Flowers Are Bait Chapter 4:
Previously on Flowers Are Bait...
Moonlight filtered through the window, casting a glow on the stairs ascending to the second floor. Faint creaks sounded as a shadowy figure attempted to scale the steps quietly.
The antique wall clock, a fixture in the hospital since its inception, tolled midnight with resounding chimes.
Nightly visits to the second floor had evolved into a habit for Lee-yeon. She had meant for it to be a single trip at first, yet now it reassured her that security held as long as the killer remained confined there.
Just like every other evening, Lee-yeon input the code and twisted the doorknob.
***
Plants possess souls too, thriving more when praised and withering faster under curses. With this in mind, Lee-yeon hoped the same principle governed her existence. Since words held such sway, she repeated silently in her thoughts,
’
As Lee-yeon swung the door open, anticipating the sight of the weakened form sprawled on the bed as always, she halted abruptly.
Disbelief seized her. She blinked once, twice, and yet again. This individual was invariably present. He resembled a mere wraith of humanity. The bed that had cradled his hollow shell now lay vacant.
A chill raced along her spine, goosebumps erupting across her skin, as she grasped that her safety might have evaporated. The episode from that night flashed through her mind, heralding impending disaster.
***
Lee-yeon reflected while gazing at the blood pooling on the ground.
Once she had scarcely regained her composure, she discovered herself abandoned in the remote mountains. ‘
She knew nightmares would plague her following this ordeal, yet a fresh dawn awaited. Survival demanded she endure.
Lee-yeon hauled herself upright, her legs threatening to buckle, but she compelled her foot forward another pace. Silently toasting this tiny achievement, a thick fabric suddenly smothered her face. An acrid, potent scent invaded her nostrils, sapping her strength. She struggled against it, yet the fumes clouded her mind, and oblivion engulfed her.
Lee-yeon's skull throbbed relentlessly. Merely parting one eyelid felt arduous. She jostled her head repeatedly to dispel the pain and sharpen her awareness.
The initial sight was a vintage bulb sputtering in the surrounding gloom. With each flicker, the outline of a man drawing on a cigar emerged. Haze from the tobacco saturated the atmosphere.
“Who are you?” Lee-yeon ventured, gathering every scrap of bravery she possessed. As she attempted to rise, she discovered herself bound to a chair. Icy metal clamped her wrists when she yanked at her bonds. The man persisted in puffing away.
“Why did you do that?” an impassive voice inquired. Dread constricted her chest, stalling her resistance to the ties.
“I don’t think he’ll live with his head smashed like that,” the man pressed on.
Utterly bewildered and frightened, Lee-yeon offered only quiet in response.
“The half-dead guy is my brother.” The moment the bulb ceased its stuttering, her perceptions sharpened instantly.
Suddenly, Lee-yeon comprehended the dire situation. With her vision acclimating to the faint illumination, she scanned the area to grasp her locale. Hooks dangled from above, suspending the forms of butchered swine. The crimson drips from the animals twisted her gut.
Laborers clad in sturdy rubber boots ambled about unconcernedly, absorbed in their tasks. They spared her not a single glance. Intestines were extracted, meat divided into sections, and gore rinsed away via a lengthy hose.
She had roused in the heart of a slaughterhouse, confronting a imposing figure in a finely tailored suit.
The man drew deeply on his cigar and declared, “While you were sleeping, I pondered whether I should simply tear you apart, or throw it into the sea.”
A succession of thumps cut him short. Lee-yeon glanced about, pinpointing the noise to a barrel at the chamber's distant edge, and went rigid at the frantic wail bouncing off the enclosed walls.
“My brother is dying, and someone must pay for that,” the voice reiterated, carrying a sinister sharpness.
By this point, panic gripped Lee-yeon fully. The pounding of her heart echoed loudly within her.