Chapter 2

My father.

I felt my breathing accelerate, my heartbeat painfully frantic. What little strength I still had left in me quit, and I felt my knees give out. I fell to the floor, my head hanging and my shoulders sagging. This time despair was overpowering, and the tears I had been holding back for so long fell freely along my cheeks.

"Hello, Angel. I see you're glad to see your dear father." He said, his voice ice cold. "I'm pleased to see that you are ashamed of the way you acted towards me. After all I have done for you, you betrayed me, you ungrateful, hateful little b***h." His voice was losing its icy calmness, anger now animating it. "How could you treat me that way? You were the one person on this Earth that I cared for. You broke my heart, Angel. Now I'm going to break yours." I heard the threat in his voice, and my blood froze. I knew that my father never threatened lightly, and always followed through. Whatever he had planned for me, I was going to suffer.

He looked at me, crumpled on the floor, for a little longer, then turned to my captor:

"Take her away, Ikaros." He said, before turning and disappearing down the hall.

My captor, Ikaros, came towards me, his sickly smile still plastered on his face. There was no fight left in me. There was nowhere for me to run, nowhere for me to hide.

How could my own father do this to me? How could he hate me so much that he wanted to destroy me? I knew he would not stop until I was broken. It had taken him 15 months to find me, but now that he had, he would not let me go.

Ikaros took me roughly by my upper arm, yanked me up to my feet, and started leading me down the hall, back to the room where I had started out.

"Your father has a surprise waiting for you, little girl" he said softly, almost sensually. I looked at him, and could see the anticipation exuding from him. I tripped, my feet and legs unstable. The fear of what was waiting for me was too great. I knew my father, and I knew what he was capable of. What fresh horror had he thought up for me?

We turned a corner in the hall, and the door to that room came in sight. As we neared it, I could hear some kind of muffled whimpering coming from inside. I was already too full of terror to feel any more, but my knees gave way again, and I fell once more to the floor.

"Get up little girl." He said, impatiently pulling me to my feet again. "Now is not the time to be meek. The fun is about to begin!" He was jubilating, enjoying every moment.

He led me into the room, half supporting my weight. I didn't stay on my feet for long though. Once I saw what was in the room, I fell to my knees yet again. I could feel nausea building up inside me, the need to throw up too strong. I bent forwards and heaved, again and again, until nothing more was left inside me.

I felt too weak to move, but I lifted my head, and looked into the eyes of my two best friends.

My dearest, and oldest friends. We had known each other since we were 3 years old, had grown up together, had been in the same classes, continued with the same studies, graduated at the same time. We had been inseparable for the last 23 years, been on vacation together, and we now lived in an apartment together. With my undependable mother, and absent father, my friends were the two people closest to me, the one constant in my life I had always been able to depend on.

"Lizzy... Rox..." I whispered. Why had my father brought them into this? Couldn't he just have me and be satisfied with that? My friends were whimpering only softly now, as if the fight had left them, too. I looked at their faces. They used to be beautiful, with big hazel eyes, full red lips, small noses, and the cutest little freckles sprinkled over them.

Now the twins were hardly recognizable. Their faces were bloodied, with numerous cuts and gashes scattered all over. Lizzy's right cheek bone was smashed in, and Rox's left eye seemed to be hanging out of its socket. Seeing them like this made me heave again, though there was nothing left inside me to show for it.

"You see now my Angel. You have done this to them. Their death will be on your conscience." I hadn't noticed my father standing in the far corner of the room. I whimpered, his words cutting through me like a knife. Tears were falling freely down the side of my face. How could this man be my father?

"I'm not so cruel as to torture them both to death, though. I'll give you the choice. You see, they're both going to die, but you can choose which one dies a quick, fairly painless death. The other... Well, she will die a slower, more... agonizing death." He said, the shadow of a smile playing on his lips.

"Please don't. Please let them go." I pleaded softly. "Please. You can do what you want to me, but please let my friends go."

