A slab of cold metal is the first sensation that registers to your brain. The second is the immobility of your wrists and ankles. The third is the pitch blackness of the room as you open your eyes.

You shake at your restraints but the leather straps do not give way. Adrenaline fires through your veins and a scream bubbles up from your chest—but it is then that the fourth sensation triggers your brain.

Your mouth is stitched shut.

Panic turns your blood to ice and hot tears stream freely down your cheeks. How did you end up here?

A metallic jingling and the thump of keys bumping into the handle of a door freezes your limbs. Somewhere to your right, a lock clicks back and a door groans open. Uneven footsteps thud against the tiled floor before ceasing right next to you; you hold your breath and plead with every god you can think of to let you live through the night.

A small click and your vision is drenched in white light. You blink rapidly to adjust your vision to the sudden brightness and the shape of a man comes into view. His face is still scattered in shadows, but enough light is thrown onto his features for you to squeal in horror and pull against the restraints to move away from him.

The man who looks down at you wears a crooked smile with one side of his mouth stitched up like you imagine yours to be. But that is not all that is bound by the red threads. Stitches cover parts of his jaw and cheeks, crossing over one eye