t*****e
997 Words
"AAAAHHHH!"
A painful scream rang out in a closed space.
The scream echoed everywhere in the small place.
Drip_ Drip_ Drip_
The sound of a liquid falling on the ground resonated. It was fresh blood.
"Ah....ah.....ah...."
Orion breathed heavily.
His face was a mess as tears and snot were flowing down.
"Cough!"
Orion spat blood again.
With his blurry vision, he stared horrified at the absent nails on his fingers which were nailed on the armrest of the chair.
"It's just the beginning, mister Orion."
An excited voice rang out. It was now Orion's most feared voice.
The burly man approached Orion with another tool this time.
It was a plier but different from the one he used to tear off Orion's fingernails.
The blades were very sharp.
Clank! Clank!
A metallic sound rang as the man tested his tool.
Orion's already pale face got even paler.
"Pl-please! W-why are you doing this to me?! Please let me g-go..."
Orion begged his torturer in a hoarse voice.
"No. It had only been three days, you know. I just showed ten percent of what I was capable of."
The torturer said as he took out a vial from his space ring.
Opening it, he forcefully put it in Orion's mouth.
Gulp!
The moment Orion gulped down the container, his nails grew back and his other injuries healed again.
Yes again.
During these three days, the burly man would t*****e Orion, then heal him to t*****e him again afterward.
It was an endless circle of pain for Orion.
The ground below him was tainted with red.
The only moment of relief would be when the torturer would loosen the chains to let Orion do his business.
He tried to run away at that time, but the chains were unbreakable for someone like him.
"W-why ? What did I do to deserve this...?"
Orion asked in a desperate tone.
The torturer smiled at his question and spoke.
"You know I heard a lot about you."
"..."
"The useless hero ?"
"...!"
Orion reacted to his words.
Snip!
"AAAHHHHHHHH!"
Orion screamed painfully as his right hand thumb was cut off.
Thud_
"Pl- ....Ple...please..."
"You were even used by the princess like a tool, huh?"
"I...!"
Memories of what happened came back and painfully squeezed his heart, but another kind of pain hit him just at this time...
Snip!
"AAAAAAHAHAH! COUGH!"
This time all his right hand's fingers were cut off.
Drip_ Drip_ Drip_
Blood flowed out endlessly as Orion screamed in pain.
His mind's pain and physical pain merged to bring out a more painful suffering.
Soon his eyes became unfocused but...
Splash!
The man threw a bucket of water on Orion's face again to keep him sane.
"Cough!"
Orion spat out water and blood with it.
"You are the most pathetic hero after all. It's normal, I guess."
"Sobs...Sniff..."
"Honestly, I was afraid to t*****e a hero, you see. You are all said to be messengers of the Gods after all. So I was afraid to bring the Gods' ire on me but..."
Snip!
"AAAAHHHHH!"
"You are nothing, Mister Orion."
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
There were no more fingers on his left hand.
"AH...AH...AH"
Orion's breathing got heavier.
"H-Help...Pl-please....Ah....It hu-hurts....Cough!"
Orion's voice was very low and painful to hear.
"Help ? Do you really think they will help a useless guy like you ? Nobody cares about you, right ?"
"..."
Orion thought about Liana for a moment but she disappeared right after. As for his classmates, just remembering how nobody moved when he was on the verge of being killed that day, he knew the answer.
"Right. It was obvious."
Thud!
The torturer said and let go of his tool.
Crackling!
Suddenly, a yellow flame illuminated the dark place.
"Oh I forgot to tell you, I'm a fire ability awakener though I'm not a hero. If even a useless guy like you is a hero, then why not me, I wonder ?"
The torturer said in a mocking tone.
"..."
Crackle!
"AHAHAAH!! STOOOP!!!!"
Orion screamed again as the man burned his hands. More particularly his half-cut fingers.
The pain boggled belief.
"K-kill...me..."
Orion uttered with the little energy he had.
"Ple-ase...kill...me..."
He would rather die than experience this pain again.
Crackle!
"AAAAHHHH!"
***
A month passed and Orion was still missing.
Most of his classmates were scared about that. They didn't particularly care for Orion, but he was a student and a hero like them. If it happened to him, then it could also happen to them.
Austin, Aura, Elena and Anna were the most devastated by that. Orion was their classmate and they talked a few times with him.
More importantly, they spent three years with him in school.
Anna was even worse. She regretted it a lot. She wanted to speak to him but refrained each time, as she was confused about what was happening to her.
Even now, she didn't know why she felt this sad but kept looking for him in the capital with the others.
For Andrew, it was the best month of his life, while Jordan didn't really care about Orion like his other classmates.
Sienna thought that it was already too late for him, so she found the search useless. If the kidnappers intended to keep Orion alive to get a ransom, they would have already received a letter.
Liana was the most distraught one. She felt extremely guilty as she thought that Orion had left the palace because of her.
Ignoring her duty as princess, she searched day and night for the past month. She felt like a hole now that Orion hadn't been with her for an entire month.
She doubted her feelings but she knew for sure that she wanted to see Orion again.
Unfortunately, not even a clue was found.
The nobles from the palace were questioned but nothing useful came out. Same for the residents of the capital.
Like that, another month went by without finding Orion...
- Writer
