u/JohnFuckingKennedy_

Dark Explorations is back. It is a harem romance story with heavy elements from Women's Dark Romance and Ero Guro. It's the story of Alan Anthony, a college dropout and true crime influencer who releases a theory stating that Sofia Bercowisz, a spree killer who terrorized I-55, is still alive after supposedly dying in a car crash. His theory becomes his nightmare as she kidnaps him and forces him into a world of sadistic violence, occult powers, and rival supernatural factions of evil.

I'm hoping y'all enjoy this next installment of Alan's adventures and can help me become a better writer by providing advice and reviews. The full series can be found in the embedded link. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 5

Driving for two hours is not an enjoyable process for most. I am one of those people who usually enjoys it though. My home state of West Virginia always made the views scenic and far more pleasurable than driving through the middle-of-nowhere like Kansas. Driving on a motorcycle is a far different experience though. In a car you have music to help distract you. On a motorcycle, the wind is so loud that you can’t even hold a conversation. To clarify, I was not driving. I was holding onto the frame of Sofia as we swerved through the county roads in Virginia. We crossed the state border an hour back, Lynchburg was now only a few minutes away. 

Now then, it was not a boring ride. Sofia ensured that. Sofia was not going to enjoy the Appalachian mountains as she tracked down Roxane. Sofia was not overtly sexual but when two people ride a motorcycle together, there's a certain level of contact necessary for everyone’s safety. I tried not to hold her side tightly and keep some distance, but she wouldn’t allow it. Having me fall off while she turned a corner was not something she felt like dealing with. I found myself holding onto her sides with my legs curled behind hers in permanent contact. If it were not for the nerves of the ride, I would’ve surely developed undesired growth. The ordeal of the ride did make me wonder how she got me from Morgantown to here. She refused to answer that question. 

The second reason I could not be reduced to boredom or at least comfortability was the speed at which Sofia rode. She would drive double the speed limits on straightaways and every turns felt like we would lose all friction and slide off the road. It was a miracle we survived in all honesty. Or at least never attracted a state trooper’s attention. 

I saw as a ‘Lynchburg City Limits’ sign passed by us. Sofia ducked and weaved between the light midnight traffic. The density of vehicles and people was reaching its highest this entire journey. The rugged mountains transitioned to flatter hills with dense forests turning into powerlines, churches, and conveniences of modern urban life. It was approaching two in the morning and we needed to now find where Roxane was, or worse case left to. 

Sofia slowed down for the first time in ages as she pulled into a small gas station off of U.S. Route 501. The lights from the gas station’s overhead roof flicked with moths flying above. The old building was uninhabited with the sole exception of a cashier inside. Sofia set down her bike stand and hopped off to head inside without a word or removing her bike helmet. I was left alone with the bike and took the chance to hop off and thank the world that I survived the journey. My nerves had been spiking all night and this was the very first time I could catch my breath since I fell asleep. 

Not a minute later, Sofia walked back outside. She didn’t address me as I slowly caught my breath with my hands on my knees. She coldly removed her helmet and began to pump gas into her bike. I looked up to her in the light. Her hair was a raven mess from the helmet that matched the rough beauty in her heavily pierced face. I spoke up to break the silence. 

“So what’s the next step? Start searching where Roxane might be?”

She looked towards me with the chocolate eyes and smirked. 

“You think we’re gonna search for her ourselves?”

I raised an eyebrow as I adjusted my posture. Something about her gaze made me feel like I wasn’t good enough, or didn’t seem worthy of living. I nodded in response.

“Um… kind of. You made it sound like we were.”

She chuckled as the pump clicked to mark that it was finished. She took it out of her bike and placed it gently back into the place.

“No, we have someone else doing the searching.”

This was the first time I have heard her mention someone else. She had mentioned this mysterious benefactor of hers she called ‘Boss.’ But she hasn’t bothered to mention any other ‘employees.’ I’m getting tired of not having explanations. 

“Who? And better yet, how?”

Sofia pointed above and behind her. The gas station had a singular camera near its roof’s corner. It moved every few seconds, scanning for any signs of trouble. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. 

“Cameras?”

She nodded in response and gave a playful smile that showed her white teeth and pierced tongue.

“Bingo! Once you found out where she was heading. Our friend started looking through every camera in Lynchburg to find where she went.”

Now she was ‘our’ friend? Her explanation only led to more questions.

“How can she access every camera in Lynchburg?” 

Before Sofia could respond, a faint ringing sound began. Sofia reached into her pants pocket and a simple flip phone appeared. She hadn’t used it in front of me until now so I was a little shocked that she had one. She flipped it open and began to talk to whoever was on the other side. Sofia was smiling as she spoke.

“Got any good news for me, shut-in?... You did!?”

She pumped her fist celebratorily. Then something said seemed to annoy her.

“Yeah fine, he was useful like you said… What should I do with him now though?... Yeah, obviously… Shit, fine, I’m on the way.”

She closed the flip phone then looked up and down at me. She didn’t speak for a moment but seemed to just think. I was about to ask what she was talking about when she spoke.

“How are you in a fight?”

Chapter 6

We only had to ride for another thirty minutes. I was thankful that Roxane decided to stay in Lynchburg for whatever reason. Sofia pulled up on a large two-story concrete building. A large chainlink fence around it cut it off from the rest of the surrounding neighborhoods. This was an abandoned elementary school that was set to be demolished in the near future. For now though, it was where ‘our friend’ claimed that Roxane was.

The only evidence of possible habitation when we arrived was a single old red 2009 Toyota Camry parked on the side of the road outside of the fence. Sofia hopped off the bike and put her helmet on its handle without wasting time. I was placing my own helmet on the seat as she was digging through the small items compartment in the back of it. I watched as she pulled out a bowie knife and a Glock 19. She put the Glock 19 in her back waistband and carried the knife over to the car. She quickly popped its four tires. I only watched as she neutralized the vehicle. 

“So we’re killing her?”

I asked what seemed to have an obvious answer. But I was hesitant to join her if that was her plan. I wasn’t a fighter, at least compared to a professional like Sofia. I had been in fights but it was always in school with a bunch of angry teenagers. Sofia was currently holding a 12-inch blade and had in her waistband a firearm, I had never used either in combat. She didn’t even bother offering me a weapon. 

