Chapter 5: It’s Not My Fault

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. My once-white dress was now stained black with rotted blood, and the fabric below my thighs was unrecognizable.

The stench was overwhelming. Despite maintaining a calm exterior, one thought consumed me.

I wanted to leave. In whatever form.

I was probably watching Team Leader Joo, as usual, prodding my brain with an electrified rod and hacking at my thigh with an axe.

Knowing it would only intensify the pain, I spoke anyway.

“Having fun?”

“Oh, tons. It’s fulfilling, it satisfies my need for revenge, it relieves stress.”

“Was your boyfriend that newbie?”

He had been handsome, I vaguely recalled. Before he exploded.

“No. It was the older guard. He smoked, drank only instant coffee, and constantly nagged me about quitting my job and getting married. Said he’d raise the kids, so I could focus on work.”

“You should have. Then he wouldn’t have… ugh…”

The axe thudded into my right thigh. I continued speaking as the blade rose and fell.

I was getting used to it.

“You should have tried harder with your… what was her name? Your childhood friend. You should have clung to her, begged her to stay, played cute.”

The severed edges of my thigh were brought together, and the flesh knitted itself back together with a sickening squelch.

How did I become like this? I didn’t think a little electroshock therapy could change a person so fundamentally.

“You were together for so long, but you’re such a difficult girl, that’s why you were abandoned.”

It wasn’t me who was difficult. This place had made me this way. I was a polite, gentlemenly person.

Though the “gentlemen” part felt a little… lacking.

I wondered if anyone would ever rescue me. I would lick their mud-caked boots if they did. Though they would probably find that disgusting.

“Have I been abandoned?”

“Doesn’t matter. You’ll never leave this place. When you die, you won’t even get a grave. They’ll dissect you and distribute your remains as samples.”

I had wanted to escape, but that didn’t sound appealing.

“That’s….”

She chuckled and gagged me again. I wanted to retort. At first, it was the pain that kept me silent. Now, I simply couldn’t speak.

“You should have read the contract. We have the right to do whatever we want with your body. As long as it happens in the lab, it’s considered research.”

Assuming she would ramble like a lunatic before resuming the torture, I tuned her out, staring at the ceiling.

But today, a new sound joined the familiar clang of metal against the floor and walls, the squelching of footsteps.

A sound that wasn’t my scream. The sound of the building collapsing.

“And your childhood friend won’t even know you’re dead… huh?”

The walls shook, then melted. Like lava.

The molten metal mixed with the blood on the floor, filling the room with a metallic stench.

I turned and saw a figure in a rabbit mask.

“See? I told you there were no other kids here. Why would they keep powerless children locked up in the basement… hmm?”

They held an ornate pistol.

Our eyes met. Ordinary black eyes, slightly curved. Strangely full of life.

Like someone on a mission.

“Looks like you were right. I’ll just clean up here and then we can go.”

I watched their eyes flicker behind the mask, a flurry of thoughts racing through my mind. The conclusion was simple.

I was getting out of here.

Team Leader Joo stood frozen, her face blank. Then, she charged at the masked figure, axe raised.

Two gunshots. She collapsed, clutching her legs.

A pathetic sight.

“Can I kill the researcher too?” I asked the masked figure, who was talking on the phone while walking towards the downed Team Leader Joo.

“Mmm… mmmph…”

I was still gagged. I laughed, remembering.

The masked figure turned to me, seemingly startled. I could only see their eyes, but I imagined their surprise.

They kicked Team Leader Joo’s head, then approached me, attempting to undo the restraints on my arms and legs. Unable to untie the knots, they cut them with a knife.

They hadn’t intended to ever release me. The restraints were thick leather straps, nailed to my flesh while I was unconscious.

“How could they…”

It had been a while since I had a proper drink. They either tilted me back and poured water into my nose or made a hole in my throat and poured it in there. They used a hose, spraying foul-tasting tap water, not even bottled water.

The feeling of being alive while deprived of everything was excruciating. Worse than having my legs chopped off.

I tried to clear my throat, but it was dry, constricted.

Clutching my mangled right leg, I hobbled to the refrigerator where Team Leader Joo kept drinks and grabbed a bottle of water, gulping it down.

The masked figure was still on the phone, glancing at me occasionally.

“…found one, just like you said.”

Their voice was laced with a mixture of tears and anger.

“She was being experimented on. It’s going to be close, but I’ll get her out of here.”

They snapped at the person on the other end of the line.

“Shut up! Do you think she’ll be fine just because I get her out of this place?!”

They were angry on my behalf.

Probably because of my appearance. I must look pitiful. My right leg mangled, my body reeking, my lifeless red eyes duller than a decaying butterfly caught in a spiderweb.

And most of all, I looked young.

But I had always been like this. Or at least, since I was abandoned. Abandoned by the world, by myself, by my only friend.

The masked figure ended the call, approached me, and hugged me, patting my back.

It felt warm. Probably because of their chest pressed against me.

I didn’t hug back or start crying. I was too old for that, and my emotions had long since withered.

I would conserve my tears. I had shed too many in this place, leaving my eyes dry and barren.

My once vibrant red eyes, now dull and lifeless.

Muttering words of comfort, urging me to leave quickly, the masked figure lifted me into their arms. I was touched that they held me without hesitation, despite the stench.

I wasn’t as pleased with their next action.

They pulled out the pistol again, aiming it at Team Leader Joo’s head.

I gathered the blood from the floor and knocked the gun away.

The masked figure stared at me, their eyes wide with surprise. I wished I could see their full expression.

“Thank you for freeing me, but this is my job.”

Shot twice in the legs, and she was already reduced to begging? Her love for that guard must not have been very strong.

I thought about my childhood friend as I struggled, my limbs still regenerating.

Despite the lingering resentment, I slid out of the masked figure’s arms.

I wanted to see Team Leader Joo beg.

As she started to plead, clutching her injured legs, her head swelled and exploded.

Blood splattered the ceiling, first like rain, then in slow drips.

“Ha.”

How anticlimactic. I thought it would feel more satisfying, seeing her like this.

Perhaps I had chosen the wrong target.

I still didn’t know why I had suffered so much.

Whose fault was it? It certainly wasn’t mine.

Even if it was, I would never admit it.