Darkness
* * *
Penny blinked in the darkness. It was a reflex, pointless. Darkness was a lack of photons and blinking would only moisten the eyes.
Pointless.
She blinked again.
The bonds that held her were tight.
She wondered how long it had been. Her mouth was dry.
"Hello?" she called. "Is anyone there?"
Nothing. Just like before.
Darkness and silence.
She rolled to her back. Her hands were bound behind her, her ankles bound too. The ground beneath her was rough, sandy.
For a few moments she struggled. Nothing.
She wondered how long it had been.
"Hello?" she called again.
Panic rose then, building in her. She tried to fight it, to keep it down, tried reminding herself that it never did any good to panic.
She tried.
Her screams echoed back at her.
And with them, the sounds of motion nearby.
This fueled her fear and she screamed again, tensing against her bonds.
Motion, closer now.
She fought, struggled.
And then there was light. And a voice.
"You suffer?"
It was raspy, not human. It came from near the light, just a faint glow now, not far away.
Her panic subsided into fear and exhaustion.
"Please ...." she moaned.
"You suffer," the voice said again. "Good."
* * *
Penny blinked in the darkness. It was a reflex, pointless. Darkness was a lack of photons and blinking would only moisten the eyes.
Pointless.
She blinked again.
The bonds that held her were tight.
She wondered how long it had been. Her mouth was dry.
"Hello?" she called. "Is anyone there?"
Nothing. Just like before.
Darkness and silence.
She rolled to her back. Her hands were bound behind her, her ankles bound too. The ground beneath her was rough, sandy.
For a few moments she struggled. Nothing.
She wondered how long it had been.
"Hello?" she called again.
Panic rose then, building in her. She tried to fight it, to keep it down, tried reminding herself that it never did any good to panic.
She tried.
Her screams echoed back at her.
And with them, the sounds of motion nearby.
This fueled her fear and she screamed again, tensing against her bonds.
Motion, closer now.
She fought, struggled.
And then there was light. And a voice.
"You suffer?"
It was raspy, not human. It came from near the light, just a faint glow now, not far away.
Her panic subsided into fear and exhaustion.
"Please ...." she moaned.
"You suffer," the voice said again. "Good."