Chapter 20 - Black Torment

Somewhere In Section Ten

An SUV pulled up in front of a mansion gate, a man in a black suit stepped down opening the door for Barbra as she stepped down.

Her eyes scanned the mansion, memories she was hoping to forget flood in.

It was faint, of her when she was little running around with another girl she was older than, their childlike laughter sounding through her head like a plague, she swallowed hard taking a deep breath as she made her way through the gates.

Inside was wide and big majestically, decorated with several, more memories flood in, her fist tighten. A woman approached her.

"Miss Barbra it has been years," the elderly woman said smiling warmly at her.

"Yes June it has been years," Barbra said taking the woman's hand.

"You have grown so much my dear" June said smiling. Barbra just nodded.

"Where is she June? I will like to see her" Barbra said sternly.

June nodded.

"Right this way, you will be the first person she has seen ever since the accident," June said leading her upstairs.

They got to a room door only Barbra walked in, the door shutting behind, the room was wide with enough space. At the window a woman was seated on a relaxing chair watching the skies, she was lost in them. The wind was slowly caressing her long light red hair. Barbra slowly walked towards her silently.

"Hello Rose," Barbra said darkly.

The familiar voice made Rose turn in shock, her green eyes landed on her.

"Sister," Rose said in shock gazing at her elder sister.

"Still waiting and dreaming of your long-lost love?" Barbra said amused.

"You never did like him" Rose said sternly.

"After all these years you still don't" she adds tearing her eyes away from her.

Barbra walked close to her and squat in her front opening the document she held.

"He was a ghoul Rose, your betrayer caused you a lot of things," Barbra said darkly, Rose eyes landed on the papers she opened, her heart nearly stopped when she saw Allen's picture and on it was a stamp of 'killed'.

"Allen" she hissed as her body trembled, tears filled her eyes.

"Even though he killed your daughter you still love him," Barbra said with a stern look, Rose's eyes landed on her furious.

"He would never kill our baby, I know in mine heart he would never do such a thing," Rose said certainly.

"But you would" she adds without a doubt.

"My daughter died because of you" she hissed at her. Barbra smiled.

"And what if I told you she never died but rather was brought up by Allen, your lover ghoul," she said smirking.

Rose's eyes widened as she once more stared at the page she turned. The moment she saw Riley's picture, she broke into tears of joy. Her name at the side.

"Riley?"

"My daughter is alive" she adds in tears running her hands on the picture.

"Allen protected her as he promised. I knew I shouldn't have listened to you when you said he killed our daughter, you are filled with nothing but lies and hatred just like our father" Rose said bravely, placing the picture close to her chest. Barbra just smiled rising to her feet.

"You are right, I am filled with nothing but lies and hatred" she turned to Rose.

"Ever since my sister fell in love with a ghoul and bore a child for him that was a disgrace to the Jones family" Barbra hissed.

"I found love Barbra, something you will never find," Rose said smiling.

Barbra's look darken.

"And my daughter is a product of that love. You are just too jealous to realize that" she adds. Barbra's fist tightens.

"Your Allen is gone Rose" she began.

"And so will your precious daughter, I will make sure of that" she add walking away.

"No Barbra" Rose panicked, she moved.

"BARBRA" Rose shouts as she forced her body up but she landed on the ground, clashing with her wheelchair at the corner. Barbra halted.

"Please Barbra, I have lost a lot already please don't take my daughter away from me too" Rose said as her hands tightened on the picture.

"Please Barbra" she cried as she tried to crawl to her, forcing her body but her legs didn't move a muscle.

"The day you gave birth to that child was the day you stopped being my sister and you paid the price with your legs," Barbra said darkly.

"Barbra" Rose cried.

"Live with it", with that Barbra walked out shutting the door hard.

"NO!" Rose sobbed painfully as she cried, she rested her head on the ground staring at the picture.

"My Riley" she cried.

***

Section Thirteen

Steel Prison

The guards dragged Riley's body back to the cell and threw her inside.

