ECHOES OF TIME

Chapter 4: The Darkness Within

Ten hours had passed, though Ava had no way of knowing. Time was lost in the suffocating darkness of the windowless room, where the only sounds were the faint echoes of her own breathing. She sat huddled in the corner, knees pulled to her chest, her face hidden as sobs quietly racked her body. She had come here to uncover the past, to find the truth, but now she was trapped in a place she didn’t understand, surrounded by people who seemed to want nothing more than to break her spirit.

There was no sign of day or night, only the endless, crushing darkness.

Suddenly, the heavy creak of the door sliced through the silence. Ava’s breath caught in her throat, her body tensing as light spilled into the room for a moment. A man stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the faint glow from the hall. He carried a tray, and as he stepped into the room, the door shut behind him, plunging them both back into the shadows.

He knelt down, placing the tray of food in front of her without a word. Ava looked at the tray, her stomach growling from hours of hunger, but her defiance was stronger than her need for food. She turned her face away, refusing to acknowledge it.

"You should eat," the man said quietly, his voice calm and measured. "It will help."

"I don't want it," Ava replied, her voice shaky but determined.

There was a pause. "You will," he said simply, standing back up as if her refusal didn’t matter.

Ava remained silent, her eyes fixed on the floor, but her mind was churning with frustration and fear. After a long pause, she looked up at him. His face was partially obscured by the dim light, but she could make out the rough lines of his features and the cold detachment in his eyes.

"I said, I don’t want it!" she snapped, her voice rising, pushing herself up from the floor.

The man sighed, as if dealing with a child’s tantrum, and took a step back. "That’s your choice."

Ava's anger boiled over. She shot to her feet and in one swift motion, shoved the tray off the floor. The food scattered, and the cup clattered loudly against the stone. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and grabbed the man’s collar, yanking him close. "Tell me *why* I’m here! What did I do?!" Her voice cracked with desperation as she tightened her grip, her breath uneven. "Why won’t anyone tell me what’s going on?"

For a moment, the man did nothing, simply letting her hold him by the collar, his face impassive. Then, in a calm, detached voice, he said, "You broke the rules."

Ava froze, her grip loosening slightly. She hadn’t expected that. "What rules? I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

"You went to the market when you weren’t supposed to," the man said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "In this town, girls aren’t allowed to go to the market on certain days. You disobeyed."

Ava stared at him, her mind racing. The absurdity of it all felt overwhelming. "That’s why I’m here? Because I went to a market? How was I supposed to know?"

The man’s cold gaze didn’t waver. "How could you not know? You live here. You’re not from the enemy town, right?" There was a slight edge to his voice now, a suspicion creeping in.

Ava’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t belong here, but she couldn’t let him know that. Her grip on his collar weakened as she swallowed hard. "No, I’m not... I’m not from the enemy town."

"Then you should know the rules," he said, his tone hardening. He brushed her hands off his collar with a single swift motion, stepping back and fixing his clothes. "Ignorance doesn’t excuse you. You’ve broken the rules, and that has consequences."

"But I don’t know anything about your rules!" Ava pleaded, her frustration mounting. "I—"

"It doesn’t matter," he interrupted, his voice sharp. "Rules are rules. And you’re going to pay for disobeying them."

Ava’s chest tightened. She was losing control, and she could feel panic rising. "This isn’t fair!" she burst out. "I didn’t know! I didn’t do anything wrong!"

The man crossed his arms, his expression unmoved. "The law doesn’t care if you think it’s fair. You broke it. You stay here for three days. That’s the punishment."

"Three days?" Ava repeated, incredulous. "For going to the market?"

"Consider yourself lucky," he said, his tone low and dangerous. "It could have been worse. You’re young, so your punishment is lighter. Others wouldn’t have been so gentle."

Ava’s frustration bubbled over again. "Gentle? You call this gentle?" She gestured around the pitch-black room, her voice rising. "I’ve been locked in here for hours with no light, no sense of time, no idea what’s going on!"

The man’s eyes narrowed. "If you keep complaining, I can make it worse. Three days is generous. You should be grateful."

Ava’s heart sank. She knew arguing wouldn’t help, but the desperation gnawed at her. She was stuck here in a world that made no sense, following rules she didn’t understand. Her mind raced for a way out, but there was none.

"Please," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Please, just let me go. I’ll leave the town. I won’t come back. Just... let me out."

The man looked at her for a long moment, his face unreadable. Then, with a slight shake of his head, he turned toward the door. "Three days," he repeated coldly, his hand on the door. "Then you can leave. Until then, stay quiet."

He opened the door and stepped out, the light briefly illuminating the room before it plunged back into darkness. Ava sank to the floor, her body trembling as she stared into the void.

The silence was suffocating. She had no idea how she would survive three more days in this place.