A fire was burning in the center of a small room, illuminating the heavy dust infesting itself into every part of the space.
The flames licked back and forth as the wind passed from the cracks of the walls into the cramped space.
Above the fire, a crude wireframe of warped metal and splintered wood had been fitted an attempt at stability, if not safety.
A rusted metal sheet was placed on top of the makeshift support as small stripes of blackened meat were placed on top.
The room slowly filled with the smells of rotting, cooked flesh, after some time the meat was taken off and set in the floor, next to the flames and replaced by some small bruised vegetables.
Once they had finished, both were lazily placed into a makeshift bowl of splinted wood, bound by cloth and twine.
Sitting on a cracked wooden chair a young woman was leaning back, trying her best to savour this meal of hers.
Her pale skin had been covered in layers of dust and soot, making it almost the same colour as her tangled ash-blonde hair, which went down slightly past the base of her neck.
Her sunken grey eyes follow the trickles of embers spewing from the flame in front of her, watching them dance in the soft evening winds.
She savoured every second of this meal, as she didn't remember the last time she had been able to eat some meat, however rotten it may be, it had taken most of her money but it was truly worth it.
Her time was spent eating as she watched the evening sun lower itself from the horizon, the pale light of dusk radiated through her home as a sudden yet slow knock came from her door.
Slowly rising from her spot, she made her way to the door, looking through the keyhole she sighed and reluctantly opened the door, suppressing an angry grimace.
On the other side stood a short man, greasy black hair spilled out over most his face with his Emerald green eyes only barely visible underneath, his tanned leathery body covered in countless scars, his gaze lingered on her frame longer than it should have before his head turned up to look into the women's sunken eyes.
Speaking in a low tone he uttered;
"Ah, good evening to you Myrae, how are ya, actually I don't give a shit, I'm in a bit of a sour mood so I'm only going to ask once, where's my money?".
Myrae blinked slowly as a small frown appeared on her lips;
"Good to see you too Jackass, listen..I'm a bit short right now but if you come back in a few days you can have your money, With interest."
Sucking in his teeth and lowering his gaze once again before looking over his shoulder;
"Tsk tsk tsk, how unfortunate and here I was planning on having a nice evening with my boys, and you've just had to ruin my fun!"
Turning back with a smirk, he said in a whisper;
"Tell you what, I'm a nice guy, so I'll cut you a deal, you give me half of what you owe me for this month, and in return...well you know what I want by now."
Licking his lips, he slowly looked over Myraes patchwork of loose fitting clothes, with a smile and took a step closer;
"So what do you say, you down to be tonight's entertainment?."
With a frown painting her face, her expression contorted, scowling at the man;
"Do you not remember what happened last time, I told you that I would NEVER be doing that again especially after what that fatass you call a friend tried to pull."
"I don't care that you're the self proclaimed Lord of the western Scarfront, all I see in front of me is a small, pathetic excuse for a man who tries to compensate for everything wrong in their life, with good reason from what I saw, by putting everyone else around them down and forcing them to your will."
"Fuck you and your friends you will get your money in two days, see you then."
Slamming the door on his face, Myrae turned back into her home, slumping against her door and letting out a shaky breath, knowing she didn't have long she rushed to her room and grabbed her bag she had prepared the night before.
Having no time to waste she picked up her bag and rushed to the main room and headed for the back most window, before she could reach it however a large crash of splintering wood came from the entrance.
Rushing more than ever Myrae got to the window, first throwing her bag through then herself, it was a tight squeeze at first but once that first obstacle was cleared it became much easier.
As she was about to fall through the window however she felt multiple sets of hands grab her legs to pull her back as a pack of voices shouted over each other behind her.
Kicking back at her attackers she was hoping to make it through, but that hope was swiftly crushed as she felt herself being pulled back,her anger bubbling underneath her fear, eventually she was thrown out to the cold stone floor of her home as a man stood in front of her, whilst others held her down, covering her mouth.
Smiling darkly the short man said in a crazed tone;
"Did you really think I was going to let you go THAT easily, after what you've said to me! I think it's only right that I remind you how things work around here.
Gesturing to the dozen or so guys around him his smile never ending he spoke, almost shouting.
"Listen here boys and listen good, from this moment onwards, until I say so this bitch is no longer under our protection."
A round of murmurs followed by toothy grins littered their faces,
"That means that any prior agreement we had with her is out of the picture, this bitch has has humiliated me, degraded me and even tried to run from her ... responsibilities."
"Needless to say that she won't be leaving here until we all have had our fill, so before we begin let's me just say this."
Her eyes burning with anger as she scanned the twisted faces of those around her.
Moving up to grab Myraes neck with one hand and her face with another, forcing her to lock eyes with him;
"Be sure to take your sweet, sweet time, I want all of us here to remember this day so most importantly, have fun, and just remember, nothing is off the table with this one."
Leaning in close, he whispered;
"Don't cry too much, I'll make sure your first proper time with us is unforgettable, just try to relax for us okay."
As he stood up, laughing Myraes eyes were filled with tears, the group around her was drawing closer and those already holding her down where already moving their hands further down.
Just then however through all the insidious laughter a loud creaking noise erupted all around them, everyone held their heads trying to cover their ears until finally the sound of shattering glass filled every corner of the Scarfront.
Everyone froze, the faces of everyone, their faces darkening with fear, the only person smiling was Myrae, for this was the reason she was here in the first place.
The noise of cracking glass grew closer and closer, until a fracture shuddered through the room, a tear in reality itself.
A blood red liquid dripped from the cracks of the fracture, as the liquid came into contact with the stone, it came alive, becoming living muscle, convulsing and reaching forward and , metals contorting into crystalline organs, the cracks widened and stretched over the room.
She watched in awe as the fracture punctured into the skull of the man before her, his body convulsed as the dark red substance permeated his flesh, his body contorted into unnatural angles, his skin peeled apart as his bones grew out his body, his muscles stretching as blood poured out of every surface.
His friends stared in fear before running for their lives.
His blood congealed as it started to wrap around his body, his legs shaping with audible cracks as his two legs split into four then eight his hands splitting apart as his fingers grew longer, contorting into blades formed of pale white bone as the muscles peeled back.
The arms elongated to twice their natural length, his torso stretched as his ribs ripped free from his body as bony spikes grew out his spine.
His head split apart, his jaw forming into a pair of insect like mandibles, his eyes erupting from his skull as tiny plates grew over his head.
A pained scream escaped from the creature's mouth, turning around, it stared at Myrae as she ran from the room.
She was already moving before she even realised, as she looked up at the sky, the pale light of dusk was fractured, bending in unnatural ways she stared mesmerised at the bleeding sky before heading for her bag.
Picking it up she heard more cracks forming in the distance, as this noise rang above the Scarfront, the sky cried rivers of blood.