Chapter 4: Agony
Author's Note:
Wow, I feel unstoppable. So much written in so little time… Talk about motivation, all right.
Anyways, this chapter was, uh, a tough one to write. I also know it's something a lot of you have been looking forward to. I sure hope I did the chapter proper justice…
I must not that I will be getting busier starting from Sunday, so I'm not sure when the next update will be. However, the right amount of motivation and I just might whip something up, somehow. Motivation is like magic at this point; I swear.
In any case, enjoy~
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The corridor – a place that embedded itself in my mind right from the get-go.
Cappie and I walked through the corridor while examining our surroundings.
To put it simply, the corridor was a pretty nice-looking one. The walls had pink wallpaper with a pattern of white symbols. There were yellow lamps here and there on the walls.
The corridor consisted of two turns before we reached a door. On the way, we noticed a few other things.
Firstly, there were two windows through which light shone through. Right in between the windows, though on the opposite side, there was a small, segregated area.
In that area, we spotted picture frames. A white cat, houses, and… a young-looking Mita.
"How cute!" Cappie spoke. She was staring at the picture of the cat.
"Yeah," I said as I focused back on the picture of the young Mita.
I wonder if the Mita get to grow up? Or is being an adult or young one simply a part of their setting? Like how there are different types of Mita, are there different aged ones?
Aside from the frames on the wall, there was a chest of drawers. There were a few objects of interest on top of it. For instance, a device that was an exact replica of the screen used in the "special device" that supposedly brought me into the game world.
Other things were some makeup, a Rubik's cube, a lamp, some pencils, and an analog table clock. I also took note of a stool right beside the chest of drawers.
"Well, isn't this interesting," I muttered as I reached out for one of the pencils before storing it by Vanishing Distortion. Maybe I'd find a use for it later on.
Then, I checked each of the drawers for anything useful, only for all of them to turn out to be empty.
"Let's move on," I said once I was sure there wasn't anything left for us to do there.
"Yes!"
As we continued walking, I continued to observe our surroundings. Things like a grandfather clock sitting in the corner of the last turn and a vent above to its right.
"You've been here before?" I asked as we approached a white door.
"I don't know," Cappie responded.
"What do you mean you don't know?" I pressed as I placed my hand on the door and pushed it open.
"I woke up not too long ago, and I couldn't find a way out!"
"Is th–"
I never got to say what I intended to say at the moment. The reason? I noticed something pretty concerning.
Cappie and I had just gone through the white door, only for us to somehow end up right back in the beginning of the corridor we just went through. The only difference being that the small screen I had seen earlier now displayed number two.
"Oh no…"
"Wow, we're back here again!" Cappie said excitedly.
Of course… she somehow finds this amusing.
Cappie and I quickly made our way through the corridor this time. After all, nothing had changed, so making observations was unnecessary.
However, upon reaching the door and stepping through, once again, we were back in the beginning.
So, we did it again, and again.
It was on the fourth time that I considered the possibility of going back through the door we just came through.
It was locked.
Okay, fuck.
"What's wrong?" Cappie asked.
"Don't you see? We're caught up in some kind of loop."
"Oh~ really?"
"Yes," I said as we continued walking – only to come to an abrupt halt.
again?
Such was the text we spotted on the wall right before the first turn.
"Wow, that's so creepy!" Cappie exclaimed, sounding excited despite her statement.
"Nothing new," I said as I rose my guard against any potential attacks.
Texts appearing on the walls – that was something that I experienced twice. Neither one was hardly a pleasant experience.
After waiting for a moment to see if anything else would happen, Cappie and I continued on.
But then we came to a stop once more – this time as a result of certain screen turning on, which startled the two of us.
Said screen now had white static with something playing, though I couldn't tell what it was.
"I don't like this," Cappie said, this time her tone more solemn than any other time I've heard her speak.
"Agree with you on that one," I remarked before we continued walking.
The next time the two of us went through the door, the world turned slightly red – as if time was approaching dusk.
As we walked, more text appeared on the walls – all saying the same thing: again?
Now, this time Cappie and I began picking up the pace.
The next time we stepped through the door, the world turned much darker.
On the walls, the lamps got turned on. Though, more text appeared. All of which were saying the same thing.
However, as we continued, there was a different text on the wall before the last turn: you're different
"Talk about ominous," I remarked.
