The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Open Wide
by Nina D’Arcangela
Flash!
The light strobes, flaring at me.
Flash!
The heat from the bulb dries the sweat on my face.
Flash!
My eyes slam shut; they open to rivulets of blood running down my thighs.
Flash!
She screams for me to turn back to the camera; the spittle-soaked gag abrades my cheek as I turn.
Flash!
Again, the involuntary blink and jerk as my bindings tighten; this enrages her.
Soothing darkness falls; I feel her moving within the shadows. The dog whip sounds its crack just beyond my right ear. Her intent to miss, I’m certain. Crack again, this time it strikes my bare shoulder. Another and the shreds of my bra fall away; bare breast exposed. The blackness so acute, I can hear her draw back for another strike. I scream through the gag. This pleases her; she returns to the camera.
Flash!
I jerk so hard the chair wobbles; blonde stands fall forward to block my vision.
Flash!
Crying hysterically, I scream and beg through the fabric tearing the corners of my mouth. I hear her mild sigh.
Flash!
Closer, hotter, brighter. My desperate pleas are met with silence. I can feel her standing over me; I will not open my eyes.
Flash!
As the bloom fades through my lids, my chair back makes contact with the floor. Tears still streaming, I can no longer form coherent sentences. One word is left to me – a stuttering please. She leans over, strokes my face, calms my shattered nerves. She strokes again, I relax a bit more. She hushes me as the final stroke opens my jugular. I feel warmth; I see the flash as my eyes open wide.
Fiction © Copyright Nina D’Arcangela
Image courtesy of Nina D’Arcangela
More from Nina D’Arcangela:
Mental Ward: EXPERIMENTS
A dank basement, shadow filled hallways, the deep echo of a metal latch being thrown while faint screams are heard… These are the things you might experience in a place where the unspeakable happens, where conscientious action and moral turpitude turn a blind eye in the interest of advancing one’s own personal pursuits in the most deranged and unjustifiable manner. The type of place where power corrupts, and depravity runs rampant among those imbued with it. A place where the unfortunate are abandoned to the devices of those who convince themselves their actions are in the best interest of science.
Mental Ward: Experiments is a collection of ten short stories that demonstrate the worst of humanity’s ambition in the interest of ‘civilized’ advancement. Step into a world where sanity is left behind, and horror is what the doctor ordered!
