The beginning of the end

Chapter 1- When the rest of heaven was blue

"Faced now with something that's so surreal. Boxed in, there's a lack of all detail. And I'm just staying here for a while."
-Monty Are I, Polished and Poisoned
The small black tray slide through the narrow flap in the thick metal door. It made the same deep scratching sound against the rough cement floor as the prisoner in cell 986, High security sector 15A, had come to know over these past three years. It was meal time. Breakfast, lunch or supper she had no idea, having lost track the first week of incarceration. Every meal was the same. As was every day. Every week. Every year. Even knowing the difference between night and day was impossible. The only light that ever reached her sullen eyes was the red flashing LED that confirmed that the inconceivably thick metal security door of her cell was, in fact, locked.

The cell she sat in, which was nothing but four cement walls, a rough cement floor, and a filthy makeshift toilet in the back right corner, was the size of a small walk in closet. There was no bed, no means to clean herself, and not even so much as a blanket. In other words, if what ever evil she was destined to face after death could think of a worst punishment for her than this, she would gladly serve out her sentence. This was not prison, this was Hell. Blackfire had accepted that.

In the darkness of her cell, she crawled over to where the tray was, using her hands as always to feel for the plastic tray. Her fingertips brushed over a cool smooth surface. She felt around, finally locating the hardened bread, the earth food that the Tamarian had feasted on over the last 37 months. She took it up greedily and made sure not to drop a crumb. Her forever empty stomach complained to her loudly as she swallowed the last bite and reached around for the small glass of water that was standard with ever meal. How many times had she thought about smashing a glass against the cement walls of her Hell? Of using a sharp shard of that glass to end it all? She wouldn't be the first to escape that way. In the darkness, there were always whispers of suicide and of the occasional homicide of course, but never of escape. There was only one way out of this place, and unfortunately your body couldn't tag along.

Blackfire lay on her stomach, the ridged cement of the floor pressing painfully into her skin. She had learned long ago that in order to receive the next meal, the tray had to be returned to the other side of the door, a chore that was easy to forget in the timeless darkness of the cell. She pushed the thin plastic tray with the empty glass through the flap, her wrist pushing through to the other side. To her shock and fear, a tight hand gripped her wrist with merciless strength. It was then that the sirens began to sound through out sector 15A.

Blackfire panicked. She tried with all her strength and will to break from the tight grip, crying out in pain when the grip only became tighter. Someone was trying to talk to her over the deafening wailing of the alarms, she was sure of it. She calmed down, listening to what he was trying to say, and his grip loosened. "…I let go…you…away from …door…escape.." were the only words she could make out from everything he was trying to say. "…Understand?"
Hope, for the first time in the last two and a half years, after she realized there was no escape, swelled up inside the young Tamarian.
"YES" She screamed as loud as she could, tears now flowed freely down her dirty cheeks. Was this it? Was she soon to be free again?
She felt the release of the man's tight grip, and as he instructed she scrambled to the very back of her cell. The heavy door came down with a thud loud enough to hear even over the alarms. Blackfire felt a small breeze from the heavy metal door brush against her bare feet. She could see only a silhouette of a large man standing in the door way where the door once stood. The presence of this man was so strong that Blackfire was almost glad the corridor outside was as dark as her cell. She felt a small shudder crawl up her spine and under her skin. He arms and legs exploded in goose bumps and despite her desperate desire for freedom, she almost wished she could stay curled up in the safety of her cell.

There were more men behind him. She saw them as shadows running past, and she heard the screams of their victims. The man standing in front of her advanced deeper into her cell, stepping onto the fallen door. Now he really seemed to tower over her small form. "Komand'r of Tamaran, sister of Koriand'r of Tamaran?" a cold voice asked. "Y…yes…" Blackfire answered, her voice cracking from lack of use. The man leaned down and extended a hand, which Blackfire took after a moment's hesitation.

Blackfire found herself extremely unsteady on her feet, and due to the lack of sunlight, flight was not an option. The man steadied her, and took her arm in his own. With his help she made her way over the door and into the corridor. He led her at a slow pace past all the roaming shadows, the screaming voices, and the fallen corpses. They came to a door and stopped, and the man spoke again, this time she heard him clearer than ever. " Komand'r, what would you do for freedom? What will you give me for opening this door?" He whispered in her ear, sending more unpleasant chills down her spine. "Will you give me your loyalty? Your life?"

Blackfire didn't understand exactly what he meant, but her lips seemed to move on their own as she heard herself respond. "I will give you my soul if it will get me out of here". "Good" was all he said before releasing her arm. She felt a soft cloth cover her eyes, and felt him tie it firmly around her head. In front of her the door opened with a long creak, and even with her eye lids shut and protected with the blindfold, the light from the other side burned with the intensity of a flame.

So here's chapter 1. I'll probably submit chapter 2 today also while I can get online. Hope you liked it. Thanks you for your reviews TAMARAN and Malaya21, I appreciate them!

-BlackxBrokenxWings