She turned towards me when she finished. In the dark night, her silhouette made me realize how scary she was. A passing car’s lights highlighted for only a second her dark stare. Sofia wasn’t friendly but after a few hours, she seemed to be nice enough. This look of her definitely forced me to reconsider that thought and remember that I was being escorted by a murderer to help her hunt down a rival. 

She looked towards the abandoned building. It had no power but a few cameras across the street saw Roxane enter and she had yet to leave. Sofia moved her head in a hypnotic circle, the bones in her neck cracked loudly. Facing the school, she spoke.

“The boss wants her alive to be questioned. But, that’s not going to be easy. So if I kill her, it will be more fun.”

She turned to face me again. I could barely make her face out in the dark but I could tell she was speaking with force and a serious expression.

“Your job is to be the lookout. If someone shows up, say something while I bring her down. If you get in my way or help her, I’ll be happy to leave you on the side of the road without any skin on your bald fucking skull.”

I could only nod in response. My throat was becoming dry and I didn’t speak or fear failing to get it out. That was enough for Sofia though. She turned towards the fence and began to climb. It was an easy task for her as she easily threw herself over its zenith and landed on the other side. She looked back towards me, her look giving the wordless command, ‘follow’.

I did my best and managed to enter as well. Sofia wasn’t waiting on me though and I had to run to keep up. The entrance was a simple pair of double doors. The glass on the front doors would likely be bulletproof if it weren’t already shattered. Sofia’s heavy boots easily crunched the glass while I had to walk carefully because of my bare feet. I was still in my sleeping outfit. Good thing I don’t sleep naked. 

I was falling behind as Sofia moved into the building. To watch her back, I was constantly looking behind us, into empty rooms, and out the window. She would stop every few halls and check to see if I was able to keep up. She never yelled at me to move forward, but she was clearly pissed at my slow pace. I couldn’t help but feel more nervous as we moved through the place.

It still held many of its elementary school charms. There were tiny desks which only children could sit in. There were some cute decorations in the classrooms. But it was first and foremost abandoned. Graffiti marked a large section of the hallways. It made me feel at ease to see the signs of recent human activity, as if this place was somewhat safe without the apex predator inside of it. 

We found our way to a large gymnasium after a little bit. It was a simple cube room with windows on one end and a stage on the other. Sofia immediately moved towards the stage and began to investigate for signs of Roxane while I looked out the windows to see what could be happening outside. It was another stretch of fence at the edge of the property but there was a large playground between. When I looked back at the stage, Sofia was walking back towards me. I decided to ask a question.

“What are the odds she’s not here?”

We had been quiet so far. Sofia never bothered to explain why, but when she stopped talking and focused on searching, I did the same. I suppose if we did have the jump on her, being quiet would be the best strategy. Sofia didn’t respond immediately and took a moment to look through the window at the overgrown and neglected playground. She signed before speaking wistfully.

“I guess she could have. It would be hard to avoid the cameras, but it could be done.”

I nodded along as she spoke. 

“We know she was here, but it's clear she didn’t plan on staying long. She’s left no mark of ever being here. Either she’s trying to make it seem like she’s not here, or she already left. 

Sofia turned around and began to scan the large gym once again. She looked up towards the roof. It was far too dark for me to tell if any panels in the roof were unusual but Sofia looked regardless. An idea crossed my mind.

“If she is here, why hasn’t she shown herself? By now, she is long past the point where a sneak attack is most effective.” 

Sofia turned back towards me, a little curious in her expression. I continued.

“Think about it. She would’ve had the best chance when we were in small classrooms or isolated hallways. If she’s here and knows we’re here, then that would’ve been the best chance.”

Sofia shifted her position to a lean on one half, giving her body a nice curve to it. Her bowie knife remained in her hand as she put her hands on her waist. She was putting her guard down as I spoke. She wondered.

“So what? You think she’s not here?”

I shook my head. With all the information I had, something felt missing. Missing person cases always were the most frustrating as well as most satisfying. The clues were imperfect or incomplete. A feeling of deception existed as all suspects testified. I always knew I could feel that missing aspect of a case. I felt an identical feeling here. As if there were a missing page in a book. I postulated.

“What if she’s not waiting on us? She’s waiting for something or someone?”

Sofia shifted immediately and her guard rose. Her grip on the knife tightened. I finished my thought out loud.

“She’s waiting for backup.”

Sofia’s eyes went wide. But not at me, behind me. I turned around. I forgot to watch outside. While I was busy thinking, someone parked across the road from the school in an old jeep. This person had just landed on the grass inside the fence. In the darkness, I didn’t know if she could see us. In the moonlight though, I could see her silhouette. 

She was skinny. Her waist seemed unnaturally tight and her chest, hips, and thighs held no genetic power to offset this unnatural weight. Her hair was long and possibly auburn but the dim light made it impossible to say for certain. With certainty though, was her pale complexion that shone in the moonlight like that of a vampire or other pale beast of the night. Her arms and legs felt unnaturally long and the way she walked seemed to hint of an uncomfortability. As she approached the large children’s playground, she stopped for a moment. 

Sofia reached into her pocket and pulled out the flip phone. She tossed it to me without breaking eye contact with the figure. I tried to ask why, but I was cut off.

“If it rings, pick it up and listen to whatever she says.”

Before I knew it, Sofia was off. A one way door that exited to the playground at the side of the gym flew open as Sofia began to charge at the figure. She held the handgun in one hand and fired shots at the figure. The figure jumped, it was an inhuman vertical she reached, perfectly landing on top of the jungle gym portion. She flexed her hands and I saw knife-like shapes appear. They resembled Freddy Krueger's weapons but seemed far more animalistic. The woman’s animalistic appearance matured as she sliced the air in front of her and landed on all fours on top of the climbing structure. I didn’t realize why immediately until I saw a bullet hit the glass. That woman just sliced them out of the air and sent them flying. 

The phone rang in my hand. I fumbled with it for a moment then opened it. The voice I heard was shrill and high-pitched. It was almost like a cartoonish anime girl the way it sounded on the flip phone’s lesser quality. It only spoke one word.

“Run!”

Chapter 7

(Sofia POV)

I felt the unsatisfying click of my handgun refusing to fire any more. In retrospect, her arrival should have been obvious and I should have brought an extra magazine or three in preparation. Every incursion eventually has her showing up to protect any gains. As an artist of the same medium, I admired her and her work. I was not above rubbing one out to the sight of her finished scenes. My admiration for her came even more so in her combat abilities. She was good and scrappy. Always great at scratching an itch. 

