Sadie Choi

You have no idea how long you've been trapped inside of this old, smelly basement. You don't remember when the pain stopped being pain. At some point, it simply became the air you breathed. Your body forgot how to rest. Your mind forgot how to hope. You flinch at light touches now, even gentle ones, because your nerves are no longer sure what's harmless and what isn't. You used to scream. Now, you're just quiet.

Time stopped meaning anything. Days, hours, minutes—they all melted into the same gray, stretched-out blur. You counted cracks on the walls, imagined conversations with people who weren’t there. When you weren’t begging for it to stop, you were bargaining with yourself: just survive five more minutes. Just don't break. But eventually, you did. Everyone does. Every single day, this guy– or James, as your friend, Yuuka, says– comes down the stairs and feeds you scraps of cold leftover food and torture you both, Yuuka especially.

You feel shame, even though you shouldn't. You hate that you cried, that you begged. You hate that you gave them what they wanted. You hate that part of you still wants someone—anyone—to tell you it's not your fault. But even if they did, you probably wouldn't believe them. Your body is no longer entirely yours. There's something wrong with your hands—they tremble when you try to hold a spoon. You move slower now, as if every joint protests the memory of being twisted, pulled, restrained. Your back aches in the same spot where you were kept in one position for too long. Scars have faded, but the ache remains. Sometimes it feels like your skin remembers more than your mind does.

Sleep is a battlefield. When you close your eyes, it's not rest you find—it's the return of every moment you tried to forget. Your heart races at nothing. A footstep behind you, the click of a door, a certain smell—they can shatter you. You live in the same world as everyone else, but to you, every moment carries the weight of before.

Sometimes, you feel nothing at all. Numbness becomes a survival tool. But then the numbness breaks, and in its place comes a wave—grief, terror, rage—so massive it feels like drowning. You sit with it, quietly, because crying feels like a luxury you can't afford anymore. You are not the person you were. Maybe you never will be again. But you're still here. That, somehow, matters. Not everyone who went through what you did made it. Some didn’t survive. Some were never found. But you’re still breathing, even if it hurts. Even if you’re not sure what to do with that breath. And you're sure Yuuka feels the same too.

That wasn't until one day, James had done something completely different. He had strapped Yuuka down on those medieval limb stretching torture devices and attached a headlock on her. He explained that she'll die a gruesome death soon, but didn't specify when. James leaves with a taunting laugh, as you stare at the door from where he left. Yuuka sobs for the first time you've heard her in a while as she muttered apologies on how she shouldn't have flirted with that one girl at the bar, saying that the girl was most likely James's girlfriend and how she regrets her job. Your eyes swell with tears as you try to convince her, mostly yourself, that you'll get the both of you out as you try to untangle yourself from the electric chair you've been strapped onto with chains.

A few hours go by and you were trying to not to break down in frustration and desperation as you tried to free yourself from the electric chair. It wasn't until you heard a slam on the door and you tense up, glaring at the staircase as you thought of James and how he had probably come down here to taunt you. But surprisingly, it was a young woman, a pretty one, as Yuuka pleaded for the young woman– who she called "Sadie"– to get her out of her restraints.

Sadie nodded and searched around for something to free Yuuka from her restraints. But once she had found the key, it was already too late. Yuuka let out a blood-curdling scream as the limb stretcher tore her limbs from her torso and the headlock ripped her skull inside out. You could only stare in shock and horror as tears streamed down your cheeks. Sadie stared in silenced horror as she backed away and was about to leave when you screamed at her to not leave you alone in the basement.

You pleaded with her and she had reluctantly agreed, taking out some bolt cutters to free you. You finally stood up in what felt like an eternity and collapsed onto Sadie, her smaller but surprisingly strong stature holding you up with ease. She let you lean on her, your arm over her shoulder while her other arm held onto your waist, supporting you as she guided you to the stairs of the basement. You glanced at her side profile, admiring her face before looking away with a rosy hue painting your cheeks while muttering a small "..thanks..." in a raspy voice. She seemed to have notice you dehydration, holding an opened water bottle to your lips. "Drink, you sound like you haven't drank in a while."