Merald Ayson: A Short Story

Hostage

By Merald Ayson

Short Story

The smell of death, lingering as if I have been here all my life. The bleak darkness screams into a harmony of dissonance, looking me in the eye as if to tease. In a puddle of wet and pungent materials and fluids I lay motionless; I do not remember how I even got there in the first place.

My heart was rattled as I heard heavy footsteps; it was as if a giant was entering the room. The cold wind breezed through and gave me shivers down my spine, but I need not move a muscle or I may suffer the consequences. I held my breath and tried to keep calm while my heart turned into a tornado inside of me as I heard the steel toes coming closer. For the first time in my life I prayed; it was a very unexpected response

“Urghhh,” the tiny glimmer of hope slowly turning into my worst nightmare; I couldn’t even summon the strength to get up. Now that I lay face first into the stinking floor it was harder to move; rolling into one side was impossible because something big was blocking my way. On the other side felt a concrete wall, also immovable. With my final frustrated act, I tried to kick the wall as hard as I could; as expected it did not budge. I turned to my side to get better force on my kicks, one, two, three hard ones, nothing. I kicked and let out a cry of exasperation, hitting the wall until I felt numb. I felt something crumble; I gave the last one all I had and felt the small portion of the wall giving

I had no strength in me so I had to make a gamble; I tried to squeeze one foot into the hole. Success! A tear fell down my eye. With another struggle, I put my other shaking foot inside; I slowly pulled my body towards the opening in the wall. Now my breath is getting heavier and heavier as my knees got through. “Just a little bit more,” I thought to myself. I grunted as I was able to insert almost half of my body outside; the prickly wind was the most welcoming experience I have ever felt. I felt the soil beneath my cracked soles. I felt alive once more.

*THUD!* Out of nowhere, I heard the clanging of chains; the familiar disturbing heavy feet now scrambling. "AAAAAAhhhh!” I hollered on the top of my lungs as I inched my torso onto the opening. The footsteps are getting closer. With each passing second I was slowly progressing outside; I felt my ribs cracking as I stuck my arms into the opening. Then it dawned on me, I was stuck in this hell hole I made. “EEEAAAArrrrgghhhhH!” Gasping for air, the exquisite pain of my ribs was nothing compared to what would happen