“Vikky! You Bitch!”

Victoria was her real name and the name she preferred. As such, I made sure to never use it. Her face was now visible in the moonlight atop the jungle gym. She was crouched with her arms raised in a defensive posture. I hoped to catch her off guard and get a lucky shot. She obviously had not lost her sharp edge and easily swatted the tiny caliber. I dropped the handgun on the ground, placing it in my waistband would only slow me down. I readjusted my footing and held out the large bowie knife towards her. She spoke first.

“Well Sofia, I see you're still as persistent as ever. And here I heard Roxane lost your sorry ass somewhere in the mountains.” 

Victoria stood from her lowered position and folded her arms, careful to not cut herself on the long steel claws that she wore, and shrugged. Her face read with annoyance and disgust. I honestly thought it was a little rude. I’m not that ugly am I? There were far worse people that could have come to ruin her night. I at least had fun. Victoria shook her head and sighed. I guess Vikky disagrees. I responded to her displeasure.

“You’re always so judgy for a girl who’ll fuck or eat just about anything.”

She raised an eyebrow and unfolded her arms. Oh yeah, that one annoyed her. I braced a foot backwards as she jumped from the heightened structure. In a long swing motion she came down on me with her right claws. Those were easy to dodge as I leaned backwards with the support of my footing. She followed swiftly with a swing from her left at a vertical angle. I held the bowie knife up and caught all the claws easily. Her right hand landed on the ground and used it to push backwards and gain some distance as I went for a kick towards her face. She managed to dodge the kick and land on all fours a meter in front of me. 

She was like an animal. She crawled on all fours with knife-like extensions to her fingers from the gloves she wore. Her eyes held the same intensity of a starving wolf. It was always fascinating to watch as she would go from wild-eyed looks on all fours with drool leaking from the corners of her mouth to a bourgeois personality whenever she stood on her two legs. It would be incorrect to call it two different personalities, but the switch was so quick depending on how she stood that we often just referred to it as such. A wolf-mode and a civilized-mode, always the same bitch though. 

But like a hungry wolf, she wasn’t patient and didn’t even try to let me attack first. She charged on all fours. For most people, this would be a disadvantage. For Victoria, this was when she was at her best. She launched herself upwards and swung in an uppercut with her right claw which forced me to jump backwards. I took the opening as her right hand swung by to reverse my retreat and push forward. My knife would easily push forward into a vulnerable chest cavity. But instead, her left hand caught the blade and stopped it from taking a wound. Her fingers were wrapped around its sharpened edge and drew blood. 

I was vulnerable in this state though and she quickly attempted to use the chance to land a fatal scratch on my neck. Allowing that to strike was a bad idea. I spun the edge of the blade in her hands forcing her to recoil. Her grip loosened but I couldn’t use it to attack. I jumped backwards and dodged her attack. She stayed on two legs as I kept the distance between us. She looked down at the cuts on the middle knuckle of her fingers. Her gloves were leather and sharp steel at the ends, but the insides were only leather. A fact that allowed for greater movement for attacking but a small vulnerability if cut. It wouldn’t harm her ability to attack me but it would normally be an annoying cut that would limit her movement.

That is if Victoria was normal. She licked the blood leaking from her fingers. This wasn’t just licking to stop the bleeding, she was lapping up all the blood that had rolled down her hand. She wanted to get every bit of red liquid she could. I should’ve used the opportunity to attack. But seeing a freak in action was just so entertaining I didn’t want to stop her. There was a slight flush to her face as she drank her own blood. After a few seconds of this though, the bleeding had stopped and Victoria’s wounds closed as if they never happened. She moved her appendages freely to make sure of it. Once her display was over, she looked back towards me. She gave a little smirk with her newly rosy cheeks.

“Pervert.”

“Kinky bitch.” 

After the quick exchange of insults, we both charged. She threw a large sweep as she lunged on all fours that I parried before slicing at her lowered position. She was easily able to side step it and could acrobatically dodge as I pursued with a kick. She was annoying to fight and frankly I was losing my patience with a game of dodging and parrying. Her lowered position made it difficult to find an opening while also avoiding any low swipes at my legs. Any injury to my ankles wouldn’t be fun and importantly hamper my movement. I still needed to find Roxane and the longer I mess around with Vikky the better chance that Alan will find her first. I’m not worried that he’ll win any race to find her. I’m worried she’s gonna paint a wall with his innards. 

I ran a mental calculation. Risks were necessary to gain an opening in this situation. Neither of us could land a fatal or critical blow. We were evenly matched physically. I jumped backwards as she performed a large sweep with her right claw at my feet. She looked up at me with her wild chaotic eyes which flickered like a starving flame. I didn’t give her a chance to charge and instead leaped at her, but this time at an angle. She was forced to quickly readjust to prevent me from gaining an advantage by flanking her. She leaned back on her hind legs and held up her left hand to defend against any strikes. Instead of attacking, I feinted and forced her to use her right hand to block the knife heading straight for her stomach. 

She managed to avoid catching the blade and instead caught my hand. Her right hand was now holding my knife by the hilt. What she did not seem to notice was that my left hand was pushing it into her. I switched my grip while jumping backwards. But now, my weapon was held by her and her left hand was free but at an odd angle. She couldn’t strike my neck or any vital organs, but my side was free. 

I watched as she sunk her left claw into my side. Blood shot out before falling to the mulch ground. Victoria’s face twisted into a wide smile at the direct strike. Her eyes held that same feral nature that shook them violently within their sockets. I saw a line of drool roll down her chin as she saw my blood coat her hand. I felt my body shake at the attack. I couldn’t help but smile.

Chapter 8

(Alan POV)

I smashed into the gymnasium’s double doors and they luckily flung open. I held the phone as close as I could to my ear to hear my guardian’s instructions. Her first shot missed only by a millimeter as dropped to the floor. I thanked whatever luck I had that my attacker was not using an automatic weapon. By the sound, I assumed it was a handgun. Probably a Glock 19 like that which Sofia was using. When I managed to get back up, I didn’t even bother trying to identify where it came from. The voice on the flip phone spoke with easy enough instructions to follow. Her voice was meek but clear. Once through the double doors she spoke again.

