No. 6

CHAPTER 2 - Those In The Abyss

I was in it up to my neck by the time I realized the way things were going. What could I do? . . . if I refused to obey I would be killed. Or I could commit suicide. On three different occasions I thought of resigning, but it was impossible.

-Wilhelm Keitel, The Nuremburg Interviews

***

The darkness was stabbing at him. Into his retina, his eardrums, his skin, the darkness turned into needles that pricked at him viciously.

Shion sucked in a deep breath and filled his chest with air―no, darkness. By doing so, he repressed his pain and trembling. He didn't want to cower. He didn't want to let out a cry of fear. And he didn't want Nezumi, who was beside him, to hear it.

Damnit if he ever hears me scream.

He didn't want to expose his unsightly self to Nezumi's eyes. Shion gulped in another breath, fully conscious of the pride within him which, even in these circumstances, nagged persistently at him.

Hn.

Nezumi sniffed derisively inches from his ear. At the same time, the arm around Shion's waist grew tighter, pressing around his torso.

So much for trying to act tough, he thought he heard Nezumi whisper. But what actually reached his ears was:

"We're gonna fall."

It was a flat voice, stripped of all emotion. The emotionless voice became a frigid wind that wrapped around Shion's body. With his sense of pain, his fear, and his pride whipped away, for an instant, Shion was empty. Like a cicada shedding its skin, he became a hollow cavern that left only its outward appearance intact. He sometimes had this sensation when listening to Nezumi's voice. He didn't mind it much. In fact, it even felt refreshing. Exhilarating, even, to become empty.

When Shion tried to suck in his third breath, the floor disappeared from beneath his feet. With a heavy thunk it had split in two. It was like a gallows. It almost felt strange that he wasn't feeling the rope digging into his neck; hearing the sound of his cervical vertebrae cracking; feeling his body swinging limply in the air.

They were falling. Falling, straight down―at least they were supposed to be, but he couldn't grasp what was happening. He wasn't sure whether they were falling, floating, or rising. He couldn't distinguish between descent, suspension, or ascension. His senses were swallowed up by the darkness that surrounded him on all sides.

An impact hit him. He felt his whole body slam into something hard. His breath died on his lips. Whatever he had fallen on was slightly elastic, absorbing and mediating the force enough to avoid spraining his muscles or shattering his bones.

What did I land on―?

He had no time to check. He was yanked forcefully.

"Roll."

He was half-shoved into a roll by Nezumi. He turned over and over, thinking of nothing, feeling no fear. His shoulder hit something hard, and he felt a pain followed by tingling. He had evidently hit a wall. As he placed his palm on the floor to push himself up, he felt a tremor―like vibrations, like strange rumbling.

"Stand up. Push yourself up against the wall."

Shion stood up, and huddled close to the wall, which was rough on the surface―probably concrete. His thoughts, willpower, and senses were half-numb. He could only barely manage to follow Nezumi's directions and move as he was told. Nezumi's body overlapped his. It was hotter than usual. But the heartbeat Shion felt against his back was not even slightly out of rhythm. Crushed with such force, Shion couldn't help but cry out.