#Flooded Claws Prologue 16 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

solong-and-thanksforallthefish · 5 years ago

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ESCAPE OF K-10 PROLOGUE: “The Creature’s Escape”  ┍━━━━━━━━━━━✁━━━━━━━━━━━┑ WARNING: 16+ Recommenced. This chapter contains heavy blood, gore, body horror, physiological horror, abuse, torture, medical themes, death, and other disturbing material. Please do not read if any of the subjects above are upsetting or triggering, thank you. ┕━━━━━━━━━━━✃━━━━━━━━━━━┙  Another day has gone by, maybe two, is it night? Evening? No one but the people in white knows the elusive time under all these blinding, unyielding ceiling lights. Within this facility was nothing but despair, people and creatures of all ages were stuck in this man-made hell, wishing for the day where their body would finally give out from too many chemicals, handled too roughly, or to simply never wake up again. That was a dream many subjects yearned for… the only mercy in this god-forsaken maze was through death. This wasn’t a place for science and a greater cause. It was a filthy cesspool of overfilling sins committed by everyone here; despite what side they were on every single soul was guilty of their actions and some eagerly awaited the consequences.  One creature in particular, laid on her side under the concrete bed, curled up tightly in a poor attempt to keep warmth in the frigid temperature. She could hear the soft buzzing of that accursed vent sending out the freezing air in order to keep her calm…..numb…..immobile. Those bastards did that with every cell despite if the subjects inside were naturally obedient and non-conflicting. For the scientists never knew if and when their subject’s mind will snap. The creature’s limbs were contorted, mutated. A leather raven black skin took over the second half of her limbs; her hands were nothing short of monstrous with elongated claws as sharp as knives. Her legs came out to be more of stilts, with bird-like feet locked downward. Nothing but emptiness in her eyes and not a sound came out. She had given up long ago fighting this. After losing too many loved ones.  With a sudden obnoxious buzz, the door slid open. The creature slowly unraveled her limbs from herself and crawled out from underneath her safe area. There was a dead, empty look in her expression. Finally submitted, finally broken. There at the entrance was one of the lab’s security guards. He’s taken her many times before and knew she wouldn’t do anything. She was too hungry, too mindless, too tired. The fire and hope in her were put out years ago after she had killed the last of her loved ones. It was all her fault. All her fault. If it wasn’t for her he’d be alive. All her fault.  She made him didn’t she? All her fault. She deserves this.  All her fault. All her fault. All her fault…  The sudden electrical buzzer pulled her out of her foggy intrusive thoughts and back into reality. She hadn’t realized she was cuffed again and being dragged by the security guard into an… unknown room. It’s been a long time since the creature could feel a chill go up her spine. It was like a rupture throughout her body; her whole numb body shocked into awakening and primal senses coming to fruition, panic and dread flooding her system as she was pushed inside and held tightly by the guard.  The room itself was different from the many within the facility. The lighting was dim, with walls covered with a black wallpaper with an intricate white pattern to it. The area had a neat, glazed over wooden desk. Papers upon files upon notes and so forth all seen in half-decent piles or scattered amongst the area, completely covering the surface! One corner had a filing cabinet that was full of years worth of research, with no dust or decay whatsoever. Against the wall was an old leather cushioned chair, it seemed well taken care of despite the rest of the scenery wanting to say otherwise. The most unsettling feature of this room however, was the right-sided wall… a simple door with a small metal station, and above was nothing but a humongous window, nothing but a void on the other side of the glass. The ominous scenery made the creature’s stomach wretch with the unsettling fear; though the intrusive questions bashing against her head came to a halt. Behind her the creature heard the door heavily creak open, metal squealing against each other with a disgusting voice cutting through the silence.  “Is everything prepared? Good, I’ll send the data and videos as soon as I’m finished. You can come and observe if you wish….. Ah, I see. I thought so…… I do always enjoy these “tests”. The man was speaking into his earpiece as he entered the room, heading straight to his desk and grabbing a file with no concern for the other two in the office. He had a disturbing expression on his face as he spoke, a crooked smile on his pale features. Biting his chapped lips and an excited look in his grey eyes. He took a deep breath, taking a moment and brushing his hand through his black, gelled hair put into a simple ponytail. After straightening the front of his lab coat, he made his way to the others in the room. That smile soon disappeared and his expression hardened into something more serious and mature. Oddly, the moment the creature saw the man in white she instantly backed up as much as she could into the security guard behind her. Though he quickly pushed her off of him and kept her right in between the two of them.  “Ah. K-10, my most prized subject here. Although….. you have been ruining yourself lately, haven’t you?” Dr. Henry leaned in close, his gloved hands grabbing the creature’s face quite roughly. She let out a growling whine in an attempt to scare him…but instead sounded like a pitiful plea. Her eyes shut tightly as Dr.Henry thumbed into the deep creases of her hollowed cheeks, forcing her mouth open as he tightly gripped against the points of her jaw, looking inside and seeing her teeth yellow, gums receded and scrunched up tongue deprived of any pleasure of taste or texture against it. After some observation, he finally let go of her and watched her wincing away from his touch, giving him a deadly glare and low growl. The lanky man gave off a dark chuckle at his toy’s reaction. Watching such hatred and fight in her eyes, the act of bravery, when fear was spilling out of those trembling eyes…. defying him and the useless hope of winning was just… so cute.  He had to restrain himself, he knew he had to show control, absolute control over such a fine specimen, and one that was made so well. Though he had a bad habit of breaking them, and in a way, if it went exceptionally well, he would make a new toy out of the broken pieces. In a way, it would be so much better than before. So much more fun, such excitement for the scientist.  “Well, no matter. We’ll have to fix that… if you survive this next test.” Dr.Henry waved his hand for the two to follow him. The guard shoved the creature to continue walking, stumbling and growling in response. The scientist stopped both of them at the metal door and held out his hand.  “That is enough for now Jermane. You can go out front and watch. There is to be no interruption, even from you. Make sure no one enters. If it’s for me, tell them I’m in the middle of testing and to leave an email for me to handle later.” Dr. Henry stated strictly, not breaking eye contact with the worried man in front of him. The creature could feel the man grip tighter on her, and Dr. Henry’s eyebrow raised expectantly when the guard hesitated to hand her over.  Though with one cold and warning glare from the scientist, Jermane finally let go of the creature. She fell to her knees, staying curled down and still. She didn’t try to scurry or fight, the pitiful display was quickly put to an end by the scientist.  Dr.Henry instantly grabbed the back of the creature’s neck and gripped around her scars, her cords and her airway. The creature’s eyes widened in fear, her whole body going limp and hands gently laid upon Dr.Henry’s. Her silent plea of mercy as her mouth opened wide, revealing the monstrous canines behind it. Jermane flinched back in shock and fear. The scientist’s expression stayed the same as he picked her up with ease.  Although it was slightly difficult to keep that neutral expression. He could feel the panicked pulse pushing against his grip, each dry swallow, the freezing skin against his, it was such a sweet tease. Able to control this creature’s fragile life. No matter how many times, he always loved the feeling of life. The living being, able to be manipulated, killed, changed, all at his doing.  “You may leave.”  Jermane scurried out of the office and stood at the door behind him with second thoughts on who he should be afraid of. Dr.Henry was finally able to, relax. The creature was yanked and forced to scramble to stand up and clumsily walk inside the room. Dr.Henry flicked on the light and revealed the area to her. She was scared of course, but so far it was nothing too out of the ordinary. A concrete room, grey walls and black tiled floor. A black curtain had split the room in half, leaving only a cold medical table with metal restraints, a cart of horrifying surgical utensils all neatly cleaned and placed on each shelf.  The creature avoided eye contact, though barely resisted when being lifted and snapped into the contraption. She closed her eyes with a defeated sigh… ready for the worst. However, Dr.Henry grabbed her cheeks hard and yanked her head to meet his now passionate, and mentally cracked look.  “Open them K-10. Now. You really thought today would be about you? Everyone knows how easily bored I get.” That sadistic smile, and the unnerving tone in his voice made the creature’s breath uneven. Just what were his intentions? This somehow felt different, more dangerous. After a brief inhale she could sense, another creature here. And not only anyone…. No…. it couldn’t be…  Dr.Henry could see the sinking expressions go through her head, processing, and realizing that they weren’t alone. He removed his touch from her and went to the curtains, unveiling an official surgical area of the room.. Buckets, preserve containers, similar operational tools. In the middle of it all was a disastrous creature, as large as the flat table it was strapped too. The beast had lumps, clubbed limbs, scars, oozing wounds and saliva dripping off it’s blood-stained and rotten teeth. Jagged, long, fanged, with a huge underbite. It breathed slowly, turning its head slowly to look at the creature across the room. With a huff from it’s flattened nose, it let out a screechy whine.  “A…! Ah..!!” The creature struggled to call out the beast’s name, with such scarred tissue on her vocal chords and lack of speaking for months on end it was hopeless. She kept making small noises, attempting to try and say something!  “Yeeesss, the two have been through quite the years together. Although, Subject K-09 here does not possess the same genetic mutations as K-10. Thus within the later years slowly K-09 will grow tumors,experience cancerous diseases, or its body will slowly shut down and malfunction in one way or the other. Meanwhile Subject K-10 possess a genetic makeup entirely different from the rest. Thus keeping it alive is essential. Meanwhile…..”  Dr. Henry slowly swayed over to the table, caressing the bare stomach of K-09. Tracing the marked dashes that laid across multiple areas of the body, earning growling and jerking movements from the beast in response. Was the scientist recording? Was there a camera inside this room?  “It has been agreed the most optimal way to continue research on subject K-09….Would be to dissect it. Preserving its organs, eyes, skin… muscles… bone… Slowly strip away everything… before you become spoiled …” Dr. Henry’s professional tone was slowly cracking, sadistic and horrid intentions slipping through the cracks. He slowly grabbed his gloves, relishing the sound of each rubber end snapping back. The beast flinched, looking to the creature with its small, fearful eyes. It was an expression of absolute despair, a final goodbye, knowing well that life will end in this room.  The creature started screeching in protest, jerking her limbs and slamming her body against the table in a poor attempt to stop him. Dr. Henry tsked as he slowly chose his scalpel. “Now now, this must be done…. Unless, you can plead? It will be difficult with your shriveled and scarred vocal cords. But if you can manage to plead your case as I like I will stop the operation.”  Dr.Henry took a syringe, plunging the serum into the beast. It jerked, struggled, screeched as if it was dying… and slowly the movements stopped. He could still see the beast breathing, calmly. Its eyes darting side to side. “You better hurry K-10.”  He dragged out his aim to the upper chest and slowly inched his scalpel deep into the flesh of the beast. It could barely open its mouth, letting out a soundless scream as Dr.Henry sliced right, down, left, flipping open the piece of flesh like a demented doorway to the beast’s very insides. Blood ran down the side of the table, and screeches were let out by the creature herself. She quickly started muttering, moving her lips, squealing and screeching.  “P…..pleeeeeeaaaas…….pleaaaa” she muttered, attempting to sew the sounds together into words to stop this madness.  “You’re the only one who can stop this…. But it won’t happen if I can’t hear you.” Dr.Henry enjoyed every cut, digging his gloved hands into the body, feeling the pulses, the sputtering blood, organs moving and twitching at his touch, it was a guilty, pleasurable sensation for the man. He took his time slowly cutting the flesh into smaller parts, a disturbing grin on his face, his body shuddering as the blood squelched under his grip.  “Please…. please please please please please please please please please…” the creature kept squealing out, shaking her head, her eyes shutting tightly together as she continued to repeat her pleas. The beast let out a gurgled hack, making the creature’s eyes snap open. She watched the beast’s blood slip through the edges of its agaped mouth as Dr. Henry watched the pitiful look on his toy.  “Please what? Even a monster like yourself should be more specific…. Are you asking for more? Please~ speak up K-10, I can’t work without noise.” He cooed, digging his hands back into the beast and cutting away at its internal organs. any sign of control and sanity had left him the moment he entered the room. He was too excited, this was going so well for him. Dr.Henry teased himself, thinking about how this will end, on one end he was impatient wanting to break the creature already to see such a reaction. On the other, he had to savor this moment. Listen to every reaction and noise… watch every expression and detail of the body…. Feel each pulse, feel the life slowly drain from this beast in his hands. This man was no longer a man, but a monster overtaken by bloodlust, intoxicated by the smell of copper filling his lungs…  The creature screeched and banged her head against the metal table attempting to speak more words, tears flowing over her face, making her vision blur and burn with each blink, forcing herself to look at him, to get his attention. “PLEASE, ST- Stooooop!! PLease STop!! pLeAse sToP!!! Please stop, please please stop, stop it stop it stop it please!!” She screeched out, her voice croaked, cracked, and sounded like she was choking, screaming out and begging for mercy like she had so long ago.  