Chapter 1

I blink in despair and wave my hands around me. No matter how hard I try to see anything around me or how much I try to find out where I am, the darkness becomes progressively more suffocating and crushing. My breath starts getting agitated and I close my eyes hard, unable to distinguish between the two darknesses. A gust of wind runs past the back of my head, sending shivers down my spine and freezing my bones. I shake softly and sigh, trying to calm my nerves down unsuccessfully. I turn my head to the direction where that new sensation came from and open my eyes, hoping I can see anything in the midst of this void, but I only run into the impenetrable darkness.

I tilt my head slightly when I feel another gust of wind coming from the same direction, so I start walking slowly there. 'If I can feel the wind blowing here, it means there's an exit nearby', I think about this, hasting my pace as I feel more confident. My steps sound loudly against the floor as I walk with my arms straight in front of me, creating a deafening echo surrounding me, but I ignore it, shaking my head. The wind grows stronger, but this time it's warm and embraces me like a comforting hug in the midst of this dark loneliness.

I run faster and lower my arms in an attempt to go faster, wishing with all my might I can see anything in this darkness, but I only manage to hit myself on the face as I run into something that's blocking my path towards freedom. I stumble and raise my hands to my injured skin, rubbing my nose. I frown, grunting with frustration. I raise my arms and they touch a smooth wall. I knock slightly, creating a hollow, resonating echo each time I touch it. I move my hands along the surface, trying to trail along the path saving me from this madness. My fingers bump into some tiny holes covering the lower part of the wall. I raise an eyebrow in confusion, but I decide to ignore it for the time being. I walk to the side to go around this wall, but my back collides against another wall, making my muscles clench.

I move my arms around me desperately, knocking on walls that weren't there before. My breath agitates and my heart booms against my ears, making it difficult for me to think. I take a mouthful of air and close my eyes tightly to relax, while continuing to look for an exit with the movements of my arms, but it's useless. A metallic screech rings in my ears, as the walls imprison me slowly. They start getting closer to me with a slow crackle, hungry to hear my bones crushing as they crash me.

I scream with my whole body as I start pounding against the walls. I scratch the surface with my nails, as despair drowns me more and more. I can't see anything, but the cold running down my fingers tells me my nails are bleeding due to the friction. Laughter arises over the sound of my beating heart against my ears, distracting me from the painful feeling coming from my hands. The sound distracts me and I stop screaming for a moment, clenching all my muscles. I pace around in circles, trying to find its origin, but there's nothing more than hollowness.

The walls stop with a screech, leaving me in an abysmal silence, full of unanswered questions. A cold sweat trails down my spine, freezing my blood. I know I should feel safer because the walls have stopped, but that only makes my body start shaking progressively more. My breath starts agitating as thousands of terrible thoughts suffocate me, but I try to ignore them for now. I've got to find a way out of here.

I crouch, with my knees on the floor, and start looking for any openings on the floor with my hands. I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the claustrophobia drowning me each time I inhale, trying not to lose my head. A loud thud sounds far away, making all my muscles tense up. I curl up in a ball in a corner, expecting the worst, but nothing happens. Around me, there's only overwhelming silence, making my heartbeats even more deafening.

Another thud rings, hurting my ears. I want to get away from those noises, but each time they come from different places, unable to see what causes them.

Silence.

After a moment, the same noises can be heard, followed by the same disturbing pauses, as if they wanted to remind me they're watching me. Telling me they know my every move, no matter in what corner I try to hide.

I clench my teeth tightly. My breath agitates as my eyes move frantically from one side to the other. The noises ring with increasing intensity, stalking and menacing. A metallic screech joins them, creating a disturbing chorus that drills through my ears with force. A deafening scream comes from afar, making the place go quiet. Everything goes silent, but this time, it's an awaiting silence. A silence full of threats.

A cold feeling runs down my back, making me stay completely still without knowing what to do. It's like having someone caress me with a metal rod to soothe me, to make me feel calm and trusting. I sigh heavily, not knowing how to feel, but my heart suddenly stops when a bunch of needles penetrate my skin fiercely. I let out a scream that tears my throat as I take my hands to my back. My fingers meet some sort of curved hooks grasping to my skin tightly. Streams of blood run down my skin until they drip on the floor, creating a sound reminiscing of the tics of a clock; constant and deadly.

I try to get out of the hooks, but the pain gets sharper and more penetrating with each movement I make. More metal objects dig into my skin, making me scream in pain and get dizzy. My heart pounds against my ears. I just want to lose my consciousness and succumb, but I can't stop thinking about the floor coming out of my body. The metallic screech fills the place completely. Little by little I feel the hooks rising, dragging my body along into the air. I try desperately to get away from their cold grasp, but it's pointless. With each movement I make, my skin starts tearing up and sends streams of pain to my whole body. I try to take deep mouthfuls of air as tears run down my face, unable to do anything other than stay still and suffer in silence.

Laughter floods the place again, mocking and frivolous. I look around desperately, trying to ignore the pain on my skin and the height I've reached with the hooks dragging me into the air. A gust of wind cuts through my thoughts. My heart leaps with hope with this new sensation.

'I recognize that warmth'. I look around desperately. 'Maybe that's my way out', I think gasping for air. My sight runs into two eyes watching me back, with an intense yellow glow in contrast to the darkness reigning everything. I raise my gaze. Even though those eyes are a few feet away from me, they're not at the same height, but rather higher than my body. The hooks suddenly stop rising. The laughter carries on, but it's like I couldn't hear it now, because there's nothing there except for those hypnotic eyes and me.

Without hesitating, I stretch my hand in front of me to try touching it, even though my muscles protest in pain. The yellow eyes squint slightly and that warm gust surrounds me, as if that being could control the air itself. Some steps sound strongly and those eyes get closer, without taking their gaze away from me. My heart leaps when I feel my hand touching something cold and sticky. I frown, puzzled. I didn't know what it would be like touching that magnificent being, but I wasn't expecting this. My hand gets pinched, bleeding slowly. I take it away quickly and open my eyes wide when I understand what's happening.

My heart beats hastily and sweat covers my body. I struggle with despair, trying to get off those hooks keeping me up in the air while ignoring the pain I feel. I scream with all my might, but I receive mockery and laughter as a response, followed by deafening clapping. The gust of warm wind surrounds me again, but this time it doesn't feel me with peace, but rather increasing dread that makes my breathing match the speed of my heartbeat.

I look at those yellow eyes approaching again, menacing and penetrating.

Now I understand that the warm wind comes from the maw of a blood-thirsty being.

And I'm just a hanging prey, another simple toy.