Kail woke in burning agony, shards of pain like molten metal filled his mind as he struggled to breathe. His arms were dead, muscles screaming in torture as they bore the weight of his body. He opened his eyes only to be greeted with blinding light, the flame of a candle inches from his face. His body felt rigid, not daring to move a muscle as a single twitch sent his entire body into throes of violent spasms. Blood matted his hair, trailing down his chest and legs to drip into a puddle on the floor.

Looking down at the wound in his stomach, he saw that the flesh had healed, not even a scar being left where the ragged hole once was. Probing his mouth with a tongue, he felt all of his teeth, even though he clearly remembered his molars being knocked out onto the floor. Even the wounds in his arms and legs where he was pierced by stakes were healed, in a manner of speaking; the flesh had grown around the injury, rising up and swelling in an inflamed ring. Thick pus oozed from the wounds, dripping slowly down to his fingers and toes, where they mixed and lingered with the caked blood.

Any further thought ceased when a rusted metal door in the back of the room opened, flooding the room with blinding light. He recoiled instinctively, regretting the movement when it sent sharp pain down his neck and back. The monstrous figure walked in, slamming the door shut behind it with a ratcheting lock.

The beast wore an old apron on its front, black leather that was stained with blood and viscera. A hideous smile was stitched across its ruined face, its sharpened and yellowed teeth clearly visible against its cracked lips. In its right hand was a large metal hook, end sharpening to a fine point, the blade covered in rust and blood. In its left hand was a clamp, end snapping as the thing closed and opened it seemingly out of habit. In two strides it covered the distance to stand in front of Kail, snaking out a disgusting tongue before turning to the side. There was a brief pause as it tapped the stone, suddenly hissing and pulling a loose brick out of the wall. From the small cavity behind it, it pulled out an assortment of small blades, some sharpened and cleaned, others looking like they had sat there for years. Blowing off some cobwebs, it picked the insects off, tossing them into its mouth with a single crunch before setting the tools onto the ground. Leaning in to look at Kail, it smiled, showing off its stained teeth.

“We still alive boy? Good.” Those words could not have possibly been spoken by a man; no man could have a voice filled with such trembling ecstasy at the mere thought of butchery.

Taking the candle off its holder, it waved it in front of Kail, the flame licking at the hairs on his face. Suddenly, it turned it upside down, dropping it on top of his head. The candle flickered for a moment and suddenly burst, an orange blaze swallowing his head in fire. It burned his oily hair and charred his skin, the heat causing him to shake his head and beat it futilely against the wall. With his movement, the stakes embedded in his body sent waves of pain and nausea coursing through his veins.

With a short bark of laughter, the beast grabbed Kail behind his neck and pulled him off the wall, stakes and all. He hit the ground with a thud, flames now licking all over his body, burning his shirt and pants and searing his flesh. He tried to roll on the ground, but his body would not move, abused muscles screaming in protest. Beating his hand against the wall as it howled in laughter, the thing gave him a kick to the stomach, turning him over onto his back as he coughed and sputtered.

“Let me help you out there boy.” it said with a sadistic grin. Pulling down its torn breeches, it relieved itself on Kail, taking additional care to aim for the face in particular. The brown urine doused the fire, reducing it to small tongues of flame. Stomping on him viciously, it drove out the last remnants of embers before pausing as Kail coughed up blood, retching onto the tiled floor. The stench clung to his skin and eyes, burning his open wounds.

“Now then boy, let’s get to the fun part.” Grabbing Kail by the throat, it slammed him against the wall, cracking stone and bone alike. “We know you’ve been in Blood Hawk lands killing our pets. Who told you about them?” it snarled, leaning in close to Kail’s face. He was coughing up blood and spit, but some part of him registered what it had asked him. So they were looking for Sir. That was a debt that he would have to pay back, even at the cost of his life.

Grinning a bloody smile, he stuck out his tongue. “Go fuck yourself.”

It suddenly snorted, a hideous laugh worming out of its throat. “Wait a moment, you—weren’t you the one in the hospital? In the damned Black Wolves hospital?” Its shoulders heaved with mirth as it laughed, its one eye bulging in its socket as it howled. “I beat your fucking head in and you came back for more? This is fantastic!”

With a growl, it punched him in the stomach, raking its claws upwards against his rib cage. Blood splattered out of his mouth as he felt bones cracking. Slashing viciously down his thigh, it cut open muscle down to the white. It grabbed his leg, holding his thigh down and pulling it so high that the tendons popped and the bone shattered. He thrashed and howled as searing white-hot pain coursed through his veins. “Yes!” it cried out enthusiastically, half-mad with laughter. “This is incredible!”

It pulled open his mouth, pouring a foaming green liquid in that seared it throat and spread like wildfire through his body. His skin steamed as he felt the heat grow out from his stomach. Every ounce of his being felt like it was being burned alive, but he opened his eyes and saw his wounds closing, muscles knitting themselves in front of him. No…his thoughts shuddered as his own body betrayed him. In mere seconds, the broken bones and torn muscle were mended, not even a faint scar left.

The thing smiled at him with rows of broken teeth. “I do so love torture when you can’t die.”

“You see, I’m not sure how much about us Blood Hawks you know, but we serve a higher god. And his Lordship has blessed us with immortality.” The creature let out a hissing laugh, gesturing to its face. “Don’t you just love life? And that’s why I share it with all my delicious guests. So drink our god’s ichor, boy. Enjoy his gift of life.”

