The Shadows

01 | With New Eyes

Hey lovies! Welcome to my story. I'm starting to add music to the beginning of each chapters. I like a ton of different genre's so you'll get a variety! I'm just posting which one I felt vibed best with the chapter and got my brain going. It's usually the music I listen to while writing. Enjoy! xo

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I lay on the dirty uncomfortable cot. It was barely filled with cotton. Basically lying on the base board. No pillow. No comfort. I stare at the ceiling above me. Stained. Slowly taking my eyes down the wall, across the room. The blood that stained these walls. Literally and figuratively. I see a glimpse of myself in the cracked mirror above the dripping sink. Despite the state of this room, the mirror wasn't cracked when I got here. Yep, you guessed it. I smashed it myself. I couldn't stand seeing myself in this state. My eyes shift to the floor. I lay in thought...

Dreading when they return...

The questions I ask myself on an hourly basis "How long can my body take this?", "How long can I mentally handle this?"

How could this happen to me...

I sit in darkness. My eyes closed. The desperation to take my mind away from this place. Although I had been laying here for hours; I was still constantly tired. As if I could sleep for months. Exhaustion soon takes over again. I fall deep in slumber.

My restless sleep soon interupted. A new presence in the room. I wake up. Keeping my eyes closed. I learned early on, it's best to pretend slumber. The chances of them leaving me alone were higher.

"Aryah... Wake up"

"Please"

The unknown presence sighs deeply.

"You can't stay here. It's the only chance you'll have to leave. I've left the door unlocked. You have a ten minute time span to escape. You have to go. NOW!"

Their voice was stern but a whisper. I hear heavy footsteps leave the room. At the same time the light switches on. My eyes burst open. Scanning the room, I sit up.

"What the hell was that?" I think.

Looking around. I feel the energy shift. Was that real? Or a dream? Someone must have been here? I can feel it. I've been having a lot of those dreams lately. The ones where you wake up thinking something has changed for the better or worse. Confusion fills me.

"What the hell!?" I think.

It's as if my brain is trying to calm my anxiety with thoughts of hope.

"I'm going insane."

Sadly, I'm still living this nightmare. That voice? Familiar. Told me to leave? Doubt in my mind. That wasn't real. I shake the thought off. I drag myself over to the sink to wash my face. Placing both hands on the sink edge. I take a deep breath through my nose. Inhaling the musty smell that consumes this room. I glance up, catching a look at myself in the mirror. How pathetic I look. Bags under my eyes, sunken in, too skinny. Sickly really. My hair has lost all of it's life, frizzy and dry. The colour has dulled. My skin abnormally pale, a strange tint of grey. Lack of nutrition I guess. The white cotton dress that I haven't changed since I arrived. Blood and dirt stained. I scoff, disgusted.

"This is exactly why I smashed you." I spit my words towards the mirror.

I reach up, punching the mirror once again. A few pieces fall to the ground. Leaving another print of my blood on the mirror. I look to the center to see my blood print from the last time I punched it. I look down at my hands to see my knuckles roughed up. I shrug it off. I didn't care. I already have bruises and scrapes from the guards. What's one more? I turn on the sink and cup water in my hands, throwing it into my face. My body shivers to the response of the water. I look down, allowing the water to drip from my face. Staring as the water whirlpools down the drain. Wishing I could flow down with it.