Concrete Jungle || Bad Omens || Noah Sebastian

Chapter eleven

Noah found himself alone once more, enveloped in the darkness of his cell. Elise was dead. The thought struck him like a punch to the gut, draining him of all sense of purpose. He could no longer feel the beating of his heart, as if it too had chosen to abandon him. He leaned against the stone wall, his eyes fixed on nothingness, while shadows seemed to wrap around him tighter and tighter.

Someone was watching him. This certainty, a perverse idea creeping into his thoughts, assaulted him. Every sound that broke the silence made his heart tremble; every crackle felt like a whisper. They were scrutinizing his every move, every tear that fell upon his face. Noah felt like a subject in an experiment, a pawn in a grand sadistic game, with no way out.

He collapsed into a deep sleep, the awareness of his pain becoming his only companion. The loss of Elise sent him spiraling into a whirlwind of nightmares and distorted memories.

In his dream, he found himself in his old life. Music filled the air, the guitar vibrating under his fingers. People laughed and danced, and everything felt bright. It was a celebration, and he was happy.

Then he saw her. There was Elise. Not the fragile girl he had known in the cell, but a version of her full of life, her hair dancing around her face, her eyes sparkling with joy. She wore a white dress, and the sun reflected off her skin.

“Where have you been?” he asked her as he approached. Her voice was sweet, and her smile enveloped him, pulling him away from his loneliness.

“I was here, Noah. I have always been here.”

Her words reassured him, but there was something strange about the dream. Something that didn’t add up. Every time he tried to get closer, Elise seemed to slip away, like a shadow dissolving in the light.

“I will always search for you,” he promised her, not even knowing what those words meant, but Elise's reply was lost in the noise of laughter and music, confusing his mind. And in that moment, he understood there was a secret he could not unveil, a clue that bound him to the darkness surrounding him.

Then, an imperceptible sound woke him. He returned to reality, his heart racing. But the cell was silent once more, and the solitude had become suffocating. There was no one to speak to him, no voice to reassure him. Only sounds, like distant footsteps or whispers, that made him doubt his solitude.

Perhaps he had always been alone.

His mind twisted, and memories of Elise merged with the darkness. What if she had never existed? What if his brain had conjured a girl in distress to help him endure this imprisonment?

Noah huddled in the corner of his cell, his breath short and labored, as memories of Elise assaulted him like a dark tide. His mind was trapped in a vortex of images, moments that now seemed blurred, unreal. Elise… had she ever truly existed?

He saw her before him, fragile, her white dress now soaked in blood. His trembling hands ripped at the fabric, trying to bandage that wound with the little gauze they had provided him. Blood was everywhere, slipping between his fingers, yet something about the scene began to waver. The pain in her eyes felt elusive, almost distant, as if it belonged to a far-off memory rather than this terrible moment.

He had fed her because Elise was no longer able to bring food to her lips. Her strength had abandoned her, and he, with desperate care, had nourished her. But had it been real? Noah felt the warmth of her body in his arms, held her close through the long cold nights, trying to provide her with the little warmth he could muster in that damp, icy cell. Yet now, every gesture, every touch seemed to fade into the fog of his mind.

Has it really happened? Or had it all been an illusion, a desperate escape from loneliness? The indistinct figures he had seen carrying away Elise's lifeless body… were they real? Or perhaps his brain, clouded by the drugs they had administered, had only constructed that image, that horrifying scene, to give him a reason to surrender?

She is my heart.

He thought countless times, almost believing it. But now, as the darkness closed in around him like a vice, he began to doubt even that bond. If Elise was dead, his heart should have stopped beating. Yet here he was, alone, his chest still pounding with an anguish that should not exist.

Perhaps Elise had never been real. Perhaps his heart had never stopped beating because she… didn't exist.

But the stains of dried blood on the floor, where she had once stood, brought him back to reality. She had existed. She had been there, and now she was dead.

A tear slid down his cheek, and with it came the crushing awareness: Elise had died in his arms. And at that moment, Noah found himself wishing he had died with her. There was nothing left to lose. Life had become an empty echo, a whisper of what had been.

“Why?” he asked the empty cell, but no one answered. The only response was silence, surrounding him like an invisible prison. That question held everything he felt in that moment. Why had they kidnapped him? Why had they made him care for Elise only to let her die in his arms? Why did he not die too?

In the darkness, Noah felt himself sinking, a part of him longing only to extinguish itself. And as the darkness swallowed him, the last image he carried with him was that of Elise, alive, happy in his dream—a memory he would hold onto until his last breath.

When Noah reopened his eyes, he found himself astonishingly free from the chains. The sensation of lightness was almost surreal, yet the euphoria he should have felt was swiftly overwhelmed by a wave of paranoia.

Why had they released him? It couldn't be a coincidence. The only reason they had bound him was to prevent him from helping Elise.

Did they truly want him to grow attached to her only to witness her demise? This notion consumed him from within, a fire that scorched his reason and filled his mind with images of torture and suffering.

With the fury that engulfed him, Noah rose to his feet, pounding his fists against the cell walls. His screams of rage erupted from his throat, a desperate cry against whoever was behind this damned captivity. "Show yourselves!" he growled. "Come out, cowards!" His voice echoed in the small space, but the silence that followed was the only reply. No one was there to listen to him, no one had the courage to confront him.

After venting his fury, Noah looked around. The cell was the same as before, yet he sensed something different. He began to wander, his steps uncertain but resolute. He examined every corner, every crack in the stone, searching for clues.

Then, at one point, he noticed something on the wall. An inscription, barely visible, appeared to form a word. As he moved closer, he realized it was not merely a written message but initials.

The letters, although faded and worn by time, seemed laden with significance.

“E+N” was all he could decipher, and as the message imposed itself in his mind, he felt a shiver run down his spine. Someone had been there before him; someone else had sought help, had cried out within those deaf walls, and now lay in darkness.

The discovery ignited a flame of determination within him. He would be the last person to fight against those monsters. He needed to find a way to escape.

Just as he was contemplating how to proceed, the cell door creaked open, interrupting his thoughts. A tray of food was pushed into the cell, as always, but this time there was something different.

Noah approached cautiously, his heart pounding in his chest. The food was more substantial, evidently a meal prepared with greater care than previous offerings. His eyes lit up with hope, but almost immediately an alarm bell sounded in his mind.

“Why this change?” The question ricocheted through his synapses, a growing doubt. His thoughts drifted back to the times when Elise was fighting for her life. Why offer better food now? Did they want him to live?

Noah grabbed the tray, scrutinizing its contents. Rice, vegetables, and meat. Though the aroma tempted him, he could not ignore the fear that it might conceal something lethal. Yet hunger assailed him. He had to eat. He needed strength, not only for himself but to face whatever lay ahead.

With a mix of trepidation and determination, he forced himself to take a bite. It was time to prepare. He needed to gather information, and once he found a way to escape, he wouldn’t look back.

Rage transformed into resolve. He would not allow these monsters to take his life as they had taken Elise’s.

It was time to regain control.