Reign of Darkness Chapter Two- The Freezer

Sumasi Dasu sighed heavily as he paced back and forth, his gaze wandering every so often to the cell bars, watching as the figure strapped to the chair slowly slipped away from this world, into the land of the dead. His eyes dark with sorrow, he could do nothing to help the person, he could do nothing to stop him from dying. He was useless; all he could do was watch and shake his head in denial. He heard the screams, and clenched his eyes closed as the figure strapped and helpless was beaten repeatedly by two men. The person's screams of horror, muffled by the thick tape across his mouth, made Dasu's heart race and he felt his body start to shake with fear. He didn't want to watch this person die; he didn't want to watch anyone die. 'Please...' he thought to himself. 'Please stop...' he took in a shaky breath and brought his gaze back to rest on the bloody prisoner. "Please stop..." he heard himself whisper, and one of the men turned to look at him. The man laughed and moved toward the cell bars, peering in with a twisted smirk. Dasu snarled at the man, but didn't move from where he stood, his green eyes glaring at the man through the bars. "Leave him alone," he growled, silently seething inside. He took a step forward and gripped the bars tightly, his knuckles turning white as he did so. He gazed at the figure. The male that was strapped to the chair was breathing heavily, his breaths faint and forced. Dasu winced and then glared back at the man. "Release him. He's done nothing wrong." his voice, though quiet, was stern, his green eyes hard. The man laughed and shook his head, sneering through the bars at him. Dasu growled beneath his breath, but knew that there was nothing he could do if the man wanted to kill the figure. "Stop hurting him...he's done nothing to deserve this." Though he hadn't been here very long himself, this male had only just arrived, and was being sent to his death; it just didn't seem right to Dasu. It didn't seem fair. "Leave him alone."

The man chuckled lowly, and Dasu felt his skin crawl. "Oh, he's committed a violent crime, Sumasi Dasu. A heinous crime indeed." Dasu glared at the man. What could the male in the chair have possibly done to deserve this horrible fate? Surely no one could do anything to deserve such a death, such a beating. "And it is for this crime that he shall die. Death by torture is a splendid way to get the job done. Sure it takes a while, but it makes the person think about what they have done while they experience the pain. It makes them wish they had been a better person."

"Exactly what was the crime he committed?" asked Dasu, not sure what the man was talking about. "What could he have possibly done that makes him deserve this? What?"

The man laughed. "What has he done? He was born! His life is the crime, and now he's running out of time. The reason he lives is the reason he will die. It's not my choice to make, mind you, but when the boss says to do something, you damned well better do it." the man turned to walk back to the other man and the figure in the chair. The male in the chair was pale and had sweat racing from his head, his breaths loud and shaky, uneven and shallow, rushed. His hands, taped behind the back of the chair and then taped to the chair, could not get free to help him defend himself, nor could his legs, bound to the legs of the chair, break free to keep his attackers away. He was helpless to defend himself, and the tape across his mouth prevented him from begging them to stop. "You know," said the man, smirking, and Dasu dreaded what was going to happen next. "This is starting to bore me. Kill him now." he shot a look back at Dasu, and the teen behind the bars flinched, for he knew he was the reason the male in the chair was going to be killed this moment. Because he had spoken up, they were going to kill him now. But maybe that was for the best; if he died soon, they wouldn't be able to keep torturing him. Still, it didn't help to ease his guilt, and he felt himself utter a simple "No" as he went down on his knees, his hands still gripping the bars tightly. The man laughed as the figure in the chair struggled furiously to get away, his breaths growing rapid. Dasu winced, for he could hear the fear in the breaths as they sped up, coming out of his nose and rushing across the surface of the tape. The man threw out his hand, punching the male in the face, and Dasu clenched his eyes closed as he heard the nose break loudly. The rushing of the breath stopped, and he held his breath, unable to look. When at last he was able to open his eyes and gaze at the figure, the male's gray eyes were wide with fear, his chest heaving as he struggled to get some air into his lungs, but he was unable to do so with the broken nose. No air could come in, what with the nose and the tape. Dasu's eyes widened tremendously when he learned what they were doing. They were going to let him suffocate like that. The male became frantic and hurriedly yanked at the tape, his chest heaving over and over, his face twisted in panic.

