The Deathless Trilogy

1.34. Hold On

It's only a few minutes after I come to that I realize I'm actually awake. I'm surrounded in complete darkness.

"Daniel?" I whisper, but there's no response. "Anyone?" Still nothing. There isn't even a purring of a tank beneath me. I must be on land somewhere.

I blink a few times to clear the black away from my vision, but it doesn't work. Then a thought creeps up my spine: Maybe I'm blind. The Captain punched me pretty hard, but not hard enough to blind me. Right?

I resort to my sense of touch, holding my hands out in front of me to catch my bearings. I feel something cold, hard, and jagged beneath my palms. It feels like rough concrete: A wall.

I run my hands all around it until I realize that I'm in a small, square room. I feel a break in the concrete. It's cooler and smoother, metal. Maybe this is a door. I begin pounding against the metal. "Hey," I yell, and the echo slaps my eardrums. "I'm in here! Open up!" I stop to listen for movement, but there's nothing.

Then, from beneath a crack in what I'm know convinced is a door, I see a light turn on. It seeps through the bottom of the wall, and even though it's subtle, the change in light still stings my eyes. I'm not blind, I think. I lie down on the floor to peer under the crack, but all I can see is an empty hall with another door at its end.

I stand up and look around to see if the glow can help me spot anything in the room. Nothing. Just floor, wall, and ceiling. And me. Even in the soft light, I can see that I'm barefoot, and that the skin that covers my feet is burned red. I feel my skin tighten around my body. I must be burned all over.

I feel my face, the raw flesh stretching across my features, and then my hair: Half is burnt away, and the other half is a matted mess on my shoulder.

I have no idea where I am, so I reach for the necklace Declan gave me. If I can send a pulse, they'll come and get me. But it's gone. I'm not even sure I'm wearing the Deathless uniform anymore, since it would probably feel crisp and burnt too. Whatever I'm wearing is new and light, probably so that it won't rub against my charred skin.

A slit in the door opens, flooding the room with light, and I can see someone throw a few slices of bread in, along with a note. I pounce on the bread, quickly stuffing it into my face. Then I find the note. I hold it up to the light seeping in from the hall. It reads, "Hold on."

Then, the light turns off, and, once again, I am left alone in complete darkness.

Where the hell am I?

THE END

To be continued in They Are Monsters...