Perdition-Last Chance [Open, but you MUST read the OOC before hopping in]

[Poprockz]

Darla turned, walking back to him and squatted down next to him, her eyes looking at him very carefully.

"Have you ever heard of a serial killer called "The Red Lady?" She was convicted for 8 murders within the state of California. It was one of the more televised cases due to the fact that the court found her guilty and sentenced her to capital punishment. Have you ever heard of that, Toby?"

She continued to search his face for a reaction. On the news, it had been said that the killer had murdered each of them after mutilating their bodies. The killer's signature had been removing the man's reproductive organ and cauterizing the wound, allowing time to confront them with their own misdeeds. She would then stab them until they lay dead in a pool of their blood. The prosecutor had only been able to prove 8, though there possibly could have been more.

The capital punishment that had been selected was the chair. The ominous chair in the middle of the room. With a flip of the switch, she had lost her life as she had known it.

 

[Drobabes]

He stared back, his eyes widening a little as it dawned on him who she was. Yea, he had heard of her, though usually he paid little attention to worldly matters such as that.

He was silent for a moment, watching her and processing why she was asking him this. Finally he couldn't take her burning gaze any longer and he looked down at Ella.

Her pale face. Her cloudy eyes. It was all too familiar.

There was evil in this world. And there was good. And then there was something in-between. Maybe it was a country boys faith talking as tears spilt from his eyes and plopped down on his hands and Ella's face, or maybe he really was just a fool.

"You're here, aren't you? In Perdition? 'The road to redemption is endless. The path to Hell-a simple step.' Isn't that what the Bar tells us as we walk through the door?"

 

[Poprockz]

Though she thought she had no tears left, it would seem that she was mistaken. Her eyes started spilling over again as a pained look settled on her face. Did he really not realize it, or was he choosing not to? Or maybe he truly thought she was worthy of redemption, though Darla almost dismissed the possibility entirely.

"You don't understand, Toby." She held out her blood-stained hands, still dripping with the slick liquid. "I killed them. I killed every last one of them. I knew. I knew what I was doing and I did it anyway."

She started to sob, falling from the squat to her knees. "All this time, I thought I was justified. I thought that because of what they did, that they needed to be removed. I thought that I could save the next girl they find. Jenine. Alice. Jessica. Stacy. Charlotte. Deborah. Alex. Gwen. All of them with no light anymore. All of them broken because of one night, because of someone's greed."

"I don't know what to think anymore. I don't think I deserve redemption, Toby!" she said the words angrily, as though she needed to get through to him who she truly was: a murderer.

 

[Drobabes]

A pained expression on his own face mirrored hers, though he still couldn't meet her gaze. From the peripheral of his vision, he saw her bring up her blood stained hands and then drop to the floor, and for a split second he remembered the way the mans face had looked after he had bashed his head into the concrete, coming out of a red haze and staring down at a twitching corpse. He didn't close his eyes, he knew it would just make the picture all the more clear, but he had to look at something. So he does meet her gaze then, his own shame in his own actions not as strong as the revulsion of the memory.

Her beautiful red lips, and her eyes, so twisted up with pain. Not a day ago they had been mischievous and alluring. Happy. What pain it took to push someone over the edge.

"Do you think I'm any better?"

He reaches out to her, takes her blood soaked hand in his own and grips it hard; pulls it to his chest and holds it there.

"Do you think I didn't know what I was doing when I backed those two into a corner and shot them down cold? Or when I beat that man so violently, I cracked his skull open and scattered his brains on the concrete?"

He moves their hands down then, and places them on top of Ella's limp wrist.

"Look at her Darla. Take a good look.

"Maybe we didn't do things how we were supposed to do them...but we did them because we were scared and we had someone we had to protect. We had someone we had to stop. You stopped those men and you protected something you loved."

He was staring at her hard now. His blood shot gaze imploring and searching for something that humans just couldn't put into words, but were as instinctual as the will to survive.

"Now come on darlin'.."

His voice, so soft now.

"You don't really believe that, do you?"