Cappie was oddly silent this time around. I assumed she must've been spooked out.
For a moment, I considered something before ultimately deciding to go for it.
I reached out with my left arm and took Cappie's hand into my own.
"Eh!?"
She was startled, but otherwise didn't attempt to free it.
I turned my head to face her, adorning a reassuring smile.
In return, Cappie smiled back, albeit her smile was more of a wholesome beam of cuteness that made my heart skip a beat.
"Come on," I said before the two of us continued, hand in hand.
The next time we stepped through the door, the world turned even darker. No more text appeared on the walls, but there were other differences.
Before, the light that used to shine through the windows was normal, but now it was red. Aside from that, the static of the small, old TV was now red as well.
My hold on Cappie's hand tightened as I pulled her along.
The eighth time we stepped through the white door – as indicated by the device that was counting each instance, was when shit started to get seriously creepy.
There was now a new text on the wall right in front of us: it's here
"What is?" I asked no one in particular as we approached the wall.
All of a sudden, a streak of blood splattered over the wall, right underneath the text.
"Cappie, be prepared for combat."
"Right!" she responded as she swung her toy hammer a few times.
She can't be serious.
"Isn't there… anything better you could use as a weapon?"
"Hm? No, this is perfect!"
"But… that's a toy."
"Anything can be a proper weapon when used right!" she stated confidently.
Okay, let's give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she'll pull some game logic bullshit with it?
That was the only explanation I had for her insistence on using the toy hammer.
In any case, we made our way through the corridor once again, though much slower this time and with great caution.
The ninth time we stepped through the door – things got a lot worse. The world was dark, and the lamps on the walls turned off.
Darkness surrounded us.
I immediately took out the flashlight I had pocketed before when I first stepped into the basement.
Cappie and I walked slower than ever, our guard up against the slightest bit of movement – that was how we very quickly noticed one.
The moment we passed the static display, the device turned off. Not only that, but there was something observing us from the window.
I quickly shone the light on the observer, only to be immensely startled by what I saw.
"A young Mita?" I remarked, thinking back to the picture I saw earlier.
There was something off about her. One half of her face was relatively fine compared to the other half.
The little one appeared to be spooked with me shining the light at her as she quickly hid herself.
"Who was that?" I curiously asked Cappie.
"Tiny Mita," she said, her tone very oddly lacking any emotion.
"What was up with her face?"
"I'm not sure," she responded, her tone now somewhat depressing. She appeared to have an idea but wasn't entirely sure of it.
For now, I decided on continuing walking. Or so was the plan, but we came to an abrupt halt as we observed something in the top left corner of the last turn.
"The fuck is that!?"
"A glitch," Cappie said before she abruptly freed her hand from mine and leapt from her spot, and the next thing I knew, an eerie cry pierced my ears as the small, glitching monstrosity was obliterated by a hammer strike.
"Wow," I said, impressed with how quickly she handled it.
Cappie simply smiled at me, albeit a bit of smugness apparent. In all fairness, she deserved to act smug, so I didn't make any comments about it.
"Can I benefit from glitches the way I did with bugs?"
"No. They're completely different," she responded.
With that said, the two of us once again passed through the white door.
There was yet another change – a noise. It was coming from outside, as if there was some kind of storm. This time around, nothing happened.
But then, the next time we stepped through the door, when the two of us walked up to the chest of drawers, we heard the sound of glass breaking, accompanied by the thud of something hitting the ground.
I shone my light at the window, which now had a hole in its center. The storm was cold and windy, opening and shutting the window in question.
Then, I focused on where I heard the thud.
"A bat?" I muttered as I examined the object on the ground.
It was a purple bat, as if it were some a weapon sent by the heavens.
I knelt in front of the bat, grabbed it and got back up. Then, I created a duplicate and offered it to Cappie, "Want it?"
"Nope! This is enough!" she waved the hammer around.
"As you please," I said as I stored the duplicate through Vanishing Distortion.
We went through the corridor once again, again, and again. The first time, there was some kind of very thick blue wire that connected from one end of to the other. The second time, there were two of them.
It was the third time when shit got real.
The moment we made the first turn, we faced yet another glitch that had fixed itself in the center of a web of thick blue wires.
Once again, Cappie rushed forth and smacked it with her hammer, destroying it with ease.
