Unit 1
A cold wind brushed across John's face. He tried to open his eyes, but his body refused to obey after all the torture he had endured. Slowly, he realised something strange—he was no longer hanging. He was lying on something soft. Comfort… a feeling he had never tasted before.
A voice reached him. A girl's voice. Crying. Begging someone to let her go.
Who is she talking to?
Where am I?
Questions scattered around John's mind like broken glass.
He glanced at himself. He was no longer bleeding. His wounds were wrapped in gauze. He was inside a large covered carriage—fancy, decorated, and completely unfamiliar. He tried to sit up, but even his fingers refused to move.
More sounds drifted in:
The girl sobbing…
A whistling—familiar yet forgotten…
Wolves howling outside…
And the creaking rhythm of the carriage wheels.
"John, are you awake…?"
The moment George's voice entered his ears, John regretted waking up. His soul searched for a way to flee.
He moved his eyes toward the girl. She had blue eyes like chilled water, skin pale as fresh milk, soft brown hair, and lips tinted pink. She looked almost angelic. Almost.
Because this was the same girl who had falsely accused John of rape.
She was crying silently.
"Shut your mouth," George snapped at her. "If you don't, I'll throw you out of the carriage. I'm sure the wolves would love a little snack."
"We're almost there," he continued. "A few more minutes and we reach my house. Fifteen minutes later, our final destination."
George opened the carriage door.
"Girls first," he smirked, pushing her out gently.
"Boy, welcome to our sweet home."
He lifted John onto his back and carried him out.
The house stood alone in the middle of nowhere—large, eerie, and smelling of something rotten. George carried John to the first floor and laid him on a bed in a clean room with a red carpet, a window, and red-tinted walls.
Downstairs, the girl sat trembling in a chair.
In a scared whisper, she asked, "What did you do to my family…?"
"Nothing… hehehe," George chuckled. "Go to your room. Tomorrow is important. Rest well."
She obeyed quietly.
---
Narrator
What happened to the Wings family and the village?
Let me tell you.
That morning, Jord woke up, went downstairs, ate his breakfast, and said to his wife:
"Today… finally that little brat gets executed. Where are the kids?"
"They're sleeping," his wife replied. "I told them to wake early, but maybe they didn't."
"Wake them up. I'll check the preparations for the execution. They better be awake when I return."
Jord walked to the village square—the site where John was isolated. When he opened the gate, several villagers were gathered, scared and confused.
"What are you all doing here?" Jord asked.
"M-Mr. Wings…" one man said, shaking. "John… he's gone. We searched every house, every corner of the village. He's missing. I think he escaped…"
"Impossible!" Jord roared. "I saw him yesterday. He couldn't even open his eyes. You think that boy escaped?! HOW?!"
Before anyone could answer, a scream ripped through the air.
They ran toward the sound—and froze.
The scouts who went searching for John… were hanging from trees. Stripped naked. Headless.
Another scream.
This time—Jord's house.
Jord ran faster than ever. When he reached home, his wife was crying and pointing at their daughter's room. Blood soaked the floor. A note lay on the bed:
"Mr. Wings,
I am your friend GEORGE WILLSON.
Don't worry about your daughter—she is safe with me. I will take very good care of her.
Wondering why I'm doing this?
Remember the insult.
I never forgive or forget those who insult me.
And yes, I'm interested in your daughter. That's why I took her.
I took John too.
YOUR FRIEND,
GEORGE WILLSON"
After reading the note, Jord exploded in rage—shouting, throwing things, not because he lost his daughter… but because of what the village would think of him.
BOOM!
An explosion shook the village. Jord and his family looked out the window and saw half the village blown apart—gone as if erased from existence.
Another explosion.
Then another.
Jord understood what came next.
"WE NEED TO RUN! Follow me! We'll escape from the back—"
BOOM.
And the Wings family, along with the entire village, vanished from the map.
---
Back to the Present
The house was silent except for that foul, disgusting smell.
In the morning, George knocked on a door.
"Knock, knock… are you in there, girl?"
She opened it slowly.
