THE DARKNESS OF the basement was endless. The only light that ever came through was from a tiny window but even during the day, it was still dark. At night, the basement became an endless black hole. Not even the light of the moon and stars could puncture it. The blackness sucked all the light out of everything including Melanie Briar. It was suffocating and made sure to squeeze all the life out of her. The darkness was ruthless and hungry. The darkness fed the men who had chained her up. It took and took from her to keep the men full and content until all that was left of Melanie Briar was a hollow shell that used to be a teenage girl.
Melanie was pressed against the cold concrete of the basement floor. Her half-naked body curled up as she tried to preserve warmth. She had one thin, ratty blanket that the men had given her and she laid it over her frail body. Melanie could feel her stomach rumbling angrily. The men would only feed her every couple of days. She was going on her third day without any food. She had only had a few sips of water within those few days. Melanie spent the majority of her days lying on the cold, hard ground, attempting to preserve what little energy she had left. Most of her energy was taken by them whenever they wanted or for however long they wanted. Melanie had started to dissociate whenever it happened but some of them wanted her to pretend she liked it. If she didn't, she would get punished. Melanie couldn't count the number of times she had gotten beaten to a pulp because she refused.
Melanie curled her hands up to her chest, the shackles rubbing against her wrists. She had gotten used to the pain. It was all she ever felt now. It was all there was. Pain, suffering, loneliness. All the joy and light had been taken from the world. She had started to pray for death because death seemed better than feeling the pain she was feeling for the rest of her life.
As a single tear fell from her cheek, Melanie reached over and grabbed a piece of broken glass beside her. Melanie looked at her forearm, littered with scars, some fresh and bright red while others were more faded and turning white. Her eyes found a large bruise that had been given to her earlier that day. One of the Claimers, Dan, had held her down rather harshly, so hard that he gave her bruises in the shape of his fingers. With shaky hands, Melanie pressed the glass directly on the bruise and dragged it across her skin. Melanie hissed softly at the pain as the blood ran down her arm. Melanie made a few more cuts before dropping the bloody piece of glass.
Melanie watched as the blood ran down her arm, tears falling from her face. She liked the pain. She liked the burning sensation she got whenever she split open her skin. It reminded her that she was still alive. Melanie continued to watch the blood fall, listening to the dripping sound it made as it landed on the concrete floor until she heard the door creak open. Melanie's blood ran cold and she quickly sat up, pushing her back to the wall. She pulled her knees up to her chest as she waited for whoever it was to come down the stairs.
