Cosmo Prison - Book 1: The Edge of Earth

Chapter 06

Chapter 06 

*Debbie Dong*

The first thing I notice is pain. It starts as a tiny thread at the base of my skull, throbbing and growing until it has taken over the entire back of my head. I have no idea where I am, what I’m doing, or how I got here; I can’t feel anything other than the web of pain threatening to take off with my sanity. In fact, I’m not even sure if I’m conscious. Am I dreaming?

Only one way to find out. I move my limbs slightly, testing them. So, I’m not paralyzed -- that’s progress. I let out a low groan and try to sit up. Immediately, my headache intensifies into a dozen sledgehammers pounding barbed nails into my brain with every heartbeat. I can’t bear it any more and collapse, the rest of my body too numb to feel the impact.

Okay, so moving my head hurts. Who's surprised?

I abandon my attempts at sitting up and instead try to focus my eyes. My vision is spotted with alternating black and supernova-bright patches, but after some staring I'm able to make out some blurry generalities. Once I can more or less see, I notice a high, arching ceiling accompanied by drab walls of gray stone. The ground is comprised of shards of a blue glass-like material and sparsely covered with metallic dust.

After a while, my headache ebbs to a subtle, dull throb, and I'm finally functional. I take not a moment's hesitation in exploring my new premises, but I'm soon disappointed to find that my feet have been shackled to heavy metal chains, which in turn are solidly fastened to the wall. Nevertheless, I pick myself up and off the ground, determined to make the most out of my oh-so-generous eight feet of chain. I walk as far as the chains allow, refusing to let their weight hinder me.

Out of the corner of my peripheral vision, I spot something appear about twelve feet away from me. I creep towards it. At first, it seems to be a door, maybe fifteen feet tall or so, looming high above my head, hovering in the middle of nowhere. But, as I get closer, I realize that it’s more of a doorway instead of an actual door. It’s like a floating chasm, a big mass of darkness radiating malevolence.

Cautiously, I step closer, tensing up in anticipation of a sudden attack.

However, it’s not a physical being that assaults me. As the distance between me and the doorway dwindles to fifteen feet, ten feet, five feet, I become aware of a strange sound coming from the shadowy veil that shrouds the mysterious doorway.

When I'm close enough, I realize that they aren't just sounds. They're words.

Debbie.

Debbie.

You left him behind.

I stiffen. There is only one "him" that the door could be talking about.

"I didn't leave him! Something took me away!"

Would you have him die?

Suddenly, vivid images crowd into my mind's eye. Of Leo. Of him drowning in a flooded road, falling off a jagged cliff into the depths of a churning ocean below, being speared through the gut by a faceless monster, and so much more.

Or, perhaps, tortured?

The images morph into nightmares straight out of a horror film. Leo tied to a chair and slowly cut by razor sharp ropes, Leo having his skin melted in a pool of acid... my ears are full of his screams.

"Debbie! Help me! Please!"

I squeeze my eyes shut and clamp my palms over my ears, but it doesn't block out anything.