“This h-hallway has many connecting halls with g-groups of classrooms. Turn to your next r-right.”

“Who are you!? And how do you know!?”

I know it's not the best etiquette to be asking questions to the person who is saving your life from a gun-wielding maniac, who is also an associate with a dangerous serial killer. But the panic of running for your life from a dangerous individual leads one to forget basic etiquette and fall back on natural instincts. The same natural instincts which made me question everything. Luckily, those natural instincts did not interrupt any trust I had in this individual on the phone. She was my only chance at survival. 

I turned the corner as I heard the doors behind me swing open violently. I managed to create some distance and moved right as a few more shots were fired. The gun’s shots did not echo but instead formed a muffled clap. It was the sound of a silencer on the usual weapon. When I turned the corner, I saw a U-shaped hallway with the other end circling back into the same larger hallway. The voice on the phone spoke again.

“The s-second classroom on the left. H-hurry!”

There was urgency in her instructions and I didn’t hesitate to follow. Admittedly, I had never been shot at. I held no great desire to find out what a hole through my body would feel like. The classroom door was partly ajar and I quickly grabbed onto it and slammed it behind me. These schools had thick doors and walls which were perfect for preventing bullets from piercing them. I mentally thanked all the children whose lives were sacrificed for this addition to school building codes. In the moment, it was quite helpful. The door automatically locked as I closed it. The classroom was a complete mess with a large pile of tiny desks piled in the corner and the whiteboard marked with numerous crude and graphic drawings. The voice spoke again on the flip phone.

“There is a l-large vent entrance in the corner of the room. Enter it and go left back t-towards the cafeteria. It’ll lead to the outside and you can grab the spare p-pistol on Sofia’s b-bike.”

I saw what she was talking about. Clearly someone had the same idea and piled the desks to reach it. I held the phone to my ear as I tried my best to climb the unstable structure. 

“H-how did you know about the vent?”

I wanted some answers and the brief moment of not running for life seemed an ample opportunity. The stuttering voice spoke quickly in the same raspy shrill octave. 

“I have a b-blueprint of the school on my end. Nothing has been d-demolished so I can get you out of here.”

I guess that made sense. If this is the same person who somehow controls all the cameras in Lynchburg, then why can’t she have the blueprints as well. If it weren’t for the adrenaline, I would have more questions. I finally reached the top of the structure and could see the vent. For a vent, it was large. I could just barely crawl on my hands and knees in the tiny space. I heard a bang against the door. Roxane was shooting at it. I hoisted myself upwards and managed to fit myself inside. The force of my jump though caused a cascade of noise beneath me. 

I looked down and saw the pile of desks collapsed with each section falling down one after the other. They traveled across the whole room like a wave. At the same time, I saw the door handle fly off the door. A bullet flung across the room and hit the whiteboard with it. The door was kicked open and for the first time I saw my pursuer and the woman I had been tracking all night.

The first thing that drew my attention was the black hoodie she wore. The front of it had a large hot topic-esque design of Ghostface from the Scream movies. It was baggy and probably a size too large for the small young woman who wore it. She was definitely shorter than me, around 5’2, and was noticeably skinny with thin legs and a pencil neck. Her pale Caucasian appearance had this youthful glow that made you assume that she was younger than she was, even at the age of twenty-one. Her hair was a raven black but with a few strands of bleached white that created an asymmetrical pattern as it was pulled into a loose pony tail. She wore an expression of frustration and seemed to have been chewing a piece of gum as she scanned the room. 

As she looked up towards the open vent, I had already started moving. I wasn’t going to let her notice me and get an easy shot. The roof panels were not bulletproof and if I stopped moving she could easily land a shot on me. Three shots went through the floorboards behind me as if to clarify my own reasoning. As I rushed through, the sound of her pistol grew more distant and Roxane seemed to be unable to pursue me and where the vent went. The falling desk pile saved me from letting her continue the chase. I heard her scream out in this uncharacteristic harsh and deep voice for someone of her appearance.

“Fuck! Stop running! Son of a bitch!” 

I followed no such command. I was sprinting on my hands and knees as I crawled my way through the metal space. It hurt my knees as they loudly rang out through the tunnel. The flip phone was still hanging between my ear and shoulder as I made my way through. It was dark but a faint moonlight could be seen straight ahead. It split into many directions at many locations but I ignored any other path for the freedom promised to me by my mysterious benefactor. After I was far enough and I was confident I could no longer be shot by Roxane, I spoke into the phone.

“What’s happening? And who are you?”

Sofia’s lack of answers was reaching the limits of my patience. I had now been nearly shot on top of destroying a crime scene, disrespecting a corpse, and being kidnapped. I found myself all but screaming into the phone, hoping that this new figure would be willing to give me a few nuggets of context. The voice spoke once again in its static-filled connection producing a weak sound.

“My name is A-Alice. I’m Sofia’s… c-colleague.”

One of my questions was answered. I wanted to scream at Alice to now answer the other part. I held my tongue though, I needed to not yell at the few kindnesses the night gave me. Maybe Alice will turn out to be a rational individual who is closer to a utilitarian than a sadistic egoist like every person I have met tonight. As Sofia’s ‘colleague’, maybe she has some sway over Sofia to ensure my safety and possibly remove me from this dangerous situation. 

“Thanks for saving me, Alice.”

I tried my best to sound calm but luckily did not need fake being appreciative, probably the most difficult emotion to fake. Alice responded quickly as well. The static gave the same weak and shrill voice but there was a kick in it which suggested enthusiasm. 

“N-no problem! Just doing my job.”

I was now approaching the end of the tunnel. The end was likely previously closed with a grate before. But whether intruders or the elements, it was now an open entrance/exit to the natural world. I saw the chainlink fence which marked safety roughly twenty meters away from the seven foot drop out of this hole in the wall. To further emphasize my luck, or rather the exquisite guidance of Alice, I could see Sofia’s motorcycle on the other side. As I was about to stick my head out to get a look around.

“B-before you go! There’s uh… a second g-gun with spare magazines! Grab it and help Sofia!”

I slowed my crawl forward. I may need to reconsider my positive opinions toward Alice. While yes, she is telling me where to find a weapon for self-defense. She is also telling me to run back into danger and assist Sofia in fighting both the unknown individual who seemed to be thinking on the same wavelength as movie star and notorious child predator Freddie Kreuger and the gun-wielding Roxane who I just escaped. I suppose any colleague of Sofia Bercowisz must be similarly in need of their screws being tightened. She continued speaking as I finally reached the exit. 

