The Shadows Screamed My Name

Standing in the dark and empty room, the stone walls seemed to echo every possible sound.  Darkness creeped into every crack and corner of the walls, the small torch in my hand allowing me only to see the ground beneath my feet and the hot breath that swirled from my mouth.  Each step I took almost made the ground shake with the echoes that rapidly increased in volume.  I could hear every movement, from my eyes wildly searching my environment to my lungs expanding and collapsing desperately, yet rhythmically.  Everything bounced off of every brick of the cell, from sounds, to light, to my fear itself.  I took small, slow steps, being careful to not awake anyone- or anything -that could be in here with me.  I managed to travel a couple meters down an ominous corridor before something caught my eye.   

I could’ve sworn that a soft, eerie glow breezed past my peripheral vision.  I spun around, trying to find the source of the light, yet nothing showed itself or made a sound.  My beating heart seemed to pound against my rib cages as my lungs desperately pumped oxygen throughout my body.  Adrenaline coursed through my veins, my muscles tensed, ready to run. 

That’s when I heard them.  The footsteps- at least I think that’s what it was.  At first, it was only a light tapping that seemed miles away, but, within seconds, it had grown into monstrous pounding.  The ground shook, and I could feel the vibrations run up through my legs to my very core.  My feet were anxious to leave the ground, and my vocal cords clawed at my throat, desperate to rip out a scream as I continued to stand utterly still.  Louder and louder it came, until it was practically deafening, my ears already started to ring.   

My beating heart and shaking legs took over my senses, rushing me through the cold stone hall, dragging me forward.  I didn’t know where I was and I had no clue as to where I was going, but my feet only continued to pull me forward- deeper and deeper into the shadowy labyrinth.  No matter how many bricks I counted as I ran past, it seemed like I was hardly even moving.  I don’t know how long I was running, time had virtually lost all meaning within these caverns, but I know that I could’ve run for days and it still wouldn’t have been enough.  I would have run for days, if I wasn’t doing so already.  I would’ve run for hours upon hours, if I wasn’t forced to stop.  If I hadn't reached it so soon.  The end of the corridor.

I felt my heart drop to the wet cobblestone floor as soon as I approached the appalling wooden door.  It was an unwanted contrast to the rest of the wretched dungeon, with its warped oak boards barely held together by the ancient, rusted metal bars.  This was it.  The destination.  I knew I had to reach it soon, and I was bound to exit through it, yet I couldn’t help but become overwhelmed with fear when I came upon it.  The horrid noise still followed behind me, growing louder with every second that passed.  Every moment dragged its feet, taking its time to pass.  I was trapped, paralyzed by sheer terror.  My torch hit the ground.  To muffle the sound, all I could do was press my hands to my cold ears, but even then, it seemed to do nothing.  I closed my eyes.  Despite the cries of my body, I collapsed and curled up onto the wet stone beneath me; letting eternity pass by as I waited for death; letting the noise consume my senses as I waited for the end. 

And the end came.  The noise stopped. 

And I was still breathing.  My lungs, still heaving; my limbs, still shaking; my heart, still pounding; my ears, still ringing; my eyes, still closed; myself, still living. 

I slowly opened my eyes and my body slowly uncurled itself from the fetal position as I processed where I was.  I was alive.  I was still here.  Still by that horrific door.  

I stood up on unsteady legs and stared at the door as it slowly started to open on its own.  The hinges cried out as the door opened for the first time in ages, and the high-pitched screech carried throughout the entire hall.  I could hear the noise slowly bounce away as it traveled, brick by brick, down the hall, searching for another pair of ears to torture.  My attention turned back to this door, which now sat wide open.  I stared into the pure black void it led to, and my pupils strained open in search for a light.  I took a step closer, trying to find something, anything, that lie within this void.