 

[Poprockz]

Darla flinched as he grabbed her hand, not expecting those words, nor the touch that accompanied them. As he pulled her hand to his chest her eyes followed their journey, and it became her own turn to avoid his gaze. He had already soiled his hands when he checked on her earlier, but now as her hand rested on his chest, the canvas of his warm chest was smeared with scarlet paint. She almost recoiled at the sight of the embodiment of her sins blemishing his person, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull away.

His words bounced around her head as she silently listened and looked at their hands. She couldn’t deny that it had been brutal to listen to him beat the man to death, but to be fair, the man was already dead. He would revive in his room, having died from the first few strikes.

However, the other kills... they were similar to hers. He hadn’t mutilated them, nor had he forced them to endure a painful evening of interrogation while the truth was forced from their lips, but he had been conscious of taking their lives.

She did as he said and looked down at Ella, the woman he loved, a brave but trapped woman who was caged by shame and self-loathing. What would she have done with her life if she hadn’t been broken? Darla’s fingers brushed the stark white scars, somehow even more pale than the woman’s skin. The blood smeared across her skin, adorning her wrist with a bracelet of rubies.

His voice prompted her to look up into his eyes. His sweet, brown eyes. His eyes that almost seemed too innocent for Perdition. She was helpless in his gaze, paralyzed by the way he looked at her.

Her lip trembled as he asked the question: did she really believe that she was unworthy of redemption? It seemed like he saw something in her that made him believe that she was good, or at least that she deserved a chance to make things right. Maybe even a chance at forgiveness.

She gently brought his hand to her lips and kissed the back of his hand softly, letting her lips linger on his skin for a few moments before giving him a look that betrayed a bit of hope. “Do you believe in forgiveness?”

 

[Drobabes]

"Do you believe in forgiveness?"

Toby made a sort of weak half laugh as he cupped her cheek and tried in vain not to sob. He did believe, but it wasn't up to either of them whether they would receive it or not.

"I do Darla."

To his surprise, Ella reached out and found Darlas other hand. When he looked down, she was gazing at Darla with a weak smile.

He knew that smile. It was the smile she had given him when he untied her from her bonds after killing her father. The smile she gave him when he tended to her wounds, and when he woke her from a nightmare. It was a smile of gratitude and love and compassion when words failed her.

It's not safe

Get out...

She closed her eyes suddenly as she tried to fight off another coughing fit, letting Darlas hand go to cover her own mouth. She manages to get it under control, but it's clear it's taking a toll on her even with the medication numbing most of her pains.

"We need...to leave..."

Her eyes open just slightly, and she seeks Darlas out once more. Holding her gaze, she has to force herself to speak above a whisper.

"Can you hear them?"

 

[Poprockz]

“I do, Darla.”

How she wished a man in her life would have said those words to her, but here in Perdition, right then, they were the words that would free her from doubt in those moments. What came after they escaped, she couldn’t be sure. One thing was for certain, though: she would protect the three of them at any cost.

She felt a gentle hand that she knew wasn’t his. Looking down, she met Ella’s warm gaze. How could someone who had been so beaten down still have the sweetness and compassion her eyes held? Darla’s own gaze softened, overcome by the gentle comfort of Ella’s hand.

However, concern soon pushes to the forefront of her mind as Ella begins to hack and cough, the blood in her lungs not doing her any favors. Having studied psychology, she also had a bit of a knowledge of general medicine and at least recognized that it wasn’t just mucus rattling around. She didn’t want to know what would happen if she died here in the catacombs.

Her next words sent a chill down Darla’s spine. As much as she wished she could deny it, she too had heard whispers. Voices tugging at the edge of her mind, like children vying for attention.

“Yes... we need to go. Toby, dump out your supplies.” While he complied, she quickly walked over to the body and took her knife. It was still slick, but her hands were sure now. She wiped it on her blouse and went over, taking the large bag from him and cutting two holes in it for Ella’s legs, Darla then loosened the straps so it would sit lower on him, grabbing her slacks and standing up, but not moving to put them on.

