Running into Darkness
My lungs burned. I was exhausted from all the running I was doing. I pumped my arms back and forth trying to propel my body forward. My legs were starting to fall behind the rest of my body causing me to stumble. I’m trying to catch my breathe. My mind is switching from the black of the night sky in front of mr to the black that consumes my own mind.
I glance behind me at my pursuer. Big mistake. My foot catches in a pot hole and I fall down, flat.
“This can’t be happening?!” I think to myself as the excruciating pain sets in. My pursuer gets closer. I try moving my ankle out of the cracked and rocky hole.
“Ow!” I say harshly under my breathe. A sharp pain shoots up my leg like a blazing fire and the tears form. My pursuer is now only 20 yards away. 10 yards. 5 yards. I make one last attempt at moving away but the pain is unbearable. I hear a ‘thud!’ and everything goes black.
I awake on a cool stone floor. Stagnant puddles are scattered around. A leaky pipe, dripping down, sounds like my thoughts trying to burst from my head. I horrid stench is carried with the slight breeze. The smell is overwhelming, suffocating me. My damp and dirty, blonde hair is plastered against my neck.
I move to sit up but my head spins inside itself and it’s nearly impossible. I lean against the wall. I barely move my ankle and pain washes over it like a tsunami. Suddenly a dull light comes on, illuminating the stone walls and making a light buzz. Foot steps echo across the space. The pinging of leaking pipes makes the space feel confined. Suddenly the footsteps stop. The jiggling of a lock reminds me of how I came to be here and I’ve never been more terrified in my life. The door creaks open.
“I see the beauty has awakened.” a familiar voice says from behind the door.
“Who are you!?” I yell. A tall man appears from behind the door. He’s wearing a black mask that covers his whole face and has on a suit. He looks someone going to a masquerade.
“Isn’t that what everyone wants to know,” he remarks in a crude tone.
“How is that ankle of yours?” he joking asks. He walks over and before I even know what happening, an awful pain strike my foot. My ankle feels as though its engulfed in a blazing wildfire and I’m doing everything I can to stop myself from crying out in pain. The tears are slowly falling because he decided to kick my injured leg.
“Just let me go!” I cry out.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.” he says with an evil grin. That look alone is enough to scare me out of my wits.
“I’ll be back in awhile.” he says as he walks out of the room, slamming the door behind him and locking it. What am I going to do… I think nervously to myself. I have never been this scared in my life. I have to get out of here, is the only thought occupying my mind at this time. I can’t leave the room with my ankle like this though. I scan the room for anything useful.
I spot a few pieces of wood that I could use to make a splint sitting in a corner. The only problem? It’s on the opposite side of the room. I carefully move onto my hands and knees and crawl, without my bad leg hitting the ground, to the wood. I take off the dirty sweatshirt I’ve been wearing and wrap it around my legs. I might now be the best cushion, but it’s what I have for now. I set the wood up against the sweatshirt and take my belt off to use as a strap.
I carefully examine the splint to make sure it won’t hurt me when I move my leg. I use all the strength in my arms and left leg to try and stand. Black spots appear all over my line of visions like a swarm of birds is flying around me. I force them away. I look around the room for a way to escape.
Nothing stands out to me. It’s all cold stone walls. Plain, boring, and of no help to me. Then it hits me. There is a window with bars over it on the farest war. I push through the swarming pain and make my way over to it. I start fiddling with one of the bar and it slowly starts moving out of place. I pull it out and start my work on the next bar. This one is refusing to move. I hang from it and it loosens up enough for me to take it out after five minutes of pulling. I make a start on the third and final bar.I hear a loud ‘CLUNCKKK’ of the lock hitting the door.
“Oh no.” I think to myself. I pull on the bar harder, trying to get it out as fast as I can. The door creaks open and he walks back in. I stand there, frozen in place next to the window. He walks up and puts his hands around my neck, just barely lifting me off the ground. I try and struggle but his grip just tightens. “Were you trying to escape?!” he yells, enraged. I try to stammer out a “no” but nothing comes out. My vision starts to blur. I keep fighting for breath but barely anything comes into my lungs. I give up on struggling and just go limp.
The tears start rolling down my face, which is turning purple from lack of oxygen. I make one last attempt with the last of my strength to try and get him to drop me. The last thing I see is a devilish grin on his face and then everything goes black.
Kelsey Kitchel
