Part 10
Framed
Darkness enveloped the basement of Abyss, a space far removed from the pulsating energy of the club above. The air was thick, hot and humid. In the center of the room, the grotesque metal frame hung suspended, its cold, gleaming structure casting eerie shadows against the walls.
Mina hung in the Needle Frame, stripped naked and shimmering in a sheen of oil, her body stretched and immobilized by metal clamps around her waist, wrists and ankles in to an X, face down. Her weight was supported just enough to keep her from collapsing, leaving her suspended in the air like a puppet. Above and below her, racks of needles gleamed in the dim light, their sharp points poised mere millimeters from her skin.
The attendants had provoked a cry of pain from Mina. Two cries actually, as they pierced her nipples and slipped a barbell piercing through which could stay in until it was healed. This gift awaited everyone who had the honor of visiting the Needle Frame for their first time.
The ordeal had begun with a jolt, the frame adjusting her position with mechanical precision. The first wave of needles pressed into her back and legs, sharp enough to send spikes of pain through her body but careful not to break the skin. She moved her body downwards, away from these needles from above, only to be met by the needles below her. Each movement she made, no matter how small, triggered another set of needles to press against her flesh, an unrelenting reminder of her captivity.
Mina clenched her teeth, trying to steady her breathing. The pain was excruciating, a searing fire that spread through her body with each slight shift. The needles pressed against her arms, her torso, her legs - even her neck - making it impossible to find any relief. Time lost meaning, the hours blending into a haze of agony and exhaustion. At least her feet were free from the needles in her horizontal suspension.
The frame was designed to keep her awake, her body constantly on edge, unable to relax or succumb to unconsciousness. Each time her muscles sagged or her head drooped, the needles would press deeper, forcing her back into painful alertness. The clever mechanisms jabbing her but just without actually piercing her skin.
Her mind drifted to Lena, to the duel they had fought. To their fight before the duel. She didn’t blame her friend - she had chosen to return, knowing the risks, even signed the contract. But the reality of the punishment was far worse than she had imagined. The frame was a cruel, merciless device, designed to strip away dignity and replace it with pure, unrelenting pain.
In the solitude of the basement, Mina’s thoughts spiraled. Memories of their nights at Abyss played through her mind, each one tinged with the darkness that now consumed her. The club had seduced her with its promises of thrill and challenge, but it had taken far more than she was willing to give.
As the hours dragged on, Mina’s body screamed for release. Her muscles ached, her skin burned from the constant pressure of the needles. Tears streamed down her face, her sobs muffled by the thick air of the basement. She felt as though she was being slowly dismantled, each piece of her soul chipped away by the endless torment.
At some point - though she couldn’t tell when - her mind began to fracture. The pain became a constant companion, a rhythm that beat in time with her heart. She no longer tried to fight it, instead surrendering to the dark embrace of the frame and surrendering her body fully to the needles and their pain. She went limp, sagging into the needles below her, she no longer tried to avoid them, accepting their painful kisses. It was in this surrender that she found a twisted kind of peace, a quiet acceptance of her fate.
When the eight hours finally ended, the frame released her with a mechanical hiss, the needles retracting back into their racks. Mina’s body sagged, her limbs too weak to support her as she crumpled to the stone floor. The attendants lifted her carefully, her body limp and trembling.
They dressed her in her latex dress and as they carried her back to the surface, Mina’s mind remained foggy, the world around her a blur. The vibrant, pulsating music of Abyss greeted her ears, a stark contrast to the silence of the basement. The crowd cheered as she was brought out, their applause a cruel mockery of her suffering.
Evelyn stood at the edge of the stage, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Welcome back, Mina," she said softly, her voice laced with cold triumph. "You’ve survived the Needle Frame. Few can say the same."
Mina didn’t respond. Her eyes were distant, her spirit battered but not broken. She had endured the worst Abyss had to offer, and though the scars of the experience would linger, she had survived.
As the attendants guided her out of the club as the sun was just rising above the horizon, the cold morning air hit her like a balm. Lena was waiting for her in the almost empty lounge. Mina took a deep, shuddering breath, the pain still etched into every fiber of her being. Mina’s eyes narrowed as she limped away, the distant hum of the club fading behind her. There was a storm brewing within her, a quiet, burning resolve. Abyss had pushed her to the edge, but it had also awakened something stronger, something darker that wouldn’t rest until Evelyn and the club’s dark grip were broken for good.
The rain had stopped by the time Mina arrived at the little corner café. The place was quiet, half-empty, with the warm scent of coffee and baked goods mingling in the air. A small table in the back had already been claimed. Lena was there, seated with her back to the wall, a nervous look flickering in her eyes as she glanced at the door.
Mina approached quietly. Her gait was still careful, slightly favoring one foot. The Needle Frame left no visible scars, of course, but the memory was written into her movements, into the tension in her shoulders.
Lena stood halfway up, then stopped herself, unsure. Mina sat down across from her. Neither spoke for a few moments. The sound of clinking cups and soft music filled the silence between them.
"Thanks for coming," Lena finally said, her voice low and tentative.
Mina nodded, her expression unreadable. "We needed to talk."
Lena looked down into her coffee, then up at Mina again. "I… I don’t even know where to begin. I’m sorry. For everything. For not stopping you, for not protecting you, for winning that damn duel."