“We need to put Ella in the bag and tie my pants around her and your torso to keep her against you. You’ll be able to travel faster that way without getting as tired.”

 

[Drobabes]

A chill ran up his spine as he watched the two women share knowledge of something that he didn't understand, and didn't want to either. Giving the supplies a last glance, he grabs the bullets and shoves them in his pants pocket, then goes to retrieve the gun, doing his best not to look at the body as he does.

"...You’ll be able to travel faster that way without getting as tired.”

"Right, let's get her on my back. It'll be easier if we.."

He was going to say, if we have to run, but he lets the sentence drop off and focuses on helping her get her legs through the holes instead.

"Alright Elly, ready? I'm going to sit you up and then I want you to wrap your arms around my neck tight."

She nodded, then held her breath as he got her up. Once he had her up in the air and her legs around his waist, he helped to direct Darla with securing her on him.

"Lets use some of those rags and get her shoulders secured to mine, I don't want her falling back if she passes out or can't hold on with her arms."

"Toby.."

She spoke his name as she laid her head against his shoulder.

"I don't know if this is real...or I'm just really drunk again..."

Tears start to run down her face and soak into his jacket.

"But if it's real...I'm so sorry. I killed him Toby. I killed our little boy.."

A boy. The knowledge was like a fresh stab to his heart, and his face twists up with pain. He didn't know how she could know what it was, she was so barely far along, but he had no doubts that she did. He takes a deep breath and kisses the side of her face.

"It's not your fault Elly. You didn't do anything wrong. When we get out of here, we can talk more."

Wiping his eyes so he could see past his own two feet, he takes the loose rags from Darla and helps her tie the last of the knots.

"Alright. Let's get the fuck out of this place.

 

[Poprockz]

He didn’t have to finish the sentence, as they all knew exactly what he meant. She didn’t want to think about that psycho chasing them, or perhaps something worse.

Darla helped Ella up onto his back, making sure she didn’t weakly fall backward while they did it. When she was up, she got to work securing the woman. It was chilly, and Darla was basically just wearing a bra and thong, as well as a white blouse, but the cold didn’t seem to bite as much with all that had happened to get her blood pumping.

She nodded at Tony’s suggestion, gathering rags and returning just as Ella spoke. She froze, just about to put a rag around them when she heard those pitiful words. Her own eyes teared up, knowing the truth of what had occurred. Toby taking a rag from her brought her back to reality and she continued to secure her.

Once she was all ready, Darla grabbed her knife and a can of soup. It might come in handy for food, but was also a decent blunt weapon.

“I couldn’t agree more. I need a fucking drink.”

 

[Drobabes]

The field was gone and in it's place was the same empty streets and buildings that they travelled through before. The only difference now was that it was unbearably dark.

He had the lighter-but that was all. He had wanted to bring some of the fire with them, but he had no way to hold it or make a torch. Now, as they walked, he was lost deep in thought with not only what they were going to do if the lighter ran out of fuel, but just how the hell they were going to find their way back to those stairs.

"Darla,"

He doesn't stop walking.

"We're going to have to search these places for supplies. As much as I want to get out of here, this lighter won't last forever."

"..the smell.."

"What was that Ella?"

"I said...don't go in the buildings...with that smell. Like rot."

He didn't know if she was completely with it, the whole place smelled like rot. And then it clicked for him-mildew and rot. That was the thing he couldn't quite place before.

"I've been down here before. It will-"

She stopped to cough wetly and Toby tries to shush her, telling her she doesn't have to talk, but she goes on anyway.

"It will trick you. And test you. Make you see things..and feel things..."

 

[Poprockz]

Darla pursed her lips at the mention of being cast into darkness. She hadn’t yet thought about the lighter running out of juice, and the idea terrified her. They weren’t used to navigating in the dark, but those souls who had been down here were experts at it, putting themselves at a distinct advantage.

