Deep in the Woods

Chapter 4

Suddenly I become aware of a faint scuffling in the cell opposite me and my eyes flick to the dark space, squinting through the bars. I sweep my eyes along the length of the cell, I can't see anyone but there is no light in the cell, the light from the hall barely reaches just inside the bars, whereas my space contains most of it. I wait, just watching. But nothing happens and I make a sound from the back of my throat in attempt to capture the cause of the sounds attention. I wait a few seconds before trying again and this time I get a result, a face appears right up close to the bars and I reel backwards at the unexpected movement, staring.

The face that looks back at me is feminine, light brown hair surrounds her face and sad eyes peer back at me, my body relaxes and I move back to my previous position, she is in the same position as me, her mouth gagged and her limbs bound by chains, except that she looks alot worse than me. Her hair is matted and coated with grime, her feet bloody and cracked, I whimper; a sympathetic sound. She doesn't reply and instead slides to the ground, leaning against the bars. I do the same, watching her carefully. Her eyes brighten immediately at my actions and she lets out a content sigh before closing her eyes.

Her reaction troubles me, she must have been here a long time to find having company that exciting, how long has she been here, was she taken like me, will I end up like that? I let my thoughts sift through the possible scenarios in my mind and find that every one of them makes me feel worse. I rest my head on my hands, ignoring the cold metal that bites into my cheek and close my eyes, listening to the steady breaths opposite. My mind starts to fog and I find myself being pulled into a troubled sleep.