Silence and Darkness

The darkness is overwhelming.

The pitch black of the cell and the sounds of the scuffling rats. It’s all too much for her ears. A hapless victim screams nearby, and she cringes against the wall as the sounds penetrate her ears through the thick wood of the door. Soon they will come for her, as well. They will come, and the horrors will begin all over again.

The shrieks stop, and all is silent. Instead of the darkness, it is now the silence that is overwhelming. It immobilizes her. She cannot hear the scuffling of the rats, or the moaning of the other prisoners. She closes her eyes and wails as loud as she can. The sound bounces off the stone walls around her, ricocheting back and forth. But, she can take this. She would rather the sound of her screams and the darkness than the silence.

The sound fades, and she is left in silence again. She takes deep breaths, trying to calm herself. At the sound of heavy boots on the stone outside she ceases to breathe and listens hard. They do not stop at her cell door. They keep moving. She begins to breathe again.

The longer she sits there, the more her thoughts rage throughout her mind, somehow finding their way back home, to her family, to her sweetheart. Oh, how she wishes to be with him.

The sounds of boots reach her ears, and fades away once again. She places her hands over her ears, attempting to block out the howls and moans and yelping that she knows are to come. The horrible creatures and their experiments. Did they wish to see how long it would take for their captives to break down? To completely give in? To die?

She removes her hands from her ears and runs her hand over the cuts and bruises on her arms, then reaches up to smooth the hair that has begun to grow again over her scalp.

Suddenly the cries begin anew. She cannot take it. She starts to scream again.

The sound of pounding boots on the stone nearly jolts her out of her fit, but she keeps going. The door to her cell opens suddenly, and the light, as dim as it is, nearly blinds her.

Rough hands reach out to pull her out of her cell, and she struggles, scratching, attempting to bite her tormenter’s hands.

Her teeth find a grip between the man’s thumb and forefinger, clamping down on the soft skin. The man gasps and yells, but she still holds on. He shakes her furiously. Two more tormenters arrive, and grab her arms. A third one appears and knocks her on the head, loosening her death grip on the first man’s hand.

Her face is slapped, and curses are sent her way. Tears course down her cheeks, and she chokes back sobs. She is roughly thrust back into her cell, and the door is slammed shut.

Left once again in the darkness, she lets the tears fall freely, and falls to her knees, crawling back to her corner, to wait out the coming screams, silence, and darkness.