stoneheart ; 𝐭. 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤 , 𝟐

01 | new scenery

november 2018

HER EARS WERE ringing when she finally came to. Her eyes opened, but it didn't do much good, as her surroundings were pitch black, giving no clue as to where she was. It was completely dark, and the high-pitched ringing in her ears kept her from hearing anything else.

As she became more aware of her body, she felt a numb tingling in her legs that resulted from loss of circulation. Her legs had been folded underneath her awkwardly, and now that she was awake, they felt weak, uncomfortable, and useless. The same went for one of her hands, the hand that she used to push herself off of the cold, hard ground that jostled beneath her touch. 

She didn't know much, but she knew that this was wrong. Everything about it was wrong, it was not supposed to be happening. But alas, she was not in control. She was in the dark, in a cage that moved, transporting her—whoever she was—to a new location. 

Her hands reached out in front of her, trying any way and every way she could to get her bearings. Touching a cool substance beneath her, she felt the vibrations from the floor rise into her arms and shoulders. We're on the ground, she concluded, but we're moving. 

In front of her, she discovered a broken barrier that, as she stretched her arms and felt around her, extended in a hard, barred cage that surrounded her. Above her head, only a few feet allowed her to stretch her limbs. 

With a sharp pang in her gut, she put the clues together. She was trapped. Locked in a cage, transported like an animal. Helpless. 

The darkness prevented her from seeing anything else. It was disorienting, this feeling of being suspended in an endless oblivion. There was nothing tethering her to her sanity, nothing but the jostling trip she was undoubtedly on. She had no idea if she was in a box, in a van, in a trunk, on a train. She had no idea where she was, or how big this space was. The darkness was stifling, a claustrophobic force that threatened to overtake her. 

It was awhile until she found her voice. She'd plainly forgotten she even had one. Pulling her nearly-feeling legs underneath her to sit as tall as she could, she reached with her hands to grab onto the bars that kept her trapped. When she opened her mouth the first time, no words came out. Just a pathetic, wheezing sound that echoed in the silence. She tried again. "Hey," she managed, her voice dry and hoarse from lack of use. "Hey, w-where am I?"

"Hey, be quiet."

She hadn't been expecting a response. Despite her hope that there was someone here with her, the actual response had startled her, jolting her heart and setting it at a blistering pace. The voice was close, too close. She couldn't see the speaker, but they were there. The uncertainty of anything outside of her cage frightened her, and she quickly scrambled back from the bars, hitting her back on the far side. 

With the bars biting into her spine, she swallowed roughly. "Where are you taking me?" She whimpered. "W-who are you?"

This time, a different voice. Another man, she could tell, but a stranger's voice, all the same. "Shut the traitorous bitch up, dude."

There was a rustling sound as someone stood up. Her hands tensed on the floor of her cage, her legs folded up towards her chest. In the safety of her cage, she struggled to feel a shred of comfort.

A blinding light flicked on, too fast for her eyes to adjust. Next thing she knew, a dark object was coming down at her head, colliding with her face, making the darkness complete—

—————

"Why'd you have to hit her that hard? She weighs a ton."