The Lineage

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


The Lineage
By 11


Chapter 02
Circus of Freaks: A Living Nightmare

I feel Shikamaru’s hand on my shoulder and for a moment I jump, thinking him a foreign presence. “It’s a death trap, just look around, whatever game he’s talking about it’s deadly.” He hisses to me in a low voice, perhaps in the hope that the thing that spoke before won’t hear us. “If we play we won’t live.”

I already know this. “But if we don’t play, we sure won’t live either.” I point out. I feel his tense, “at least if we play, there may be a chance of getting away.”

“Naruto,” he starts, “I may be pretty smart, but this is his game; I don’t know if I can beat him.”

“Better to try to than to not do anything.” I respond. His hand recedes; he knows I’m right. I just wish I was as confident as I sound, the way things look now I won’t see the sun ever again.

“Have you reached… a conclusion?” the voice asks from somewhere beyond the walls.

“Sure, we’ll play a game.” I agree for the both of us, “So what’s the game?”

“It’s very simple really, just a regular game of chance, nothing complicated.” The voice assures us. “You see there are five holes in the left side wall; each big enough for an arm to be stuck through?”

The scratching sliding sound of metal against metal sounds from behind the wall he directed us to. Goosebumps rise along my arms and legs, an involuntary shudder; for all I like metal I hate the sound of it grinding against itself. “Well, what are you waiting for?” the voice seems to chuckle.

“You each have to put one of your arms through a whole. But, behind one of the holes is a sharp metal piece that will fall; which means if you pick the wrong hole your arm will get… chopped off.” Again a dark chuckle accompanied the instructions.

“So there’s a fifth of chance we could lose our limb?” Shikamaru’s voice shakes a little, I turn to look at him, he’s just as scared as I am; I don’t want to get my arm chopped off… and may I forgiver myself for thinking this, but it’d be much better if it happened to Shikamaru rather than me.

“I am not going to.” Shikamaru states, his voice thick with fear. I know the same feeling; like bile it leaves a bad aftertaste and stays with you and makes you cold and you can hardly bear to think when all you’re thinking is that you want to live just a little more. Truthfully, I don’t want to play this game either… even though it’s just chance; I don’t want to lose my limb, or my life. I don’t want to be here…

“Are you not going to play?” the voice asks, “Too bad.” The lights go out in a flash and a short blast of sound tells of one of the far doors sliding open. There were no footsteps, but the sudden force of the light going out and the sudden robbing of all senses causes terrors solely of the mind.

“Okay! We’ll play, it was just a moment’s hesitation!” In a panic through darkness and no other outlet to anything else around you, how can one help but agree to a contract of any kind? Even with the devil, if it meant to live just a little longer. “We’ll play!”

“Are you sure…?”

My body freezes up at those words. It, whatever it is, is standing right behind me. The voice is much more horrible, so close against my ear. I can feel it breathing, and the rasping breath gives me the picture of dripping jaws of some beast in my mind. “Yes, I’m sure,” It’s kind of freaky that my voice can sound so calm while the rest of me feels like collapsing into a puddle of goop and whimpering like a dog. “Please.”

I swear I can feel it grinning. “Very well, but only because you asked so nicely…” the voice responds, and a moment later the door slides shut and the lights are on. It must be able to move wicked fast to do all of that very short time span.

“Don’t make me wait much longer.” It reminds from somewhere beyond the wall; the voice is mitigated now, but it still feels like it’s that horrible beastly thing right in my ear.

Then there is no sound, and I look back at the five holes in the wall. “We’re going to die here Naruto…” I look over to Shikamaru, he’s shaking like I feel I am. “We won’t get out of here alive.”

He’s only voicing what I feel, I just hope I don’t look as defeated as he does. Regardless, we have to play this game; and if we’re going to die anyway, what’s losing a limb so some creepy thing can get its kicks?

I choose a hole and stick my arm through; there’s nothing else to do in a game of chance. Shikamaru does the same, and I can see he’s shaking, glancing at my own arm I’m not surprised I’m in a similar state. The voice is laughing again and the metal piece is sliding on the inside of the wall. Oh no, it sounds like it’s right above my arm! I try to yank it back out but it won’t come back. There’s something holding it there; it’s stuck!!