Ella’s words made her shudder, though. As her eyes nervously glanced at the houses, it was as though one could sense ghosts and demons lurking within, watching and waiting for them to come in and test the waters. She didn’t want to face any more of her demons today, so she was reluctant to go on a scavenging mission.

“If only that guy had taken my pack too when he took me. My headlamp is in there, and it should have some juice. There are also extra batteries in the-“ Darla cleared her throat. “There are extra batteries.” She didn’t really want to mention that the batteries were in the toy she used to fuck herself earlier. She had checked, and the batteries were compatible with the headlamp. Maybe that’s why they gave it to her.

“Maybe we should listen for the water? There was one close to the stairs, right?” Darla suggested, keeping close to the two of them.

 

[Drobabes]

"Mm. We could try to find a waterfall, but there had been more than one, and if it really gets to raining up there, then more could form. I think we should take our chances while we still can."

He slows down as he starts to take peeks through broken windows and doors if they were already open, and despite thinking that Ella was probably out of it, he did take a sniff before getting too close. He didn't know what he was supposed to be looking for though. Or, rather in this case, smelling. She had mentioned rot, but everything smelled of rot and it made his stomach flip.

 

[Poprockz]

Darla sighed, he was completely right, but she wished he wasn’t. She didn’t want to go into any of the houses, especially with the possibility of the lighter going out at any moment. Who knew what horrors awaited them in the hateful shadows of the houses?

“Hm... Ella, do you mean specific ones that stink, or all of them?” Darla dreaded her reply, hoping that she would tell them that some of the houses were actually safe. At the same time, even if they were, the way Perdition worked, she wouldn’t be surprised if the safe houses were empty and the things they needed were in the rotting ones.

Before now, she considered herself a fairly brave woman, but Perdition has humbled her in that regard. Her bravery felt shot, leaving her walking close to Toby, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking in fear of the dark and of the things that waited for the lighter to go out. There was no guarantee that they would wake up on the surface if they died, so the stakes were high.

 

[Drobabes]

Ellas mind was somewhere else.

She was in a dark room, sitting on an old mattress, soaked through with her own blood. She had been sitting that way for days, maybe even weeks, her wounds never healing.

The walls were mosaics of burnt paper and scars of its previous inhabitants. Dried blood and shit and knifed out gashes told their stories better than any words on paper ever could.

In the corner was a crib, dusted to a deep brown and occasionally letting out the echos of a babies cries. On the floor were scattered portraits of what happiness should have looked like, and old empty bottles of beer. She saw all of this as the light of a torch lit up her world for the first time after she arrived.

He stood in the doorway, cloaked in old rags and with such a gaunt face that she could see it even through the mask he wore. Their eyes met, and something in the way he gazed upon her let her know that it was right.

"Hello pretty lady..."

___ ___ ___

Ella

Her eyes turn away from the flame of the lighter and towards Darla. The women had said something to her and it takes her a moment to remember what it was.

...all of them?

"Some. Some of them it's just rooms, some of them it's...it's the whole house.."

Toby didn't like that Darla was trying to get her to talk, she was so weak already, but he couldn't deny that he wanted and needed to know as well.

 

[Poprockz]

Darla nodded, noticing a concerned look Toby made toward Ella. Perhaps he was worried about how much time they had to get her to the surface.

"Okay. Thanks, Ella. That's all we need to know. Toby. Now we know how to conduct ourselves relatively safely without the houses turning on us. My nose is awful, so I'm leaving it up to you to determine whether we should go inside or not. Either way, we need to stay together." She said, hovering over Toby's shoulder as though she couldn't bear being too far away from the lighter.

She approached a house and sniffed, shrugging. "Yep, my nose still sucks."

 

[Drobabes]

"I don't think it's just your nose. This whole place has made me want to gag since we got down here."

He didn't smell anything out of the ordinary, but he took the gun out anyway and held it in his hand as he made his way to the door. Cautiously stepping up, he holds the lighter a little higher.

"I think we can buy ourselves some time if we can make some kind of torch. We'll have to find some kind of fuel to soak it in though, or it might burn up too fast. Maybe some lard or vegetable oil..."

