From the Catacombs

(Content Warning: Violence and Gore)

I open my bloodshot eyes and watch the shadows dance from the flickering torches hanging on the cold, dripping bricks. My legs and buttocks are numb, but I can’t deny the annoying sensation coming from my right hallux. I see a pair of tiny red eyes looking up at me. My mind screams in silent terror as a piece of flesh is torn from just below my curved toenail. The rats are unrelenting in their quest for flesh.

My long tenure in this malicious prison has eroded the cobblestone floor. Thick iron chains keep me anchored to the ground, and in this madness of delirium, not one soul can hear my screams. The moisture seeps into my skin, and words from my captors echo through my disillusioned conscience, “You will beg for death in the end.”

For the past two years, my body has been rotting away, or at least, I think it’s been that long. One tends to lose track of time when your freedom has been shackled. It’s hard to discern reality from illusion. The mind creates walls to shield itself from unnecessary damage but only after your psyche is shredded and hanging by a thread. Oh, the irony.

I rub my lanky fingers down the ridges of my shirtless sternum until I reach the white, tattered rags tied around my bony hips. There, I find my salvation. A forgotten photograph the wretches missed during their extensive searches upon my arrival here. Seeing the brittle paper in the roaming light makes my lips curl upward. Ah…my beautiful Reyna. 

Her exquisite cocoa eyes pierce my soul, and her soft red lips ignite a fire in my heart. Those tender sparks of love have kept my lungs expanding. I extend my trembling index finger and stroke her long black hair. Her skin—a sparkling diamond in the darkness.

I remember the first time I laid eyes on my beautiful Reyna. She sat beside me in English Literature when I attended the University of Boston. I dropped my pencil and she graciously dipped down to grab it for me. When our eyes met, I knew she was the one. The peace I felt told my soul there was no other woman for me. It was like coming home to a warm hearth. My universe exploded into a trillion shining stars, and the best part…she felt it, too.

Our wedding was filled with family, friends, and happiness. We said our personal vows and cried a river of tears. When it rained at the reception, we couldn’t wait to dance in the deluge. As the cool droplets soaked our clothes and flowed down our bodies, we were reborn as one. 

Alas, the conflicts of a raging war in the Middle East pulled me away from Reyna when I was drafted by the military. We had our hopes set on having a baby, but those plans had to be postponed. Of course, Reyna supported me all the way, but I didn’t want to leave her side.

The training I had to endure was difficult, but I found solace in Reyna’s love letters. I would receive one every week, and I, in turn, would send my love through the wire. We longed for the chaos to be over so we could resume our lives.

It was mid-winter when the letters stopped through no fault of our own. I was placed on a secret mission with a group of twelve soldiers to infiltrate the enemy stronghold to seize top-secret files on a nuclear weapon. Everything was going smoothly until Captain Ziggy tripped an alarm on our way out of the complex, and needless to say, we were captured.

I can imagine the pain and worry my dearest Reyna had to deal with because I felt it, too. How many oceans has she cried?

Sergeant Radagon tortured us for days and wanted to know why we were there and who we were working for. I wouldn’t say a word. Not even when they threatened to cut my tongue out. Thank goodness it didn’t come to that, but I fear my time is running out. One by one, the cries of my fellow comrades grew silent until I was the last man standing.

A second pair of elongated teeth biting my peripheral nerve remind me of the horrific reality I find myself in. I shuffle my feet and watch the mangy rodents scatter. I hear the weary sound of boots stomping toward me and take a deep, shuddering breath. A robust man with great authority steps into my view, holding a brown bowl and a lit torch. It’s Sergeant Radagon. My dinner has arrived.

“Hungry, Godwyn? You’ll need your strength to endure the pain to come because I’m not finished with you yet. My questions will be answered!”

With that, the sweaty man tosses the bowl at me. The smell of molded oatmeal tickles my nostrils and makes my nose hairs retreat in defeat. My skin crawls like a thousand insects searching for a new home. As Radagon leaves with a deep chuckle, I cup my hands and scoop what I can. The taste is horrible, but it will give me the energy to do what I must.

I wait for darkness to come and know this from the stampede above my head. The guards are more active during the day. At night, they’re all but absent. I glance at Reyna’s picture and remember the first time we kissed.

We were walking at the Pittsburgh Zoo when Reyna stumbled on a stray rock. I caught her before she hit the ground, and as our eyes met, we pressed our lips together. The planet’s axis spun loose and found a new home in us. Those were happy times, and my soul aches for more precious memories, but there will be time for that later. Right now, I have work to do. I put her picture back into the rags they call my clothes and wait….

A sudden tickle disturbs my sleeping toes. The rats are back.

I watch tiny red eyes and long whiskers flicker around my feet. When I feel teeth stab my skin, I lean forward and snatch the intruder with my bare hands. I hold the rat to the flickering light and wince at the terrified squeals.

“Well, my little friend, I’m sorry about this, but there is no other way.”

Crack!

I snap the rat’s neck and let the blood paint the shackles around my wrists. I’ve grown quite skinny, so all I needed was a little lubrication. After tossing the rodent to the side, I work my hands back and forth until I’m free from the bonds. I gently lay the links on the floor and stand. My joints pop like snapping twigs, but I ignore the pain.

My muscles forgot what it was like to stand. The chains kept me anchored to the floor with little slack where I had to sleep in my own filth. The pain feels great. It reminds me I’m alive.

In the corner of my eye, I see a rumbling mound growing in the dark corner. I reach to the wall and grab a torch. Casting a glow, I see a hundred rats eating their fallen friend. They don’t appreciate the light and hiss at me.