The metal is getting closer! I hear Shikamaru cry out, apparently he has the same stuck arm problem. The laughing is getting louder, it’s practically in my skull. White blank, a scream adds to the din as the chopping piece slides all the way through. I swear it wasn’t me screaming but it feels like my arm has been stabbed through with needles at one point and the rest… do I even want to know?!

Whatever was holding my arm releases, and I fall back to the floor, pain lancing through my hips and to my spine. Shikamaru yelps out, I assume he experienced something similar to my experience. I open my eyes and stare… my arm is there. It’s whole! A little stiff but whole!! I… didn’t know you could whimper in happiness, but that’s sort of the sound I make as I cradle my limb happily.

An anguished sound comes from Shikamaru and I look over expecting to see a bloody stub of an arm, but it looks like he got away too. He’s whimpering though and holding his arm, I can’t blame him though; heck I’m doing the same thing. I’m still shaking. The voice has simmered to a light chuckling now, but it’s still there mocking us. Hey we won the game!

“Hey! We won!” I call out, it’s not shaky but it’s meeker than I’d meant for it to be. “Let us go, we beat your game! So we can go now!”

The voice pauses to muse, “No, no; one more.” The voice insists, “You also might want to pick up one of the weapons you see in this room.”

“What?” I ask incredulously. Of course I guess I should have expected this, one game doesn’t off us, have another that will. But what else could there be in this room, unless we’re starting on the torture devices…

The floor we’re on falls away; I and Shikamaru cry out simultaneously as we plummet into the darkness below. We land pretty soon, the light from the room above is still filtered through somewhat. We’re now on some platform, just below the basement room. It’s connected to the ceiling by three rungs along the circular edges. There is no railing and peering over the edge there’s nothing but more dark.

“Too late,” the voice chuckles, “should have taken a weapon when you had the chance.”

From above a great dark bulk falls and lands on the platform, rocking what must be a thin plate holding us from falling into the abyss below. My body is shaking and with the impact I fall to the floor to keep myself in place. But my eyes never left the great hulking beast that has joined us.

Red eyes glow in the darkness, a reflective dark body imitates a metallic shell, and a wavering limb from the creature’s back lazily twitches back and forth, the tip a bulbous sac with a needle like protrusion.

It takes me a moment before my mind processes that this is something… like a giant scorpion. The object of this game is clear enough; don’t die.

This was the rule from the very beginning.

It seems vaguely unreal as the dark limb falls towards me and I dash to the side. The crashing sound and the clicking sounds, presumably from the beasts mouth, sound fogged and distant as my mind processes what is happening. The only clear sound is that of the blood in my head and the only thing that feels real is my tensed body.

It’s difficult to dodge the blows because my form doesn’t want to move. It’s all glued together and I’m panicking vaguely as the hairs at my neck stand up. The same deadly limb barely avoids me a fourth time, or is it the sixth? Where is Shikamaru? He’s not faring much better I imagine, the moment respite to recover my body enough to dodge the next blow must be when this thing stops to attack Shikamaru instead of me.

I have no weapon, we’re defenseless. There’s nothing we can do. For now we’ll just have to dodge. But then what? Maybe it’ll tire out and we can do something then. But it seems more likely that we’ll tire before it will. If only I had a flame thrower or a blow torch.

I hurl my body to the opposite side to avoid being struck by the poisonous bulb on the tip of it’s tail. That whirring clicking seems to laugh at my actions, as if to tell me it’s hopeless. We will probably die here…

If only I had a gun! Or a sword! If I had some metal encasings for my hands!

I hear Shikamaru cry out and I shout back to him. I don’t know what happened, but I hope he wasn’t hit. Then the scorpion will be able to devote all his time to striking me dead. I don’t want to die.

If only I had my metal knuckles.

On the impossible idea that it might be there, I slip my hand into my pocket, feeling in case I have something sharp that I can use. My fingers brush cold metal, and my heart beats faster with a flicker of hope.

I still have my brass knuckles. If I use them the blood from Shui will crack off. But keeping my life is infinitely more important to me right now. What use is my collection of rust if I won’t be alive to add this next piece to it? The thing rounds its body towards the other side of the platform, presumably towards Shikamaru who the scorpion will now finish off.

I won’t give it the chance.

My body moves and the motion feels vaguely like I’m rushing through water rather than air, it feels sluggish and slow; and I slam my hand, as the driving force, against the beasts’ side. The brass knuckles make a sick cracking sound against it’s armored side; and I keep barreling my body forward; shoving my whole weight against it.

