Status: Resurrected Story!
Set Me Free
.02
The room I was in was dark, and smelt faintly of rust. The only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat. It pounded rapidly through my veins down to every single capillary, for audible evidence of my terror. I was convinced the beat would give me away. Even the thought of it sent fear shooting through my nerves, my heart rate increased even more. The door burst open, and he entered like a bad dream. Before I comprehended it, blows were raining down on my body. The pain was no worse compared to the reality that my own father was the one beating me. As if he was ashamed of me, he took out all his angst on my bruised and battered body. The beating was in snapshots, I had no time to take in what was happening, there was impact, and pain, the occasional burst of light, but nothing else. My father turned into The Man, the dark room turned to the dining hall of the asylum, in the fist was a knife. The man swung upward, and just as the handle contacted my skull, my eyes flew open.
The girl woke with a start. She sat up in bed, and her pupils quickly dilated to the darkness. Asylums were not a friendly place; the daily treatment only brought back old and bitter memories.
The body is a shell to protect the mind, and even the strongest will crack eventually. Now it was the wrong way, her body was entrapping her mind. Everyday became a memory; each memory became a nightmare to haunt her sleep. Nowhere could she turn to be safe of the monster of her mind. It raged to the core of her, tearing her to pieces. No longer did she have control of her emotions. When they set off, they were dynamite to her surroundings. That was how she ended up here. Uncontrollable and unquenchable, she was an outcast. But here, she belonged as much as any other. They were together in being alone, and unwanted.
The hours passed, and the girl simply laid there. She was a corpse in her bed, enveloped in darkness. Each night it went like this, she was just waiting to be swallowed by the dark. Eventually light appeared on the horizon, her window was proof that the dark of night would not blind her forever.
Familiar footsteps approached her door. On the clock, every morning, The Man went by and unlocked the door. It let the residents know that there was thirty minutes until breakfast was served. There were no variations of routines in the asylum. Occasionally, the girl missed change. She could remember in the outside world, no day ever repeated itself. Time had no meaning here since nothing differed. If not today, tomorrow then, they had eternity after all to complete their thoughts. At least until their life ran out.
The occupants of the asylum had their one leisure. There was a room at the end of the hall on the second floor full of books. Most of them were classics Mark Twain and such, but there was also a mix of fantasy and science fiction. Today was the girl’s day to look in the room. Along with nine other residents, she wandered through the shelves at will. The man sat in a corner, watching it all. His eyes darted from person to person, his furtive expression never changing. Despite this, the atmosphere in the room was content and the girl found she could easily forget about him and the others. In her mind, she was alone in the room, just her and hundreds of potential adventures to be had.
On this day, the book intriguing her was called Ilse Witch. She sat at the end of the row with her feet tucked under her, and quickly got lost in the plot. Across the row, the man sat with his eyes glued to her. His expression had changed, but none of the other residents noticed.
The book in her hands was a completely different world. The girl was enjoying the way the words took over her mind. No longer did she live in a dark asylum plagued by her own thoughts. She was on an adventure full of magic. But nothing good will ever last. On chapter four, a cloud passed between her and the sun shining in the book.
Emotions dragged her out of the fantasy, now she was back in the asylum. The cloud however, was still there. Darkness was pulling at her soul, successfully pulling her down. She was alone, the room took on a hellish atmosphere and panic overwhelmed her. Oxygen was sucked from her lungs leaving her gasping with tears streaming down her face. A rough hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
That same hand flashed in front of her face and she felt a stinging pain on her cheek. Her vision cleared, and she was out in the hallway with the man standing in front of her. For a moment, there was something in her expression she couldn’t quite discern. Was it concern? Before she recognized it the expression was gone, almost as if had never been there.
“You need to calm down, and get a hold of yourself,” he said angrily. The face before her was flitting between the man and her father, panic was still pulsing through her and her cheek was burning from the impact. The vision passed and his face was clear again. She gasped, inhaling fresh air to clear her mind. The moment passed, and tears dried on her face. The man was waiting patiently for her to calm herself. It confused her, why was he doing this? Normally he would kick her ass to her room and leave her in there, but he was actually being humane.