Dr.Henry’s sadistic grin only grew wider as the creature begged, and continued to remove each one of the beast’s insides, gently placing them in their bins. The creature continued to bawl, becoming louder and louder with each cut and each rip off from the body. Her body contorted, her limbs and body desperately changing shifting, attempting to go into a stronger form to stop this maddening event.  “Please stop pLeAse StOp Please sToP pLeAse StOp Please sToP PLEASE STOP PLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASESTOPPLEASE-!”  A final horrid squelch echoed through the room.  The large organ pulsed for a moment in the scientist’s hand, before slowly laying still. The body on the table was still, save for the blood dripping onto the tile. Its chest no longer heaved, the body’s mouth left agap, the body’s eyes left half open, glazed over, empty. The soul encased in them has left. The beast, was gone.  Dr.Henry let out a disturbing chuckle, “Ohhhh, too late. You could have stopped this…. But you …”  He looked over and stopped what he was saying. Something’s wrong. The creature’s body contorted, blood was pouring from her mouth, her body grew, skin peeled, scales formed, bones were cracking everywhere, limbs bent, snapped, flesh could be heard ripping itself apart and forming again. Soon the creature broke free of the metal restraints, immediately falling through the glass screen as it morphed. The creature was no longer recognizable… a long muzzle with a thousand teeth, eyes large and small, of all sorts scattered across its face. Limbs like a lizard’s… claws and flesh meshed together, a huge jagged body with showing ribs,spine, neck. Scales, flesh, feathers, fur, all mingled together in a horrid decoration across this form. This was no longer a creature, but a monster.  Without any hesitance the creature screeched to life, an ear-bleeding scream suddenly running and smashing through the metal door and seeing red below its claws. The monster could barely fit through the hallways as it raged through.  Alarms were set off, guards rushed to the third floor to stop the containment breach. Panic and chaos filled the facility, blood curdling screams filled the air as the beast ripped into everything that got in its way. Gun shots, blaring buzzers, shattering glass, growls, squelches, spilt blood, eaten bodies, papers flying… everything was happening at once, no one was prepared, and everyone suffered this monster’s wrath. This night was the most beautiful mural, a mural of consequence.  Senses were at a buzz, spiked to the edge and yet numb. The monster’s body shrieked for mercy at the insufferable damage, and yet the monster could feel none of it. Adrenaline, fear, and pure feral instinct for survival was all that ran through its broken mind. It looked passed the flooding bodies, to the white void in front of it. Faraway screams of terror and despair start to fade behind it’s chaotic path.  Finally busting through the final door, a freezing chill bit into the many bullets and tranquilizers dug into it’s crawling flesh and wounds. Stretching out it’s large leather and feather wings, the monster ran, faster and faster, as everyone shoved each other and piling up the stairs and out onto the roof, quickly scurrying to contain the monster, one more flap, one more jump, and…..  ‘  ; ‘* . * ; : ……… “Am…. I alive? Am I dead…? Inbetween?….”  “Everything hurts……”  “….Where am i?”  There was a freezing wind against her pale and thin skin. She slowly regained her senses, feeling a soft, dusty, and tangible flooring…no.. it was ground. The scent around her was moist and earthy. The sound of quiet chirping and gentle rush of water filled her ears. After mustering the mental strength, she opened her eyes. Trees stood as tall as her eyes could see, surrounding, and what seemed to be protecting her… Moss, rocks, grass, flowers, they were all here. And above it all was a light orange sky, speckled with twinkling stars… it was so beautiful. She heaved, taking in a large breath, starting to sob softly, riddled with joyous laughter on her bleeding and cracked lips. Tears rolled down her hollow cheeks and onto the dirt below where her knotted black hair laid sprawled out. Her rib encased chest rose with each stuttering breath, and her toes curled and uncurled as her legs attempted to curl up. Her watery light brown eyes happily looked up to the gorgeous scenery around her, it was almost too good to be true…  She shakily reached up to the brightening sky with her boney hand. This was real. She really made it…  Nalani, was free. Writing Tagliiiist: @aliasastrid , @bogbodybitch , @coralblast , @crybb-purrgundy , @dazed-night-lights , @lightrhetoric , @persephonescomplex , @tenacious-scripturient , @theworst-pirate , @screamingbasement , @xxxdreamerp666xxx  (Lemme know if you want to be added or removed! :)

