Also By K.A Knight
“It is always by way of pain one arrives at pleasure.” - Marquis de Sade
“Team three in position,” I whisper into my mic.
I hear my men moving into place behind me, the rustle of their tactical gear the only sound as we surround the old church. It’s supposed to be an easy job, get in, get the package, and get out. We are being paid handsomely for our time, not that we know who ordered this job, but it doesn’t matter. We need all the money we can get at the moment to keep our hunting going.
“Team two in position,” Gio rumbles into my ear.
“Team one in position. All clear, boss.”
“Moving in. Team two, take the back. Team one, you’re on lookout. Team three, with me,” I order, hopping up from my prone position and into a crouch. Waving my hand, I watch the others cross the grassy, open area and wait on either side of the door. We don’t know what to expect in there, only that what we have come for is dangerous. I’m planning to take every precaution to ensure my team makes it home, and we deliver the package on time as requested.
“Move in, take the door,” I hiss.
They yank the door open and my team surges in, with me on their heels as they secure the inside of the church.
“Clear!”
“Clear!”
I get shouts from around the room and I nod, switching on my light and swinging it around the space. Cobwebs hang from the ceiling and pillows running along each aisle of the church. Forgotten, wooden pews are tossed carelessly around the room, and the carpet under my feet crunches from lack of care. A big, stained glass window stands at the end of the church under an archway, and a table with a large, wooden cross takes up the middle section.
It looks like nothing has even been stolen from here—gold and silver litter the area like forgotten relics. Why would no one steal it? The fact that it’s a church wouldn’t stop people…maybe it’s whatever we are hunting? I wave them forward, all of us on high alert. I don’t like this, something seems off. While everything is expanding and being built around it, this church stands forgotten in the middle of nowhere. An uneasy feeling takes root as I head for the table at the front of the church. I nod at my men, and they quickly shove it out of the way, revealing the hidden hatch our mysterious employer described.
Pulling out my bolt cutters, I try to ignore the fact this thing has been secured from the outside. Whatever they wanted to keep in, they really never wanted it to get out again. The chain is old and rusted but still strong, and it takes three cuts before the chain gives way. Yanking on the hatch, I cough as dust and dirt flies into my face, like the air has finally been let into that room after hundreds of years. Taking a light from the man next to me, I throw it down into the darkness and wait. I hear it finally hit the floor, and when I look down, I can spot it, but it looks far away.
“Rope,” I command, and as my men work on getting us a way down there, I crouch and take a closer look.
Something moves in the dark, shooting across the light’s rays before the glow disappears altogether, sending the room into complete darkness.
“Shh!” I hold up my hand, frowning at the sound of slithering and breathing coming from below…
What the—
Two golden lights flicker on, moving higher towards the opening quickly, until they burst from the hatch, taking the stone floor with them as my men yell and fire at the black shape that busts from the floor.
Holy fuck, what is that thing?
“Hold your fire! We need it alive!” I shout, trying to cut through the chaos of my men’s yells and panic.
A scream sounds to my left, and I spin, only to watch as one of my men is picked up in the dark and thrown across the room.
“What is that?” someone screams.
I hear a gurgle before blood sprays us, and more screaming starts from somewhere in the room, our lights swinging wildly as we try to find the thing.
I spot movement out of the corner of my eye and quickly spin there, aiming through my tranq gun. “Gotcha,” I whisper with a grin as I take aim and fire. When it hits its target, a roar like a lion cuts through the night, shaking the very foundation of the building. “Hit it with everything you got!” I order.
The blur moves towards me and I keep shooting, with sweat dripping down my face and back as it gets closer and closer. At the last possible second, it falls from the air, dropping to the floor of the church and crushing the pews, a dark blob in the night.
A monster.
Dabria
The last thing I remember was dancing with my friends at the new club that had opened across town. I’d had a long ass day at work. Editing historical manuscripts was not how I imagined my life would turn out, but it was a job after all. So, there we were, dancing our stress away. I was drunk and happy and grinding away, and the next thing…nothing. Complete blackness, like a dark spot in my memories. I can’t remember how me dancing turned into…this.
How did I get here?
Where is here?
Who are they?
What do they want?
But most importantly…how do I get free?
Time passes slowly behind the bars of a cage. Without windows, we have no way of knowing whether it’s night or day. The only thing that breaks up the monotony of being stuck in a cage next to twenty other women is their visits. The guards, the ones who are meant to keep us in line—their hands, mouths, and dicks using us in whatever way they see fit.
I fought the first couple of times, but all I got for it was a broken jaw and ribs, and when I was passed out, they fucked me anyway…no, not fucked me. Raped me. Again and again until they realised I wouldn’t scream for them anymore, I wouldn’t fight them anymore. No, I was playing it smart. They wanted reactions, fed on the fear and tears, they loved it, but I refused. I became stoic, retreating into myself, and curling around that flame of hatred and complete, desperate hope to be free. I would do whatever it took to get out of here, even if that meant playing the good little slave.
Eventually, they grew bored with me and turned their attentions onto the other women. Only coming inside now and again to beat me or rough me up, like they were waiting for something to happen. I was forced to watch the horrors inflicted upon the other girls, my heart breaking and my soul fracturing with the pain and utter hopeless destruction shown to them.
One girl died early on, they said she killed herself.
One girl went mad, rocking back and forth, muttering to herself about butterflies and hidden kingdoms.
Another was taken away.
Four were sold, like cattle, paraded around drugged and scared in front of the camera. Their legs were forced open and the camera moved to show their most intimate places, nothing was safe. They even had them bend over and grab their ankles, showing their asses off to the cameras. I stayed strong through it all, never faltering with my plan…until her. That’s when everything changed.
I don’t know if they knew, if they did it on purpose or if it was a happy accident, but when they dragged her—my sister—into the opposite cage, I broke. Like they wanted me to do since day one, I screamed, I begged, and I fought with everything in me. It didn’t make a difference. I stared at her tear-stricken face as we were both pressed up against the bars as close to each other as we could get, our hands extending through, searching for the other. The tips of our fingers almost touching, just out of reach. Always out of reach.