Mina tilted her head slightly. "You think you should have protected me? Again?"
Lena winced. "That’s not what I meant. I mean… back when Evelyn made you dance in those shoes. The needle ones. Before you ever signed your contract. I should have said something. I should have stopped her."
Mina sighed softly. "But you didn’t. Because you didn’t see me yet. Not really."
"I wanted to," Lena said quickly. "I just didn’t know how."
"You looked at me like I was someone fragile. Still the girl you used to hook up with in college. Still someone who needed rescuing. But I’m not that girl anymore. I made my own choice. I joined Abyss. And yes, I dragged you into that duel. I said yes to Evelyn, knowing what it might cost."
Lena shook her head, pain flickering across her face. "But you lost. You ended up in that frame for eight hours. And I was the one who beat you. I stood there… and I didn’t even know what that meant. Not really. I didn’t know what the Needle Frame was. Evelyn never explained. I only knew it was pure pain, a pain theater."
Mina gave a small, humorless laugh. "It’s not theater. It’s pain science. Eight hours of constant, calculated agony. You're suspended horizontally between them, unable to rest. Needles above and below you, thousands, everywhere, just brushing the skin. Move too much, and they push deeper. Sag, and they punish you. Stay still, and they ache. There’s no escape from it. It strips away everything from you, down to your core."
Lena stared at her, stricken. "I had no idea. I - "
"And the piercings," Mina added quietly, looking away for the first time. "They put bars through my nipples. A welcome gift for first-timers, apparently. No anesthesia. Just pain. Permanent now."
Lena covered her mouth with her hand. "Mina, I - God. I didn’t know. I didn’t want you to go through that."
"But I did. Because I chose it. That’s what you need to understand."
"Because you couldn’t stop. That’s how Abyss works. Evelyn knew exactly how to corner us. She sensed our … conflict. And I didn’t back out either. I could have refused, walked away alone. I didn’t. I wanted to prove something to you - and maybe to myself."
Lena's voice dropped, raw. "And I let you suffer. I saw you collapse. I heard you scream. And I had to finish the last dance steps. That’s going to haunt me, Mina."
Mina's eyes softened. "You think it doesn’t haunt me too? But it was my decision, Lena. I said yes to that dance. I pushed for it because I was tired of you speaking for me. Tired of being the one who always had to be saved, especially by someone who couldn’t even tell me what she felt."
Lena flinched. "You think I didn’t want to? I was terrified. You meant something to me. You mean something to me. That duel broke something open, but it wasn’t the first time I wanted to tell you. It goes all the way back to college. We experimented, and then we drifted apart again, and I always thought maybe you moved on."
Mina looked at her, long and steady. "I didn’t. I just moved forward. And I waited. But you only ever showed up when you could play hero. Not as someone who saw me as an equal. Not as someone who was brave enough to say, 'I care about you, and I want more than this game we’re playing.'"
"I was scared," Lena admitted. "Of what it would mean. Of losing you. Of stepping over a line and finding out it was only me who felt this."
Mina reached for her coffee, then paused. "That’s just it, isn’t it? You never asked. You assumed. You assumed I needed saving. You assumed I was still yours to look after. And when I started making decisions that didn’t involve you - Abyss, the contract, Evelyn - you panicked."
Lena nodded slowly. "Yeah. I did. And when I saw your face as they took you to the basement… God, Mina. I didn’t sleep for two days. You looked so scared. Your eyes - wide open, searching for something, anything - and I just stood there. I didn’t even know what the Needle Frame was. Evelyn never explained it, and I didn’t ask. I just… watched you disappear behind those doors. I kept thinking, 'What did I let her walk into?'"
"No," Mina said, more firmly now. "I went through that because I chose it. It wasn’t about proving something to Evelyn. It was about showing you that I can endure, that I can decide. And yes, it hurt. Very badly. It broke a part in me. I’m scared to go back there again in the future. But it also brought us here, didn’t it?"
Lena leaned back in her chair, exhaling slowly. "You’re stronger than I gave you credit for. I should have seen that a long time ago."
"I didn’t want to be strong on my own," Mina said quietly. "I wanted to be strong with you. But that meant you had to see me. Really see me. Not as someone to shield, but as someone to stand beside."
Lena reached across the table, tentative, her fingers brushing Mina’s. "I do now."
Mina met her touch. "Then we have a chance. But only if we stop fighting battles that aren't ours to fight. Only if we listen."
"I want that," Lena whispered. "I want you. Not as someone I have to protect. As someone I want to stand next to. Someone I can finally say the truth to."
"Then say it," Mina said.
Lena swallowed, eyes locked on hers. "I care about you. More than I ever let myself admit. And I miss what we had - back then, when things were simpler, when we still touched without asking why. I’m sorry I never told you that. I think I buried it because I didn’t know how to carry it."
Mina's lips trembled, then curled into a faint smile. "I missed your mouth."
Lena laughed, breathless, tears in her eyes. "Then come get it."
The kiss that followed was slow and aching, years of longing packed into a single moment. It wasn’t perfect - it was raw, bittersweet, healing. Their hands held firm, fingers intertwined.
Outside, the rain had started again, a soft, rhythmic tapping on the windows. The world moved on, indifferent. But at that small table, two hearts, once splintered, began to beat in time again.