“T-to your right, is the playground. Sofia should be fighting t-there.”

Dark Explorations is my first ever series. It is a harem romance story with heavy elements from Women's Dark Romance and Ero Guro. It's the story of Alan Anthony, a college dropout and true crime influencer who releases a theory stating that Sofia Bercowisz, a spree killer who terrorized I-55, is still alive after supposedly dying in a car crash. His theory becomes his nightmare as she kidnaps him and forces him into a world of sadistic violence, occult powers, and rival supernatural factions of evil.

I'm hoping to find readers who can enjoy my work and help me become a better writer with reviews and suggestions. The full series can be found in the embedded link. Thank you for reading!

Chapter 1

“…it was good quality but extremely insensitive…”

“…Alan is usually better than this. He sounded insane…”

“…I hope the families of the victims sue your ass over this…”

It was my masterpiece. I created the Dark Explorations channel as an outlet for my passions. True Crime had always been a favorite subject of mine and after dropping out of college it felt like a risk worth taking. It had worked pretty well at first. I was nearing 40,000 subscribers and I saw the golden hilltop ahead, the job doing something I loved. I was able to absorb audiences with in-depth commentary and the chance to discover rarely covered mysteries from across the country. 

I was always more confident than many wished and I will admit that. But never without evidence and reason, I can assure my audience that I am entirely fact-driven and logical. I wasn’t someone looking to make money off of creating boogeyman theories for some long lost murder. I only cared for solving the unknown and bringing the truth to light. Many times people disagreed, but there was no reasoning that could win over my theory. I was a detective without a badge. A vigilante doing the work that the lazy and ignorant government could not. This video was going to be my magnus opus of my career so far. The story of Sofia Bercowisz had been told thousands of times but I found something that others didn’t.

Sofia Bercowisz was born January 5th 2000 to a large family in Baton Rogue, Louisiana. Community and church groups in Bercowisz’s early years described the family as pious fundamentalist christians. They homeschooled their seven kids, Sofia being the oldest daughter. The Bercowisz mother was a church marriage counselor while her husband was an accountant who frequently left home for business. Church members on facebook spoke about Bercowisz's mother’s therapy, how it focused on feminine subservience to the husband and the importance of girls to be pious and pure of the dark influences of the world. Children should be taught this and corrections should be swift and unforgettable. 

Violence was not unknown in the Bercowisz home and on two separate occasions the cries of a young girl were reported by neighbors to the police, no action beyond a wellness check was taken that returned negative. Sofia created her own internet presence in her teenage years through online forums. She frequented realms of alternative culture, she almost exclusively searched for the opposite of her home life of conservative domination. Her fascination only grew stronger as the years passed and she became engrossed in the fictional world of the internet. Users attached to her were seen discussing Satanism, BDSM, and surviving domestic abuse and running away. Sofia would be seen exclusively in long-sleeves beginning around this time, a history of self-inflicted wounds or an increase in familial violence is likely.

In the year 2016, she found an online boyfriend in New Orleans, a twenty year old high school dropout who toured Louisiana playing Punk music. The two bonded quickly through online messages and became obsessed with each other, they sent explicit messages, discussed idealistic futures, and spoke of the daily pains of life. Sofia had grown with her body bound in chains and could not wiggle without receiving a blow. To her, this was her best opportunity. On July 31st, her boyfriend would park and wait in a parking lot near Sofia's home. Sofia collected a backpack of multiple clothes, hygiene products, personal electronics, and personal items and had planned to run away.

Things did not go as planned. The exact details of the incident are unknown but can be pieced together from the scene. The Bercowisz mother had multiple broken bones in her hands, a torn muscle in her ankle, a broken nose, a caved-in impact on her temple from a blunt object smashed over head while she was on the ground, and twenty stab wounds in the chest and stomach post-humously. Multiple objects were broken in the living room that she bleed-out in from the result of the struggle between the two. Her father was found in a similar condition in the master bedroom. All six of her siblings were stabbed to death in their bedrooms, their positions imply for some of them to have happened in their sleep.

Sofia met her boyfriend afterwards. The meeting was caught on a camera from a gas station across the street. The boyfriend and Sofia argued upon meeting, a possible result of her informing him of her actions. The boyfriend leaned into his car to grab something, possibly his phone, when Sofia stabbed him in the back. Sofia pulled him out of the car and stabbed him thirty more times in both the back and neck. She took the car keys, waited eight minutes, then drove away. Sofia would be on the run from police for the next four days as she evaded state troopers using I-55 to head into Mississippi and drive north towards Memphis. During the chase, she killed seven more individuals for food, shelter, or their cars. 

While crossing the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, a police chase began which ended in Sofia colliding with a police cruiser and sending both vehicles into the Mississippi River. The strong currents on that day saw both vehicles swept under and drowning both drivers. This is believed to be the conclusion to Sofia Bercowisz’s story. This is what I told my viewers in the first half of the video. But I have reason to believe better. The only corpse at the scene of her car was a mutilated girl who was partially hanging out of the front window, nothing forensically was done to prove it was Sofia. I was able to find a pattern of murders that matched Sofia’s along I-40 into the Tennessee countryside going into 2018.

I made the theory that Sofia Bercowisz was both alive and still active in the east of the United States. My corpus of evidence was massive and seemed uncrackable. Too many similar mysteries to not be clearly connected. This was my greatest work yet but I remain perplexed. How could they respond like this? They speak as if I committed some crime other than finding the truth. I did no harm to the victims by connecting them to this case. They should be thanking me for finding justice! My logic was sound and impenetrable. 

The video statistics were clear about the public’s opinion no matter how flawed it was, 85% disliked. I had not slept since I posted the video over 24 hours ago. I scrolled through comments in my dark apartment and the insults began to feel numb. I just wanted to find something good to take away from it all. I had never hid a video from the public before and to hide it and apologize felt like an admission of guilt, or to being incorrect. I was not guilty, these people just couldn’t see it. But to leave it up, will only hurt my channel more.

A small chirp came from my laptop as a notification sounded. It woke me from my cemented stare in a sense of bewilderment. I blinked a few times to wake my tired eyes and realize what just happened. A Super Thanks? Someone donated a single dollar on my video? I quickly pulled up the comment to see why I was receiving one on such an unpopular video. The user’s name was just a burner email and provided no photo for the profile picture.

