca, dear, Rebecca D'Anjou."
"Whatever, How is she involved you say? Let me tell you a bit of a story"
He set the photo down and took a roll of duct tape as he scribbles something on it
"I have a friend of mine who was a private eye, and I was his informant. He took a bunch of criminals down, became famous in town. The credit was all his while he gave me half of what he earned. Sometimes he treat me to meals. Then we became close partners. One day he was investigating a corporate scheme targeting the Davenports, so he snooped around and got the trust of the mastermind. We were so close to busting him in the open until that girl decided to meddle in. He tried to shoo her away while maintaining her cover, turns out she had a fight in her. Then the boss find her out, Because he got caught in the act, my friend got executed instead. Ever since that day I'll never forget what she did to ruin my partner"
Rebecca listened, rather puzzled at the start as to how someone like her captor started off fighting crime or how Jules would be involved. It was only when she found out precisely how that there was the most grief-stricken grimace on her face, a gentle sadness to her voice. "I am so sorry, dear, Jules can be... rather horribly defiant. I would know she meant no harm, but I also know that will not bring your partner back."
Realizing where this was leading, she added again, "If you are trying to get to her through me, please. I will do anything to help, but not that."
"You know that boss said the exact thing you said to me before I forced his jaw open with a bear trap I reverse-engineered. True that killing him won't bring my partner back, so the very thing that matters to me is how I can get satisfaction for paying back at those who lead to his death. Nevertheless, him killing my friend was just the effect. I'm looking for the cause of everything leading up to the effect." He added, ripping the scribbled part of the tape off the roll
"Oh, that sounded horrifically painful." Rebecca winced with a gasp, her head lowering as her captor went on about his plans. She shivered in terror, keeping the rest of her rather horrified emotions in check.
"Please, dear, I was not involved in any of this. And if you continue this path, sooner or later someone will want their vengeance on you. Is that what you truly want?"
"Because of that Jules-friend of yours, she just awoken something within me. And thanks to you, she's gonna see the devil"
That was the very vengeful remark that she had ever heard. Blue eyes now wide and pleading turned up to him, "Because that is not what I want for you. There is so much more you can do than this, dear. Please. We can work together, I want to help."
"Oh you're not involved in this, yes. However, because you're her 'good friend', you're kind enough to tell me how acquainted she is, and now you'll be a good bait." He blankly revealed her role to her now that everything is revealed.
Bait? Rebecca's eyes widened suddenly as she realized what her captor's plan was.
He then took off from his seat and gagged her with the scribbled tape. She didn't even have a moment to protest before he was right before her and plastering tape on her lips! "Nr!"
"And yes, I'm already beyond help now that I did this to that crook" he whispered through her ears
He then showed her a picture that finally supported just how he is beyond help.
A picture of the said mastermind, his hands strapped in both arms of the chair, his face ripped open by something strong, leaving all of his teeth, his tongue, and even his tonsils exposed. The tape muffled her terrified wail as she saw the picture. It was if she was now in the middle of a horror movie, helpless at the hands of the terrifying killer!
"I told you she's going to see the devil, I'll be true to my word. However I'm not going to kill her as you promised"
He then set a mirror in front of her, showing her the tape scribbled with lips, and the collar he inserted yesterday. It was taking all of her focus to keep herself together from breaking down again, only giving the man wide glistening and sorrowful eyes as he placed the mirror and made his threats. Yes, he wasn't going to kill Jules, but she could only imagine the horrors he would inflict on her!
"That collar's going to strangle you tight til' dead if you do anything funny" he warned
"And one more thing: I hope you enjoyed the meal" He said before he left
That was seemingly the last shed of humanity he could ever show to her
And here she was, helpless to do anything about it. She had no doubts his threat about the collar was true, all she could do now was sit and silently sniffle in hopes that Jules or someone would be successful in rescuing her from this!
Meanwhile, the masked man took out from his pocket a picture of the girl-Jules Davenport-as well as several pictures of several girls
Another blond-haired girl with a blue streak wearing a suit similar to what his partner wore
A college girl with ginger hair
A blond-haired lawyer wearing a dark purple lipstick
A brown-haired sleuth
A white-haired noble-class lawyer
"Perhaps I could flush them out, torment them, make them feel fear, then I will get closer to you Jules. Just wait, I'll make you see the devil slowly lurking towards you"
This was the oath he swore as he left the room
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---THE BEGINNING---