Starbucks Anonymous / / ON HOLD [ REWRITING ]

5 %

Hanging by a thread

I FLINCHED AT the touch of a bump on the top of my head. The burning ache grew - the resulted pain flowing through my body. I struggled to stand as I held onto the staircase's banister for support. Nevertheless, I overcame the painful throbbing in my head and stood on my feet.

Again, I was enveloped in utter darkness, my eyes blind to my invisible surroundings. I was drowning in an inky-black sea, struggling to swim. The cold, damp air of the basement embraced me, with its arms outstretched. The eeriness sent shivers down my spine. I looked around and slowly rubbed my head as I attempted to recollect what had happened within the last minute or so.

Everything still seemed a bit hazy because of the fall. I remember discovering the basement's entrance, then a sudden nudge. After that, my body skid down the steps just as smoothly as a rock would, tumbling down the rough side of a mountain.

I blinked furiously, in hopes that lights would suddenly flash on, but to no avail, my fruitless blinking seemed to make me even dizzier. My feet kicked around in search of the staircase. First came the sudden THUMP, then came the wave of pain that shot through my body.

The soreness subsided as my mind was occupied with the thought of finding Iris and leaving this creepy basement. I got to my feet, but with difficulty. My head still felt fuzzy even though the pain had dissipated.

I climbed up the steps, blindly - my fingers tracing the staircase's rail. When I reached the top, I felt along for the hatch that jutted slightly out of the ceiling above me. My hands touched the a spot of unevenness and I knew this was it.

I pushed up on the square outline above me. Nothing moved - the hatch was still. I tried again, but still, nothing. It did not want to budge. I kept thrusting all of my energy at the closed entryway above me, hoping that I could get out.

The realization that I was locked inside the basement with a homicidal person, wearing a frightening white mask and a night-black hoodie struck me, hard. I stumbled back, almost falling over the top step.

I slowly turned around, cautiously walking down the creaking stairs. I reached the bottom, still submerged in the darkness. I decided to continue blindly into the depths of the basement. As I journeyed through the dark, a thin line slithered against my cheek.

My feet came to a halt. The string lay suspended in the air, continuing to caress my skin. My fingers groped for the thin line above and I pulled down.

Then, the entire room became enveloped in a blinding ebullience of yellow light.

I blinked several times, my vision adjusting to the brightness of my surroundings. The revealed silver chain swung like the pendulum of a grandfather clock, swaying back and forth, entrancing its spectators. The bright, yellow bulb overhead shone perfectly, without any flickering; why only this light bulb and none of the others in the house still remained an enigma to me.

My gaze moved too quickly, leaving my consciousness behind. My eyes shot around the room in search of Iris. The stacks of boxes acted like the walls of a maze, trapping me in the self-built labyrinth.

I ran around the skyscraper-like boxes as my heart began to pound on the inside of my chest. When I stopped in order to catch my faltered breathing, a noise shot through the seemingly everlasting silence.

My hairs immediately stood on edge when the echoing clamor ran through the basement. I rounded the corner if a tower of boxes and what I saw was completely branded into my brain, the searing burn circulating through my smoldering veins.

A body swung in the air, dangling by a rope strapped onto the rafters overhead, just as the chain swayed as the grandfather clock's did. I screamed at this sight. It was her; she was dead, right before my eyes! Iris was hanging by a thread, the noose tightly tied around her neck!

The tears streamed down my face, striking the floor with an an echoing drip. I ran to her, my arms falling around her shoulders. My feet began to lose their balance, causing me to almost fall onto the cold, concrete floor.

My head rested against her still chest. A small breeze flew into my ear, a constant, steady breeze. No, this wasn't any wind streaming into the basement - it was devoid of windows. She was breathing!

I put my ear in front of her mouth, and felt the warm breath from her weary lungs. "Iris!" I exclaimed.

Quickly, shakily, my hands worked on the intricate noose around her neck. My fingers trembled as I difficultly deciphered the knot itself. The stakes were higher now; her precious life. She wasn't dead, or at least not yet. "Stop thinking that way!" I repeated these words in my head, utilizing that single thought as a drive for me to save my friend's life.

I finally found the root of the knot, quickly untying it. I rested Iris on my shoulder, dragging out combined weights up the stairs. A clatter ran through the basement, but I tossed the thought aside in order the save Iris.

I hauled her up the steps, minding her head in order for it not to hit the stairs. Nevertheless, the fingers of my left hand slipped and her side rammed into the wall; sorry, Iris.

My hands grabbed her tighter this time, my grip strong and firm. Again, I started our trek up the stairs, hopefully avoiding anymore accidents consisting of falling down the stairs or head-butting a wooden step.

We had finally made it to our destination - after a few more, minor mishaps. With all of the might I could muster within me, I pushed against the basement's entryway. My initial thought was that I would be repelled by the lock on the hatch, but the second I pushed onto that square outline, these thoughts ,soon receded.

It flew open at my great force, shocking me with the loud smack of the hatch and the concrete floor of the garage. Hope fluttered within my chest, breaking the bonds of the seemingly everlasting fear dwelling in the chilled crevices of my still heart.

I propped myself up, preparing to climb out of the literal hell-hole that is the basement. When I finally escaped the fear-inducing depths of the basement, I reached for Iris's hand. Once again, I had to use the strength that surpassed even my own limits.

Her body was laid flat on the floor underneath the hockey table while I gasped for air. I hastily dragged her to the garage's door while I thought of how I could call someone for help.

I did not bother to take Iris up another set ofstairs, but instead took her to the living room where she was set on the couch. As I made my way there, I heard the heavy pounding of the rain's droplets on the window panes.

Then, I placed my ear closely to her mouth in order to make sure she was still breathing. The deafening silence that slithered its way into my ear shattered my hope, along with my heart.

"No!" I exclaimed. I had gone through the same situation once before, and I knew that this wasn't going to be the case; Iris was going to be just fine. My adrenaline soon kicked in, caused by the constant chill racing through the entire length of my tiring body.

Six years. Six years ago my brother almost drowned in the town lake; during the pouring rain, even at the brink of freezing to death from hypothermia. Of course, the circumstances in this particular situation with Iris differed from the predicament with Jay. Nevertheless, it was my sole duty to help my friend live through this, even though she will die when I tell her her beloved sister - and one of my best friends - Violet, was dead.

My instincts we're shifted into overdrive as soon as I began pressing in her chest in intervals of three: One, two, three... one, two, three... The almost habitual movement of the beating of my fists against a still and silent body drove me over the edge. And even then, I continued to plummet further into the everlasting abyss of fear and isolation.