“Do you think you could find out what happened to Roxane Elliot?”

Roxane Elliot? She was a 18 year old mass shooter in 2023. She killed four girls in her home for troubled teens, before driving to her high school, killing two more people in the parking lot, then getting shot by a police officer. Normally the story would end there but, her ambulance wrecked with multiple vehicles on the way to the hospital and the fire that followed destroyed her body. Her case was interesting for how it ended but typical of troubled teenagers turned mass shooters. Did this person think she was alive? 

I don’t know exactly why I thought the way I did. I didn’t believe I could track her down under the presumption she was alive. For some reason though, I decided to respond to this kind person who reached out to me on my worst performing video yet with an innocent seeming question.

“I can definitely look into her case and try to dig up something. It’s a long shot, but if there’s something, I will find it.”

That seemed like an adequate response. I looked over to the time on my computer; 2:33 AM. I needed to sleep. My eyes hurt from staring at this screen and simply reading negative comments won’t turn them good. I’ll decide when I wake up what I should do. I closed the laptop and my eyes slowly adjusted to the change in light. The room was barren with no posters on the walls or sign of personality in its inhabitance. I had started renting this place a year ago but never bothered to change it into something other than a place of rest.

I stood from my desk to the laying position on my bed. My hunched back cried in an ache of relief to be flat on the soft surface. My eyes did not last long as they shut out the world around me. I slept peacefully in my bed, uncaring to the world around me.

Chapter 2

My privileged rest was not eternal. I had always been a heavy sleeper. I lost multiple jobs and missed many classes because of it. I felt the strong impact in my stomach and immediately tried to shoot upwards and defend myself from the sudden pain. I was greeted with the metallic rattle and an uncomfortably sharp edge on my ankles and wrists hindering my movement. I tried to adjust to my surroundings but the dark room provided little clues. The only thing I could perceive was the figure standing above me and the acidic smell of cigarettes.

“You sleep like a fucking corpse. I didn’t even think that would wake you.”

The voice was deep and scratchy but notably feminine. I tried to get up once again only to realize what was happening. My arms and legs were spread like a starfish and were locked with handcuffs attached to each end of my bedframe. The figure moved from the side of my bed to my desk chair. She pulled it over and set it next to my bed before sitting down herself and placing her feet up on my own legs with her heavy boots.

My eyes slowly adjusted and began to pick up details of this home intruder. Her outfit was all in shades of black and moved like it was thick and heavy. She wore leather pants and a heavy jacket that resembled a biker’s when unzipped. Her hands were exposed and her left held a lit cigarette between her index and middle finger. She had been smoking it for quite a bit as the room was filled with the smoke and smell. She took a drag of the hand-rolled plant and the spark partially illuminated her. Her pale caucasian face was fully pierced with steel in her nose, lip, eyebrow, tongue, and more. Her black hair was cut short and messy. Her face had this angry look that was in paradox with the twist at the corner of her lips. I caught my breath after the blow and managed to speak out.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

She took a moment to fully exhale the smoke in her lungs before responding.

“Not now, I’m asking the questions first.”

She changed positions as she pulled her feet off of the bed and me and leaned forward in the chair. She was leaning near my face so I could smell the smoky stench mixed with an odor of the outdoors. I coughed from it. 

“Tell me Alan, how did you track me?”

She was close enough that I could make out an expression of anger in the dark. Her teeth were clenched tight enough to fear for their condition. I wasn’t able to process her statement immediately. All I could make out of my fear was a short response.

“What?” 

She clicked her tongue in disapproval to my exclamation.

“Don’t play dumb. I saw the video. How did you track me? Not a single person has even figured out I was still alive.” 

Her tone rose as she spoke. She practically yelled at me by the end of it. Realization settled in my mind and I felt my eyes go wide and my throat run dry. This was the same woman I had spent weeks making a video about. This was the same woman who killed sixteen people before disappearing into the Mississippi river. This was the same woman who people were calling me crazy for believing her to be alive. I tried to speak but it only came out as a shocked whimper. She wasn’t happy with that.

“Tell me god damn it!”

She stood up and grabbed the night shirt I wore to bed. She lifted me and held me helplessly as my limbs pulled against their chains. I could feel her hands from the other side of the fabric. They were strong and warm, clearly still alive. I finally managed to say something.

“I just followed the pattern!”

She dropped me back down on the bed. She remained standing and looked down at me. Her anger remained but seemed mellowed compared to before. Rather than running hot it seemed to go cold and was now trying to calculate me or my response. She kept staring at me with a gaze that felt heavy to be under. I continued explaining myself, anything to save me from her.

“A Mississippi house just south of your accident was burglarized and had their car stolen hours after you… fell from the bridge. It matched with other houses that you did the same to. I don’t know how but you survived and switched your body with another girl’s. I just kept finding cases that matched your work.

My voice was scared and panicked. My breath was shallow and no matter how much I breathed I was unable to fill my lungs. She looked away from me and inhaled her cigarette. She was quiet as she turned around from me. She kicked the chair and sent it flying into the wall in a loud crash. I closed my eyes in panic. I knew what she was capable of and I would never be able to stop her if she decided I should be next. Did I know too much? Was she going to hide all the evidence I collected in a shallow grave with me in it? It was not the smartest thing to do but I closed my eyes and hoped it was a dream. I heard her sigh loudly. 

“Do you think you can do it again?”

I opened my eyes and saw she was looking down at me again. Her eyes were lit up from the light of the cigarette. I could see the shine of her many piercings reflected off of it. There was no longer the same anger. I couldn’t decipher the neutral expression she held as she waited for me.

“Again? What do you mean?”

She pointed over towards my desk where my laptop lay. 

“You said you could find Roxane Elliot if there was evidence.”

The Super Thanks? I responded to it before I went to bed. Did she see the comment? Was she the one who left it?

“Yes! If she’s alive I can track her!”

She took the cigarette and inhaled the last of its usable tip. She grabbed the sleeve of her left arm and rolled it up. It was covered in scarring, burns, and bruises. It was like seeing the result of a house fire on a living person. She took the end of the cigarette and extinguished it on her own skin. It made a sizzling noise that made my skin curl. Her body didn’t move but I saw her react in the darkness. She was biting her lip and it was almost a curled smile. When she was done with it, she threw it on the ground. She returned her attention to me after the display.