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thebiasrekkers · 5 years ago

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Make It Right [BTS Mafia!AU]

Plot: “It’s always darkest before the dawn…” It’s a dog-eat-dog world in Seoul, South Korea. One has to dwell in the shadows in order to reach for the light. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to feel the sunlight on your face? What will it take to drag you back into darkness? How long will the journey be to make it right?

Rating: NC-17 // NSFW

Pairings: Jin x OC | Taehyung/Hoseok x OC | Yoongi/Jungkook x OC

Warnings: Graphic Violence (bloody violence), Heavy Language, Angst, Slow Burn, Smut

Previous Chapters: Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

Links: FAQ || BTS Masterlist || Admin E’s AO3 || Admin E’s WP || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 2,089

Tag List: @prisczero, @pinkpjmin, @btsaudge, @flowerwrites06, @unoriginal-username15432, @halussali, @shrimpmsg,

Chapter 43: Lost

“To lose your path is the way to find that path.”

© thebiasrekkers (Admin E). All rights reserved. Reposting/modifying our work is prohibited. Translations are not allowed. Plagiarism/stealing is not tolerated by any means. Legal action will be taken in instances of theft.

Four Years Ago Seoul – Itaewon; Yongsan District South Korea

Blood.

There was blood in the water.

Jimin looked like he crawled out of a mountain of pig guts, blood smears littering his face and neck. Droplets of crimson dripped from his earlobe as an angry red trail wept from a cut under his eye. Another slash decorated the bridge of his nose and he reached up to wipe at it. His fingers and hand were completely coated in red – scarlet trails dripping down his forearm and staining his shirt.

A shaky hand moved to turn the faucet off; barely aware that the water was spilling from the sink and onto the floor. It sloshed over his sneakers, soaking his shoelaces and creeping into his socks. He barely noticed as he slowly dipped his hands into the overflowing bowl of porcelain. The water turned an even deeper shade of pink and orange, growing opaque to where Jimin could no longer see his hands inside the bowl.

Water continued to slip onto the floor as he moved his wrists methodically, cleaning his hands as best he could. His eyes lingered on the dirty faucet nozzle until they shifted to spy his rosary bracelet on the edge of the dingy porcelain mouth. The silver cross glinted under the artificial light that barely encompassed the room, reflecting the pale green tiling that covered the room from ceiling to floor.

The light in the room blinked rapidly, spazzing out in time with the flash of lightning that brightened the dark and stormy world outside of the bathroom. Every so often, he was plunged in darkness – depriving him of the image of his horrible visage reflecting back at him in the mirror.

