Pitter Patter...
My eyes burst open...burning...searing with a stabbing pain like a blade piercing through my eyes, they dart around feeling cracked , dry, erratic, my breath ragged and heavy , a slight wheeze echoing through as I gasped for air , each gasp more painful than the last and yet my chest heaving , begging . My eyes painfully pan across my surroundings, searching for anything , anything to relieve my miserable state.
My mouth , my lips...the pain was excruciating, a million needles , blood trickled down my chin through broken chapped lips and wounds around my mouth that I couldn't see. I screamed in agony for what seemed like an eternity, my grotesque cries ringing through above and beyond , though they did not last long , being silenced into whimpers of agony as the last of my strength left my trembling legs.
Silence...so ominous...yet...so peaceful
I lay there silent, a mountain of effort in every breath ensuring it wasn't my last, my chest aching with every rise and fall,my thoughts empty, a crushing force tightening around my skull, throbbing at the temples.
"Death doesn't seem so bad".
was the conclusion my mind came to in that moment of overwhelming pain and confusion.
Until my eyes that I had long since abandoned to save me from my torment, gave me a lifeline. As I lay there in silence , the glistening of light hit my nearly lifeless eyes , flowing down the green moss-bedded stone walls of my prison.
"Water..."
Like a rabid dog my limbs scrambled and scratched against ground , my nails grinding against the rocky floor as my body mustered every last ounce of it's being into one effort , slipping yet as if held up by imaginary strings, slipping yet trying again and again. My nails bled, crimson droplets lining the floor , gravel and dirt wedged between bleeding fingernails...No... in that moment of desperation , I felt no pain as only one thought crossed my mind, "Water ".
I muttered over and over like a mad man as I finally get hold of the ground beneath me , lunging at the glistening light hoping that my eyes did not decieve me.
Fumbling across the room , swaying and bending , my body like a tower of cards threatening to collapse at the slightest breeze , my bleeding hands find the wet walls as support , my tongue darting out at the rocky moss wall , not a hint of disgust crossing my mind , my thoughts occupied only by the sweet relief of water on my tongue , solace for my broken lips and dirty bloodied mouth even if only for a moment. I close my eyes , tears would have poured out but as it stood I had no such precious tears to waste , lapping at the water like an animal, drinking for as long as I could.
My relief was short- lived , interrupted by a dazzling white flash filling the room , a garbling sound and a painful stinging heat filling my chest causing me to stumble backwards falling awkwardly.
I clutch my chest, the burning pain strong but more bearable as I clenched my jaw , the light shining brightly illuminating my confinement for a few seconds before dimming into darkness, like a candle in the night plunging my surroundings into darkness once more.
A few seconds passed as I stood there in the darkness, unsure what to make of....anything My head felt heavy and clogged , my body swaying backwards , I fell flat on my back with a distinct thud echoing through the ground, my eyelids growing heavier and heavier, out of my control and overtaken by a sense of drowsiness and bliss , I let out a helpless sigh as my consciousness collapses , my little world, within these walls, fading to black.
"Hello Mister!....Can You Wake up?..."
My eyelids slowly fluttered open, my eyes scanning around for the source of the childish voice that awoke me. As I lay sprawled out on the floor for what seemed like hours , a haunting flash of my dire predicament just moments before.
My face ,my body , my arms, all of it felt numb...lifeless, severed from all sensation ,an insurmountable invisible weight resting on my chest, my eyes stay open staring at the ceiling of my accursed moss tomb. My fingers twitch uselessly at my sides as I fight to command my battered body.
"Get up , Get up"
I command my unyielding frame , grunting slightly as I force myself to wake into a sit , a herculean effort in every movement.
My hands clutch at my faintly throbbing head, the lingering feeling like a thousand pins nailed straight through the scalp.
"Ughh...bloody hell"
I mutter , clutching my forehead as it thrums persistently
Huh...Wait...wasn't I bleeding?
I jolt my arm back , examining my supposed hideous and chipped fingernails now still broken at places and scarred but healed, I trace my fingers over my lips, expecting torn flesh, aching wounds— there's nothing , instead my fingertips are met with the sensation of skin , scarred in some places but mostly healed.
"What is... How... Why...?"
My mind spirals, grasping at questions but failing to make sense of anything . My gaze turns left, to the opening in my entrapment , a faint light illuminating the surroundings, my vision adjusts as I faintly make out the outline of another cell across my own.
"I'm not the only one?"
I mutter under my breath , struggling as I scramble to my feet nearly falling face flat , a renewed energy filling me replacing the earlier dread and exhaustion.
"Hello?"
My raspy voice echoes through the narrow corridor that separates me from the cell across, swallowed by the damp stone walls. The air was thick with humidity, clinging to my skin like a second layer. No answer...
I sigh—half disappointed, half relieved.The only response, the ceaseless chittering of rodents scurrying through the darkness,, As my eyes drift across the dim cell, they come to rest on the rusted bars of my prison , worn by time, streaked with decay like the ribs of a long fallen beast, tangled in creeping moss,
"A dungeon? , A prison maybe?"
Giving up on outside help, I focus on myself, fumbling along , I drag my feet , pacing across the room, my hands ruffle through the expanse of my long black unkept hair , wild and running past my waist, my ribs protrude along my chest threatening to tear themselves out.
"Clearly I've been here a long time...and CLEARLY...I wasn't fed all that well".
"I?"
"Who am I?..."
My mind is a blur , unable to recall even my identity, thoughts buzzing through my mind as a panic sets in.
"Who am I? A criminal? Why am I imprisoned?"
a loud growl silences my thoughts , forcing me to look down at my shrunken stomach , Ah yes, the beast within awakens… and it only demands food, not answers."
Stomach churning within , I look around for anything even mildly edible...nothing to be found, and I sure as hell wasn't going to eat moss that has been growing on the walls for who knows how long.
"Guess the only way is out"
I muttering to myself , wondering whether my less than desirable physical state would allow me to do so , stretching my arms and legs , mentally preparing myself to get out of this hellhole and find myself some food,my eyes lock onto the rusty iron bars as I rap my knuckles against them. A sharp, metallic clang rings out as flecks of rust and moss crumble away, scatter to the cold stone floor.
I step back, muscles coiling. A deep breath—as i ready myself, the trickling drops of water a countdown
drip....drip....dr-
I lunge. My shoulder slams into the bars with a brutal crunch, a shockwave of pain shooting down my arm.
Silence..
The bars groan beneath the impact, rusted joints screaming under the strain. Then
A crack. A shudder.
The whole structure gives way with a deafening, metallic roar that tears through the dark corridor. Dust and rust explode into the air as the bars collapse in a twisted heap..
I stagger back, clutching my throbbing shoulder. My chest heaves. Sweat trickles down my temple as I stand, bathed in the dim, flickering light
"Shit... definitely broke something"
I mutter , staring at my limp right arm , as I stood there, in the corridor separating my previous cell from the one across.
" what...the..."
My eyes widen as I turn my head looking both ways of the stone corridor , a dusty brown carpet stretching the length of it, torches line the corridor, some dimly lit and some ,cells like mine streching both ways for as far as I can see.