"No!" Dasu cried, jumping to his feet. "Help him! His nose is broken; he can't breathe!" he shot a look at the two men to see them nodding and laughing, their smirks evil. "Damn it, help him! Please, for the love of God, help him! Don't let him die like that! He can't breathe!" He pushed and pulled at the bars, trying to somehow break free even though he knew it was hopeless. "Save him; he can't breathe!"

The male's face was red and turning purple, and the struggling began to die down. Dasu, his green eyes wide, could only watch in horror as the struggling died down completely, and the wide eyes slipped closed. Slowly, the heaving in the chest came to a stop, and for a moment he could only stare. Then he bowed his head, a wetness in his eyes as they slipped closed. 'I'm sorry,' he thought to himself. 'I'm so sorry...'
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Akira huffed as he plopped down on the ground, lying on his back and throwing his arm of his eyes, his chest heaving as he breathed in and out. His heart calmed down and his breathing slowed, and he slowly sat up. It was dark out still, the moon high in the black sky. He cautiously peered around his shoulder, but saw no sign of the figure that had been chasing him for the past hour or so. With a breath of utter relief, he leaned his back against a thin tree, his eyes slowly slipping closed. He suddenly sensed something, but before he could move, he was hit hard in the head and a gag was slid into his mouth, his hands pulled tightly behind the trees and bound with a metal chain. He heard a noise and felt the bottom of the chain get wedged into the ground after it had already secured his wrists together. He pulled up, but his wrists could not go more than a few inches off of the ground. His chest heaved in fear as he gazed around. He couldn't get up, couldn't move, couldn't speak... The figure was smirking as it bent down in front of him. Reaching a calm hand out, the figure gripped his chin and forced him to look at it. He did so, his heart going a million and hour.

"Thought you could get away, didn't you?" the figure asked, the smirk twisting on its face. The hood wasn't off, and Akira was sure how he knew the figure was smirking, or that the smirk was twisted, but he somehow knew. In his frantic state of mind, he didn't question what he knew, or how he knew. "You can't escape me, Jirasaki Akira." with a chuckle, the figure's thumb began to gently stroke his cheek, and he tried to move his head away, as it was an uncomfortable feeling. "Now now," said the figure. "I can be mean, or I can be nice. Which do you prefer?" The figure yanked the rope out of his mouth, and it somehow came undone from behind his head. Moving his mouth, he tried to rid himself of the feeling of the rope, the taste of it. "Now, are you going to be nice to me, or do I have to get rough?"

"What do you want with me?" Akira whispered quietly, his eyes never leaving where he thought the figure's eyes were. "What have I done?"

"You were born, Jirasaki, you were born," said the figure with a chuckle. "Your life is the crime. Now I have to kill you for your crimes against this world." Akira, wide eyed, began struggling against the chains that kept his wrists together, and the figure shrugged and moved behind the tree, undoing the chain from the ground. His wrists still chained as one, he couldn't free himself. The figure raised his hands high, and gave a tug as he yanked Akira to his feet. His legs trembling with fear, he was barely able to stand. His hands were brought high above his head, and he was forced onto his tiptoes, and almost fell down. The chain was looped around a tree branch, and when the figure moved away, he could not break free. His hands high above his head, he stood on his toes.

"Why are you doing this?" Akira asked, his voice quiet as he glared at the ground from where he stood. He tried to go down on his flat feet, but the strain it put on his arms made him yelp and go back onto his tiptoes.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," mused the figure, watching him. "I'm doing this because I was told to do so, and this somehow amuses me." the figure moved toward Akira again, and before the boy knew what was going on, a cloth or something was shoved into his mouth, and thick tape was pressed to his lips, pressed on tight. No matter how hard he tried, he could not free his lips. His eyes wide with fear, he dreaded what the figure had planned for him. The figure withdrew another cloth from a pocket and pressed it to Akira's eyes. It was tied tightly behind his head, and he couldn't see a thing. The cloth in his mouth began collecting saliva, and he feared what the cloth's purpose was for being in his mouth. He gave a yelp of pain as the figure yanked up on the chains, forcing him up higher. The cloth sucked up most of the sound, and only a small breath made it out of the tape. His heart pounded at his chest. What was the figure planning for him? He dreaded the answer.
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Dasu sighed as he slumped to the ground, sliding down the wall at the back of the cell. The dead body of the male was still strapped to the chair, and he struggled to keep his mind off of what had happened, but it was just so hard...