The Stories of the Sufferers

Spinal Trauma

You awake inside an unilluminated room in a cross-legged sitting position. You stand up immediately. To your terror, you notice a semicircle alive with men. No, it is a full circle you realize as you spin around in search of an exit. You can only view the front row, but you can tell there are many more.

How did I get here? You think and voice the question.

No answer is given. Men remain watching, all black, stony eyes on you. They were tall and lanky, sporting black jeans and ripped red flannels with each other. They had extremely dark, but oily skin. How they all match in everything resembles eeriness. As you observe more, you recognize they are all the same people (in the first row, of course). It is a pity for the mother who birthed them.

You pat down your own jeans for an absent phone and protection.

"Hello? Can you explain what's going on?" You say with a shaky breath.

Nothing. Instead, the men take one step closer.

You rotate once more, seeking a way out again, just in case you missed it the first time. No exit.

Another step.

Your brain speeds with ideas. Maybe, an agreement will suffice.

"Hey, guys, maybe we can make a deal, you know."

Silence.

"You can have my money. All of it. You're like, Somali pirates, right? I bet my family can get it for you. Buy all the shit you want."

Cold, menacing glares.

Just another step. Nearly fifteen feet away.

Shit.

You close your eyes while theirs dwell on you.

Ten feet away. Heart racing. Beat loudening. Breath shaking.

Soon, you begin feeling claustrophobic. It produces a sickening pit in your stomach. The crowd is closing around you. Bile starts rising in your esophagus.

Shit.

Five feet away.

Cold, menacing glares.

Intuitively, you take a step back but recall the other Somali Men behind you. You wipe your palms on your jeans. Maybe you can fight them off. No, there are too many people. At least fifty Men are surrounding you.

The Men. They are so close. The once large circle had shrunk.

This is the end for you.

The Men's eyes fixate on yours. The nauseating feeling of confinement elevates.

This is the end for you.

The Men draw eleven-inch blades from their scabbards. Your eyes dart over the identical faces.

This is the end for you.

In unison, The Men stride once more, swords in hand. You close your eyes, blench, and settle into a useless defensive position.

This is not the end for you.

Swords flash ahead. You brace for the moment of expiration. Alternatively, The Men hold their weapons at their throats. With one swift motion, the first column of Men proceeds to decapitate themselves. As the swords slash through the air, it mutilates the neighboring Man. But the abutting Men did not dare flinch. The second column beheads themselves. Then the third, and so on. The swords drip in crimson blood. Their eyes trail towards you while the many heads descend to the ground. Their neck seems to have had an adequate head-cut from an adequate stylist.

Stoic eyeballs linger on you.

Bodies do not hit the floor. They carry on upright positions.

What the actual fuck?

You ready yourself to bolt out the exit, wherever it is. As you advance near the first row of the headless bodies, you hear a rippling sound surround you. You peek about. Nothing. But as you turn to the direction you were previously situated at, you catch a glimpse of an oval point coated in red in the midst of a neck. Blood. But you had not regarded that earlier. Facing your original spot again, you sight the thing, rising. Oh shit. What now? The thing emerges steadily from the bodies; every last one of them. As it soars, it appears to be a bloody bone- short but wide objects protruding from it. A memory flashback to biology class:

"The spinal cord is a component of the nervous system."

"Holy fuck!" is all you can splutter out.

The spinal cord has ended its journey to its peak. The backs of the deceased Men move forward, one leg behind the other. Their hands swing backward and stop at once. It was as if they were in a running position.

Your mouth completely dries out, and you struggle to swallow excess saliva. Your body tenses up to the point where you detect pain. It trembles rapidly while fear creeps onto your skin and consumes your voice. No sound at all.

The spines stick out diagonally. Ultimately, The Men race to you and puncture you all over. Your life gets sucked out of you almost instantaneously. As you are dead, bits and pieces of your insides plummet onto the cold ground. Since there were fifty Men aiming for you simultaneously, they end up wounding each other during the destruction. While spines ripple your flesh, the ends stab another Man. Your body can only handle so much annihilation. It winds up to fifty segments, precisely. Your own spine fractures completely.

This is awfully unfortunate for you.

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