Dekka 2

Chapter 16

16. Red.

Something is different. I can't make out what for a while but something inside this cell has definitely changed. Still no light. Still no sound. Then I realise what it is that is different; it is warmer.

Up until now I haven't really been aware of the temperature so I guess it was a neutral sort of mild. Now I definitely feel warm.

It is pleasant for a while. Even in the situation I am in, I can feel my muscles react to the heat, relaxing slightly. I let myself think that maybe this is a good sign. That perhaps this is the first step towards getting out of this prison. But nothing seems to happen for what seems like ages.

And then I start to get uncomfortable. A sweat breaks out on my forehead and above my top lip. The back of my neck feels clammy. I will have to go in search of water now as I can't allow myself to become any more dehydrated.

When I make it part way around the room I begin to panic. The water bottle does not seem to be where it normally is. I crouch there, stretching out and reaching all around me.

There is nothing there!

I move forward a bit and my hand makes contact with the now familiar cylinder. This time there is not just the one bottle but two. I must have missed a whole day just laying in despair.

It is getting uncomfortably hot now. My hair is starting to stick to my forehead and sweat is starting to trickle down my back, down my ribcage. I take the top off of one of the bottles and take a long drink. It is warm, not cool and fresh like it has been up until now, but at least it is liquid.

I carry on around the room, back to my starting point. If anything it is getting even hotter. I want to lean against the door but I can feel the heat starting to radiate off it. Even the concrete of the floor and walls is getting rather warm to the touch.

If I had some sort of cover I might be able to screen myself from the surfaces but I have nothing, only the tattered remnants of my clothes.

The discomfort is increasing. I can feel my knees and the palms of my hands beginning to burn. I want to lay down. I need to lay down but there is nowhere for me to lay. I take another long drink of the water which is also getting hotter by the minute.

I am going to have to stand up so that less of my skin is in contact with the concrete. But can I? I don't know if I have anywhere near enough strength to get myself upright.

I can't do it without leaning on something. I know that but I do not know what I can lean against. The sweat is now starting to pour down my face, down my arms, down my back. I have got to make a move.

Quickly I take another gulp of water and grit my teeth. I know it is going to hurt but I reach out my left hand towards the wall. It burns and my hand automatically pulls away but I have to make myself reach out again.

The searing pain in my hand numbs me to my other pains, my other joints crying out in agony from being stretched after being cramped for so long. I am upright but I cannot remain so without keeping my left hand against the wall. I am sure that I can smell the flesh on my palm burning, melting.

With that thought comes another. A thought too horrifying to even contemplate but it is there now and will not let me go.

A thought that says that they are trying to cook me alive!

I scream. I can't help myself. I let go of the wall and down I go into nothingness once more.