Nightmares

Chapter 11

I woke up on the cold floor, surprised that I could fall asleep with Lily's screams. Hell had made me stronger...mentally.

Lily was in her cell again, with her back towards me, sitting in a cross legged position. Her gown was bloody. It was fresh blood. The stains were still a deep red, where mine from a while ago were brown.

"Lily, what did they do to you?" I asked, a large lump in my throat.
She sat there, silent, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Lily..." I began.

"Stop talking," she cried, "My brain is in enough pain without listening to your damn accent!"

I stood in shock for a moment. I couldn't believe she would say something like that again. Especially then, when we needed each other most.

"Lily, I understand that you hate me, but we can't give up on each other now. I don't know when we'll... I'll get out of here, so we have to stick together." I explained.

"Malika, you're pretty much dead. There's no way you're getting out of here. Just stop with the whole hope thing. There's no hope in hell." Lily said, lifeless.

That was the moment that I gave up trying to talk to her. She wasn't going to budge. She wasn't going to let me in. I doubted she still hated me because I reminded her of Father. I was just a reminder of the life she had before everything got messed up.

***

Time went by, but there was no way of telling how much. The sky was constantly red; it never changed. I could tell it had been a long time because I kept track of the times I slept.

It was routine. Every day I would sit across from Lily's cell, staring at her back and bones protruding from her skin. Lucy would fetch her and torture her for hours. I would fall asleep to the sound of her screams. Lucy would manipulate my dreams and give me nightmares. I would always dream of the happy days; the memories of everything good before it... died. I would wake up and find Lily in her cell. The cycle repeated.

Sometimes, if it was quiet enough, I could still hear the last words of those who I loved.

Malika! Malika, help me! Malika!

Mmmm...aaaaa...

Malika, I'm sacrificing myself...

I still loved Lily, whether she hated me or not, whether she was dead or not. I would always love her. I would always love my family.

I was still alive. I was still a being. I was only trapped in this place. There must've been a way out. It would difficult, but I could outsmart the devil.