So, as the dates go, It has been over a month since I've posted last. Still not much to update you on, except I have chosen next quarters classes. If all goes well, I will be full time, taking 4 classes!! 3 photo classes and one elective - Math....Dun dun dunnnnnn! But, I am happy and still doing well in school :-)
So, in this quarters class menu, I have an English class and in said English class I had to write a narrative essay. I kind of liked how it turned out, so I thought I would share. I have to warn you readers, it is a bit graphic and I blanked out while writing the last half. Enjoy!!
The Endless Dream
Shimmering
waves of sunlight dance through the windows to land on my face, awakening me
from my dreams. What was it I was just dreaming about? I flutter my eyelids
open, trying to adjust to the light. There are no curtains on my windows to
dull the brilliance of the morning sun. I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling
and ponder the day that awaits me.
“What
day is it today?” I wonder to myself, blinking as my eyes adjust.
I
pinch my eyes shut to try to remember. Dimly I am aware of a throbbing in my
head that feels like a mortar and pestle working away at my skull and I sense
it is only going to get worst. Slowly I open my eyes again, and turn my head
away from the window. On the far wall, painted white as the first winters snow,
I see my inspirational poster, half-hazardly taped at the corners, resembling
something you would see in a teenagers bedroom or a college students dorm. It
is a picture of a tiger stripped cat, dangling from a tree branch with the
words ‘Hang in There’ boldly typed above. I blink, trying to recall where I
acquired such a simple piece of art, if you can call it that, and roll my head
to stare back at the ceiling.
The
little bumps and ridges of the popcorn ceiling thankfully absorb some of the
glare from the unruly sun that has penetrated my room. They look like little
mountains, capped with snow; here and there, some water spots from a roof leak
in the past make small brown and gold rings, giving the illusion of dirt to my
snow covered mountains.
The
throbbing in my head gains intensity and I clamp my eyes shut to block out the
light. I try to remember my breathing practices the doctors taught me to
control my migraines. I ease my tension so I am no longer pinching my eyes
shut, but merely resting them behind the thin barrier of my eyelids. Breathing
deeply, I take in as much air as my lungs will hold and let the unwanted
portion of oxygen out in a slow, steady stream, counting down from four. I
repeat this exercise until I am no longer aware of the thrumming in my head,
but in-tuned to my every breath, coming in and going out. Gradually, I begin to
fall back to sleep.
Making
my way down the dimly lit hallway, I am cautious not to brush the wall with any
part of my body. The slightest sound of my clothing scrapping the walls would
alert anyone on the other side of them, or someone at the end of the hall. The
Glock 9mm, as black as night with a dull finish so as not to catch the light,
is confidently secured in my hands, cocked and with the safety switched off. My
finger rests against the side of the trigger, ready at a moments notice to
slide over it and pull.
I
find the door I have been searching for; the only door painted red, faded over
time, with chips of paint peeled in some areas to reveal the once deep blue of
the original door. I breathe deeply. I press my ear against the door, holding
my breath so as not to make a sound, and listen. I can hear movement on the
other side. I wait, listening for what seems an eternity, listening for the
indication that lets me know that I have finally found what and whom I have
been searching for; and it comes. A mans voice, deep and melodic; soothing away
any worries the other occupant might be experiencing, if she is there. I grit
my teeth, stifle a growl and keep listening, barely daring to move.
Finally,
I hear it, the soft sobbing of a woman, a girl. I need to be sure. I press my
ear a little harder against the door, ever so slightly, as if I am trying to
meld my ear into the wood. The man’s voice assaults my ears once more, louder
then before. I can hear him trying to comfort the girl, cooing to her, trying
to reassure her that everything will be ok. Her sudden onslaught of tears is
like a thousand daggers in my ears. I wrench my head away from the door as
quickly as I dare, still trying not to make any noise. My body trembles like an
earthquake with rage, the gun tightly clenched in my hands, now raised and
pointing at the door. I take one more deep breath, step, and throw every pound
of muscle, every ounce of rage, behind the foot that blasts open the door and…
Shimmering
waves of sunlight dance through the windows to land on my face, awakening me
from my dreams. What was it I was just dreaming about? I flutter my eyelids
open, trying to adjust to the light. There are no curtains on my windows to
dull the brilliance of the afternoon sun. I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling
and ponder the day that awaits me. I snap my eyes shut from a sharp pain that
felt like glass shattering in my head, each jagged edge pressing dangerously
against my nerves. Instinctively, I reach to rub at my temples.
“I
can’t reach,” I gasp, realizing to my sudden horror that my hands are bound.
I
lie in bed, perfectly still, eyes wide and staring at the ceiling, my mind
frantically searching for explanations. I try to raise my arm again, this time
feeling for what is holding me back. The soft velvety caress against my wrist
tells me that I am not shackled in cuffs, but what; rope? It doesn’t feel like
rope; the pressure is to evenly dispersed, not cutting off any circulation. I
try to sit up to get a better look, and my breath catches as I realize that my
ankles are just as tightly bound as my wrists.