The heck is up with that hammer!?
With the path cleared up, we continued walking before encountering yet another one. Once again, Cappie handled it extremely quickly.
There was yet another one around the last turn, which Cappie also destroyed.
"Seriously…?" I muttered as I looked down at the bat in my hand. At this point, will I ever get to use it?
But I didn't want to stop her. After all, Cappie was enjoying herself quite a bit, if the peal of laughter I heard each time she destroyed a glitch was anything to go by.
And that was how we moved on to the next loop.
In that loop, we didn't encounter any more glitches, but something did happen.
"Hey… there are a lot of clocks on the walls," Cappie said.
"Hm?" I hummed as I looked around, "you're right."
All the clocks were exactly the same, both in shape and the time they displayed.
We continued walking, only to stop in front of the chest of drawers. After all, the red static on the screen was back. It lasted for a few seconds before the display changed.
Now, there was a video of an analog clock quickly moving through time, but backwards.
"The heck?" was all I could say as I wondered if the clocks were going to be some sort of challenge.
Regardless of that, Cappie and I continued walking before stepping into the next loop – not.
The moment we reached the white door, the world became bright again as the storm came to a stop. Not only that, but when we stepped through the door, the number on the device didn't change – it still showed fourteen.
Great…
"Seems like we've hit a wall," I said.
"What? What wall?" Cappie asked curiously.
"A metaphorical one," was all I said as I began walking and looking around.
Since it was bright again, I turned off my flashlight and stored it as well as the purple bat, seeing that were was no threat.
Let's think. We are stuck on this loop, based on what just happened. There are a lot of clocks, and that damned screen is showing a moving clock.
I made the educated guess of the way out being through the clocks. Something needed to be done. Maybe, smash them all?
Before that, however, I decided to check out every clock to make sure none stood out.
Ultimately, one DID stand out. It was the first clock I had seen, which was on the chest of drawers. It displayed a different time than the rest.
"Maybe…" I muttered as I grabbed the clock.
"What are you doing?" Cappie asked as she stood beside me.
"Attempting to get us out," I said as I began to move the clock's hands to match the others.
The very moment I did so and set it down, the video on the screen was gone. Now, in its place, there was a white background with red text in the center: RELEASED!
"That did it! Amazing!" Cappie exclaimed excitedly as she patted my shoulder a few times.
"Yeah," I said with a smile before we began walking again.
The moment we made a turn in the last corner, we spotted her again – Tiny Mita.
She was peeking through the white door.
Though, immediately after we took one step, she shut the door.
"Either she's really playful or she's spooked out," I remarked as we approached the door and stepped right through.
This time around, the clocks on the walls were gone.
Aside from that, there wasn't any other difference as the two of us made our way to the white door.
However, the last turn was when we noticed a difference. A pretty big one at that.
The corridor was curved and stretched.
Cappie and I stood in place for a moment as we observed the oddity in front of us.
"Should we, like, go there even?"
"We don't have any other choice!" Cappie exclaimed as she grabbed my hand and pulled me along with her.
Surprisingly, as we walked, the curvature fixed itself. Though, the hallway was much longer than earlier.
As we approached the end, we spotted Tiny Mita, who was on the ground with her head low.
"Hey," I called out to her as soon as were close enough.
Her only response was to raise her head and stretch out her arm.
Is she asking me to help her get up?
There was no reason for me to refuse, so I took her small, cold hand into mine before gently helping her get up.
That was when I could observe her for the first time.
She had short blue hair adorned with a red bow that contrasted starkly with her red dress, which looked old and worn out. She had pale, grayish skin marked by visible stitch lines running along her body.
One thing that disturbed me most was her lack of a left arm – as if it had been amputated.
Aside from that, there was her face which I had seen earlier, but not for long. The left side of her face had protrusions right above her eye, which was closed.
The girl had a blank, emotionless look on her face.
"You…" I said, only for her to suddenly dash between me and Cappie.
We both turned around, only to see that she was gone. Though, there was a white door in front of us.
I glanced at Cappie, who glanced back at me, before we both walked to the door, opened it, and stepped right through.
We were back to the beginning of the corridor. The number on the right now displayed sixteen.
Cappie and I cautiously walked until we heard a distorted voice speak.