My father laughed, sending chills down my spine. "You know I won't do that, Angel. Why even ask? I told you I was going to break your heart, and this is only the beginning."

Lizzy and Rox were still whimpering softly, but the sound was slowly fading. My father noticed this as well, and he was not pleased.

"Ikaros" he said, "Our guests are getting bored. They appear to be rather less - active - than they were before. Entertain them for a bit. Make sure my daughter can enjoy it as well."

"NO!" I screamed, trying to get to my feet, wanting to shield my friends. Ikaros, who had been behind me all this time, laughed softly at my feeble attempts. He lifted me up again, and sat me down on a chair that had been placed across from Lizzy and Rox.

"This chair has been placed here especially for you, little girl. You get the best view in the house for the show I'm about to put on. Isn't that a treat?" He whispered into my ear. This time he took the time to tie me up properly, both hands separate, onto the arms of the chair. He tied my chest to the back of the chair as well, and each of my legs the legs of the chair.

Once he was satisfied with his work, he moved slowly to the table at the end of the room, and started picking up the tools one after the other, examining each with close attention.

He chose a simple spoon, and came back to the center, where we were all sitting. He came close, bending over Rox. Her remaining eye was closed, her head hanging down. Ikaros took her chin in his hand, and lifted it until she was forced to look at him. He smiled at her, and lifted the spoon so she could see. Her eye opened wide, fear flashing in it.

"Ah" he said appreciatively, "You recognize this, don't you? You remember the wonders you can do with such a simple device? The pain such a plain tool can inflict? But we shouldn't be selfish with this knowledge now, should we? We'll share it with our friends, shall we?" He turned to me, cruel, sadistic pleasure written all over his face.

"You see, the fun thing with a spoon, is that when you get it in the socket just right, and apply just the right amount of pressure, the eye just kind of pops right out. It's quite a beautiful thing, I'll show you." He moved closer to Rox, while she was desperately trying to get out of his reach. She was tightly bound however, and was unable to move more than a couple of inches. She was now sobbing hysterically, her lips too swollen to allow her to speak.

"Please!" I screamed, "Let her go! Don't hurt her, please don't hurt her! Hurt me instead!" I was pulling on the ropes as hard as I could. I could feel them cutting into my flesh as I strained against them, to no avail. This time I was tied up securely, and the ropes were not budging at all.

Ikaros turned to me again, a curious smile on his face. "Would you rather I demonstrated the effect on you?" He smirked, approaching me with a hungry look on his face. "Well, that can be arranged, little girl."

"No, Ikaros." came the stern voice of my father, from the corner of the room. "You will be able to take care of her later. For now, you focus on her friends."

"Yes, Lord." Ikaros said, bowing his head. He obediently turned away from me, moving back towards Rox. She was sobbing, looking at me with her good eye, pleading silently. What could I do for her? I felt completely helpless, unable to assist my friends in need. Ikaros was still approaching her, his pace very slow, enjoying the effect his approach was having on Rox. Every step he took closer to her increased her terror, her eye wide with all-consuming fear.

He had reached her at last, and once again took her face in his hand. He approached the spoon to Rox's right eye this time, slowly pressing into the orbit, sliding it slowly under the eyeball. Rox was screaming, her agony obvious, her eye wide with terror and pain. The spoon was sliding slowly in, further under the eye. I was transfixed, horrified by what I was seeing. Ikaros was firmly holding Rox's head in his left hand, his right busy with his sordid business.

He was truly relishing in Rox's pain, pushing the spoon in as slowly as he could. I could tell that the point where the eye would out was approaching, and I couldn't bear to look.

I closed my eyes and turned my head away, just as a sickening plop was heard. Rox wasn't screaming anymore. She wasn't making any sound at all.

I opened my eyes again, concern for my friend overwhelming. As I lifted my head towards her, I could see that she had lost consciousness, her head limp and falling onto her chest. Both of her eyes had now been gouged out of their sockets, and they were hanging loosely, only held in by the optic nerves. She wasn't moving, and her breathing was very shallow. Was she going to die? Tears were still running uncontrollably down my cheeks. Why? Why did me beloved friends have to be dragged into this? They had never done anything wrong; they were the kindest, warmest people I had ever known. So why?