“You nasty fiends!”

I use the uneven bricks in the wall as a crutch until I reach a narrow corner. I realize now more than ever that this catacomb is a maze. The light reveals a horde of rats in every direction. How can there be so many?

The smell of rotting flesh mixed with rancid sewage makes me vomit. I have my answer. The rodents are quick to clean up the mess, and I use the opportunity to move further into the abyss.

About halfway down the corridor, the jugular veins in my neck throb in protest. The confined space spins to mock me, and my heart drops like a bowling ball. I close my eyes and reach for Reyna’s photo. Through the slits of my peripheral view, I see my angel. My mind ventures back to the first time we made love.

We were nervous. The fact that we were saving ourselves for that moment still amazes me. I remember the warm blanket of peace and understanding that enveloped us. Our fears were eroded away, and even though we had no clue about what we were doing, our instincts and passions led the way. As we became one, that journey met a happy climatic ending and marked the beginning of our sexual revolution. It was all about trust in ourselves and each other.

I place Reyna’s picture back into my loincloth and smile. Through uncertain circumstances, we always find a way to keep going. We need to believe in ourselves. I must get back to her!

With renewed motivation, I place one foot in front of the other and wobble through the wavy light.

The rodents hound my every step. As long as the flame burns bright, the little monsters keep their distance. I weave through the dark labyrinth only to find more rats chewing on the carcasses of people who would never be identified. I wonder if any of them were my fellow soldiers.

Rounding another bin, I hear a clanking sound and quickly discover a bald man anchored to the wall with boils all over his skin. “P-please…help me…” 

I narrow my eyes and ask, “What’s wrong with you? Are you diseased?”

“No…I need the light to shine upon my skin once more, and all my ailments will be cured!”

I wave my torch up and down his flabby skin and see a spider burrow into one of the pustules. I take a few steps back and grab my heart. “Good heavens! What madness is this?!”

In my hasty retreat, I rush by another torch and inadvertently erase the flame. It was the only light shining on the plagued man. With the fire gone, I hear his screams first.

“NO! Get them off me…HELP!”  

The sound of a hundred scampering paws makes me cringe. As the rats eat the man’s tarnished flesh, I turn away and take no pleasure in this madness. My journey must continue!

I whisk around another corner and see a dangling man with a hollow chest. I extend the torch and gasp. It’s Captain Ziggy!

He looks like he was left to starve to death. I poke his arm, and an army of hungry rats storm out from the hole in his sternum. I withdraw quickly and fumble for Reyna’s picture. I need her inspiration now more than ever!

The memory of buying our house washes over my trembling mind. That small two-story shack needed a lot of work, and I didn’t want to bother with it. Reyna told me the foundations were strong, and that’s all that mattered. We worked hard to rebuild everything and made that place a home. It was a castle fitting for a king and queen. Faith, love, determination, hard work, and willpower were all we needed.

I replace the keepsake with renewed vigor, bite my lower lip, and trudge on.

After what seems like an endless journey, I stop when I see a staircase down a long, curvy hallway bathed in light.

It’s the exit!

A dozen skeleton bodies line the walls like Halloween decorations, and I wonder what wicked fate they must have encountered to deserve deaths like that. I take out Reyna’s picture once more and kiss it.

“My sweet angel…if I can reach the light…if I can escape this hellish prison…I will be in your arms again! Please…give me the strength!”

A distant memory slaps my face. Reyna and I went rock climbing in the Appalachian Mountains, and I remember coming to a gap I couldn’t cross. Reyna, being the fearless warrior, tossed her rope across the chasm and swung across. She urged me to do the same, which I did, but it took a lot of coaxing. “You can do it, my love!”

I harnessed her encouragement and made it in the end. Nothing is impossible as long as you have love and courage!

As I step forward, I see thousands of rats in the darkness. A sea of hungry ruby eyes yearning for me to make a wrong move. I glance at my torch and see the cherry embers growing dull. I don’t think the flames will carry me through this nightmare. If only Reyna was here to toss me a rope….

“You can do it, my love!”

Reyna’s words ignite a new fire in my gut. The time for thinking is over. If I toss the torch and run for the bright staircase, I might make it out of here.

“Here goes nothing. I will get back to you, my sweet Reyna!”

I throw the torch to the middle of the hallway and watch the rats scatter like flies. My legs scream in holy agony as I run for the staircase. I don’t look at the menacing creatures, but my ears can’t deny their screeching protests.

My eyes stay locked on the prize ahead, and as I reach the top of the staircase, the light stabs my eyes like a million suns. The toxic fumes of nicotine smoke pierce my lungs like a sharp spear. 

“Well, where do you think you’re going?! Have you come to give me some answers?”

I know the voice well. It belongs to the man who killed my fellow soldiers— Sergeant Radagon. I keep my mouth shut, and while I can’t see much, I can tell his face is flushed like a red tomato. Wait…it’s not a tomato…it’s a cigarette! 

“Ah…now I will burn out your eyes for trying to escape!”

I shuffle my feet to the side as the hot cherry comes closer to my pupils and hear a raging ruckus as Radagon trips on my blistered feet and crashes down the stairs. He lands in the middle of the hallway where my dying torch screams its last breath. The red eyes are ever watchful, and the next thing I hear is a blood-curdling shriek of horror as the rats eat him alive.  

I pull out Reyna’s picture and smile because I know my beloved wife is waiting for me with open arms. As the sound of a thousand chomping mouths echo in the abyss, I stumble out from the catacombs and into the light.