The Slash Of Truth: The Whispers From Under The Bed

130#

6:12am.

Fruit Family Household.

Dear diary.

Last night, I had a very disturbing, vivid nightmare that made my skin crawl. I woke up like a sweating pig, waking Helly in the process. I died in my nightmare by some character, wearing a trench coat, a top hat and a red scarf, he stabbed me with a knife and watched me die. I thought I was really going to die, I thought I wasn’t going to see my wife and my daughter ever again. When I woke up and I saw the concerned face of my beautiful wife, I hugged her like it was my last. Understandably, she was confused about the sudden affection but, she hugged me back, I was glad for that hug.

When I woke up, I was in my bed oddly enough, I had thought I was at my desk writing in my diary. Did I get in bed? I don’t know now, and if so, my wife or I could have been taken but, we didn’t. Does that mean someone else was taken? Clutch? Dime? Fenton? Sweetpea? Shepard? If so, that narrows it down.

I checked my phone, and the videos in my dream were also in this reality too. Why? How? Did I fall asleep midway walking down the corridors for someone to put me back in bed? That’s the only reasonable explanation in my head, magic could have come into play but, I don’t think that’s what it is. How is it that the videos in my nightmare are in this reality? It doesn’t make any sense, they are the exact same footage, even the third video with all the static was just there, on his phone, waiting to be played. What baffles me more is that my phone says that I’ve already watched it as the first thing that popped up was the live video in the south corridor. So, what I’m thinking is, last night did happen but, I must have been hallucinating the part when I walked into Cherry’s room, I don’t know, I guess it is something that I’ll have to think about.

The boy from under the bed however, he is all I can think about even as I write. Going over to the room where he was under the bed was one of many things I have done this morning but, when I entered, he was nowhere to be found. No boy, no blood from under the bed and no blood of mine. It must have been a hallucination, right? I can’t stop thinking about the injuries the boy had, his skin was decaying and scorched, eyeless and with chunks of his body and flesh cut out to the point of bone. His movement was stiff, limb to the point of near death, his voice the epitome of death. When he spoke to me, I remember touching my own throat by the thought of sounding that raspy. What he did say has me thinking.

Stop him.

Save him.

He as her.

What does that mean? I know this is coming from a hallucination or a nightmare but, if it’s coming from my mind, it must have made sense to me at the time but, it doesn’t. who’s him? How do you stop someone and save them at the same time? He has her. I have a theory of who ‘her’ is because, the next thing the boy said was:

The riddles.

Solve them.

Find her.

Leave.

I think I’m telling myself to find my daughter by solving the riddles. It must be me and my desperate mind scraping every solution to find Cherry, I know the riddles won’t help me in finding Cherry, the riddles are just a distraction at this point as I hope for the detectives to show up with hopefully good news. I have not given up on finding her just yet but, I’ve accepted that Sweetpea and Shepard are the only ones to find her despite how much I distrust Shepard, I trust Detective Sweepea’s judgement on her partner, I can only hope that she isn’t being used in some sort of way.

However, that wasn’t the last thing the boy said to me. He said:

Shasha is coming.

He is here.

That’s when I died. Shasha was the name in Tangerine’s note, who is Shasha? Is he the one that stabbed me? It must be otherwise why would the boy say that Shasha was coming. What’s the significance of this character? Why did Tangerine mention him? I guess this is something that I would have to look into, this is a test after all but, a test of what? intelligence? Wit? I don’t understand. Tangerine has always been one to be so cryptic in his work and words.

Anyway, I’ll continue my investigation and hopefully find out where Cherry is.

Wish me luck.

Agony is all Cherry felt as her eyes fluttered open, her back on fire as her body was slumped on the floor. All she could see was black, all she could feel was pain and the coldness in the air. She grunted as she tried to push herself up but, she whimpered under the lashes she had retrieved. Through the discomfort, she did manage to stand on her feet, her wobbly legs straining as she still felt weak. She looked around aimlessly, the dark being all she could see, holding herself as she shivered. Why was it so cold? When she felt herself, she then realised that her bra was off still and was happy to see that it was still on the floor, however it did not help with warming herself up. If anything, it only brings her more discomfort as it was wrapped around her back.

With each step, she stumbled. With each touch of the wall, floor and bars, she started to lose hope of escape. As she hoped to find something, that mysterious figure lingered in her mind, scarring her as she was constantly looking over her shoulder despite the darkness, she felt like she was being watched closely, being analysed by her tormentor.