"Wait…"
We both turned to face the speaker, which turned out to be none other than Tiny Mita, who was now seated on the stool next to the chest of drawers.
"Are you… trying to leave?"
Hearing her voice disturbed me – not because I was creeped out. No… it was something else.
"So you CAN speak," I joked as I approached the little one, "hey there."
"Hello…" she responded, though sounding unsure for some reason, "you're a Player, right?"
"Yes, I happen to be a Player."
"You're… different. Your arms are shorter and you're no longer angry."
Oh? Has she met a different Player before me? Kind Mita said that they're all enemies… Maybe I can get some information out of her?
"I'm not sure what you mean by that."
"It's okay. You're softer and kinder now… that means I won't hurt anymore, will I?"
Now, there is something that must be said – I rarely ever get truly angry. Even when I do, I calm down relatively quickly with passing time.
However, what I felt at that moment went beyond anger. No, I felt rage. A sinking feeling in my stomach made its presence known.
It was all stemming from memories. Memories that I couldn't recall.
"Who. Hurt. You?" I asked, just to be sure, while trying my best to not frighten the little girl in front of me.
Despite not knowing what was going on; why she looked the way she did, I had an inkling. A guess. Probably something more than that as various images shot through my mind rapidly.
I could tell that whatever it was that I was recalling was a vile and highly disturbing memory.
My head ached as I felt my legs turn weak.
"Player!?" I heard Cappie call out to me as I dropped to my knees and held my aching head between my hands.
Remember.
It was the feeling. The inner voice. The one that told me to trust Kind Mita. To trust Cappie.
Remember.
More and more images flashed through my mind as the pain intensified. I couldn't make sense of any of them. But… I could figure out some voices.
"I have no choice, okay? Forgive me…"
"What's wrong, Player?" she responded with an innocent giggle.
"Please forgive me."
"What's that in your hand?"
"She asked for this. She wanted me to. I can't say no to her."
"Player…?" she was confused.
"I'm sorry."
The screams followed.
They came like waves crashing against me relentlessly. Agony. Terror. Desperation. They weren't just sounds; they were daggers piercing my heart with every cry. My chest tightened, and it felt like the air had been stolen from my lungs.
I wasn't there. I hadn't done it. But it didn't matter—the memories felt like my own. Every scream, every plea, every brutal act carved itself into me.
Then I saw. I saw images. An image of utter fear in her gaze, one of how she recoiled, and one of the how she trembled as an arm was raised.
The voices and images coursed through my mind again and again.
After what felt like a painfully long time, my mind slowly began to clear up. The voices stopped and the images no longer showed up.
However, something was different.
I could inherently tell that there was now something off about me.
"Player?" A voice called out to me.
I focused back on the world around me, noting that I was being hugged by Cappie.
In front of me, Tiny Mita sat on her stool with her head tilted as she stared at me. She was the one that called out to me.
That was when I noticed something. My cheeks were wet. I had shed tears for her. For the pain she went through. For me not being there to stop it. For me not being able to do anything about it.
"Cappie…" I spoke slowly, "I'm all right now."
It took a few seconds before Cappie released me. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were wet similarly to mine.
She was glancing back and forth between me and Tiny Mita.
That was when I made a conjecture: "You… You saw it too, didn't you?"
To that, Cappie simply nodded her head slowly as tears continued to flow out of her eyes.
Knowing that, I pulled her back to me with my left arm before looking over at Tiny Mita.
"Do you remember why you're like this? The bad things?"
The little one appeared confused by the question for a moment before she said, "No, I don't remember. I don't think anything bad's going on… Just all the good things going away."
She said that last bit in a different tone. One that was hard to make out due to her deformed voice.
"Hey, Player… Can you be my friend?" she suddenly asked.
That was it. The moment I heard her question, I patted Cappie's back once before letting go of her and getting up.
Then, I reached out with my arms before wrapping them around Tiny Mita.
"Yes. I'm going to be your friend if that's what you want."
I said it as softly and reassuringly as I possibly could. Seconds passed without any response. But then I felt a sensation against my back as she used her arm to mimic a hug.
And then I heard soft sobs.
"P-Player, I am… happy."
"Good," I whispered as I rubbed her back, "that's good."
I am not sure how long I kept up that hug, but I couldn't bring myself to break it off. It would hurt her. It would hurt me.
