Dead.

"She couldn't get any farther away inside from her skin. She couldn't get away."

-Cynthia Voigt

Leticia.

History was repeating itself. Only that this time, the situation was worse. Leticia lay there, motionless as they explored every inch of her body like an artefact.

They touched, they squeezed, they plunged. There were three of them. Angel first, then the ginger head, then another random minion of theirs whom they asked to join in the fun as a reward for something he did. She felt dead. She didn't want to think.

She was weak, just like that day. She couldn't fight them off. Turn by turn, they violated her, killed her over and over again with the act.

At first, she was crying, she wanted to scream, wanted to fight but she remembered that she was in their territory. No amount of screaming or crying would save her.

Struggling would do her more harm than good seeing the way her hands and legs were held. They cuffed her hands together to a hole in the headboard of the bed, and her legs apart, cuffed to the bed on either side. What could be more ironic than doing all these on a soft bed?

Any move and she could get slashed on her wrists or her legs. At least Kunle was not so cruel, he used a smooth rope.

Perhaps it would have been better if she was killed with Hannah. That way, she wouldn't feel like a living corpse.

She could consider herself fortunate as they weren't going raw on her. They all used condoms. It was okay, right? She didn't have to worry about STDs and the likes.

Pain tore through her insides as she felt the pressure increase. It felt like something was sitting on her lungs, restricting her airflow. The man on her was increasing his pace, making the pain double and her breathing laboured.

He could have done it more humanely. At least others didn't hurt her so much. The familiar sensation that felt like a burn in her raw throat made itself known.

Leticia had accepted the situation, left with no choice but to pray they get off her sooner. And so she refused to cry or make sounds anymore, but this particular one on her right now, he just wanted to punish her.

A sob escaped her lips, her throat constricting as the pain was beyond her. She whimpered, slowly starting to protest against him with her body. She squirmed, she struggled, all in vain as it only resulted in the feeling of something cutting through the skin of her wrist.

Slowly, she stopped struggling and just let him be. The hot liquid seeped from her eyes, rolling down the sides, through her ears as it stained the bedsheet.

When will it end? When exactly?

With one last puff of air, the man collapsed on her. He began to caress her breasts again as he lay on her and she could feel his growing erection against her thighs.

He got up from her suddenly, arranging his boxers and buttoning his trousers. The person who caused the most harm was ginger head. He smirked, staring down at her.

"Damn! That felt so good. I knew you'd be hot." He chuckled, "I would totally tap that another day. Oh, and stop crying, it makes me want more." Throwing her a wink, he snickered again and walked out of the room, leaving only her.

She felt so filthy, so damaged as her brain had memorised their touch and continuously was replaying it. How she wished she could crawl away from her skin. Her dirty violated skin.

It would have been nice to be a snake. They could shed skin when it got old or worn out. They would slide out of the skin and go their way after removing it completely.

This skin of hers had become worn out but unlike the snake, she couldn't come out of it, couldn't slide out of it, dump it somewhere and go her way, rather, the skin would be with her all her life, reminding her of the fingers that crawled along with it, the one her brain decided to store.

She was still bound to the bed, and the bleeding from the cut on her wrist had started to run down her forearms, and the continuous throbbing of the joints of her shoulder and elbow added could not be ignored.

The cold air blowing from God knows where bit her skin, causing the pores to swell out. Her chattering teeth made her jaw start to ache slightly.

They were done with her. Why did they have to leave her all cuffed and naked?

Leticia closed her eyes, sniffing to reduce the way her nose was running. Tears started to escape from her eyes. She was tired of it all.

"Think only happy thoughts."

She recalled when Hannah told her so. Happy thoughts? Were there any happy thoughts to think of in her life?

Speaking of happiness, the last time she was happy was that fateful evening. How many minutes did her happiness last? That night, first it was anxiety, then she told herself to be happy.

Be happy.

It cost nothing to be happy, right? Why was her case different?

What was worse was the fact that she never learned her lesson even after experiencing it first-hand so many times. From her father's death to Noah's birthday party to all her pregnancies, she had still failed to realize that happiness was the only recipe left to create a perfect disaster.

And she realized only when the broth was cooked-- the day she decided to be happy that Maverick was accepting her.

Acceptance? Hilarious!