But even in the dark, Jimin could see everything.

He could see the body hunched over by the urinals, his neck spurting out blood like a fountain. His arm was twisted back, dislocated until it was eventually snapped in an unnatural way. Blood turned the man’s once white shirt completely red as thick rivers of it pooled from his lips.

An arm peeked out from underneath one of the stalls, the fingers attached to the hand all broken. There was a knife sticking out from the back of the hand as blood blossomed across the tile floor. Near the arm and between the person by the urinals was another body lying face down with one of his arms pulled behind him. There was a white item protruding from one of the shoulders, tearing through the jacket, and upon closer inspection, one would know that it was a broken bone pierced through skin and fabric.

Removing his hands from the pale red water and scooping up his rosary, Jimin shook the moisture from his hands and pivoted on his heels as he slowly wiped his palms down the backs of his pants. Another flash of lightning brightened the room, the clap of thunder rumbling the building and causing bits of plaster to crumble from the ceiling. Jimin crouched down to remove his knife from the man’s neck, more blood spurting out until the fountain grew smaller. Jimin wiped the blade over the man’s clothes to clean it off.

Flicking the blade closed, he slid it into the inside pocket of his blazer. Stepping over the man on the floor, he fished in his pocket for his handkerchief and began to wipe at the blood that was still on his neck while looking over his handiwork. It could have been handled a little less recklessly, but Jimin was forced into a small space and dealing with a trio of idiots who believed they had even a snowball’s chance in being able to go toe-to-toe with him.

Their biggest mistake? Listening to a jealous master who wanted Hoseok dead.

A phone buzzed with life and he paused, silencing his own breath so he could hear where the noise was coming from. He entered the stall and removed the phone from the man’s pocket whose neck he’d broken, spying at the screen. Jimin gently pushed the man off the toilet, dropping the phone into the bowl without hesitation. He watched it continue to ring until the water seeped into the grooves and openings of the device, causing the screen to blink wildly before it finally faded to black.

Pulling his own phone out, he dialed a number and pressed the phone to his face; making sure that it was the cheek he’d just cleaned off. They answered in three rings.

“It’s me,” he said softly, stepping over the bodies as he made for the door, “it’s done.”

The other person spoke and this caused Jimin to smirk.

“Just bring the cleaners here, Hyung. They’ll take care of the rest.”

He opened the door, scooping up his rosary beads off the sink and slipping them into his pocket.

“This will make them think twice before trying to come after you again.”

Jimin shut the door behind him as he hung up the phone, straightening his jacket and slicking his hair back off his forehead. The old building was barely anything to look at, which made the entire situation ideal for this sort of thing. His small group that waited for him bowed to him and he tossed the knife and dirty handkerchief to one of them.

“Get rid of those,” Jimin said, his voice cold.

The young man nodded, wrapping the items and then tossing them into a nondescript plastic bag.

“The talk didn’t go well?” he asked and Jimin grinned.

“It went as I thought it would.”

The man nodded, the others following on either side of him.

“They should have just listened to you in the first place. Then they wouldn’t have gone out that way.” Jimin cast a sideways glance toward the young man. “Because you’re The Crimson Claw, right?”

“Wrong.”

The man peered up at him, his expression clearly showcasing his confusion.

“I had no intentions of talking whatsoever. Because I am The Crimson Claw.”

Present Day Seoul – Cheongdam; Gangnam District South Korea

Jimin took a deep breath, his hands balled into fists at his thighs. His thumb slowly rotated over the rosary beads, completely in sync with his heartbeat. He mentally counted back from thirty. Thirty seconds; thirty beats of his heart. The world was silent in the small enclosure as tiny slivers of light broke through the small holes around the wooden box. The burgundy curtain of velvet brushed against his knuckles, providing a small sense of relief from the suffocation that threatened to overtake him.