"Why? Why did they leave me?" Tiny Mita then spoke as she tightened her hold of me, "was I not good enough?"
"Don't say that," I quickly spoke, "there's nothing wrong with you."
"But…" she sobbed.
"They're the ones at fault, whoever they are and whatever they did. You have done nothing wrong. You are fine the way you are." But you could be in a better state.
I didn't say that last bit out loud. After all, I didn't want her to feel bad about herself. Something was done to her to make her the way she was now – and I was going to fix it.
In my mind, I told myself that there had to be a way to fix it. To undo whatever damage was done to her.
Maybe I was coping. Maybe I simply wanted a reason to prevent myself from breaking down at that moment.
Regardless of the reason, it gave birth to a new resolve.
"Player, can we play?"
"Play? You want us to play?" I said slowly as I separated from her.
Tears were rolling down from the right side of her face from the eye that was open.
"How about this?" I put on a smile, "Cappie and I are going on an adventure. Why don't you join us?"
"Adventure?"
"Yes, an adventure. What do you say?"
She thought for a moment before giving me her answer, "Yes."
Delighted at her answer, I hugged her once more before I turned to look at Cappie, immediately noticing how downcast she was.
Perhaps because of her nature, she is more sensitive to this sort of stuff?
"Cappie," I spoke, grabbing her attention, "she'll join us from now on."
Cappie blinked a few times before her eyes widened, a small smile appearing on her lips, "Really!?"
"Yes," I said as I turned my head to face Tiny Mita, "Isn't that right?"
"I will join…" she spoke, and for once, it felt like there was a positive emotion in her tone.
I rubbed her back a little before I moved my arm down, and then lifted her up from the tool.
She was light. Very light.
Then, I turned my gaze over to Cappie, who was sitting on the ground before reaching my arm out to her.
She took it and I pulled her up.
Once on her feet, Cappie stood still as she stared at me and Tiny Mita.
"Something wrong?" I questioned.
"I'm… remembering something. It's all blurry though."
"Right…" I muttered, unsure about what to make of that. I considered the possibility of her, like Kind Mita, being able to recall previous loops. That would definitely prove to be helpful. It would also help clear up some questions in my mind.
At that moment, I had a notion: Maybe we should have a rest and play with her before continuing…
However, that very moment, the notion was trampled upon.
"So, she was right," a strong, yet manic voice reverberated within the hall as the world suddenly turned dim once again.
In my arms, Tiny Mita visibly stiffened and before she began shaking like a leaf.
Cappie and I turned to face the source of the voice.
"You…" I uttered as I felt the rage and agony that had been somewhat buried for the past minute resurface within me.
Standing near the grandfather clock was a man. He was big and bulky. He wore a dark and heavy coat. The fabric hung loosely around his massive frame, the end of it lightly in touch with the floor.
The man's face was obscured by shadows, but his eyes gleamed—a cold, predatory light that made my skin crawl. One hand of his was pocketed, while the other one clutched something—a glint of silver, sharp and unmistakable. A knife.
Where did he come from!? Is that lunatic of a Mita aware of our position? No, that's not important right now.
"You are the one who hurt her…" I muttered as I tightened my hold on Tiny Mita, who then buried her head into my neck.
"Yeah, I did. So what?" the man mocked.
"You fucking monster!" I cursed as I felt my blood pumping. "How could you!?"
"Mita wanted me to! I had to do it! I'd do anything for her!" he responded, each statement louder than the previous.
"Cappie, please," I said in a low tone before handing her Tiny Mita.
She didn't so much utter a word as she glared at the man while she accepted Tiny Mita from my arms.
"Player…" Tiny Mita spoke, her voice more gut-wrenching than ever as she clung to Cappie while facing me, "don't…"
"You stay with Cappie for now, okay?" I faced her and said softly with a smile, "I'll deal with the bad guy and be right back, okay?"
The little one stared at me, tears welling up in her eye again, before she ultimately nodded.
"Go behind," I said to Cappie while gesturing to where the device with the number on it was.
"Be careful!" Cappie said, though in a conflicted tone. I could tell that she wanted to stay. To fight. However, she conceded. As for the reason? I can't be sure.
Fortunately, the enemy let them go without so much sparing them a glance. If I had to assume, it would be due to some fucked up confidence of his.
