From darkness to light

It's all just a blur, my head is spinning and my mouth is stone dry. I don’t remember a thing that happened, besides that my mum was shouting my name. I don’t even know where I am, its rather cold so it must be night time or maybe I'm in a northern country. My watch is gone and there are no windows. I'm sitting in a naked room, shivering. My eyes are red and puffy-probably from crying- and my legs are as stiff as a metal rod, I am almost certain I have been paralysed. 

Someone came in today to bring me food (plus a bucket and some of my possessions). He was short and stout and had weirdly coloured hair. He wore earrings of all sorts and he stank of stale sweat. I tried asking him questions but he just replied with a useless grunt and walked out. After I ate my mashed-up food, I felt a rise of nausea and went to throw up. That food was vile. Now, I'm back to sitting on the floor doing absolutely nothing besides for thinking about why I am here and what the heck happened to me? My thoughts don’t seem to be doing me any good so I decide to take a walk around the room. That’s when I see it...

The noise was piercing. I could still hear the ringing stabbing through my ears. 

Painful.

I was blown off my feet and tossed across the room like a bag of rubbish. I am lucky I wasn’t hurt badly, just a few bumps and bruises here and there. Must be some kind of miraculous happening. I stand up with much difficulty and brush off some debris that came with the disaster. The whole room is a pigsty-actually worse, more like as if a bulldozer had decided to take a stroll through the room, with everything strewn all over the room and nothing looking particularly familiar. I don’t know where to start. The stench is dreadful-due to the overturn of the bucket I have been using as a toilet. It is making me gag and is slowing my work process. Right, I have to seriously get on with tidying up this place. I collect all my possessions.

As I am gathering everything together, someone interrupts me with a bullet to my forearm. The searing pain shoots across my arm as I double over and fall to the floor. Someone grabs me from the back and shoves me into what feels like a sack, because all of a sudden, I am drowned in darkness. A sense of fear and claustrophobia overcome me. I don’t even scream for help because I know it will be no use. I am shaking all over and I feel like the end is near.

 There is no way out. I feel my eyelids drooping and I fall into a deep slumber. 

I wake up to the sound of my own strangled screams, as if my throat is being ripped out my body. I don’t know where I am. Where have they taken me? What are they doing to me? I am no longer in the sack. It feels like I am lying on some sort of platform. I reach my hands out and feel cold metal. I try lifting myself up but it seems like they have tied me down. Why would they do that? Am I some kind of traitor? I hear murmured talking and strain my ears to listen. All I hear is snippets of conversation.

“..... kill …. James …. too late...”

My head starts spinning. Did I hear correctly? How do they even know my name? Who are these people? As if reading my mind one of the people come over to me and start speaking. He has a heavy European accent and he breathes right on top of me as he speaks. His breath smells sickly sweet and it makes me feel ten times worse. He has long, black greasy hair which hangs over his face like curtains being drawn. I can't make out a word he is saying and he just carries on as if I understand. I open my mouth to speak but his big hairy hand just clamps it closed. I give up trying. He stops speaking and he is looking at me as if expecting an answer. I didn’t even realise he asked a question. This time he must let me speak if he is waiting for an answer. I take this opportunity to ask my questions.

“Who are you?” I ask, trying to hide the fear I possess.

He does not answer me but rather menacingly he asks a question which is probably the one he asked before.

“I asked you a question and I demand an answer. Where is the money?” his voice sends shivers down my spine.

“I....d..d...d..don't kn..kn... kn... know what you are talking about!” I stutter in fear.

“Don’t give me any of that nonsense and tell me where it is. Otherwise, I will rip your throat out”. 

The last sentence stuns me and I am no longer able to talk. I am shocked into silence. I feel sick and I want to scream, however, my voice does not obey. The man is still standing over me demanding an answer. I decide I am not going to give in to this horrible man. Although I am full of fear I still rise over it and find my confidence. 

“I can not tell you where the money is because I do not know what you are talking about. Please let me go now”!

“Yes you do know what I am talking about”, the man replies angrily. You have thirty seconds to give me an answer.

“30,29,28,27……10,9…3,2”

As he is about to get to one there is a huge bang! The noise is thunderous and my ears start ringing in pain. A headache starts to form and I close my eyes as weakness arouses. I don’t care anymore and I just hope beyond all hopes that when I wake up I will find myself amongst people I hope to see. As I start to fall into a slumber I feel a searing pain in my right arm. The pain is so intense I can’t even cry. I look down and I see a pool of blood surrounding my arm. The bullet has been aimed! Then I realise I was just hallucinating. The pain in my arm was just the people untying me. I am so grateful this time has finally come. My life can now continue.