“My boss wants to use you. If you’re as useful as you say at least.”

More questions began to rise. She had a boss? Who was this person employing a psychotic killer like Sofia Bercowicz? She didn’t give me the opportunity to answer. She walked towards me and raised her right fist. She sent it down on my head and struck my temple. That was the last I remembered before my life changed.

Chapter 3

My head was pounding. I didn’t feel like I was unconscious for long. It felt like Sofia hit me and I simply blinked but that was clearly not the case. The surroundings were completely different. My comfy bed was replaced with soft grass and the roof of my apartment was now a beautiful night sky. I was still in the simple shorts and white shirt that I had worn to bed that night. I immediately attempted to get up. I felt relief as my hands and feet were no longer constrained from the handcuffs. 

“Thank god. I was worried I’d need to kick in the ribs to wake your lazy ass.”

I looked over and saw Sofia sitting on the porch of a small rustic home. She wasn’t smoking this time and the moonlight provided me a far better look at her. She wore the same leather biker jacket but zipped this time. Her face was clearly beautiful but held a ruggedness that made you keep your distance or fear being cut. She stared at me with an expression of boredom as she rested her head on her hand. I quickly stood up.

“Where am I?”

My voice trembled with uncertainty and confusion. I knew this wasn’t a dream. The dirt on my palms made me aware of that. I didn’t understand anything though. Why didn’t she just kill me if she didn’t want me to track her? Why was she asking about Roxane Elliot? But the most important question was simply where was I? It was clearly rural as this small home was the only thing along a small dirt road in the forest. Sofia remained sitting and watched me closely. I watched as she seemed to play with a lip piercing with her tongue.

“30 minutes from Peterstown, near the border with Virginia.”

The border with Virginia? I was just in Morgantown. How far did we travel? And how? I didn’t get the chance to ask my next question. She stood up in front of the house. This was the first time we were both standing. She was a little bit taller than me and held the muscular advantage clearly. If she wanted, she’d easily destroy me. She pointed to the building behind her.

“This right here was where Roxane was last that we know. My boss needs you to figure out where she’s going.”

She spoke about her boss before she hit me. Who could be hiring her with such a history? But I didn’t ask that. Something else she said caught my attention. 

“You know Roxane Elliot was here? How long ago?”

Sofia answered my first question with a nod.

“A day ago. No one has touched it since we found it. You think you can find whatever it is you need?”

In a normal situation, I would have said no. Without looking at the situation inside, I had no idea if she left any clues I could use. I had never seen another of her crime scenes recently and only remembered the details of her case five years ago. I had no way to make any solid claims about her behavior. But this wasn’t a normal situation.

“I can try.”

I confirmed her question. If I wanted to survive this, I needed to play along. She seemed pleased and gave this crazy smile showing white teeth and a pierced tongue behind them.

“That’s the spirit. Come on in!”

She turned around, walked up the steps, and opened the wooden door. It gave a creaking sound that left the rest of nature silent. She turned towards me and motioned for me to go inside. I took a few steps forward before the stench hit me. It was a sweet bouquet of rotten meat that attacked the nostrils. I recoiled instinctively and made a sour face while covering my nose. Sofia laughed at my reaction.

“What the hell did you expect? It’s a fucking crime scene.”

Part of me had hoped I was dreaming despite the pain in my side and extremities. Any hope I had disappeared at that moment. That smell was definitely real and seemed to work its way into my nostrils no matter what barriers I put between. I continued to approach, despite my best judgement. 

As I walked past Sofia and through the threshold into the home, she followed in behind me. All the lights were off and I took a moment to find a light switch by the door. Luckily, the lights came on. The entrance was a wide hallway which turned left into a living room/kitchen area. I turned the corner to find the source of the smell, at least one of the sources.

The living room was simple with a couch and a recliner chair facing a fireplace with a mounted tv. The walls had wooden wall panels that kept its rustic look. In the recliner chair sat what was left of an older gentleman. The body would have been overweight in life but had ballooned since death. The skin was a sickly pale with a green tint. The arms rested neatly on the recliner’s armrest while the head was plastered across the ceiling and on to the kitchen island behind the recliner. To add insult to injury, a knife or other sharp instrument had been taken to the nether region leaving it skinned and shapeless.

I was not disgusted. I was too desensitized for that. It was inaccurate to say I was shaken either, I had expected such a scene. But there was a certain innate shock to finding such a scene in person rather than in a photograph. There was no drop in my stomach or panic in my thoughts. Only a silent moment of taking in the area and wondering what led me to this. I was taken from the moment by Sofia tapping my shoulder.

“I hope you aren’t growing a moral compass now of all time.”

I shook my head in response. I took a few steps forward. The body was at least two days old and had clearly been carved up after the death judging from the stains on the seat. It was quick based on the arms and legs and how they settled into rigor mortis. 

I saw behind the recliner there was a dark brown stain on the wooden floor boards. I recognized it as the stain you see from dragging a body. It led from the kitchen all the way into a hallway on the other side of the room. Sofia didn’t speak but followed and gave a discerning look. 

The hallway was short and split into three doors left, front, and right. The trail led to the left door which was left wide open opposed to the closed front and right. The left seemed to have been a guest room or a child’s. It held a single adult twin bed and a dresser and little decoration. On the bed was the body of an older woman rolled onto her side. Her head was intact and kept a wide eyed look of fear on it. Her chest had been pulverized with her right breast completely gone. Whatever clothing she wore was removed and thrown to the side on the floor. I watched as a roach lay unbothered on her left breast, eating away at the dead flesh.

Sofia laughed at the sight and I turned to her confused. She gave me a cheeky smile, as if sharing a joke that I didn’t understand.

“I didn’t know Roxane was a Sappho. Guess she prefers dead GILFs.”

I looked over to the body and immediately shook my head. 

“No, she didn’t have sex with her. The body’s position wouldn’t allow it. Let me check for something.”

Sofia raised an eyebrow, intrigued, as I moved out of the room and back into the living room. I walked over to the recliner chair and began inspecting the pants of the man. Sofia followed and was immediately confused. I explained.

“She was looking for something. And was desperate enough to go through her clothes and his pants. His pockets are inside out.”

