Group writing project.
Extrasensory contains:
Frequent mild language
Infrequent strong language
Infrequent sexual content
Frequent blood, gore, and many other potentially triggering subjects
- - -
Rain.
Cold, heavy rain.
That is what was pouring on the night of April 15th, 2003. This also happened to be the tenth birthday of a young girl by the name of Leila Magnolia. Said girl lived out her days in a cozy, somewhat cramped household in a spacious city.
"I don't CARE what you think. Stop trying to take control of this family! You cause so many fucking problems for a little girl!"
Physical violence was often resorted to in that household, brought on to accompany the ever-present tongue lashings that went full-circle.
"You'll call the police, huh? I'd like to see you try."
"Go ahead, but know this, Leila. You'll be taken too. You've done more wrong than we have, sweetheart."
Yes, Leila Magnolia lived in a quite chaotic household, you see. But, it was the only place she had, the only place she could call her home, no matter how broken and dysfunctional it was. She was brainwashed, and paralyzed into believing that she was the seed of discord that sprouted the family's trees of hatred, and thus she remained in a poor state until this day, April 15th.
"Hello, one of your neighbors seems to have called us reporting that you may be abusing your daughter. We're here to investigate, and take action as we see fit."
And, as the opportunity arose, Leila Magnolia saved herself from a tranquil hell by entering the room at that precise moment in time.
"Is she... crying?"
"Let's see this child, ma'am."
"So many bruises... This can't just be from roughhousing, either. There's a fresh handprint at the base of her arm."
"Does this child happen to have a diary, ma'am?"
"Ma'am, I believe we have substantial evidence to put both you and your husband away. This is too much to be considered mere coincidence. Your daughter will be entering our custody for the time being."
Leila Magnolia was no longer synonymous with the word "sorrow", but the true seed of discord was only then beginning to spill from that moment onwards.
"We're taking you to the police station, Leila. We want you to tell us exactly what your mother and father have done to you. Everything."
"Yes, I know."
Leila was not pleased about the affairs currently at hand. She had no time to gather her belongings, being informed that they would return for them at a later time. As such, she had been dragged into public wearing a ragged, ripped, grey shirt with raglan sleeves, and shorts cannibalized from a regular-length pair of pants.
After a short ride, she and the officers who had taken custody of her arrived at the station, deciding to sit in the vehicle for a short while before leaving it.
"Where have my parents been taken?" Leila pondered, running her small, delicate fingers through her silky, brown hair.
"To another facility for questioning," one of the officers replied, craning his neck back at Leila. She sat with a blank look on her face, wearing a distant and solemn gaze.
"...Ah. As I expected..." Leila mumbled, opening the car's door and standing to exit. She gently shut it behind her afterward, leaning against the exterior. As the officers got out, Leila spoke once more.
"Would you like me to enter?" she inquired calmly, staring down one of the officers with an unwavering glare.
"Yes. Head down the first hall on the left from the lobby. Take it all the way back, then turn right and enter the first door you see."
"I know."
"...Alright. We'll... We'll be in there shortly, Leila."
"Yes, sir," Leila replied, walking away from the car and into the tinted glass doors that served as the facility's entrance.
The area was completely silent, save for Leila's muffled footsteps on the indoor-outdoor carpeting. The walls were lined with tacky, dated, and peeling wallpaper. Various desks sat around, each with landlines installed on them.
Following her directions, Leila made her way down the path that the officer described and faced the door that she had been ordered to enter. It was labelled "Interrogation", as expected. Leila turned the knob slowly, pulling open the door and stepping inside.
Darkness.
Plenty of darkness provided a skin for the room, obscuring its detail, save for a small circle of light in what was presumed to be the center. Leila stood patiently in the corner, awaiting the arrival of the two officers.
Eventually, the time did come. The darkness scurried across the floor and hid in the room's depths as one of the officers opened the door, allowing light to seep in. The two men walked inside, closing the door behind them. The darkness assumed its standard position gradually as they walked into the center spotlight, motioning for Leila to approach.
"Alright. We're going to cross-examine what you're about to well us with that your parents will, so don't try to stretch the truth."
"I know."
"Please state your full name," the first officer spoke calmly as he turned on a tape recorder.
"Leila Marie Magnolia."
- - -
After the interrogation ceased, Leila emerged from the room along with the two officers.
"You have to-" the second officer began to say, but Leila interrupted him.
"I have to stay here overnight, and if my story provides enough evidence to your case, which it will, you'll attempt to sign me over for adoption," Leila spoke firmly and clearly. "It all makes sense now..." she whispered to herself, turning away from the officers. Her bangs covered her eyes, obscuring her facial features.
The officers stared at Leila in disbelief.
"There's something very wrong with this girl. Send her to our psychiatric department."
- - -
More dark, unfamiliar rooms.
"Leila, what do you picture in your head?"
"My head? Do you mean my mind? You do."
"Ah... Yes."
"I see a lot of things. Some are beautiful. Many are disturbing. They lack form, and have no context. They exist only as fragments of a situation, as if they're a puzzle... waiting to be filled."