Riley's whole body was numb and trembling at the same time. She managed to cough, she kept coughing as blood spill from her mouth, she shaky crawled on the floor trying to reach for the wall, her neck and head in extreme pain as it bleed slowly. She cried in pain as she collapses to the floor paralyze, she curved in a ball on the cold floor shivering in pain. 'I want it to stop, I want the pain to stop'. She thought in pain as tears formed in her eyes. Her trembling hands tighten in a fist as her teeth clenched, she kept shivering in pain in her cold cell.

***

Section Three

Ghoul Investigators Headquarters (GIH)

Barbra sat on her chair lost in thought, her mind replaying what happened today, who would have known the truth was closer more than ever. Her secretary walked in.

"The ghoul sent to Steel" Barbra began her eyes not reaching her.

"Yes ma'am do you want to order something," her secretary said. Barbra was about to say something but she sighed leaning on her chair.

"The Steel is the worst for ghouls, I want her to suffer and cry in pain until she begs for death and I may just give it to her" Barbra said darkly.

***

One Month Later

Section thirteen

Steel Prison

The hall was quiet as usual, as the prisoners walked like the dead in a graveyard. No sound of humor from anywhere.

Riley was seated leaning on the wall her knees to her chest. Her hands were wrapped in a bandage, blood visible from the white cloth.

"Your torment keeps going on doesn't it," Sid said sitting beside her.

Riley was silent, her eyes fixed on the floor like she was lost.

"You only just offended the sergeant and yet your punishment is still going on, they will break you Riley, something you will never recover from," Sid said with sad eyes.

"They must be punishing you for a different reason, am sure of it" she adds certainly.

"Does it matter?" Riley finally said, her voice dull with no life.

Sid watch her with shaky eyes, she knew it all too well she was going through a lot of pain.

"I could lessen the pain for you" she offered, Riley turned to her.

"I could snap your neck for you and make you die a peaceful death than a painful one, trust me you won't regenerate because of the steel around your neck," she said.

Riley forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Thank you, Sid," Riley said.

"But every death is painful and besides am already dead" She adds as a tear fell from her eye. She faced front. This was a realization Riley had come to have, she was just too blind to see it.

"Ever since he left" Riley murmured to herself but Sid caught that.

Riley slowly forced her body to stand as she limped away, Sid watching with sad eyes.

Riley slowly walked to the veranda, others were there too but she felt like she was the only one. The harsh wind blew around her, she looked up to the skies. 'Maybe this is my fate, as a ghoul'. She thought in lost hope. 'To die running, running because of what I am' Riley's eyes landed on the ground.

'I just want a place where humans and ghouls can live together.

She remembered Jenna's words before she died, it was a faint hope, Riley knew in her heart that was impossible, there was no freaking way two different species could exist as one.

The guards came behind her and grab her, Riley turned and saw Roman smirking.

"It's time for your punishment Riley, let's have some fun shall we," he said amused.

"Do whatever the fuck you want" Riley spat bravely.

"Nothing you do will break me completely".

"We will see about that," he said amused.

***

A few Hours Later

The guards threw Riley in her cell and shut the door, Riley was left paralyzed after the intense pain from the machine, she just laid on the cold floor, her long red hair spread on the floor all messy, marks on both sides of her head and her neck, her hands wounded and bleeding. On the cold floor already giving up on her own life, she hummed a tune, a melody her father taught her that belonged to her mother she never knew and missed a lot. She kept humming until darkness came to her. 'Am I dying?'. She thought as she faded away. 'Maybe it's time'.

At night Steel was kept at a high patrol, soldiers in every entrance and exit, in every spot detecting even the slightest object.

***

Camera Control Room

"Ha come on Sam, no eating on duty do you want the sergeant shouting at you," a soldier said to the fat man.

"Man, am on night patrol allow me to have my fill," Sam said with a shrug.

His colleague just rolled his eyes as the soldier murmured something and walked out of the room.

"What James," Sam said to his colleague.

"Such a glutton," James said facing the wall computers that showed every footage in Steel from the inside to the outside, he yawned as he swaps different footage, he swaps and swap until he caught something, he blinked as he went back to the other ones.

