Chapter 2

Kira ran up the stairs, the voice still calling her name like a broken disc, on repeat. As she reached the last step, she nearly tripped—only to find a stout woman blocking the entrance. The woman stood at the threshold, peering cautiously into the darkness but unwilling to step inside. Her nose wrinkled with distaste, as though the very air repulsed her. The basement was too dirty for her, too beneath her to enter. But she had no problem sending Kira into it.

"KIRAAA!!"

The shrill cry again tore through the silence, echoing off the walls. Kira barely had time to react before a hand shot out, gripping her hair with brutal force. A sharp pull sent her stumbling forward, her feet barely catching the edge of the last stair before she was dragged harshly onto the ground floor.

Kira gasped as her knees hit the hard tiles of what appeared to be a small, grimy kitchenette. Her pulse raced in confusion, but before she could even regain her balance, a slap landed across her face a hot, stinging, and violent. The sheer force of it sent her head snapping to the side, a sharp ringing erupting in her ears.

"Are you deaf?!" the woman bellowed, her voice dripping with venom.

"I" Kira tried, but the words barely formed before another slap followed. Her face burned, her cheek stinging where the hand had hit.

"SPEAK!"

"I…"

The woman's nails dug into her shoulder as she bent down, her breath foul and hot against Kira's face, spitting every time she spoke. "I am asking you something!" she shrieked, shaking Kira violently.

"I…"

Another blow.

A sharp, searing pain exploded in her ear, and Kira instinctively raised a trembling hand to it. A warm wetness oozed from the inside, and panic surged through her.

"Is it blood?", Kira thought to herself.

Her fingers tentatively prodded her ear, but before she could confirm her fear, another strike followed, this time while her finger was still inside. A fresh jolt of pain rocketed through her skull, making her vision blur for a moment. A strangled cry left her lips, as she crumpled to the floor, her knees folding beneath her. Tears welled in her eyes, thick and unrelenting, sliding down her cheeks in silent agony.

"STOP THIS ACTING!"

The woman's hands fisted Kira's collar, pulling her back to her feet with merciless strength. Kira's head rolled slightly, her vision spinning, her breath coming in sharp, shuddering gasps. The woman shook her, rattling her bones as if she were nothing more than a rag doll.

"I AM TALKING TO YOU! SPEAK!!"

A new voice entered the scene, smooth and measured. "What happened?"

A man stepped in from the staircase leading to the upper floor, his presence cold and indifferent. He poured himself a glass of water, taking a slow sip as he observed the scene before him.

The woman's demeanor shifted instantly, her voice softening, her rage melting into something more controlled. "I've been calling this girl for an hour," she said,"but she refused to come up. And now, when I ask her why, she's acting arrogant, pretending like she's above answering me. She has no respect for me!"

The man eyed Kira, his expression unreadable. "Why didn't you answer your mother?"

Kira now sitting upright on the floor, her hands trembling as they wiped the steady stream of tears rolling down her red, swollen face.

She tried to speak, oh, how she tried… to suppress the sobs threatening to escape her frail soul, to swallow the lump lodged in her throat, but it was seemed impossible.

"Speak!" the man commanded, his voice sharp now, cutting through the room like a blade.

Kira opened her mouth. She willed the words to come, but nothing escaped. Her voice had abandoned her, lost somewhere between fear and despair.

There was a lump in her throat. Her hands clutched at her neck as if she could force the words out, but all in vain. She couldn't speak. Her eyes now all blurry because of the tears now falling again.

"Look Up"… he cried, "Now Speak!"

I said Speak!, man shout again.

She opened her mouth again, but then her head fell after a helpless effort, her eyes shut and tears falling with a fast trail soaking the floor.

A slow smirk curled the man's lips. He placed the glass of water down with deliberate ease, wiped his hands on a cloth, and walked towards her.

"Ah," he mused. "So you want to do it this way…"

Before Kira could react, his hands seized her shirt, twisting the fabric against her frail body. He dragged her toward the staircase leading back down into the basement, his grip firm and unwavering, and with a merciless shove, he pushed her down the stairs. She tumbled, her arms hitting and her knees scraping against the jagged concrete steps before she finally hit the cold floor below.

The door slammed shut.

The unmistakable sound of the lock clicking into place echoed through the suffocating darkness.

"She doesn't want to speak?" the man scoffed.

"Then don't let her speak."

A pause followed.

"We are not her servants!

I know very well how to deal with bad breeds like her. They're born once every century, but no worries…"

His voice dripped with amusement as he turned away.

"Let her stay there. No food. No water. And no one opens that door."

A long, eerie silence followed.

"Understand!?"

The woman replied obediently, "Yes."

"Remind the kids as well."

Kira lay there, listening to all that, without a single bit of anguish. Then she heard the footstep fading into the distance and her body curled against the icy ground. She wasn't badly hurt. or maybe she was, but her body had learned to endure. This was a daily ritual, a game they played, one she never won. And yet, no matter how many times it happened, she never got used to it. Her body still trembled at their voices, her heart still clenched at their glares, her soul still shattered at their words.

Tears slipped from her eyes, soaking into the dirt beneath her. She was not crying about what had happened with her.

She was blaming herself…

She shut her eyes, sniffling every once in a while.