On and on, that knife dug into his flesh. On and on the lips of the wound stitched closed by green gods-blood, only to be opened once more. The blade bit into his skin slowly, parting flesh with a wake of red blood. It was a slow cut that opened his leg from calf around to thigh before running up to bite into his stomach. His torturer was quite the artisan, tracing spirals and patterns into his skin like some horrific tattoo. The blade was coated with molten wax, globs of which dripped off to burn the trail shut. It was a slow agony, the kind that swallows the mind gently.

Kail was a miserable sight, an emaciated body pinned against the stone wall with metal stakes. Chains hung from the tips that connected to pins in the ground in the event that he attempted escape—as if he even had the strength in this state to stay awake. His torso was bruised and scarred; whatever potion he was given did nothing to heal burn wounds. A veritable webwork of knife lines circled all around him, wrapping up from his back and legs like serpents coiling around his limbs.

“So boy, did you remember something?”

“Go die in a hole.”

A slow hiss as the heated blade dug deeper into the flesh, biting into bone.

“And now?”

“Fuck you.”

A sudden tearing sound as the blade was ripped down his body with so much force that handle broke.

It let out a frustrated growl, only for its face to twist once more into a smile. “You’re nothing but a mouse, and you’ve walked in on something far greater than yourself. You know, we’ve been a bit too gentle with you, boy. You have three more days to talk.” it said as it tossed the broken handle away, blade left embedded in the side of his gut. “After that…” It slashed across its throat with a finger, smiling cruelly. It paused, taking a step back to admire its handiwork. “We’ll have to see if you can stand under our god’s test.”

“Let's start here.” It grabbed a handful of metal needles, an entire hand long and flattened at the tip. Grabbing Kail’s left foot, it shoved the tip under his nail, driving it deep into the flesh. He howled in pain, but it merely smiled in response. In a few minutes, he was left looking like a human pincushion, needles sticking out from under his nails, blood dripping onto the floor, already stained a dark red. They went in deep and ramrod straight, grating against bone until he could not even curl his toes. Without a sound, it grabbed a needle and twisted, small barbs at the tip ripping the soft flesh underneath and sending Kail into fresh bouts of agony. It then granted him a few moments respite as it dug for something in the ground.

Searching in the cracks between the tiles, it finally lifted up a small grub from the dirt. It writhed in its palm: a pale white, hairy segmented body with a large beak on one end. It had no eyes, but its mouth snapped open and closed as it twisted in the thing’s hand. Pinching the worm between its fingers, it dropped it onto Kail’s shoulder. The maggot twisted around for a moment, searching its surroundings before settling in. With its bone-like beak it burrowed into his flesh, tunneling under his skin into the soft muscle below. He could feel it, abnormal and unnatural, violating his own body with its presence. He was too busy yelling in pain to notice when the second was placed on him, this time digging into the soft flesh on the underside of his foot. Nerve endings fired, his mind already overburdened with messages of pain from every part of his body.

The thing waited for him to calm down before speaking. “Those things are burrowing grubs, a personal favorite of mine. You see, I can’t be here to play with you all the time; I’ve other guests to host as well. So these pets will keep you company when I’m gone. Can’t you feel them, digging into the muscle?”

“The one in your shoulder’s a male, the one in your foot female. They’ll feed on your flesh, growing larger and maturing until they reach adulthood. When then meet, they’ll mate, the male leaving thousands of eggs inside the female. When they hatch, they’ll eat every last scrap of flesh on you down to the bone.” It cackled, beating its fists with laughter as a sense of quiet dread filled Kail. There was no more escape for him. “So if you don’t give an answer in three days, you’ll die. Of course, I might just choose to kill you before you become maggot food.”

“So many ways to die; why do I only get to choose just one for you?” it whined like a petulant child. Without warning, the creature punched him in the stomach, forcing Kail to spit up bile and blood. The liquid splashed onto the floor under him, and as he looked down a bout of dizziness struck him from seeing himself suspended on the wall by his own flesh.

“Hmm, that’s a good color, boy.” it muttered, reaching down to touch the bile. “You’re taking to the god’s ichor rather well.”

Its voice spoke once more, rough as sand against his ear. “You know something, boy? They give us all names. Names of something that’ll kill a man in the end. That’ll kill Man in the end. You want to know what they call me?” It pried open Kail’s eyes, forcing him to look at its grotesque face.

“You want to know my name?” it hissed, foul breath bringing burning tears to Kail’s eyes.

No, he thought desperately, wanting nothing more than to bury a stake in this monster’s heart. You crow-cursed monster… I want nothing more than your death.

“They call me Hope, boy. And its hope that’ll bite you in the end, with teeth so gentle that you’ll be crying tears at how sweet it is. You’ll be wanting it. And then you’ll die.” Its whispers were rancid and soft, repulsively gentle.

In the stories he had read as a child, the heroes always lived. They faced terrible challenges and obstacles, but they always survived, saved by their companions or with a secret inner strength. They were special, better than others, and that quiet spark had always burned within Kail as his secret inner wish. It had slowly faded over the days as doubt ate away at him. With this final desperation, it was utterly shattered to fine powder. He was not strong. He had no power. Sir would not be coming to save him. No one would come for him. He would not survive. He was going to die.

Sir, he wept silently, alone now in the dark.

Where are you, Sir?