More like chasing her to damnation. What if... What if Maverick was behind all these? Probably, he wanted her out of his life and this was his next option? Thinking about it, the thought was credible because he was benefiting more.

Throwing her out meant that he had gained his freedom. He would no longer be tied to her, and he was free to be with whoever it was that he wanted.

She banished the thought from her head. Maverick wouldn't be so cruel. There were many other easier and more humane ways to get rid of her if at all he wanted to.

But her mother, oh her mother. What did she do to her to deserve all these?

"If they kidnap you, I pray they will kill you."

And she refused to take back the statement. She still asked herself how bad she was to warrant her mother's ill-treatment. It wouldn't be surprising to know that it was her mother that was doing all these.

The door to the room was pushed open. In came a man she had never seen before. His brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, his aquiline nose turned up with his lips set in a straight line. Leticia could tell from his black dress shirt and impeccable white suit that he was one of Angel's minion.

Why was she even addressing him as Angel? He was a demon, the devil himself.

Did the Devil send him to come and rape her too? With a pained smile, she turned her face to the other side, shutting her eyes. Let him just get it over and done with.

When she felt the shadow looming over her, she knew what was coming next. But what came next was farther than her expectation.

The cold that had enveloped her body seized as she felt warmth all of a sudden. She flipped her eyelids open.

The man covered her with a blanket, then moved to uncuff her hands and her legs.

"You can go back to your room now."

He left silently after that. Still dazed, she drew her legs together. The soreness she felt when she made the move caused her to pause the movement. She flinched from the stiffness of the joints of her hand.

Trying to pull herself up to a sitting position proved nearly abortive. Gritting her teeth, she endured the discomfort and managed to pull herself up.

It wouldn't happen again. She told herself.

************

Oh, how wrong she was. It happened again, not once or twice but even more.

It was official. She had become their sex toy. The feeling of death from inside was becoming more intense.

When Angel stepped into her room that day, tears sprang to her eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to all of you! Why wouldn't you just let me be?"

His face lit up as the sides of his lips curled up to reveal those dimples. Taking a seat on the bed facing her, he continued to stare at her in amusement.

Leticia had started to cry, forcing air into her lungs as she inhaled and exhaled with much difficulty.

"You want to know why I'm doing this?" He grazed his beards with his fingers, sporting that thoughtful expression as she awaited his reply.

"Well...Just because."

She scoffed, "what?"

"You heard me."

"So... you mean, you, kill, torture and rape people just because?"

"Why? Is there a reason I shouldn't? I mean, seeing the fear in their eyes every time they see me is fascinating. That look of horror... You have no idea how much I love seeing it. Human beings are stupid creatures who do not deserve to live," he said.

"What gives you the right to decide that?" Leticia had no idea where the bravado came from, but it came anyway.

"What did you say?"

"I said, what gives you the right to decide who lives or not?"

Chuckling, he stood up from the bed, moving forward towards her. All the while his eyes had gotten a shade darker as his smile gradually vanished.

"How dare you ask me such a question?" His tone was low and frigid. She couldn't miss the sinister intent behind the words.

Pocketing his hands, he shifted from the bed stand.

"It's like I've been taking it easy on you. It's high time you knew your place."

With that, he walked out of the room. Sometime later, Leticia was dragged to the torture heaven.

She gasped.

These people were all psychopaths.

Strapped to the walls of the room were knives and guns of different kinds and sizes. On another side of the wall, some whips hung down. Some of the whips had spikes and blades, some looked normal, but there was more to them that she could see.

Then there were numerous types of chains handcuffs, and surgical kits.

She was close to passing out from the sight of it all. How could humans be so wicked?

The events that followed her entering that room was agonizing. Angel had his men chain her to a cold iron table and engrave her skin with tiny smouldering rods. Seemingly unsatisfied, he took matters into his own hands.

He got rid of the smouldering rods and used a stamp instead.

"You are a whore, you need to know your place. For you to never forget that, I'm stamping the word on your skin. You were born to serve me, born to be under me, and so you should not question me," he spoke, pressing the sizzling stamp just above her breast.

She screamed in horror as she felt her skin melting in. She trashed and trashed but the chains were solid enough. The pain passed through every nerve in her body, shooting into her brain with rapid speed.

When he finally left her, she didn't know. All she knew was that she woke up on the bed. Drowsy, in anguish and misery. She could still feel the raw stamp kissing her skin, driving her insane.