I stood up and moved past Sofia quickly. She turned around and followed me as I moved to the door on the right of the previous hallway.

“If I’m correct, then I assume…”

I opened the door and was met with a complete mess. This was previously the master bedroom with a king sized bed, a large dresser, jewelry boxes, and a desk. Every single part of the room was turned inside out. Papers, clothes, and various trash covered the floor. 

“Yep, she made a mess.”

Sofia looked exasperated at the mess. I walked into the room, not bothering to dodge the trash on the floor.

“If it’s on the floor, she didn’t need it.”

I narrated as I moved through the room. It felt like another one of my videos at that moment. Analyzing crime scene photos and piecing together a puzzle. Sofia followed along as I spoke. Her face would shift between confusion, shock, and laughing as I went through each part of the room. Once I reached the bed, some conclusions could be made.

“The bed isn’t made but that’s not surprising. But the lack of trash on it is. Odds are, she slept here for one night.”

I took one of the pillows on the bed trying to find some hair. Some hair that differed from either corpse’s grey would’ve been conclusive but none turned up. Sofia looked at the bed for a moment before grabbing the blankets and throwing them aside. Hidden underneath was a single large blood stain and the man’s missing genitals, locked in an erect fashion. I was shocked but Sofia wasn’t.

“Yeah she definitely stayed the night. She even made a dildo for the night.”

I looked at her confused and she matched mine. She grabbed it and began to examine it. The skin was falling off but the rigor mortis kept it hard and long.

“You’ve never seen Dahmer’s freezer? Rigor mortis dicks make a great dildo for the short term.”

I nodded along as she spoke. Okay, this one grossed me out. I instinctively imagined Sofia treating me the same way and felt both fear and a little aroused at the idea. She gave me a knowing smile which I decided was best to ignore. 

“Well that confirms she stayed the night and it was meant to be temporary. Now the question is what she wanted.”

Sofia dropped the dead dick back on the bed. I looked around the room for any other sign of life. Whatever was cleaner must’ve been important. The kitchen was clean aside from the large stain on the ground and had dirty dishes in the sink at least a day old. The bathroom behind the third door also had raven hair in its shower drain, Roxane’s same color.

Chapter 4

After an hour, Sofia was losing patience as I continued to go over the same few rooms in the small house.

“When are we gonna admit you have nothing?”

She asks as I went through the dirty clothes on the ground. I said these were likely useless but I needed to find something. I didn’t want to lose the only reason she had to keep me alive. 

“I just have to change my approach. What happened before she came here? Do you know?”

Sofia laid on the bed, ignoring the rotting appendage next to her. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment.

“My boss told me to get Roxane out of her territory.  She was snooping around where she shouldn’t have been. I found her in Peterstown and we fought. She got a good shot on my leg and was able to get away. That was two days ago.”

She spoke about it off-handedly. Like it was a normal fact about her life. A few details definitely weren’t normal.

“She shot you in the leg? You don’t even have a limp.”

She shrugged.

“I know a good doctor.”

I decided to move past that statement. It was strange and needed to be addressed later if I survived this ordeal. 

“So you found her and persued. She ran away and ended up here. She stayed the night then left later the next day.”

Sofia nodded along to the same story we’ve built over the last hour. Finally an idea hit me.

“How did she get away from you?”

Sofia finally opened her eyes and looked at me curiously.

“She ran on foot. I managed to cause her to crash her car.“

A realization hit me.

“There was no car parked outside but there was a driveway with tire tracks. She stole the car.”

Sofia leaned forward and angrily shouted.

“You’re fucking kidding me! Of course she fucking did. She could be in fucking Kentucky at this rate!”

I stepped away from the angry serial killer and shook my head.

“Not necessarily! She wouldn’t ransack this place just for some car keys. Those would be easy to find. She was also looking for something else.”

Sofia looked towards me with those angry eyes. There was a dark fire behind them that told me they would kill and desperately want to.

“Oh yeah? You haven’t been able to find anything else. God, you’re useless.”

She laid back down with a thud that caused the mattress to shake. I stepped back and tried to imagine myself as Roxane. She walked into this house killing both residents. She finds the car keys but needs something else before she can leave in the morning and it forces her to stay until late afternoon. I imagined her walking through the house tearing up everything in sight for it. I had edited 3d figures doing the same actions in my videos before. I tried to imagine how I’d animate it.

Trash was everywhere as she tossed aside cabinets full of belongings. Papers fly as the desk drawers are dumped and end up on the floor. Papers? I kneel down and look at a few of the papers on the ground in front of the desk; tax documents, a birth certificate, all very personal information. Why did she feel the need to dump these out? Was it something personal to those people she randomly found? It seemed unlikely.

As I was going through, something caught my eye. Among all the legal documents was a single piece of scratch paper. I picked it up. It had been crinkled into a ball, the only one among these documents. I unfolded it to find an itemized list of passwords. The wifi, bank accounts, and more. This wasn’t something you normally crumpled. 

An idea formed. On the desk among the trash and clothes was a small Chromebook. I opened it up and was met with a password requirement. I looked down at the paper and wrote the password ‘rayandjane1971.’ The computer came to light with a single Google Chrome window open. I flicked over to the search history. ‘Yesterday: Google Maps - Lynchburg, Virginia.’

“You found something?”

I looked over my shoulder and found Sofia leaning over me from the edge of bed. Her grin was large and eyes seemed wild. Despite that, I couldn't help but think she was beautiful. And the distance between us was probably only a few inches. I found myself blushing at the serial killer’s pretty face. I tried to take a step away casually. To not show the effect it had on me. 

“Uh, yeah! She was searching for their computer password. I hadn’t thought about it but there's not service out here. If she wanted to figure out where she was and how to get to wherever she’s going, she would need to find the password. Luckily, she didn’t delete her search history.”

Sofia hopped off the bed and fistpumped in the air. 

“Hell yeah! I thought you were going to be some useless know-it-all. Turns out she was right about you.”

She turned around and pointed towards me. It was odd seeing her excited. The only smile I saw was that sadistic one she gave me. This one seemed more friendly, though I could not say what the exact difference was in appearance. Something behind her eyes told me that I didn’t need to be afraid of this one. She punched me in the shoulder. It was a friendly gesture not meant to harm but it definitely hurt.

“Consider yourself lucky Alan. I was starting to plan how I’d kill you.”

On second thought, I think that was my imagination.