"That's weird," he said puzzled. Sam slides his chair towards him.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I thought I saw something there" James pointed, Sam followed his trail, he was pointing at the skies.

"What could be there dude, maybe it was a bird or something, there are searchlights everywhere am sure our surveillance would have caught something," Sam said certain.

"Yeah right," James said.

Suddenly all their camera went offline as something came up like it was downloading, it went red.

"Shit! That's impossible we have been hacked" James said going through the computers in speed.

"We have a code red, I repeat we have a code red," Sam said to his comm.

***

Riley found herself in nothing but darkness, her body slowly fading away. 'Maybe this is it'. She thought. 'I have no reason to live again, they did break me, I should have just listened to Sid and end my life quickly. I have no one I have no family, am a ghoul who can't be accepted by the world maybe we are better off left extinct from the face of this world'. She closed her eyes as she allowed death to take her. 'Am sorry Liam I don't think I can go on anymore. Only death will free me'.

Riley

It was a faint sound she couldn't quite recognize but she knew her name was being called but she chooses to ignore it, what was the point of answering when she has already given up on life.

Riley

That voice sounded familiar, she knew it in her heart, could it be...

RILEY

Riley gasped for breath as she flashed her eyes open in panic.

"Liam!" Riley said looking around her cell, there was no one, she felt vibration everywhere, like explosions. She forced her body up, she gasped in pain as she slowly moved to the wall and leaned on it.

*Loud Sounds of Gunshots*

Riley wondered what was happening out there, this was night time and it was lock-down, their cell doors were locked.

The sounds of gunshots sounded everywhere, screams, shouts, slashing sounds, Riley knew blood was being spilled out there, lots of it. The sounds haunted her, it was chaos out there, and something was attacking them.

Everywhere shakes once more, explosions could be heard, clashing sounds lots of it. Suddenly the alarms went off, it sounded loud, beeping red lights.

"What is out there?" Riley said trembling, her body in pain, whatever was out there was pissed off to cause so much havoc in less than a minute, who would be crazy enough to raid Steel.

***

Section Three

Ghoul Investigators Headquarters (GIH)

Seth played battleships in a wide tab, his eyes constantly drifted to Barbra who was using her laptop as an excuse to be lost in thought. Her hands going through the keyboard swiftly.

"You haven't been the same ever since last month, it's like you are brought back to a past you are trying so hard to run away from," Seth said.

Barbra halted her action instantly.

"Seems like you have done your homework" Barbra comments, Seth was always too smart for her liking, it was always hard to keep secrets from him since day one.

"I always do my homework. So that Riley ghoul is your niece, interesting, your sister must have a thing for ghouls despite she came from the line of people who resent them" he struggled.

Barbra shot him a death glare, he smirked widely knowing he hit a nerve. The door suddenly barges open as Chase rushed in, this caught their attention.

"What is it, Chase?!" Barbra demands, she wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone.

"Steel is under attack by a ghoul we haven't identified yet," Chase said taking a harsh breath.

"Who is crazy enough to attack Steel," Barbra said sternly. Seth rubbed his chin.

"I think we should head there first and deal with the situation before we have loose prisoner ghouls all over the city cause as of now, Steel is in chaos!" Chase said dead serious.

A loud alarm went off in the agency as agents prepared to depart through their chopper.

Nicole rushed to get ready, the news was still shocking to her, a ghoul has raided steel but why?. And it was just one ghoul.

***

Section Thirteen

The chopper on the air headed for Steel, Seth eyes watch Steel in a distance caught up in chaos, Rath was stirring up in rage inside him. 'Rath is unsettled'. Seth thought his eyes fixed on Steel. 'Something'. He swallowed hard, he could feel it in his bones, and something dark was there, something deadly.

Barbra comm sounded.

"Sergeant Report, what the fuck is going on there" Barbra hissed, the static was much.

"Ma'am something-". It sounded, this caught Seth's attention along with Chase, they waited in anticipation.

"This isn't just a normal ghoul, it's fucking pissed off, it's unlike anything". It sounded.

"It's-" he added but the signal went off.

"The black ghoul," Seth said certainly.

They froze.