Out of the Shadows // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Welcome back, readers! This is the beginning of Part Two for Out of the Shadows. Part Two is much heavier emotionally and includes mature themes. I hope everyone reads with caution and enjoys! Love you all, KISSES

*Warning: This chapter contains scenes of torture, deals with mental health crises and has heavy emotions.*

A cold ocean spray hit me in the face. The sounds of the waves smacking against the rocky shore pierced my ears, echoing through my brain. I could smell the brine of the ocean.

I finally opened my eyes.

A daunting edifice stood before me. A tall stone tower reaching to the sky. There were no windows. Dark, shadowy figures were flying around the spire in a haphazard manner, their tattered black robes billowing out behind them. Dementors.

We had arrived. Azkaban Prison.

The fortress loomed above me, foreboding and solid. Frighteningly awaiting me.

Suddenly, a scream rent the air, piercing and shrill, from inside the stronghold, chilling me to the bone.

"MOVE, prisoner." I felt a sharp jab in my back, I assumed from a wand, and my feet began to walk forward. I couldn't feel them. I was having an out of body experience. I was in a state of disbelief. In shock.

We reached a door with many mechanisms. I wasn't paying any attention. I was thinking about Sebastian. Trying to memorize every freckle on his face. His plump, pink lips. His soft, feathery hair...

"New prisoner?" A voice behind a slot in the door asked.

"Yes, we've brought Bennett." The middle wizard stated and handed the arrest parchment through the slot.

The mechanisms began to move and swirl, the unmistakable sounds of unlocking taking over my brain.

Once the door appeared and opened, I was prodded in the back again, like a cow being herded. I could barely lift my face to absorb my surroundings. I just went where they told me, did as they said. I couldn't function on any other level at this point.

I was ushered through a hallway, past some desks and into a cold room with a chair. Just a spindly wooden chair. And the door shut behind me. Closing me in darkness. There seemed to be very little, or no light at all, inside Azkaban. The hallways very little, the rooms, none. I sat in the chair assuming that's what they wanted me to do. My hands were still bound behind me and the enchanted ropes burned faintly. If I tried to move or struggle in the slightest, a shock was sent through my body, so I gingerly sat.

My head fell forward. Sitting in the darkness. I ran through my happiest memories, trying to hold tightly to them, knowing that what I'd read about dementors, I wouldn't have them for long... I started to sob. I sat there weeping. Alone in the darkness, probably for the rest of my life.

--

I was jarred awake by the door scraping open. I had no idea how long I had been in this room but at some point, I had drifted to sleep from crying. My head pounded and my eyes were sore.

"Time to move. Get up."

I got slowly to my feet and started to move toward the light of the open door. I was grabbed forcefully by the elbows and ushered to another room. The door shut, closing me and a female Azkaban guard in together. This room, in contrast, was brightly lit. A square on the floor. A table with clothing on it.

"Stand in the square." The guard instructed. So, I did.

"Do not attempt to move from the square. There will be severe consequences. It is enchanted." I felt a sudden release as the ropes fell away from my arms. They looked raw and tender and were very sore. "Remove your clothing."