Chapter 7: A Trip Through Purgatory

"Still not thirsty? A shame. I put so much effort into hospitality." His voice akin to that of the devil as he took a lion's sip of his wine. The scene made no sense to Crimson who very well knew that the drink was poisoned.

He rose to his feet, the two tensed as he drew closer to first Rafiq who was still immobilized. He grabbed one of the glass wine and forcefully clutched his jaws which remained shut however...

*Crack*

His molars and premolars shattered and bent inwards under the pressure applied to his cheeks. "Arghh!!" He let out a low groan of agony which gave solon enough time to chug the wine down his throat. Rafiq felt a bitter tinge run down his gullet, he could tell that the drink was spiked.

His coughs followed shortly after and some of his teeth could be seen. The red wine and his blood mixed was nothing short of nauseating however solon seemed unbothered as he placed the empty wine glass back on the table.

Crimson on the other hand saw Solon reach for the other glass of wine and hovered it right on her red lips. "What Isabella? I thought that since it's your drink, that we should all enjoy it." His taunting smile growing all the more to which she forced herself to open her own mouth.

The bitter aftertaste of the poison trickling down her throat was sharp and irritative however if she could regulate the blood flow then she would be able to delay the effects of the drug.

However when she drank the glass empty, what happened next was something she hadn't anticipated.

*BAM*

He rammed the glass right into her mouth leaving glass shards to scratch the roof of her mouth, cut her walls and tongue. With some even brushing past her gums making them bleed. Her body still locked, she could only preserve the pain of it as he pulled back the glass wine to show it adorned in blood and wine.

Bits of shards could be seen to which he smiled as he made his way to the wine bottle and with a flick of his finger blew the top half of it clean. In all her life Crimson had never experienced such kind of pain. Her mouth was bleeding profusely not to mention the shards that went down her throat.

She would bleed out sooner or later not to mention the pain that came along with it. Solon held onto the bottle right in front of her lips, clear that he wanted her to open her mouth. She wanted to refute however recalling that Rafiq had his teeth shattered which combined with the glass in her mouth made her submit.

Out of fear, she opted to open her mouth. "Good girl. Since you're the one responsible for spiking my wine, I'm sure that you wouldn't mind gulping it all down, right?" Before waiting for a response, he pushed the spiky crown of the bottle down her throat resulting with more tissues cut.

Her eyes widened in horror as she glanced at the man who forcefed her poisoned wine. Not only was the bitter taste unbearable, but also pieces of glass shards in her mouth would trickle down along with the wine to her stomach and along the way cut her from the inside.

A new level of pain that she had never experienced. Solon never paused to which the sounds of her gulping down could be heard till the bottle ran empty. He pulled out the bottle and callously threw it onto the floor shattering it further.

"Cough-Cough-Cough*

Crimson broke out into sporadic coughs which resulted with her regurgitating the wine she drank however along with were glass shards that tried to run up her gullet but the pain was too inconceivable for her to go along with it.

Thus she forced herself to stop given any sudden motion to her body would move the shards around. Be it in her stomach or her mouth. Solon however shifted shifted his attention back to Rafiq who had a light trail of blood coming out of his lips.

"Rafiq, here to kill the Crimson Sythe for killing your sister. No mutant genotype but that didn't stop you and look at where you are. Your determination is commendable so I hope that you won't let me down." The clasps on his briefcase clicked and his powerful sniper was brought out.

Assembled with a snap of his fingers, invincible hands rebuilt the sniper to form a coherent machine of death from afar. Solon lightly inspected it before placing it with the butt on the floor and his fingers on the muzzle like a walking staff.

"Very light but it gets the job done." Solon have a light cackle before holding the long barrel like a baseball bat and...

*BAM*

Rafiq's face was met with the butt of the sniper, a mouthful of blood splat onto the velvet carpet with some landing on the white posh sofa. His face had a bruise to however Solon was just beginning.

*Bam-Bam-Bam*

Repeatedly smashing Rafiq's face like a baseball, Rafiq's face was now covered with multiple bruises, his eyes now purple from the heavy impact and his teeth even more fractured. Any loose molars and premolars were now definitely relocated which was agonizing.

He had pictured Solon extracting his teeth as a torture method but seeing him repeatedly bash the armrest of the sniper onto his face was something he hadn't anticipated for. His teeth were now all crooked to which he used the barrel to keep his mouth open and inspect.