The latch across from him loosened as the door opened. Light flooded in from the other side of the diamond grating separating him from the man who was adjusting himself in his seat. When the door closed, they were once again plunged into darkness. Jimin released the air trapped in his lungs, the hand holding the rosary moving to form the sign of the cross in front of him before clasping his fingers together in a sign of prayer.

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. My last confession was three years and six months ago.”

There was a pregnant pause, threatening to swallow Jimin up completely. He took another breath, the sweat tingeing his brows as his chestnut fringe clung to his forehead. Jimin felt the priest’s eyes watching him through the grating and he attempted to swallow the lump in his throat. A part of him felt like he was being judged, but wasn’t that expected? It should have been. If it wasn’t, then Jimin judged himself in the stead of his Savior.

“Go on, My Child,” urged the priest gently.

He tried to wet his lips as he floundered for the words. Jimin cleared his throat as he attempted to formulate his sentences, his hands trembling. He shut his eyes tightly, his mouth forming into a thin line. He knew the priest was waiting for him to continue, but inwardly he wanted nothing more than to run from that small enclosure.

It felt like the weight of his sins would crush him.

“I’m a Christian, Father, but we believe in The Almighty and his Grace. Prayer alone cannot save me, but I feel that simply writing things down in a journal could hardly be enough to absolve me of my sins.” The words were less heavy on his tongue and he pressed his back against the wall. “The Blood of Christ has granted me penance. I know this. But I am afraid, Father, of the wrongs I have done in order to secure the futures of my brothers and myself.”

When he opened his eyes again, they quickly adjusted to the darkness; he was used to this. It was the sunlight that hurt his eyes and made it difficult to see.

Old memories flooded his mind, reminding him of the past and of the blood he shed. The metallic taste and coppery odor seemed permanently stuffed in his nostrils back then. His hand was often forced during encounters when he donned the mask of the Golden Jackals’ liaison. It was his job to speak to others in various districts, warning them that despite being a new group and former Jade Fang members, they were not to be trifled with.

They would do things fairly and if that fairness was ever challenged, then it was Jimin’s job to pass the message along in other ways. He was given the name Crimson Claw because he had no issues cutting anyone down that dared to impede his brothers’ paths to success and good fortune. He was merciless when it came to anyone he cared for.

This same mercilessness existed quietly in his heart even when they all lived their simple, country lives in Hwaseong. It was the reason why Jimin was the last to arrive in Seoul after Namjoon made his offer to come back with him to the big city – to reach into the dark and dirty underworld and pull out a flawless diamond. Jimin’s life was his family’s bakery and it was always assumed he would take over. He could never admit to how easy it was for him to embrace the life that Namjoon and the others were suggesting they attempt to live.

Because he didn’t want to show how simple it was for him to smile in that chaotic world. He didn’t want to worry his brothers, or even scare them away. He was more afraid of losing them than he was of losing himself.

Jimin understood the true depth of his heart better than anyone. Because he was a sinner; he bathed in the sin and wore it like a badge of pride. He had no problem hurting anyone if it meant protecting the people who meant the most to him.

He would become the devil himself.

What worried Jimin now wasn’t the storm that was coming. What concerned him was the possibility of losing himself along the way.

“I have hurt people. I have ruined people. We all have. But I cannot confess their sins for them. I can only speak of my own.” He squeezed his fingers tightly together, the beads of the rosary scraping against each other. “I know I cannot bear their sins on my shoulders, but I desperately want to, Father. My brothers are good people; good men. They deserve all the wonderful things this life has to offer to them.”

“You are very kind-hearted, My Child,” spoke the priest, causing Jimin to look up at him, “and God sees that. He knows what lies in your heart every waking moment of your life.”

“If that’s true, Father,” Jimin whispered, “then he knows I’m beyond saving. I’m okay with that, I am.”

“You’re alright with being outside of the realm of redemption?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I’ve found my place in the shadows and I will do everything, anything I can, to keep my brothers in the light.”

Jimin peered down at his hands to look at the sterling silver cross dangling from the rosary beads.

“Forever.”

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