"It looks like your friend wasn't able to take the pain the second time. It's not quite as satisfying this way, though." Ikaros said thoughtfully. "I guess I'll have to take care of your other friend now, won't I? I'll have to make sure that it's something she can stand, though, it's much more fun." He went back to the table in the back, and started looking through his tools once more.

"Ikaros", said my father warningly, "Don't do anything that would kill the girls. Remember, I told my Angel that she would be able to choose which one dies, and which one you get to play with."

"Yes Lord, I shall not harm them more than is reasonable, my Lord." He said, bowing again.

This seemed to satisfy my father, who said "Very well then. I shall leave you to it. Keep an eye on my Angel while I am gone. You may punish her if need be, but take care that she is not permanently harmed. I have other things planned for her. For now." He then turned, and walked out of the room, without another look in my direction.

Ikaros turned his evil eyes upon me.

"It's just us again now, little girl. Well, us and your friends here. But they're not very good company, are they? I think I'll try and get a few words out of this one" He said, looking to Lizzy. She had been quiet all this time, and I only then realized that she was unconscious as well.

"Leave her alone." I said, trying to make my voice strong enough to be heard - and failing miserably. I didn't have enough strength left in me to make my voice rise above a mere murmur, and not one loud enough to be heard over the rummaging he was doing looking for his new torture instrument, which he had returned to.

I felt that I was close to losing consciousness myself, feeling lightheaded from the fright, the physical exertion, and the heaving. My head was starting to drop, too heavy for me to hold it upright.

Ikaros turned to me, and seeing that I was close to blacking-out, came towards me.

"Now, now, now, little girl. You couldn't think I would let you miss the show, could you? I want to share it with you. Sharing is half the fun already! Here's a little something that should help you." He lifted his right hand, and I saw that he was holding a small syringe, which he stuck into my arm. After injecting the clear liquid into me, and removing the needle form my arm, he moved back to the table to continue his search.

It took a few seconds, but I could feel my head clearing, my mind growing more aware of everything going on. The fear and anguish returned tenfold, and panic gained hold of me again.

I needed to get us out of there! But even as the thought crossed my mind, I knew that it was hopeless. I had tried getting out when on my own, and I hadn't even been able to find a stupid door! So how could I possibly get out of here, dragging my two unconscious friends?

Ikaros seemed to finally have found an instrument which satisfied him, and he came back to where Lizzy was still sitting unconscious.

"Hmm... This won't do," He tsk-tsked, went back to the table, and came back with another syringe, similar to the one he had used on me. He stuck the needle in her arm, and within a few moments, Lizzy had raised her head and started moaning again. I could tell she was in agony, the bone visible in the side of her face which had been smashed in.

She was crying in anguish, my heart breaking at the sound.

"I'm here for you Lizzy, I'm right here, I'll get us out of this. Just hold on!" I cried, anxious for her to hear me, trying to sooth her with words that I couldn't make myself believe.

"Evey? Is that you? Where are we? Why are they hurting us?" She whimpered.

"I don't know, honey. I don't know why they're doing this to us. But we'll be ok, I promise" I said, my voice choking up. I did know. I knew exactly why they were doing this, and it was my fault, I should be the one being tortured. My friends had nothing to do with any of this. But how could I tell her that? How could I say: I'm sorry, it's my fault that you and Rox are going to die a terrible death. I hope you're not too mad at me!

"Quiet, little girl. It's not your place to make promises you can't keep." Said Ikaros, pulling me from my thoughts. Turning, addressing himself to Lizzy this time, he spat: "She can't save you, dirty little c**t. You're going to die here, and you're going to die a very slow, painful death. But we'll have fun, I promise!" He started laughing, cackling insanely, drowning out our screams.