The creature starts and there’s a whir of clicks and ‘murr’s from it’s insect mouth as I continue forward shoving the thing towards the edge. It’s bulk loses it’s balance on the ground as half it’s legs are pushed off the surface of the suspension. The rest of it’s body tumbles after it’s legs and the beast vanishes into the black abyss.

I’m still standing although it feels like I should collapse, Shikamaru is also standing, and his shirt is dark with sweat, I can’t tell if he’s injured or not, and frankly right now, I can’t say I care. Pretty bad huh? Or maybe it’s human instinct that right now I’m really only worried about myself.

A terrifying shriek rattles the suspension platform. I tremble slightly in anticipation that the suspensions will break and the platform will plummet to whatever lies below. But the sound rages for a few horrifying seconds before fading away.

I can only think that the cry came from that giant beast, but to think it could make such a sound. I shudder and glance at Shikamaru; something similar seems to be in his thoughts as well. That things is now dead… something at the bottom tore it up. Are there spikes at the bottom of this dark well-like area?

A jeering chuckle from the shadows all around us interrupts my thoughts. It’s that sick freak… “Okay, we won that one. We can go now!” I muster all my strength into my voice. I feel like my voice should crack and break, shudder as much as my body is right now, but my voice remains clear and far more at ease than I actually feel.

“No, no, one more.” The voice insists, accompanied by a sinister kind of giggle.

“How many games do we have to play to leave?” I finally snarl at the mocking jeering specter. Does he intend to keep us here forever, or until our bodies give out and we do die? Is that his master plan all along? Will he never let us go? That does seem very likely…

“Demanding a way out now?” the voice sounds amusing, and should this phantom of darkness have a face, I can imagine a sickly mocking grin plastered on it’s features right now. “Well, only after this next one I suppose. But…” he hesitates. Adding one more condition? Something to make this horrible death trap even more repulsive and unsightly I imagine. “Only one of you can leave.”

The platform jerks under my feet and I fall to my back. My blood suddenly feeling very chilled. What does that mean? Only I or Shikamaru will be allowed to leave? That’s insane! How would we decide such a thing! I want to live!! Whoever stays will die!! I know that! I’m not that stupid! I want to live!!

The platform jerks again, and I can hear Shikamaru’s breathing coming in short bursts; idly I wonder if his mind is finally giving out to this insane voice and almost complete utter darkness. The abyss, the knowledge that one of us will die, no matter what… oh gods why is this happening…?

“I’m making it easy for you, you know,” the voice seems to sneer, delighting in our torment. “The first to fall from the platform, of course, is the one who stays. If you care to fight each other to live… feel free to do so.”

The voice is chuckling again, glad someone finds this amusing, but even like this there’s no guarantee he’ll let the one who doesn’t fall go. But it’s the only option isn’t it…?

I turn over onto my belly and look over at Shikamaru, he’s watching me too. His eyes are empty and hollow as they watch me. Is he thinking of killing me so he can live? I feel the bite of the metal over my knuckles, and I know, I won’t let him kill me. I’ll kill him first!

Shikamaru moves to his feet suddenly and lurches towards me, I jump from my place on the platform and rush to a stand, leaping back from his agression. I can hardly feel my body, so I let it move of it’s own accord; when Shikamaru lunges again I grab his arms and toss him back over my shoulder towards the edge. He doesn’t fall.

I attack, by he dodges my armored fist and slams his shoulder against my gut. I’m knocked back, but I refuse to fall! I don’t die! I will not let him kill me! I will live!!

My mind feel empty and void of all thoughts, my body moves of it’s own accord attacking, shoving the other towards the edge, as close as possible, avoiding the edge and countering as many strikes as possible. There’s nothing there… then there’s an opening my eyes see it but my mind does not process all outcomes; there is only one tracking to my thoughts, if there are any traveling through the subconscious.

I wish this wasn’t happening. It can’t be real.

All was silent before, but the blood pounding in my ears in tune with my heart, a pulsing organ beating, beating, beating… my veins that pump my blood all through me. In my feet, three veins leafing like a tree, my leg two main veins one moving blood up one down. My hands a crisscross of tiny veins that throb so my hand feels too warm when balled into a fist. The metal on my other hand cools the skin; and there’s a cold sweat on my arms and the back of my neck. I can feel it matting my hair.

I wish this wasn’t happening.