Even after then, Angel was still not satisfied. The torture continued. He called all the scars he gave her his work of art.

If it wasn't rape it was lashing, if not they were taunting and throwing abuses. Once Angel had told her that it was her new reality, she should suck it up as nothing could save her from his hands.

Leticia had been feeling dizzy and nauseous for some days. That day, Angel took her to the torture room again.

This time, he tied her hands together and hung them above her head, leaving her legs hovering above the ground.

He was going on about how he was a god who should be feared. He said the ground he walked on was worshipped because they all knew that their lives were in his palm. A snap of his fingers and he could kill anybody he wanted.

Every part of her body hurt from his daily work of art, her bones and joints were not left out.

While the monologue was going on, she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She could feel the bile rising to her throat. Her head was throbbing, the surface of her skin blanketed by goosebumps.

Sucking in a deep breath, she prayed that it wouldn't come out. She continued to breathe in whenever she felt that sensation.

It wasn't too long when she couldn't control it and it came pouring out of her mouth to the floor.

The room went silent by the time she threw it all out. Leticia gathered a little courage and looked at the people around her. They were frozen, staring at her with wide eyes and jaws hanging open.

"How dare you!" Angel spat, dissolving the temporary silence. His blue eyes were as frosty as an iceberg. She feared what was going to become of her.

"You piece of trash. You belong under me, I bought your filthy ass and every fucking part of you, how dare you puke before me? Who gave you the audacity to be irritated?"

She whimpered, a cold shiver running down her spine as she saw the sickly, maniacal expression hovering on his face.

When they said the devil does not walk around with horns, she failed to understand. In her mind, an evil being is spotted at first glance.

That notion, however, changed the first time she came face to face with the man who had been haunting her life to the path of utter tragedy.

His beautiful face was sharp in contrast with his heart. It was an ugly shade of black, destroying everyone with the kind of thoughts it conjured.

"Release her," he commanded.

Two of his men came forward and untied her wrists. She fell to the ground, in front of the substance that escaped her stomach.

"Eat it." He pointed his chin to the mess she made on the floor.

Her eyes widened and her insides went cold.

"I-I can't. Please h-have mercy," she pleaded in an inaudible tone. Unfortunate she was, as her pleas reached his ears.

He barked that hideous laughter. "You can't? Very well then, I shall have mercy."

"Bring me the whip!" He roared.

The weapon of destruction was presented, he retrieved it with a smile like that of a child who was given sweets. The extent of the man's psychopathy was unfathomable to her.

She trembled like a leaf in a raging storm as he inspected it with gleeful eyes. The spikes littering the scorpion whip glittered in the shady room, he was going to use that on her.

"Tie her up."

The first lash of the whip was maddening, drawing blood from the part it hit. A bloodcurdling scream erupted from her throat, one she could hardly believe was coming from her.

The stench of the place mixed with the fresh, crimson liquid beneath her filled her nostrils and she swallowed back the substance that made its way to the base of her throat again.

The whipping continued, the pain drove her crazy. The torn skin at her back exposing her flesh stung.

She needed someone, anyone, even if it was death. She realised that when there was death, the pain was absent.

At that moment, she prayed earnestly for death.

And when her vision was blurry, her soul leaving her body, she pulled her lips into a wide smile. Finally, the end had come. No pain anymore, no pain at all.

😫😫😫I can't believe that the triple update I was planning is finally completed. I know it's not much, but please bear with me.

The song for the chapter matched so much 😫😫 finally🥺🥳

Dedicated to Rizama2003 and D_Huney for motivating me when I had almost given up🥺🥺 and you know what? She's writing a spy/action Nigerian book. Trust me it's worth every second of your time. Do check it out>>

Who remembers the prologue? This is where it links💃💃 What do you think? Did I do a good job in linking it up? Does it fit in? I'd like to know what y'all think, please 😙

I feel so bad for Leticia🥺😭😭😭 poor lady. How would she escape this horrible man? Let's wait and see.

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That reminds me, guess who reached 1.3k reads and 3h votes🥳🥳🥳🥳?

I sincerely want to thank my readers for this achievement. We wouldn't be here if not for y'all 🥺🥺 God bless you 💫💞💞

Bye for now guys. See ya when I update next.

I remain...

Caupcayke💥💫