"You'll have to make a dentist's appointment after this Rafiq. But in the meantime you'll have to be taking fluids." His tone light as he put the rifle down and made his way to the remote, turning on the television. Rafiq was still held in place by Solon's gravitational force and Crimson had her entire body out of her command.

Each a captive in their own way. Solon turned toward the television and flicked his fingers to which the screen crackled on. A news anchor, pale-faced and trembling, appeared onscreen amid sirens and chaos.

"This is Channel 9… reporting… strange anomalies… the skies above the Northern Hemisphere stretching all the way to the equator have-"

*Static*

"…unknown atmospheric conditions have led to the formation of vapor-like clouds composed of non-terrestrial matter. Exposure appears to…" Before the anchor could continue, more static occupied the screen before regaining signal.

"…mutants have begun to show symptoms after prolonged exposure. Early signs include nosebleeds, internal hemorrhaging, organ liquefaction-"

Solon raised the volume slightly. The footage shifted to satellite imagery showing clouds bleeding color which disintegrated buildings. The sights of humans could be seen vomiting blood in the streets.

A reporter shouted into the camera. "It would seem that there is no explanation at the moment! They're all dying as if overcome by a plague of some sort."

Crimson's stomach churned.

The poison inside her stirred again. Her own creation, now becoming unbearable. "The Golden Lantern's calling it the Fracture Plague." The anchor whispered. "Anyone with a mutated genome is susceptible. Death within hours of exposure. The clouds are spreading not just here but to all parts of the world..."

Crimson turned to Solon, voice weak.

"Are you the one responsible for all of this?" She could barely keep a sentence going for long without the pieces of glass lodged in her throat and gums hinder her from talking any longer.

"Me? Please I'm nothing more than a spectator watching all of this unfold. It's a shame that this world has to come to an end like this but whatever serves as good entertainment I guess." Solon's tone was filled with mild interest before turning off the news.

He looked at the two, his smile slowly withering away. It was clear that he was formulating a plan and the two could feel it. "I have an offer for you two. It's more like a life and death scenario won through fate." The two already didn't like where things were going.

"Don't worry, all you have to do is pick a side. Heads or tails. So what would it be?" His tone playful as he produced a coin out of his pocket. Ancient as it shimmered oddly under the suites lighting.

Crimson similar to Rafiq were puzzled as they looked at Solon before taking a closer look at the coin. It was clear to them that the person in front had a hand with what was unfolding. However the strange silence was broken down with Crimson's coughs.

The excessive internal bleeding and the air that was now intoxicated with the strange matter had now affected her. She could delay the effects of the poison, not outright remove them out of her body not to mention she had no counterattack to something that she had no knowledge of what she was facing.

"Cough-Cough-Cough!!!" Her coughs grew more sharper and frequent. "W-ha- h-a-pen-s t-o t-he- win-hur?" Rafiq asked, hoping to get a chance of avenging his sister. 'Even though there is a chance that I don't make it out of here alive, I would have at least avenge you sister.'

He gritted along with his now barely held on teeth. "The winner will get to live as my plaything before I lose interest and kill it off like a stray dog. The loser on the other hand will face nothing more than eternal torture."

Quickly realizing the game that she was playing, her weak and frail voice echoed what she wanted. "Heads." Her voice reduced to a whisper. "T- ai-lll-ss." Rafiq croaked as blood and teeth escaped his lips. With his teeth knocked out, he could only release barely coherent statements.

"Very well. Let's get this show on the road." With a single flick, the coin twirled majestically in the air as time seemed to slow down, both Crimson and Rafiq holding their breathes.

'I'm so sorry sister. I wasn't able of avenging you! I was weak! If only I had a little bit more time.' Rafiq cursed his mortality and weakness while Crimson on the other hand longed for death. Blood was now pouring out of every single orifice she had. Be it her eyes making her weep blood, her nose that trailed blood endlessly, her mouth to which she choked on glass and her own blood.

'So this is what it feels like. To meet my demise with my own blood.' It was an experience that she wished came to an end. Be it to fate with the coin or the poison coursing through her body.

*Tink*

The coin landed gracefully on the marble floor and to the surprise of the two came to a stop. "Oh, isn't that curious." Solon mused, his lips curling upwards in a manner that wasn't sinister or playful. A mere glance at them and one could deduce that it simply felt wrong.