Welcome to a Nightmare

Elsewhere Part 2: Chapter 27: Hidden and Forgotten

Elsewhere Series: Part 2

The sounds of cell doors slamming around her rattles every part of her being. She pulls her knees up to her chest and places her hands over her ears. She bites her lip, trying not to cry as another loud thud echoes against the thick steel door of her cell... her protector from the outside world.

The outside world is dangerous... a voice echoes in the woman's head. You must know who you are, otherwise, bad people will take advantage of you.

Those were the words she is living by... Words that are meant to protect her. The thick concrete walls kept the sounds of the city from reaching her, lest it triggers more anxiety. They could also not be broken, no one could smash their way in to hurt her and even earthquakes could

Another bang against her door, she knows who is doing this. She refers to the person as HIM; he likes to taunt her whenever he can, banging a thick heavy club against the steel door, laughing to himself as he torments her. He's the man who is in charge of her cell block and has to keep everyone in line. The reason that she calls this person HIM is because she never learned his name and barely ever sees his face. She only hears his voice, deep and gravelly announcing when food was coming, when it was time to wake up and go to bed, and just to outright insult her or the others who were down here with her.

The frail woman presses her hands against her ears, whimpering and wishing that HIM would stop. Why does he do this to her? She hasn't done anything bad and yet this is part of her punishment. She's always followed the rules, never done anything to hurt him or anyone else, and yet the banging continues.

"Having fun in there?!" he asks, his booming voice coming through the slot in the metal door.

"Please stop..." she whispers, begging internally. "please..."

Tears start to form in her sad blue eyes and the woman tries to use her dark brown hair with a red tint in it to help mask the sound. She presses herself against the back wall and quickly places a pillow over her head and shuts her eyes. Every fibre of her body is shaking... she's afraid of bad people like HIM, therefore she's here to be protected.

Her breathing becomes shallow and quicker, her chest tightening. This often happened to her even when HIM wasn't scaring her and she doesn't understand why it won't stop. Her lungs don't work right. Tears are squeezed from her eyes as the banging continues, it feels as if it shakes the entire cell.

It's a long time before the loud rancorous sounds stop and all that can be heard is her own rushed breathing and the sniffles from her sobs. Her bed creaks as her body shakes uncontrollably. It's happened again. She's trapped in a corner of fear and is unable to escape.

Suddenly, a strong wave of energy shakes her cell. The metal table beside her bed rattles intensely with her empty glass on it. Her bed creaks and moans and even the door lets out a shudder from this strange of energy.

"What the hell was that?" HIM asks loudly from the other side of the door.

She merely lets out a tiny squeak and feels her body seize up. What the hell was that?

Fiona, the only other woman she had contact with the outside world had told her that this cell could survive any disaster, even an earthquake and it could still protect her from the dangers outside. Then why did it feel so powerful... What had happened to cause the room to shake?

For a moment, the panic leaves her body and the patient feels temporary relief from the anxiety. Images flash through her mind... memories? Reading by a fireplace, hiding from a monster with her mother, encountering a flaming beast whom she saves by dousing it in water. Her being held as a prisoner in what looks like a dungeon, a chipped teacup, and similar dark prison which she felt as though she'd been living in for eternity. Opening a place filled with books, standing beside a well saying vows of love and then dancing in a lovely yellow dress with an older man. His smile is gentle, comforting, and his deep brown eyes warm as he holds her quietly as they sway to the melody. Her holding a weapon, forcing this gentleman to disappear, her screaming in pain and then holding a baby in her arms. A beautiful little boy whose delicate features causes her to cry in joy and the heartbreak she feels when gives the baby... her son, to another woman.