He was trying to remember how to make one from his camping days as he inspected some rotten furniture. Green wood would have been ideal, as it still had moisture and wouldn't burn as easy, but a broomstick or board from a bed would work just as well. Something not too flammable for the wick, maybe some curtains, and something to tie the wick to the handle. Wire, but he doubted he could find that. Maybe he could bend some metal silverware...

Something creaks off to the left, and knowing Darla is beside him on his right, he whips around with the gun and does his best to illuminate the area with the lighter. Nothing stands in the shadows, however, but some dusty steps and flaked paint on the stairs railing.

"Well,"

He lowers the gun and puts it away.

"There's our handles."

He walks up and gives the wood a shove with his foot, testing the strength of the boards and finding it surprisingly easy to break as one cracks and splinters. Giving a few more good shoves, he soon has three pieces of railing to work with. He picks one up and holds the lighter under the end until it gets a good flame going.

"Here Darla, this won't last as long without a wick"

He hands her the burning stick.

"Let's try and find some kind of oil and maybe a curtain to use. Something a little less flammable than cotton."

Seeing that she's shivering as he hands her the stick, he notices for the first time that the temperature has changed.

"Let's get you some clothes too..."

He picks up another piece of wood and lights it on fire.

"I'm going to check out what's up stairs. I want you to stay down here near the door, after you check out the kitchen, and if anything happens-yell. Loud. I'm not going to let something happen to you again."

He knew she was scared, and he was too, but they had to take this risk. He couldn't be shooting in the dark. So now, with a better light source, he pockets the lighter and makes his way up the stairs.

Downstairs, the whispers began again...

 

[Poprockz]

Darla doubted that there would be any oil down there, but she nodded and resolved to at least help him look. They were desperate, after all. The sound made her jump as well, but she sighed in relief when it turned out to be nothing. It was even better when she then had a lit torch in her hand, even though she knew it wouldn't last too long.

"Thanks." She smiled weakly as he lit his own torch and discussed the plan. Darla really didn't want to split up, but it seemed like he thought they didn't have a choice. "Stay safe..." she murmured worriedly as she watched them ascend the staircase.

Going into the kitchen, she didn't notice the particularly rotten smell of the place, instead moving to look in the cupboards. They were all bare except for some rotting food and some empty containers. She did find a box of empty baking soda boxes, but she simply shrugged and moved on. Darla opened one of the drawers and was surprised to find it filled with nothing but knives. They varied in shape and size, but they looked pristine and almost new. Every drawer she went to was filled with knives and she started to get a pit in her stomach. Going back to the first drawer, she pulled it out and balked, seeing that it was now full of blood.

She opened two more with the same result, her head shaking as though she didn't want to believe what she was seeing. The woman backed up near the window and felt something brush her shoulder. Suddenly, the curtain wrapped around her neck and lifted her off the ground, strangling her as she dangled from the tight hold of the fabric. The torch was dropped into a drawer of blood, going out with a hiss.

"T-toby!" Darla tried to scream, but it came out as a choked whisper instead. The curtains were tight around her neck and she struggled against them, kicking and trying to undo them from her neck. Everything on the counters was too far away for her to kick onto the floor to get Toby and Ella's attention, so she tried to think of what to do. As a last-ditch effort, Darla reached down to where the knife was tied to her leg and brought it up. She cut and made short work of the curtain, but she ended up cutting her cheek, neck, and shoulder in the process.

With the curtain cut, she fell to the floor and coughed, one of her hands going to her neck to hold against her cuts. None of them were life-threatening, but they still stung and were bleeding a bit. She scrambled to her feet and ran out of the kitchen, leaving her torch behind as she quickly went to the main doorway. Unbuttoning her blouse, she took it off and ripped one of the sleeves off before putting it back on. It was then tied as tightly as she could without restricting her breathing.

"TOBY! It's not safe! Toby!" She yelled loudly, hoping to get his attention before something happened to them up there.