"I told her!" the other Player suddenly shouted, "I was enough! But she brings others. Losers like you!"
"Why? Why is she doing all this? Why is she turning Players into cartridges?"
I tried to fish for some information as I moved my arm behind me. I then manifested the knife I had taken from the kitchen.
"It doesn't matter! She does whatever she wants!"
With that said, the man immediately rushed at me, murder clear in his eyes.
Time to test out a little theory.
I dashed toward the man, which appeared to startle him a bit. Regardless of that, he raised the arm holding the knife, intent on either stabbing me or slashing me – I wasn't sure.
That didn't matter though.
Once we were pretty close, I attempted something simple: Vanishing the knife in his hand.
It worked.
The man faltered for a moment as confusion became apparent on his face.
That was all I needed to close the distance between us and stab deeply into his chest.
His eyes widened as he raised his arm to attack me, but I wasn't stopping there. I put all the force I could muster into my arm as I dragged the knife through his flesh, carving a gnashing wound into it.
He began screaming in agony as he stepped back from me.
My knife was still lodged into his chest. Blood was gushing out of the wound, forming a pool on the floor.
But I was not done yet.
Moving both of my arms behind me, I pulled out the knife I had just taken from him before duplicating it.
Now, with a knife in each hand, I rushed at the injured bastard.
His previously murderous and predatory eyes now had a new glint in them: Fear.
But that meant nothing to me as I slashed at the arms he rose in order to defend himself, following it with a hard kick to his guts.
Blood spewed from the man's mouth as he dropped to the ground, clutching at his chest and coughing continuously.
I stored the knives in my hand before slowly walking over to him, coming to a stop when I was right on top of him.
"Chea-ter." He spat as he glared at me, "I will co-me back…"
Upon hearing that, a certain memory flashed through my mind as I looked down at my hand. At the ring I was wearing.
Deliver an express one.
"Come back, you say? Is it because you're a cartridge already and can respawn or something?" I questioned as I crouched beside his head, returning his intense glare, "Is that why you're so calm? Or is it just because you're batshit insane?"
The bastard had the audacity to laugh as he coughed further.
And that was the last straw as I drew my arm back before punching him harshly in the nose.
Sparks flew from the ring as the man began to cry in agony, his body writhing as if he was being electrocuted.
"What d-did you do!?" He shouted as blood spewed out of his orifices.
"If my guess is right…" I said, feeling a little weak after the punch, "permanently deal with you."
At that his eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something. But whatever it was, it remained unsaid.
He had died. At my hands. I killed someone… again.
The first time I did it was when I pulled a cartridge out, so it was easy to ignore. This time, however, I fully acted it out.
"Cappie… Tiny Mita…" I muttered as I rose to my feet and walked to where I had told them to hide.
Fortunately, when I reached them, they were safe. Cappie had her back to the wall with Tiny Mita in her arms.
Cappie immediately noticed me, but remained silent for a few seconds before speaking, "Is it over?"
"Yes," I responded firmly, "let's get out of here before something else happens."
Cappie nodded at that, while Tiny Mita slowly moved to face me.
"Player…" she spoke.
"Yes, come here," I said as I reached out to her, taking her from Cappie's into my own.
"Told you I will deal with the bad guy and be back," I said with a chuckle, burying the dreadful feeling of actively murdering someone.
In response, she stared into my eyes for a brief while before wrapping her arm around my neck and leaning into me.
And so, we got going. However, Tiny Mita had me stop all of a sudden once we were next to the first window.
"Doors won't help. There…"
She pointed at the window which showed nothing but darkness outside.
"Are you sure…?"
"Yes."
I trusted her. I had no reason not to.
Since my arms were occupied with the little one, Cappie opted to open the window and look out of it.
She then climbed it and stood there before offering out her arm.
I took her arm and climbed up as well.
The three of us remained there for a short while before Cappie and I jumped down at the same time.
We tore through cold air as we dropped into a seemingly never-ending dark void.
Thoughts passed through my mind one after another. Unanswered questions had increased, but I felt more resolved than ever.
If previously I was trying to survive, now it was about stomping on whatever plans that lunatic had.
However, I was worried. If they had performed such atrocious acts against such an innocent little girl, what would they do to Kind Mita before we reach her?
I didn't want to imagine it. I really didn't.