Rips and Chains

I'm chained to a rough stone wall, not stone blocks but solid like the wall of a cave. The room I'm in is round, feels rough-cut (except the floor,) and is poorly lit from holes near the ceiling.

Realizing this means I'm in a bad predicament, I pull on the shackles to see if they're solid. They are, and pulling on them hurts the raw skin on my wrists and the raw muscles in my back and shoulders. I'm not getting out of this with brute force. I can hear movement, and I look around (which hurts my overworked neck) to see that the whole room, which is round, is bordered with people chained to the wall just like me. We have wrist and ankle shackles with a length of chain attached to each, so that we can step about 3 feet from the wall, but none of us can escape.

 I look at my neighbor's wrists to see that the lock is covered, so that we can't even try to pick it if we find something to stick in there. She pulls away from me like I'm diseased.

Before I can say anything, the one empty space opens, and someone strides in. He's dressed in street clothes, but it's hard to see much else about him because the light is so dim. He walks around the room slowly, sniffing at the prisoners.

The sight of that sends chills down my spine. I have no idea why he's doing that, but it strikes me as primal and predatory, and I get a sense of deadly strength from him. When he gets closer to me, I can see that he is savoring the scent of each person before passing to the next, and each prisoner he sniffs looks horrified at his closeness, then incredibly relieved as he passes by.

When he gets to me, he does that thing cats do when they really like a smell. His lips part a bit more than half an inch, and he breathes in and out slowly through both his nose and mouth at the same time, looking a bit drunk. I can see his teeth now. His canines are long, and sharply pointed.

I realize there's a vampire standing in front of me, and he likes the way I smell. He's going to bite me, and it's going to hurt. He's going to bleed me to death, and that's going to hurt. The last thing I'm ever going to feel is pain and fear. My stomach cramps and lurches, and I fight the impulse to try to run, knowing that the vampire is a predator, and running will be a trigger. I'm actually focused on clinging to however many seconds I can of not dying in pain before he attacks.

The vampire steps in, and it feels like a warm blanket has been placed over me. I try to pull energy, but there is none. I try to zap him, but nothing happens. It almost feels like I've been drugged, and I can't focus well enough to use any of my usual tricks. The vampire's lips are so close to my neck I can feel his breath on me. He's breathing heavily, and his fingertips touch my waist. My heart is pounding really hard, and I can't breathe. I'm so terrified I'm sure I'm going to lose control and try to run anyway. Tears are streaming down my face, and I feel cold all over. My skin crawls as the vampire's fingers slide around to my back and grab hold of my shirt in an almost passionate manner, pressing me into an embrace. I feel those sharp teeth grazing my skin, and then there is a loud voice above us shouting, "No! Not that one. She's off limits."

The vampire lets me go and springs backward to the middle of the room, suddenly looking like a dog that had its chain yanked and got yelled at for barking at the wrong person. He turns a hungry, lustful stare at me that turns my blood to ice, then darts across the room. There's a sound like biting into an apple, and someone I can't see screams. The scream is cut off, and I can hear others in the room sobbing the same way I am. I'm flooded with relief at not being bitten, but also with guilt over feeling that way when it means someone else would die instead. The horror of the situation floods my senses, almost cutting off every other feeling.

Unable to use energy or get out of the chains, I know there's nothing I can do to help. I turn away, looking at the person on my left. I reach to try to at least offer the comfort of human contact, and she pulls away from me again, telling me it's not fair. I'm only here to get scared into doing what they want, while the rest of them are here to feed the monster. Confusion hits me hard enough that the other feelings are eclipsed by it.

I woke from this feeling cold with terror, and totally confused. It's been about an hour, and I still can't think of it without chills. I'm terrified of vampires. If it happens again, I'm going to focus on me and everyone else nearby smelling yucky and see what happens.

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