 

[Drobabes]

The relief that the torch brought him was immense. His eyes had adjusted as best they could with the small flame of the lighter, but the torch lit his way completely.

The second floor felt colder than downstairs, and and as he waved the torch up above his head, he saw a small plume of vapor form from his breath. He stopped momentarily, unsure if he should continue or not. They had the wood and the lighter, and while making a proper torch would be useful, he had seen plenty of furniture in the other houses. Technically, he could just keep lighting new pieces of wood from the old. That would be the smart thing to do. However, the lack of sleep combined with stress and dehydration left him feeling foggy.

He shouldn't have taken the few steps forward to reach the door. He shouldn't have ignored how cold the handle felt against the palm of his skin. And, he certainly shouldn't have stood there like a deer in the headlights staring at the demonic display behind that handle.

The body was strung up with razor wire and hung on large planks of wood that had simply been nailed into the wall. It's arms had been meticulously sliced open to remove the fleshy tendons and ligaments and connect them to the wall, where they spiderwebbed and seemed to grow into the paint.

The room pulsed, and the head of the body slowly lifted. Demonic blue eyes stared straight into him, and for the first time in years, Toby screamed.

___ ____ ____

He came barreling down the stairs, taking them three at a time and clenching the torch as if it were his own heart.

"Get out! GET OUT GET OUT!!"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her painfully, running as fast as he is able to with the two girls and going in whatever the direction the street takes them.

Behind them, the wind whips through the house, lending it a voice to it's anger, as it creaks and splinters and then begins to collapse in on itself. Blood pools up from the ground and under their feet, and within a matter of seconds they are wading through ankle deep crimson.

Ella clasps her hands over her ears and begins to scream.

"He's hurting! It hurts him!"

 

[Poprockz]

Darla heard the scream; it was so piercing and filled with a terror that most men couldn't articulate in any other way. The next thing she knew, she was being dragged through the streets, the two of them sloshing through the blood as they went. The sound of the house collapsing on itself was heard, but she couldn't bring herself to look back- she would not.

She barely registered what Ella was saying, the panic of the situation making her wide-eyed and and terrified, focused only on their escape. However, the fact that she was screaming presumably about the house being hurt, she couldn't give a flying fuck what the house felt in that moment, and therefore chose to ignore their resident ghost-whisperer.

Through the running, she could feel the cuts bleeding down her cheek and neck. It was painful, but didn't outweigh the raw fear she was experiencing as they ran. They came upon a waterfall, well it would have been called as such if it wasn't only comprised of thick, warm blood. She almost retched at the sight, not knowing whether what she was seeing was real or not.

 

[Drobabes]

Toby slowed as they approached the viscous liquid, but he didn't completely stop. Instead he veered them away from it and, hoping beyond hope, looked for the stairs.

"Hurts! It hurts!"

"Ella, shut up!" he yelled, and to his surprise, she listened. Her arms wrapped around his chest and she pushed her face into his back, almost painfully, but at least she wasn't screaming into his ear.

The blood on the ground rose with each step they took and soon, much too soon, it was up past their knees. He held the torch high as they ran, terrified of dropping it and being cast into darkness, left to drown.

He steered them left, around a small shop, and then right again. Behind them the wind howled with ghostly force and felt as if it itself was chasing them. Perhaps it was but he didn't dare check, and he didn't dare let go of Darlas hand.

Something behind crashed and boomed, and Toby pushed them on with new vigor. The blood was slowing their progress, each step feeling heavy and enragingly too slow, as if they were in a dream and this were some kind of nightmare.

"Wait, nightmare.."

He panted the words, completely out of breath. Then he began to slow down until finally he brought them all to a full stop. Slowly, tentatively, he looks behind them.

There was nothing there. The blood was gone. The wind and howling, gone. It was hot and sticky and smelling of mildew and rot once more, but they were not being chased by anything more than their own minds.

He was still breathing heavy and shaking as he turned back around, not really believing it would be that easy, and yet it was for there was the stairs.