"Get ready for breakfast," he said, then carried John downstairs.
They all sat. John sat only because George forced him to, keeping him upright.
"You need to recover," George said. "Someday you'll work for me… so heal quick."
He began feeding John like a child.
Then he looked at the girl.
"What's your name?"
"…Sofia. Sofia Wings."
"Hmm. Nice name. Comes from Greek mythology. It means wisdom."
George asked her again" what's your age?
" Nine... I am nine years old."
"So, Miss Sofia, do you like the food?"
She didn't answer.
"After you finish eating, come with me," George said. "I want to show you something."
Unit 2
Sofia sat alone in her room, her face buried in her trembling hands.
"This… this all happened because of me," she whispered. "I'm the worst daughter… the worst sister… the worst grandchild."
Her eyes drifted to the locket resting on her chest—her mother's locket.
The one thing she never regretted keeping.
The one thing that made her feel human.
She never regretted losing her father. Why would she?
Her father never wanted a daughter.
Her brothers, seven and two years old, were treated like treasures.
Sofia was treated like a mistake.
Sometimes her father beat her until she couldn't stand.
Sometimes her own mother tried to protect her—and got beaten for it.
And sometimes… sometimes the nights were worse.
Her father would come home drunk with his friends.
He would take money from them, and they would drag her mother to the ground while Sofia watched, frozen and helpless.
Her father didn't just allow it—he enjoyed it.
That memory lived in her mind like a wound that never healed.
She touched her locket.
She remembered the last thing her mother whispered to her:
"I never hated you… never. I only feared giving birth to a girl in this house.
My biggest mistake was marrying into this family.
Take this locket… your grandmother gave it to me before she died.
Promise me you'll keep it safe."
They had hugged that night—one final fragile moment.
Sofia wiped her tears.
Then—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Come out," George's voice crept through the wood. "I want to show you something."
She opened the door.
George was smiling.
A strange, twisted smile that didn't belong on a human face.
"Come with me, Sofia," he said softly.
He led her to the basement.
The smell was thick, rotten, almost alive.
George unlocked the door.
Blood stained the stairs.
And when they reached the bottom—
Sofia realized this wasn't a basement.
It was a torture hall.
Huge. Endless.
A corridor made of screams.
Bodies hung like decorations.
Some people were alive, some dead… none of them looked human anymore.
One man had no skin, only muscles and exposed bone.
Another hung from the ceiling—his lower body missing, his intestines pooled on the floor.
One corpse's face was twisted sideways like it was sculpted wrong.
Another body was full of holes, like something had eaten its way through.
Sofia's breath broke.
She looked for George—
But he wasn't beside her anymore.
She turned and saw him…
licking blood from a dead body.
Sofia ran—
but she froze again.
A group of creatures were eating a screaming man alive.
And he… he was laughing while they devoured him.
Her vision blurred.
Her body collapsed.
Darkness.
---
When she woke, she was tied to a pole with thick rope.
George stood before her, smiling like a broken toy.
"Let's play, Sofia Wings."
He pulled off his belt.
"Now tell me—why did you lie? Why did you blame John for trying to rape you?
Answer me!"
Sofia stayed silent.
George's anger erupted.
He inhaled deeply, then whipped her.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Her body shook. Blood ran down her legs.
"TELL ME, SOFIA!" he roared.
"I… I thought if I blamed John…" she cried, "…my family would only beat him and throw him out of the village. He would escape the slavery of my family… I didn't think they would declare an execution…"
George burst into laughter.
"You fool… HAHAHA! That's your plan? Really? HAHAHA!
A childhood love story? You thought he'd survive alone in this world?
You're unbelievable!"
Sofia cried harder, guilt crushing her.
"This all happened because of me… kill me! I deserve it!"
"Shut up."
George wiped tears from his laughter.
"I'm not killing you. Your life will be full of pain. That's much more fun."
He leaned closer.
"By the way, girl… your family—Wings…
Do you even know the history behind your surname?"
Sofia whispered, trembling,
"What history?
What can possibly be the history of a surname like Wings?"