The man was bringing her back to her room. Once inside, she heard the all too familiar click of the lock. She had lost the luxury of a book. Two more hours ‘til dinner, she thought. Two hours of sitting in the silence trying not to let her thoughts overwhelm her. The darkness pulled at her again. She closed her eyes tightly, and there was a roaring in her head. Regrets and rueful memories began pouring down on her. Emptiness seared through her soul as well as fear and pain. A tear leaked out from the corner of her eye, and then they all came down.
The girl woke with a start. She sat up in bed, and her pupils quickly dilated to the darkness. Asylums were not a friendly place; the daily treatment only brought back old and bitter memories.
The body is a shell to protect the mind, and even the strongest will crack eventually. Now it was the wrong way, her body was entrapping her mind. Everyday became a memory; each memory became a nightmare to haunt her sleep. Nowhere could she turn to be safe of the monster of her mind. It raged to the core of her, tearing her to pieces. No longer did she have control of her emotions. When they set off, they were dynamite to her surroundings. That was how she ended up here. Uncontrollable and unquenchable, she was an outcast. But here, she belonged as much as any other. They were together in being alone, and unwanted.
The hours passed, and the girl simply laid there. She was a corpse in her bed, enveloped in darkness. Each night it went like this, she was just waiting to be swallowed by the dark. Eventually light appeared on the horizon, her window was proof that the dark of night would not blind her forever.
Familiar footsteps approached her door. On the clock, every morning, The Man went by and unlocked the door. It let the residents know that there was thirty minutes until breakfast was served. There were no variations of routines in the asylum. Occasionally, the girl missed change. She could remember in the outside world, no day ever repeated itself. Time had no meaning here since nothing differed. If not today, tomorrow then, they had eternity after all to complete their thoughts. At least until their life ran out.
The occupants of the asylum had their one leisure. There was a room at the end of the hall on the second floor full of books. Most of them were classics Mark Twain and such, but there was also a mix of fantasy and science fiction. Today was the girl’s day to look in the room. Along with nine other residents, she wandered through the shelves at will. The man sat in a corner, watching it all. His eyes darted from person to person, his furtive expression never changing. Despite this, the atmosphere in the room was content and the girl found she could easily forget about him and the others. In her mind, she was alone in the room, just her and hundreds of potential adventures to be had.
On this day, the book intriguing her was called Ilse Witch. She sat at the end of the row with her feet tucked under her, and quickly got lost in the plot. Across the row, the man sat with his eyes glued to her. His expression had changed, but none of the other residents noticed.
The book in her hands was a completely different world. The girl was enjoying the way the words took over her mind. No longer did she live in a dark asylum plagued by her own thoughts. She was on an adventure full of magic. But nothing good will ever last. On chapter four, a cloud passed between her and the sun shining in the book.
Emotions dragged her out of the fantasy, now she was back in the asylum. The cloud however, was still there. Darkness was pulling at her soul, successfully pulling her down. She was alone, the room took on a hellish atmosphere and panic overwhelmed her. Oxygen was sucked from her lungs leaving her gasping with tears streaming down her face. A rough hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
That same hand flashed in front of her face and she felt a stinging pain on her cheek. Her vision cleared, and she was out in the hallway with the man standing in front of her. For a moment, there was something in her expression she couldn’t quite discern. Was it concern? Before she recognized it the expression was gone, almost as if had never been there.
“You need to calm down, and get a hold of yourself,” he said angrily. The face before her was flitting between the man and her father, panic was still pulsing through her and her cheek was burning from the impact. The vision passed and his face was clear again. She gasped, inhaling fresh air to clear her mind. The moment passed, and tears dried on her face. The man was waiting patiently for her to calm herself. It confused her, why was he doing this? Normally he would kick her ass to her room and leave her in there, but he was actually being humane.
The man was bringing her back to her room. Once inside, she heard the all too familiar click of the lock. She had lost the luxury of a book. Two more hours ‘til dinner, she thought. Two hours of sitting in the silence trying not to let her thoughts overwhelm her. The darkness pulled at her again. She closed her eyes tightly, and there was a roaring in her head. Regrets and rueful memories began pouring down on her. Emptiness seared through her soul as well as fear and pain. A tear leaked out from the corner of her eye, and then they all came down.