 

[Poprockz]

"What are you doing, Toby?!" Darla squeaked as she tugged on his hand, trying to pull him on as he slowed. She then registered that he had said something about a nightmare. Her expression turned confused and anxious, however she did slow to a stop with him. The fear made her heart beat so fast as he turned around, tears falling from her eyes in her body's attempt to relieve some of the stress.

If this was the way she was going to die here, sent into darkness to be separated from the other two, then she wanted to do it with her arms around them. She turned and hugged them to her, slowly opening her eyes to look back at their pursuer. There was nothing, though, only buildings and the collective melancholy of a world where one would be tortured to madness or salvation.

"What the fuck..." Darla breathlessly uttered, bewildered that they were actually safe. She looked down and even the wet feeling of the blood seeping into her shoes was gone. The woman couldn't bring herself to let go of them, even as she saw the staircase. How could have been all in their minds?

 

[Drobabes]

Ella had tried to warn them, that it would test them, but he hadn't really taken what she had said to heart because she was so sick. Once again he had failed to believe her until it had almost been too late. What would have happened if they had kept running? Would they have actually drowned? Or just just fallen off a cliff?

His whole body was shaking now as he hugged Darla close to him with his free arm. It was all too much and he felt like he was on the brink of breaking. He was exhausted and both the girls were crying, and all he wanted to do was get them all out of there and then sleep until he couldn't even remember his own name.

He takes a few shaky breaths before he finally lets go of Darla and gently pushes her to the stairs to begin the long walk. Somehow he felt as if they would be safer once they were on them.

 

[Poprockz]

Almost in a daze, Darla steps onto the staircase and starts walking. As her pants are still currently in use, she walks up in only her thong, her one-armed blouse, and her makeshift bandage. After all that running, her body is warm and she doesn't even think of the need for additional clothes. It was one of those situations where they were beyond the point of shyness- all of them were intimately familiar and had just survived a near-death experience that would haunt them for the remainder of their time in Perdition.

Nevertheless, her ass swayed as she walked, her powerful legs carrying her hopefully to a better place. She didn't need to look back to know they were following, and didn't need to look too far forward to know that the staircase would let them out when it saw fit. Darla could only trust that there would be an end to the staircase, and she would walk until she got there.

Soon she started to see light, her shoulders relaxing as her legs ached from walking up those stairs. She didn't run, didn't rush. There was no need since she could see the end in sight and she didn't want to trip and send them all careening back down. They soon reached it, stepping out into the grey-white light of perdition, the cool raindrops coming down on them as though baptizing them and cleansing them of the world below.

She sunk to her knees and sat there, simply content to be free.

 

[Drobabes]

The fresh air was the most relieving thing. He took a few deep breaths, trying to rid his nose of the rotten stench.

"We made it out.."

He honestly wasn't sure if they were going to. That...place, whatever it was, felt like literal hell and he'd count himself a blessed man if he never had to see it again.

He comes to stand by Darla then sinks down to his knees as well and starts to work on the knots. Once he's got the top ones off, he undoes the ones supporting her weight and lets her slide off, then he hands Darla her pants and carefully picks Ella up in his arms.

Her eyes were closed and she was sweating, but she didn't look any worse than when they had left. Infact, he was honestly astonished that, for the most part, they had made it out in once piece.

"I need to get her in bed so she can sleep. I think we all could use a little rest after that."

 

[Poprockz]

“We made it out...” she replied in awe, her attention being drawn back to him. Her pants returned, she slowly stood up and put them on with wobbly legs, putting a hand on his shoulder for support until she buttoned and zipped them up.

“I think you’re right.” She paused, hesitantly before continuing. “Can I... sleep with you? I really don’t want to be alone yet. The last time I woke up, I was tied up on a pile of rotting clothes. I’m almost afraid that if I close my eyes I’ll end up back there...”

Darla could still hear the way he yelled for her to put her hands behind her, grabbing her and plunging deeply into her hot sex with the intention of fucking his little toy until he was satisfied. A shudder went through her and she rubbed her arms comfortingly.