She jumped in fear as the light turned on suddenly, making Cherry swirl around and collapse on the floor in fright as he saw the same man she was dreading of seeing again, the man that made her feel the worst pain she had ever felt. He stood there, unmoving as his face was still covered by the shadows. She didn’t dare speak as she gazed at the whip in his hand, remembering every single lash she got until she blacked out. So, she kept her mouth shut as she crawled back into the back wall in a foetal position, looking at him as he only looked back. Nothing happened at first, they just stared at one another, the trench coat guy just sitting there on his oak chair, sitting in the same way he did last time. A tear ran down her cheek as she waited, shivering quietly.

“Are you hungry?” He asked, his head slightly tilting. Now that he mentioned it, her stomach felt like it was devouring itself, feeling it rumble. Her thirst for water was on a whole other level however, her lips and throat being dry and sore, it felt like it was deserted of moisture. She didn’t know how to answer that question, of course she was hungry but, what’s his twisted game? What’s he getting out of this? Entertainment? Reluctantly, she nodded, too afraid to speak. Not moving from his seat, he reached into his inner coat and pulled out something that made her heart jump. A large, stainless kitchen knife that glistened from the light above. He brandished it, looking it over as he felt the sharpness and length. He didn’t flinch as blood leaked from his fingertip. Her tears ran freely as he looked over at her, stopping momentarily in thought. To her surprise however, he threw the knife in between the bars, the knife landing right in front of Cherry. She quickly picked it up in her grasp.

“Then eat.” He said coldly, elegantly raising his arm up and towards the boy that hung from the chains. Cherry’s heart was twisted and pulled out of her chest at the sickening realisation of what the man meant. The knife in her hand trembled, she started to hyperventilate as she started at the unflinching boy, light sobs coming from her maw. “Eat.” He said demandingly, his voice as steely and unwavering as the crying girl. She didn’t want to do it, she felt sick of the thought of eating a little boy’s remains like this but, she also didn’t want to be lashed like last time, her back still burning from the intense pain.

Slowly, she got up on her feet, her heart racing as she shuffled over to the boy, delaying the inevitable. She hated how she couldn’t speak, she wanted to cry for help, she wanted to plead with the man, she wanted forgiveness from the boy, and she wanted her mom and dad. She didn’t know where to start, she didn’t want to start as she just stared at the hanging boy. She didn’t know how long she stood there, the knife’s tip inches away from Feather’s skin. An abrupt sound of a chair moving backwards, and footsteps made Cherry plunge the knife into the boy’s chest accidentally, her whole body freezing up as the man entered. She stumbled back into the corner, watching as he fast-walked towards Feather’s corpse which still had the knife in his chest. He didn’t waste a second as he pulled out the bloodied knife and sunk it in the child’s gut, cutting away at his flesh as eventually, his intestines sprawled out onto the floor, other organs falling out with a squelch as the madman reached up from the inside and started fishing out more organs, blood, bones, he went as far as pulling out the poor boy‘s lungs and tearing his eyes out, throwing them on the pile of gore.

Cherry’s face went pale at what she saw, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She started to gag at the smell of death in the room, feeling her stomach in a knot. He just stood there, looking at Cherry expecting with the knife in his hand. She knew what he wanted her to do but, she was repulsed by the sight of the mangled meat and blood, her stomach refused to go anywhere near it.

“Eat—it.” He said through his teeth, the command making Cherry curl up in a ball and weep. Cherry heard him stomp over and her heart went through the roof as she was dragged once again by the hair, holding her screams back in terror of being punished. With a painful yank of her hair, she was thrown forward and felt her face and chest come into contact with the mush that was the guts and grime, frozen as the blood coated her. She felt the eyes of the man crouching over her, hearing and feeling the cold breath on the back of her neck. Slowly, she shoved her hands into the mix of gooey crimson, holding what looked to be a part of the intestine that dangled, the pancreas and spleen, blood dripping from between her fingers. Her mind was breaking at the sight, kneeling at the remains of what was Feather Flit, her whole body quivering and not from the freezing temperature.

Wuh-psssh!

Suddenly, a titanic rush of pain ran through her back, her back arching as a fantom of a scream escaped her open mouth, feeling her entire world crumble into nothing but pain. She slumped into the pile, her throat on fire as all she could muster is as ghoulish, faint scream. She thought she knew pain but, never has she ever felt pain on top of pain like this, it felt like thousands of knifes digging into her back, condensed into one spot.

“Rule 2: don’t disobey me.” He said in a disappointed tone, watching as her hand covered the freshly bleeding wound. “You said you were hungry, so eat up, don’t disobey your master again.”

