Leo Bardier Chronicles: A New Beginning

The dripping of water onto the stone floor woke me from my restless sleep. I opened my eyes, slowly, and viewed the same walls and bars that I had for quite some time now. Since there were no windows to see night and day, I was unsure of how long I had been imprisoned, and relied on the notion that I was fed twice a day. In that case, I may have been held captive for well over five months now.

I lay still, listening to the dripping, conscious of my breathing. A feeling of despair loomed just on the borders of my sanity. I held this back with all my will, hoping that something different would happen from the monotonous days of feeding time and torture. Oh, yes, I was tortured. Several times they made me scream from the agonies they afflicted me. Many times I lost my voice, or could scream no more, from my pain and weakness. Of course they would torture me for my crime. I found it heinous, myself. Although, at times I felt that there was nothing I could have done to stop. I was in love, after all.

My attention quickly went to the footsteps of a guard passing by. He eyed me wearily. Why? I don’t know. I was too weak even to attempt to walk towards the door, let alone try to escape. I stared back at him, a look of calm on my face. He spit into my cell, the spittle barely missing where I lay. No movement came from me. The guard moved on, thankfully not here to take me into the torture chamber. Not this time. Instead, he opened the cell next to mine. The squeaking of the rusted door echoed throughout the passageway. I soon heard the feeble please of my fellow inmate as he was dragged from his own cell, and forced to go with the guard. I was just glad that it wasn’t me.

The guard dragged the poor soul past my cell, and I could see him well. By his looks, I guessed that he was quite old. His terror struck me as he gazed back, screaming at me. His cries for help were ill placed to be given to another prisoner. There was nothing I could do, nor had I the strength to do anything. I looked on as they disappeared down the passage, my heart beating like a horse in full run.

I looked around my room again, gasping for air, as their sounds slowly faded away. Must get out. Must get out! Any attempt of mine to move only lead to great agony. My wounds from the last “session” I had were still present. The despair finally took hold. I screamed aloud, and went into sobbing. I repeated this for several hours, unsure what effect it would have, but always hoping. There must be a way out of here…

I was startled from sleep by the loud banging the guard made. I looked over at my door, and saw him standing there with my food. “Feeding time, enjoy.” He said, sarcastically. He shoved the gruel, and the metal tray skidded towards my bed. A brand new day in captivity. I reached down from my mat, and placed my hand into the mess and scooped a handful. Tentatively, I placed it into my mouth, quickly swallowing and gasping for air. The same taste every time.

WORK IN PROGRESS