"I see... Tell me, what am I about to do, Leila?"
"You're preparing to ask me to detail my home life more than what the other men did. I refuse to divulge any further details."
The psychiatrist sat still, stunned, for a moment.
"Tell me, Leila... Will this rain stop tomorrow?"
"No. It will fill the gutters, and overflow into the tracts, flooding them for exactly one week and six days. Then, the torrent will recede, and it will be sunny again."
"What are today's winning lottery numbers?"
"Ten. Eight. Fourteen. Nine. Twelve. One."
- - -
"I'm going to sound absurd, but... I think this girl may a gift."
"A.. gift?"
"ESP."
- - -
Leila stepped forth into the center of the lobby, noticing a new face staring down at her. This young man gazed at her with a welcoming smile as she approached him. He had short brown hair and glossy, hazel eyes, accompanying a masculine face, free of blemishes and imperfections. He wore a black trenchcoat; however, it was buttoned, obscuring the clothing underneath.
"Hi there, little flower!" the man chirped, flashing Leila a devious grin. "My name is-"
"Your name is Christian. I don't like you, but I will cooperate with you for the continued safety of our beautiful city."
"Well, then!" Christian bellowed, clapping his hands together loudly. He escorted Leila out of the room, creeping down the hallway. Eventually, he reached an open door, and turned to enter, dragging Leila with him.
"This is the main office of the city's police office. Little flower, I have something in mind for you, but I need you to show me what you can do, just once more."
"You are going to sit a rose outside of the window at the east side of the room. The rose will be pollinated, in thirteen days exactly."
"...Well, then!" Christian echoed. He walked across the cluttered office; books were scattered all over the floor, and papers were piled next to the laptop sitting on the desk. There were mahogany shelves lined with many various trinkets furnishing the back of the room. Christian reached into the pile of papers on his desk and withdrew a list of twelve names.
"Here's a list of the city's most wanted convicts, listed by aliases they've used or are using."
"I know," Leila replied.
"Good!" Christian chimed.
"Red Velvet."
"Archer."
"Twinterror."
"Psychosa."
"Endgame.
"Rira."
"Nightshade."
"Nympho."
"Smile."
"Medusa."
"Revolver."
"Savior."
Christian listed off the names, bottom to top.
"You want me to give you information on Red Velvet. Then, you're going to send a test squad to verify my words, and afterwards, I'll be sent with little to no training or combat knowledge to dispatch him."
"Well-"
"His name is Valen Kutisen. He lives in the slums of Skyway under the name Shapiro Scolia. He's a gore fetishist who murders sightly, young women and wears their skin to become sexually excited. He loves in an apartment complex- the Lakeview complex, at door sixteen. I shall terminate him with extreme prejudice, if you demand it."
- - -
Six members of the police force quietly but intently made their way up the outdoor stairs of the Lakeview apartment complex, reaching door sixteen. They gave a light tap to the door, and shortly afterward, a smiling face greeted them after opening the door.
"Are you Shapiro Scolia, sir?"
"Why, yes, that would be me."
From the outside, a youthful and fair-skinned beauty could be seen lying across the couch in what was presumably the den.
"We've received complaints of loud noises arising from this house..." one of the officers explained, lying through his teeth. "and we've come to investigate it."
"Ah, yes, that would almost definitely be the cries of pleasure from my partner, Ciel!" the man said, pointing to the dame on the couch.
"We still wish to enter and investigate."
"...Alright, sirs! Make yourselves right at home."
The apartment itself seemed to be relatively clean, with not much out of place. The den was lit solely by windows, which were draped for the time being. A couch and love seat rested in the center of the room, adjacent to a large television. A conspicuous closet lied at the first end of the room.
Mentally citing it as an obvious target, the police approached the closet, much to Shapiro's visible dismay. They opened the door cautiously and collectively stepped inside, examining the innards. It seemed to check out cleanly.
"Are you sure that Leila kid isn't just..." one of the officers started, leaning back into one of the closet's walls. Just as he touched it, it seemed to give way. The wall violently collapsed backwards with a heavy slam against the wooden floor, unsettling dust as it made impact.
The other officers turned around the gaze into the newly formed passageway. Faintly, the glimmer of a carving knife could be seen in the darkness beyond the point of the wall.
"Now, now, we can't have this, gentlemen. I thought you'd play nice! I'm actually kind of disappointed..."
- - -
"Well... It's midnight and the test squad hasn't made a peep."
"Valen murdered them all in cold blood."
"Okay, little Leila, if you're so sure of that, I'll send you to the apartment tomorrow."
"I know you will." Leila replied, smiling dimly.
"You have to be getting tired, right?"
"I guess so."
Christian walked over to one of the office chairs and lifted out the lengthy back cushion. It was easily tall enough for a small girl such as Leila to sleep on.
He laid it across the middle of the office floor, motioning for Leila's approach. She reluctantly moved to the cushion and sat down on it, staring up at Christian. He lifted a nearby area rug and covered her with it, kneeling next to her.