All Cherry could do is nod weakly, catching her breath as tears ran down her cheeks. With her trembling hands, she dug into the flesh and pulled out a hand full of meat, gagging once again at the sight and smell. Closing her eyes and holding her breath, she didn’t think as she moved inches forward. She felt revolted as she opened her mouth, feeling blood and meat touch her quivering lip, digging her teeth into the chewy flesh and blood. Her body revolted by the texture it had, the raw nutrients squelching, the blood pouring mouth and dripping down her chin, her jaw hurting by the force she had to by just to get a chunk of this organ. When she eventually ripped a chunk off, she instantly wanted to throw up the disgusting taste of iron, her throat convulsing in nausea but, she managed to keep it in. She hated how chewy it was, she grinded it in between the back of her teeth, stabbing it with her front teeth, she hated every minute she spent grazing apart the meat. When it was just mush, she had to count to three in preparation to swallow but, it was easier said than done as her taste buds rejected the food but, a reminder of who was behind her, she swallowed. As soon as the meat slivered down her throat, she immediately gagged in disgust, coughing up a storm as it echoed.

Slowly, she looked up over her shoulder, seeing the man looking down at her. He didn’t say nothing but, he did walk away with the knife and whip in hand, closing the cage door and sitting back in his seat. it was clear that her torment had just began.

It felt like hours of devouring meat and vomiting it back up for Cherry, her mind is woozy and completely exhausted as she lay in her own vomit. The monster was gone and now, she was back in the darkness that was her cell. What did she do to deserve this? Who was that sadistic figure and why is he doing this to her? Her mind was shattered, heartbroken, and her will destroyed by the oppressor that has controlled and used her for his amusement. That smile under the shadow, she hated it with every fibre of her being. The smugness, the carefree body language, she hated how she couldn’t do anything about it, she was utterly and completely powerless, a child believing the stories about the monster under the bed, waiting for mom and dad to usher her back to sleep.

Her mind went to her mother, the biggest child in the family, Helly. She wished she was here, giving Cherry the obnoxious hugs that she secretly liked despite her struggles to get away. She would never admit to Helly but, she had always enjoyed her time with her, Helly was never the smartest or coolest but, she is fun. Cherry is also thankful for all the times Helly was there for her through the good and bad, she would never say this in front of her but, she couldn’t have asked for a better mom.

Her mind soon wandered to her dad, Arctic. She never liked him when she got old and she wasn’t shy about it either, always frustrated when things don’t go her way for a change. She hated the fact that Helly let him walk into our lives and started bossing Cherry around, telling her what she should and shouldn’t do, telling her what she can and can’t have when she was younger, like he was her real dad, acting like a good dad when he would try and explain himself to her. She never gets to sit down, they are constantly on the move because of his strange fascination with his family tree that she never understands, what was so important about his family? Either way, she couldn’t make any lifelong friends or relationships because of him… But she would forgive him, she would apologies for making his life hell, she would let him order her around, go anywhere he likes if he gets her out of this hellhole, away from him.

Another round of vomit exited her mouth, her eyes watery and the smell made her gag more in disgust. She pushed herself up on her knees, nausea slurring in her moans. Getting on one knee then standing was harder than expected as her head was lightheaded, spinning in a sprawl. At first, she didn’t move as she just stood there in a daze, looking around as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She looked for the third, fourth and fifth time at the same three walls, seeing no way of escape. Then, she saw the barred door. Her eyes widened as the barred door was slightly open. Did-did he forget to lock the door?

Clumsily, she made her way to the door, pressing her hand against it in disbelief and pushed it widely, making sure that she wasn’t seeing things. Hope rose within her as she took her first step out of her prison, looking around franticly. To her relief, no one was there, and she saw another door at the far end where more cells lined each other. Careful to not make a noise, she couldn’t help but stare into the other cages, seeing bones of all shapes and sizes, some young and old. Are these more of his victims? How long has he been doing this? When she reached the end, she went to touch the handle of the door but, she froze at what she heard behind her.

“Don’t open the door~.” A voice said behind her, it being soft but ghostly. She turned and her mouth was open in shock, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A boy no older than 7 was standing behind her, a sad look on his face. Dry blood marked his face, a deep slice on his cheek and throat being visible but, it looked like he couldn’t feel it however. They stood there for the longest time, just staring at one another with mixed reactions. She finally broke the silence.

“W-why not?” Cherry asked, unnerved about this boy.

“It’s a trap~.” He said, an urgent tone to his voice.

“Who are you?” She asked, stepping closer to the boy, when she did, she felt cold to the touch as she went to inspect his cut but, her hand… it phased right through him. She gasped in shock and stepped back, her hand slightly colder now. The boy looked away slightly, conflict in his eyes.

