caught I h.s

Chapter 6

Forlorn. Desolate. Isolated.

I feel all these emotions plus a million more as I stand alone in a glaring white hallway that seems to stretch for miles. I begin to walk only to realize that there is no end. My mind cannot fathom the endless possibilities of what will happen if I remain stuck in this continued loop.

I speed up my pace, struggling for breath as I start to sprint. I sprint until I am lying breathless on the floor, my eyes blinded by the light.

I lie there for what seems like hours.

I hear the faint sound of a clock in the distance. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

I scream, covering my ears with my hands trying to block out the infuriating sound, but no noise comes out.

All of a sudden, my world turns black.

I stand up, touching the walls either side of me to guide me. As my eyes accustom to the abrupt darkness, I see a silhouette standing at the far end of the hallway.

My mother.

I try to start running towards her, but my feet don't move. I am glued to the ground, and my mother seems as if she is disappearing from sight.

I fight an inner battle with myself, forcing my brain to tell my feet to MOVE. One foot up, down. The next foot up, down. It works, but at such an excruciatingly slow pace that I grip my head and begin tearing at my hair out of frustration.

Suddenly I fall forward, my feet beginning to run at a normal pace. I recover quickly, still keeping my eyes trained on the figure that I am nearing.

The pitch black room begins to get lighter, if only just by a bit. I see the silhouette more clearly, and squint when I realize that they are moving forward.

"NO!" I yell, but my mother doesn't hear me. If she does, she doesn't acknowledge it; continuing walking as if nothing had happened.

I run, but yet again I feel like I am running through water. My legs are made of lead, and it takes all my effort to move them.

"Stop!" I scream, but my attempt at recognition has no effect.

My breath hitches in my throat when I see the figure morphing - morphing into something else, someone else? My eyes widen, and I see the figure of my mother change into someone different.

Harry.

The curly hair atop his head gives him away, and like my mother, he moves forward at a slow pace, while I scream and shout at him to stop.

But a different person doesn't mean a different reaction. Nothing.

Suddenly I see the end. The end of the never ending hallway.

But that is the thing. There is no end. A sudden drop; and I realize Harry is walking straight towards it.

I battle the demons holding me back, breaking through their metallic chains to burst forward. I rush to catch up to Harry.

Nearly there. Three more steps. Two. One.

Just as I reach out my hand to clutch at the hem of his shirt, he falls. He is falling, down, down, down. And I can't do anything about it.

I drop to my knees and let out a cry of anguish, clawing out my pain in bouts of screams and tears.

The hallway begins to lighten rapidly and I am temporarily blinded by the sudden change. I stand -