Panic
starts to sink in as I realize just how vulnerable of a state I am in. I twist
my head to the left, and then the right, trying to get a glimpse of what is
holding me. The light is so bright. My breaths come in ragged gasps and I
finally see that I am held to a bed, a hospital bed, with brown leather straps,
sturdy enough to hold a middleweight-wrestling champion. My eyes nearly pop out
of my skull and I am vaguely aware of the noise in my room. It takes me a
moment to realize that it is coming from me.
The
wails and shrieks that emote from my mouth are cutting enough to make an Eskimos
blood run cold. I jerk and trash against my bonds, howling in rage and in
terror until my wrists and ankles feel as though they are going to tear clean
off my body. I feel the sticky, warmth of blood coating my skin beneath the
bonds where I tear my flesh. I cry and fling tears from my face as I thrash my
head back and forth, trying desperately to get free.
Vaguely
I am aware of someone entering my room. I hear voices, male voices. I thrash
even more violently then before, screaming obscenities that not even the
roughest trucker could have thought of; spitting and gnashing my teeth at them,
threatening that if they lay one finger on me I would tear them limb from limb
and make it so that not even the best forensic scientist could tell who they
were, even by their teeth. Through my screams and wails, I catch pieces of what
the men are saying.
“…need
some back-up” comes a young mans unsteady voice.
“I
already called to have four more nurses come to this room,” said the other man
in a deep, commanding voice that spoke with years of experience.
I
continued with my panicked screeches of terror and rage, flinging myself
against the bonds that held me with all the strength I could summon. Neither my
bed nor my bonds moved. I was hopelessly trapped. I stopped my thrashing,
arched my back and let loose a bone-curdling wail of utter defeat as the tears
streamed down my face in an endless waterfall.
The
door to my room, my cell, burst open and four figures in white coats bustled
in, the last pushing a polished silver trey. Through the distorted lens of my
eyes, I could tell that three out of the four new comers are female, all with
hard, un-blinking eyes; some filled with contempt and some filled with sorrow.
The man that spoke earlier barked orders to everyone and before I knew what was
happening there was a person at every corner of my bed, each holding a part of
my body down; one for each ankle, one for each wrist and one to hold my head. I
stared up into the face of my captor, with eyes like daggers.
I
steal my eyes away from his face as a small pinch in my left arm distracts me. As
the warmth in my arm spreads, my screams slowly start to subside and become
sobs, briefly interrupted for my need to draw in more breath. My sobs turned
into quiet hick-ups and my eyelids flutter on the verge of collapse. As my
hick-ups subside and my breathing slowly regained a semblance of normality, my
eyes seal themselves from the dismay of my present reality and I slip back into
unconsciousness.
I
find the door I have been searching for; the only door painted red, faded over
time, with chips of paint peeled in some areas to reveal the once deep blue of
the original door. I breathe deeply. I take a step, and throw every pound of
muscle, every ounce of rage, behind the foot the blast that opens the door and
throw myself inside, rolling to avoid a possible attack. I slam my back against
a wall, gun pointed straight ahead, frantically looking from left to right. I
try to spot perpetrator while simultaneously trying to locate the girl to make
sure she is okay.
I
inch toward the end of the wall and peek around the corner, and see nothing.
For a moment that feels like a lifetime, I sit with my back huddled against the
wall, collecting my wits.
“There
isn’t anymore time,” I quietly tell myself. “You’ve made yourself plainly
obvious. You need to act now.”
A
brief prayer and a quick exercise to embody calm, I stand, stick the gun around
the corner and follow. I move quickly through the apartment, looking left and
right, hoping against all odds that I find the man before he finds me. At the
end of a short hallway, I spot a shadow glide across the bottom gap of a door. I
step into the hallway, hoping the wood flooring doesn’t betray my presence. A
sudden sense of vertigo overwhelms me and I almost crumble to my knees. Just
barely able to catch myself on a doorknob, I haul my treacherous legs straight
and try to regain my composure. The hall no longer seems like a short hall, but
an endless cavern; no more hope of reaching the light, the more steps I take,
the further the light gets from my grasp.
I
swallow to keep my stomach from climbing my throat, take a quick breath and
plunge down the hallway, abandoning fear. The only thing that matters is what
is on the other side of that door. After what seems an eon, I am finally at the
door. I grab the knob. It feels strange; like ice and fire, like the winds of a
hurricane and the crashing waves of the ocean. I war with myself, trying to
turn the knob to let me in, to let me save the poor girl, to take down the
perpetrator. Beads of sweat start to form on my brow, and my mouth twists
itself into a snarl as the doorknob turns.
The
door swings open as if on brand new, recently oiled hinges to reveal a girl,
head down, mouth gagged, arms and legs bound. The strips of cloth holding her
arms and legs are covered in a deep red and brown, the red of blood. I stand
still in the doorway, frozen, unable to move, unable to breathe. Finally, with
a last ditch effort, I force myself to enter the room, one foot, then the other.
It feels like trying to walk through syrup. My legs don’t want to move. Finally,
it takes every ounce of strength left in my body to reach the girl in the
chair. I lift her head to peer into her face. My breath catches in my throat
and my eyes stare, bulging from their sockets in unfathomable horror as I look
at the girls face, as I look at my face.