A single bead of sweat rolls down my belly; I’m aware of all of this but I’m barely aware when my fist, the one with the brass knuckles, goes through Shikamaru’s opening and connects. I didn’t even feel it, and for a few seconds I’m not sure I even heard it. But the second time I did… when that same armored fist collided for the second time with my best friend’s skull.

I wish this wasn’t real.

The sickening sound of metal striking hard on his skull clears a strip of fog in my mind as I realize exactly what I’m doing. And Shikamaru is falling towards the edge, and I don’t even move to stop as his body slips over the tilting rim. My body grows cold… I murdered my best friend so that I could live.

This can’t be happening.

How many times have I wished this whole nightmare wasn’t real?

I let my legs fall under me and I fall to the edge too, I don’t stop myself as I fall over into the inky blackness. Shikamaru has to be down here somewhere too… I can’t catch him. Then I hit his body on the ground. It was a short drop actually. The whir of metal nearby lets me know that the both of us… just survived the fall, and barely survived being minced by a whirring blade not four feet away.

Vaguely I note that it’s wet near the edge, from where the beast we fought before fell… we were really very lucky not to fall into that.

Shikamaru groans slightly, and I check his neck. He has a pulse; he’s alive, just unconscious. I drag his body away from the whirring blade and turn him to his side to help his rest. I reach the wall and release Shikamaru, laying his body there, knowing that where he is right now he should be safe.

Feeling along the wall my fingers fall into thick grooves, that follow in a rectangular shape, like a door. There’s a handle, but it must weigh a ton it’s so heavy. I throw my body backward to yank it open, and slowly a sliver of light invades the darkness. My eyes close guarding my eyes against the sudden brilliant light. I strain my arms to pull the door open and slip my body inside, letting the heavy slab fall closed behind me.

Shikamaru should be alright, if he wakes up he won’t hurry into the slicer or anything. Given that there’s no more beasts. I doubt I could drag him in here if I did go back for him. Shikamaru’s smart, if he does revive; he’ll probably find the door too. These are the thoughts I tell myself as I rest against the wall and my eyes scan the corridor.

It’s gray and brown there’s dim lights that line the hall and there’s a few other corridors that branch off of this one. But this place also reeks of blood, and the coiling within my gut seems to warn me that this place is every bit as dangerous as the other areas I was just in.

I just tried to kill my best friend, and we fell narrowly avoiding being turned into minced meat. It all seems so surreal really… but I don’t want to think on it anymore. Soon, perhaps, this whole thing will be nothing but a distant memory, maybe even forgotten entirely; something that never happened.

When my legs no longer feel entirely like bits of jellied string cheese, I stand and start slowly walking down the corridor, there’s a door at the end. Despite other turns I’d like to aim for the one at the end of the hall first, this is also something my gut tells me.

I tend to listen to the coiling when I don’t know what’s happening, it’s worked well so far; such as on field trips when I get lost, or when I’m trying to navigate a not-so-great part of town without getting hurt or accosted. It’s served me well so far, can’t see why I shouldn’t trust it now.

This door is just as heavy as the one I entered from… I put my weight into pushing it open and squeeze myself inside, poking my head in ahead of me. There’s a grouping of monitors all across the heading of the front of the room, the one I face as I walk in. There’s a chair in front of the monitors and panel; a pale hand adjusts the controls, searching the possible camera angles of the pit, platform, and the whirring pit. Thick white hair graces the top of his head, and I can make out little else of this sick phantom. This old man, is very likely the owner of the mocking voice that has thus led Shikamaru and I through these twisted games.

I raise my armored fist, and grip the side of the chair with my other. In a single swift motion I whirl the chair to face me and I swing my fist towards the old man’s face. I pause, not because of my surprise that such an old man has such a young face, although there is that, nor is it that his eyes are blood red, but because I have questions to ask. These other characteristics give me some surprise but it’s not so incredibly unusual really.

The man look at my in surprise, and some awe as if curious as to how I came to be here. Suddenly he grins, “How do I get out?” I snarl at him. Sick freak, he only grins, as if amused. I take my fist back and move to punch him; this time I don’t stop my blow; but my fist connects with the leather of the chair. He vanished?! Impossible…!

I gasp and whirl, the old man stands behind me. He’s taller than me; but how did he get from the chair to there… and how?! My eyes widen in my surprise. A pale hand seizes my shoulder roughly, long fingers curling around the one side of my neck, and he lifts me slightly so my toes touch the ground. How can an old man be so strong?!

