"Blend and Balance Pain and Pleasure deep within you,
'til you will not want me any other way."
-Tool -- Ænima
Miranda couldn't tell if they still followed, but she ran anyway. Her heart nearly burst when they crossed the path on her nightly jog. They melded neatly into the shadows, and she hadn't seen them until she could almost touch them.
Then one of them stared at her, fear motivated her to run again, faster than she ever had.
She dashed off the beaten trail and through the woods; trying to get as far away from those... things... as possible. A branch caught her top and tore at the polyester fabric.
The ground became uneven, a log jutted out, caught one of her running shoes and flung her forward. She braced for the impact, but water enveloped her instead, giving Miranda a surreal moment of floating where she should be moving.
As she pushed up to get fresh air, a firm hand pressed her sternum to the bed of pebbles, her breath came out in bubbles as she tried to scream.
Suddenly as she was below the surface, she was out of it again, gasping and choking on the fresh-water in her lungs. Something had hauled her out with one arm, something she cared to never see again.
The cloaked figure deposited her to the ground, where she sputtered and tried to stand.
"This one?" a whispery voice asked behind her.
Mud caked Miranda's body, elbows and knees worse where she landed on the dry soil. The thing standing above her only watched as she fumbled until she was upright. As she turned to run, another one blocked her way, the concealing hoods fluttered in a gust of air she didn't feel.
She about-faced, directly into a third; they had her surrounded in all directions. Finality struck her, then, as fatigue caught up with her, Miranda began to quiver.
"Yes," one of them answered.
The largest one had yet to speak as it stared at her beneath the hood, Miranda couldn't see any eyes, but could feel its gaze upon her, roving over her drenched form.
Her throat closed as she felt the one behind her latch its hands over her shoulders, securing her in place with nails that threatened to pierce her skin. "This one is afraid."
The largest one took a step forward, bringing its hand to her chin and forcing it up to meet its eye. It said nothing, but she felt a press on her mind, like heavy painkillers entering her bloodstream. The fear dropped to a dull roar as its hand wrapped slowly around the back of her neck and pulled forward; so close to the void within the hood, she could almost taste the shadows. "Do not be frightened," its voice was different than the others, deeper, something that might escape the bowels of a great cavern. "humans are not quite so material as you are led to believe, it will be over soon."
Miranda could not understand, but its presence was anesthetic even as she was paralyzed.
The one behind her tightened its grip on her shoulders, sharp nails digging into her flesh with ease and running through her as one might run fingers through hair. She felt the bite, the tear of her flesh under its hands, but did nothing to stop it.
The last one, likely the smallest, stood between her and the big one, tilting her chin skyward and using a single nail to slice away her running clothes. Her breasts released from the sports bra as it broke. The thing continued its path down, until it reached the band of her shorts and yanked them down, revealing her dark curls. Miranda felt the creature marvel as it dropped low, dragging its claws over her narrow stomach, latching onto her hips and bringing its hooded face close.
Similarly, the one behind her wrapped its arms beneath hers and toyed with her newly freed breasts, every touch of its claws raking lines through her skin. She moaned involuntarily, reaching for the biggest one as the others played with her.
A cold firmness touched her rear and she gasped, something solid pushed into it and shoved through the tight hole, making her cry out at the intrusion. The thing in front simultaneously pressed its dark face into her sex, which split open for what she could only imagine was its tongue. But it was much too thick to be so, as it pressed deeply inside, threatening to tear her open.
Both thrust deeply, mining, it seemed, for her core. She gasped, trying to keep her toes on the ground as the third watched on, not participating, only keeping her gaze. "P-please." Miranda appealed, breathless as the one behind shoved even further inside, seeming to grow longer within. "Please, stop." A tear trickled down her cheek as she begged them. The one in front ravaging her with a feverish intent, the tongue thickening still.
The big one brought a hand to her face once more, pressing what could be its thumb onto her tongue and pressing. Its claw piercing her and she tasted her own blood. Before she could react, the dark face descended upon hers, rolling an acrid, smoky process into the mix of saliva and blood. This close to the dark thing, she couldn't breathe without tasting sulfur.
The assault on her rear increased, traveling deeper into her colon, where the tip seemed to be navigating independently of the feverish creature behind her. It clenched into her breasts, causing dew drops of blood to rise from the pristine skin. The one in front made a purring sound as it breached the end of her tunnel, further than any man had gone.
They would skewer her by the end, Miranda was certain. But she could do nothing but comply, as the largest ate up the blood as fast as it flowed from her tongue, eventually searching deeper to find what it was looking for.
In a moment of clarity, she reached out to yank away the hood, but it was as if it was made of smoke, and fled at her touch. The big one made a sound like a chuckle as it explored the recesses of her throat, bent on suffocating her.
The one behind snatched her arm and twisted it painfully, but Miranda had grown uncertain if she felt pain or pleasure anymore. She could no longer tell why she was in these dark woods, surrounded by shadows that explored her every crevice.
As her eyelids began to droop, the big one pulled away, and she could swear there was a glint of light behind the shadows. She reached out with the last strand of energy and appealed to the big one with an open palm as the others pushed deeply inside of her, the one behind spraying an acrid substance deep into her gut.
The big one in front took her hand with his and leaned forward, razor sharp barbs split into her palm, causing the blood to rush forward. It pulled in all of her, allowing her to fall away from her ruined body into a liberating blackness.
*
The woman's body slumped to the ground as the minor ones finished. They looked to their Master with expectation, who only gave them an inscrutable nod.
"I have not yet penetrated." The youngest complained, still new to the dark trade.
The Master strode away from the bickering peons, and looked out across the park, there were many souls to gather still, and plenty of time to do so before the fiery orb forced them back to their own dimension. Little Miranda was just the start of the evening, an easy catch, but admirable. It was only the beginning of her torment, however, as he had plans for her soul. The Master intended to play with her long after her body returned to the earth.
"It is okay," the Master heard the other one say. "we will find you another."
*
A needling pain was the first sensation, in the dimness that surrounded her. Miranda's skin felt wrong somehow, as if it had tightened unnaturally over her bones. On the first inhale, she choked on the rancid air, curling up tighter against the toxic environment. There was sand beneath her, but it bit like broken shards of glass, abrading her cheek and thigh.
The worst part was she could remember everything, more clearly than when it happened the first time around. Miranda's whole body was violated, entered more intimately than she'd ever known. They had taken her as they willed, and stole every last ounce of fight.
It was the big one that had given her reprieve, if she could call this such; more like a perpetual hell that she found herself naked and vulnerable in.
"
Little one
." The rumbling voice found her, like thunder rolling over the hills.
Miranda levered up and looked around wild-eyed, afraid to speak, not knowing if her wretched vocal chords could utter a sound.
"
Do not speak
," the voice manifested into a smoking darkness above her, "
you have fallen like many before you, do you remember your death
?" It hunched over her with curiosity, she could see no features, only the utter darkness that seemed to be its substance.
Had she died? Miranda was still there, still feeling every molestation on her skin.
"
Yes, you are passed
." it said with a finality, "