"I know things are scary, but trust me, everything will all be better soon."
"No. It won't."
Christian showed a concerned look for a moment before leaning over Leila. He planted a small "goodnight" kiss on her forehad and turned around, leaving the room.
"Disgusting," Leila muttered.
- - -
4 / 16 / 03
- - -
Leila approached the Lakeview complex, a purse slung over her shoulder. It was given to her by Christian, and contained everything she would need to defend herself if her situation became dire. As she drew nearer to her destination, however, the seed of discord began to sprout.
"Here they come."
Immediately as she spoke, the ilk of bassy rap music cluttered the air. A car could be seen approaching in the distance, its poor gold paintjob peeling back against the wind.
"You motherfucker, Shapiro!" a voice violently yelled from inside the car. The driver rolled their window down.
Gunfire commenced.
Even though she had been prepared beforehand, Leila was still harshly shocked and ducked down, avoiding all but two of the bullets. They grazed her right arm, tearing the sleeve of her shirt open and drawing a substantial amount of blood. Suddenly, a second round of gunfire began spewing out of the car. Leila tossed her purse to the side and hid under the stairway to Shapiro's floor, sitting in the dirt.
The gunfire shattered a window of the apartment, but Leila was surprisingly no worse off than she was before. The car's windows suddenly closed, and the person behind the shooting drove off. Just as Leila began to crawl through the glass to retrieve her purse, she heard a door open above her.
The stairs creaked as Shapiro made his way to the ground level, staring down at Leila, who was down on all fours in the dirt.
"Who are you, pretty little lady?"
Leila glanced up at Shapiro, the sun creeping up over the horizon as it approached daybreak. "My name is Leila Magnolia. And, I'm not pretty."
"You should never underestimate your beauty, my dear. Everything about you is so lovely, especially your face. It glows so wonderfully in this dim light."
"I don't understand. Just... if you could get my purse for me, I'll be on my way."
"Ah, yes. You really shouldn't handle broken glass, you know. It wouldn't be wise to slice your hand up by accident, you know?"
Shapiro walked over and sorted through the glass to retrieve Leila's purse, but by the time he brought it back to her, she had fainted from blood loss due to the bullet injuries.
"Oh dear, we'll just have to take her in I suppose!" Shapiro sighed, lifting Leila's airy form and carrying her upstairs into his apartment.
- - -
"...Saliva." Leila muttered as she woke up on Shapiro's couch. Her wounds seemed to be clean.
"I know where he is."
Leila immediately arose from the couch, and approached the closet. Upon opening it, she was greeted with the pleasant sight of the test squad's lifeless corpses. They had been nailed to the wall, through their eyesockets.
"So... Archer helped too, huh?"
The nails were long and thick, penetrating the eye straight through and piercing the back of the skull as well as the skin on the outside. Dried blood was chipping off and sticking to the eyes' sclera, creating a sickly image.
Leila didn't wait to look for long.
She turned and entered the mysterious room that the fake wall had been guarding, stumbling through the dark. A thick, pungent scent of death filled the air.
Leila's foot hit something on the ground; it rattled with a metallic chime.
"This is the carving knife he's using to disembowel Ciel."
It was a lengthy knife, covered in both old blood and new blood. It was still dripping, presumably from what its wielder had done to Ciel. Leila kept the knife.
"The lights are on the west wall."
She navigated carefully through the darkness and reached a protrusion in the wall.l Pressing it switched on a luminescent light, bringing an obnoxious, droning hum with it.
The room's floors were brittle and cracked under each step, due to the layers and layers of hardened blood that coated them. At the far end of the room lied Velvet, dropping his pseudonym.
Leila approached, feeling slightly nauseous.
"Is this how you get off, Valen?" Leila scoffed, staring at Velvet. He was in the bare nude, blood dripping from his limbs and erect member. Yes, Velvet had murdered Ciel, and was now clothing himself in her skin. He turned to face Leila, dropping Ciel's skin on the floor. It quickly crumpled, its empty, black eyesockets staring into Leila's soul.
"You're having a nightmare. Move along." Velvet demanded. He turned on a dime, approaching the back of the room, where he entered what seemed to be another closet. The bloodied floors crinkled underneath his bare feet and tickled them, exciting him further.
"I know what Valen is trying to do."
Leila followed him to the back of the room, completely ignoring the various torture instruments and test tubes outfitting the room. When she finally reached the back of the room, she opened the closet without hesitation.
In the closet, skins upon skins of various girls were hung from coathangers. A musky, noxious scent permeated the area.
Leila stabbed forward with Velvet's carving knife without any hesitation whatsoever. With a satisfying squelch, it pierced straight through all of the skins and hit something living at the back- Velvet. He had been waiting to ambush and kill Leila.
He was now dispatched.
Stagnant blood splattered everywhere, soaking the floor, ceiling, and walls, as well as Leila's hair, face, and clothing.
"Disgusting."
- - -
TARGET01:/EXTERMINATED