“I-I don’t know my name~.” The mysterious boy looking back at her with sorrow. “Do… Not… Open the door~.”

“Why? What’s he doing?” Cherry said, rubbing her hand for warmth, processing the fact that her hand just went right through him.

“He’s waiting… On the other side with that fucking whip... He left it open… So he could try—and punish you... He’ll whip you until you pass out… It hurts… It hurts real bad... You’ll cry… You’d want to beg him to stop but… If you did… You’d be breaking rule number 1… But you already know that… You have already been punished… Haven’t you~.” He said, walking backwards back to her cell and with reluctance, she followed, looking over her shoulder at the door to freedom once or twice. The ghostly boy stopped by the door of her prison, taking no pleasure in doing this. “We begged him to stop… We all did… But... He just keeps whipping you~.” He said solemnly as Cherry walked back into the cell, hearing the cell door close.

“We’ve all written the rules on the wall… You just have to look carefully~.” The boy said with reassurance. “Stay strong… You can get through this~.” When Cherry turned to speak, her mouth was left open as the boy was nowhere to be seen. Without a doubt, Cherry knew she was talking to a victim but, not just any victim, a ghost that has gone through it all and had felt everything and more. She didn’t know if she should feel pity for the boy or be thankful that she wasn’t truly alone and clueless.

Arctic was on the couch, doing nothing but thinking about last night’s events. Shasha… Shasha… Shasha… It’s a unique name that isn’t from equestrian, it’s an old Zebrican name that had died down, making it a rare name thanks to its bad reputation of being a cruel name. So… what’s its name doing in the likes of Tangerine’s note? Better yet, why was it mentioned yet again in his dream/nightmare/hallucination? It was teasing him, what was with that name? Arctic scratched his head vigorously, his mind scattered and heated.

“Arctic, your head looks like it’s going to explode. Just sit back and calm down.” Clutch said with his annoying voice, his hands panting on the back of Arctic’s shoulders and started to rub. “Let Shepard and Sweetpea do their thing. They are good at what they do.”

“Not good enough, it’s been a few days since your child has gone missing, aren’t you concerned yourself?” Arctic muttered, his entangled fist pressed against his chin, his foot tapping like crazy.

“Sure, I worry about his well-being but, if it’s what I think it is, there is nothing to worry about.” Clutch replied, making Arctic’s brow rise and look over his shoulder at Clutch.

“What do you mean?” Arctic said with an inquisitive look.

“I mean I’m a multimillionaire, people take risks for money, and that includes taking my son and holding him hostage for money. All I have to do is wait for a call from the bastards demanding money.” Clutch murmured, walking round and sitting next him. “Those are the type of things you have to think about when you have money. As for you, I have no idea what happen to your daughter.”

Arctic narrowed his eyes. “Is that so…”

“What’s that look for?”

“Nothing… Just the fact that you said you was looking for your son, not waiting for a call. Kinda ironic that there was no reason for you or your family to be here at the time when my daughter was taken. After all, all you have to do is wait, right?” Arctic said with a demeaning glare, his eyes digging into Clutches. Clutch’s smile turned into a disappointed frown, his eyes showing unamused anger.

“What are you trying to imply?” Clutch said dangerously, a dark look on his face. Arctic matched his with his own.

“I’m not implying anything yet but, you—you, I don’t trust you one bit.” Arctic replied, pointing his finger at him. Clutched just scoffed.

“Why? Because I have a theory of could’ve happened to my son? Listen, I don’t know what happened to my son, I’m just saying that my boy being taken for ransom is the best-case scenario.” Clutch said calmly, his passive-aggressive glare never wavering.

“So what? Are you saying that someone is going to call my phone any time soon? Demanding money for my daughter?” Arctic mocked, rolling his eyes.

“No, actually… I don’t know what could have possibly happened to your girl. It’s like she genuinely disappeared. When my son disappeared, the bastards entered and left threw through the window but remember, when your daughter was taken, the windows were locked.”

“What are you trying to say? That a second party is involved?” Arctic quickly interjected.

“That’s what my brother thinks anyway, and to be honest, it makes sense if you think about it.” Clutched said, making Arctic think. As much as he hated to say it, Clutch was right. Not only did Clutch’s son go missing on a separate occasion but, there was a reason to being taken. As for Cherry, it was out of the blue and without explanation. This doesn’t make him less of a suspect however, it doesn’t change the fact that it was someone in this house.

“This doesn’t change anything; this just means that you and I are looking for two different people.” Arctic sighed, standing up and walking away from the eyeing Clutch. Clutch’s eyes watched Arctic all the way out the door, a grimace on his face as he picked up his phone and dialled a number.