What’s worse I can’t move, my arms feel like lead, and my legs won’t do what I tell them to. Stupid gut, why did it lead me here to this murderous creep?!

“I decline to answer your question…” he speaks, and all will to fight suddenly vanishes; and I don’t know why. A slight tremor racks my body and my will leaves me as his voice seems to permeate through me and my form relaxes into his grip. Even though I don’t want it to! “…because I’m a bit interested in you now.”

Creep! Old guy! Lech! Cretin! Pedophile! Gay!! Uh… sick murderous freak!!! Get away from me!!!!! God why won’t my body move! I could take this guy!!

My fingers flex, and I will my arm to move to strike him. This time it does!! Yes! I can do it!! But his free hand catches my fist easily, it doesn’t even seem to phase him, although he does seem surprised that I can move at all.

How is this happening?!!!

“Let Shikamaru go.” It’s not a request it’s an order. One I can’t quite expect him to obey, but I can try. If he’s going to kill me, I want to at least be told that he’ll release Shikamaru.

“Oh?” he smiles, that sick amused look back on his face. “Why?”

As if he doesn’t know! Perversion of horror films!! Go die! Be smote with lightning! Something! Please!!

“You will allow Shikamaru to go free!” I speak the order more forcefully this time. He cocks his head to the side with a grin.

“Very stubborn aren’t you?” he seems to laugh, “fine then, your friend will be returned to the outside.”

I can’t believe he’s consenting! Then again he may just being saying it so that’s what I can think, peaceably, as I die; not all murderers give their victims that, even if it’s not true. But then again I’ll never know… I’m going to die.

I really don’t want to die.

“In return…” he starts again, that darn stupid grin back on his face; of course there’s a condition, gotta be a condition; in return he gets to kill me and do whatever sick perverted things he wants to my body. Good luck freaking necrophiliac!! It won’t be me!! I’ll be dead! “…you will supply me with food.”

“Food?” I puzzle. Now I didn’t see that one coming. Supply him with food? What I have to bring him cookies and burgers everyday? Is that all? Oh good, I thought it’d be something like… what I was originally thinking.

“Blood.”

Oh never mind, I was right. Though on the bright side it’s not as drastic as killing me right away and doing sick stuff to my body; no he’ll drain my blood and make me anemic and then I die. Peachy. Shikamaru you better live a darn good life for the both of us or I’m going to be very unhappy… or I’ll be dead I won’t be able to tell or care. But either way he better be happy or I don’t know why I don’t just say, “Take him please! He’ll last longer, let me go! I wanna live! Please!!” I wonder if there’s still time for me to beg for my life…

Suddenly his grip on my neck and shoulder releases; and my lax body falls a fraction, but before I can catch myself, given that I can still move, I’ve been turned around and pulled by his arm around my middle up against him. Oh no… don’t do it to me while I’m still alive!! I don’t wanna!!!

A cool breath stirs against the bared side of my neck; and I shudder. His voice, a beast one moment, a purring alto the next, “In essence, from here one out, you are technically my possession. An object.” He pauses a moment to let that sink in. Like he needed to; but I didn’t think I’d have to endure this horror while I was still alive! I don’t wanna!! “Are we in agreement?”

This guy is completely nuts!! But do I really have a choice… if it’s not me… it’ll be Shikamaru… can I really condemn him to this…? But can I condemn myself?

“Yes.” My voice is hollow and it answers before my mind has fully assessed every perspective. But it’s too late, I was already in too deep the moment I entered this room, wasn’t I?

I inhale sharply as something cold and sharp bites into my neck and breaks the skin in a single smooth fluid motion. For a moment a rush of fear fills me, but then I’m relaxed again and my body suddenly feels so sated and heavy; my mind feels almost happy, as a wave of euphoria seems to course through my blood released from my neck.

Every nerve tingling and alive… my eyes close and I drown in the feeling forgetting that the scent of blood fills my nose, forgetting that I’m now a slave to some sick murderous pervert. I can forget he’s probably latched into my throat right now killing me.

Is this really what it feels like to die? I’m glad if it’s so, it’s so much more peaceful than I imagined. I think like this I can die… perhaps. I’m not even aware of the darkness around me, killing me.

There is nothing.

---

Review.

PS - Sasuke will appear around the end of chapter 5.