“Ugh, my head…” I groaned, slowly opening my heavy eyelids, the light of the ceiling shone directly in front of my face. My vision blurred as it adjusted to the bright light. “Where are we…?” I sat upright, quickly realizing that I was not in the cave anymore, but instead of being surrounded by rocks, where in my cabin home!
So much for heroics, why do I constantly get blacked out and is this my cabin?! Whatever the heck is wrong with me, I need to-
“Kid?…” Smith’s voice echoed in the bathroom, causing me to jolt up in fright. “W-Who is there?” I stammered, standing up and turning around.
“You do not recognize me? Its me, Smith,” he groggily stood up, rubbing his eyes as he did so. I blinked a couple times, trying to focus my bleary eyesight. “Huh? You’re alive? How?”
He shrugged his shoulders while walking towards me. “Were both alive Adam, we just passed out after the cavern collapsed on us. We must have hit our heads pretty bad, and you also got a nasty cut on your forehead,” he paused, looking down to inspect it. “How are you feeling now?”
Cut? What Cut?
I carefully touch my forehead. “I do not feel anything, just a slight pain,” a small cut. How bad could it be, it is not like it is bleeding. I sighed, relieved that it was just a minor injury. Nevertheless, the important part of all is that we are in my cabin!
How is that even possible?! This cabin, my former home, it should have already been burned to the ground already?! Something is seriously messed up here, and the more I think about it the less I understand.
Smith walked unexpectedly to nearby window, relief and joy spawn in his eyes, gluing on the familiar sight. The sun was rising high in the sky, the day was beginning. It was a beautiful morning with a clear blue sky, perfect weather to start the new day.
“Where…out! Ha ha ha!” He laughed loudly, his hands covering his mouth, trying to suppress his excitement. “This is the first time that I have seen the sunlight again…” Weeping tears of happiness, he turned to Adam, “Adam, thank God, where finally out of that hell-hole!”
I do not think where out yet because my instincts are telling me so, something about the cabin brought back to life. This is not adding up and I am not willingly to celebrate the fact that we are out of that place. “I do not think where out yet sir Smith…” I said, shaking his hand, “We are still in that place, the prison.”
“What are you talking about kid? This is the outside, look at the sun from any of these windows, it is bright and warm, it is a sunny day, this is the real world,” he replied, pointing to all the windows to show that it is indeed the real deal.
“If what you said is true, then let us try opening that door then,” I swear that we are not out of this prison. The dungeon must be tricking us, messing our minds. Because this cabin should not exist anymore, burnt to the ground by the fire.
He nodded, “Okay then. Let us do this,” he grabbed the doorknob. “It is unlocked, nice. Now, let us go outside and explore the place. It must be a very big forest, maybe there’s some kind of animals, or a village nearby, I cannot wait to see my children again!” His tone of voice is changing, becoming excited, his face full of hope and eagerness.
I know what my gut is telling me, and the sad truth that is waiting for us. “I hope you are right,” knowing already that their fate is sealed and no amount of hoping and wishing could change it. Smith opened the front door, “Oh wow, it is so open and airy, it feels like…wait a minute.”
Nothing, absolutely nothing outside of this cabin house. Only the dark abyss surrounding this home, and the endless night that surrounds the land. There was no snow, trees or anything at all. Everything was just a lie, an illusion that this place is not really here. It is all fake.
“No..no..NO!”
Smith knelt on the wooden floor, sobbing in agony and despair, clutching his head, his eyes squeezed shut. “No,” he whispered, “No, this is not happening. This is not happening!” Having already fallen onto his knees, he buried his face in his hands as he began to sob uncontrollably, unable to bear that sight before his eyes. “No, it is not possible,” he whimpered.
I had no words, nothing to say or do; only to close the door gently and sat in the nearby corner of this room, sitting still as a statue as I tried to conceive something else to do or talk about. But no words can come out of my mouth, for it is not worth it.
“Why?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, “Why did this happen to me, to us?! Why could not it be someone else instead of me, why do I deserve to experience this torment so much more than everyone else?”
My mouth could not open and speak, the hopelessness and defeat slowly seeping inside of my soul. There is else nothing I can do, and yet, I could not help but feel guilty for being useless.
“I do not know Smith…I do not know why this is happening to us,” The growing defeat in my words echoed in the empty room, “but we will find a way, somehow, to survive this nightmare and escape from this dungeon.”
“What do you mean, ‘escape?’ How? We are trapped here, it is impossible to get away. Even if we leave this cabin, we will be trapped again in some weird made reality of that bitch psyker’s mind. No, there is no way to get out and I do not even think that we can save your mother,” He said, his voice filled with denial and loss.
I shook my head, not accepting the current situation it had brought upon us, “there must be a way. Perhaps it is not the same, perhaps it is different, but remember that we must keep going, for the sake of our loved ones and ourselves. We must never give up, for it is the only thing that they are keeping us alive. Also not the same for those that are waiting back.” My confident voice filling the cold atmosphere around us.
“You are talking like a madman,” He replied before a smile crossed his lips. “Perhaps it is not madness, but it is hope. It may not be the real world, but this is still better than being dead and forgotten without ever trying,” Smith steadily stood straight up with hope and determination.
“We are still alive, our loved ones are alive, and that is what makes us who we are.” I told him, standing as well with a determined look, my hands clasped together. “And that is what gives us strength to carry on!” Smith stared at me with a surprised expression for a moment, then he laughed. “Alright, alright! That sounds good enough to me,” he finally agreed. “Now, what is the plan?”
“Ah, about that, well, I do not really have one,” smiling awkwardly through the pain, “but, lets start by looking around for something to eat and drink, then we should rest for now. After that, we should talk about a plan for getting out of here,” voicing my thoughts aloud, “that is the most logical step, is it not?”
Smith nodded, “Yeah, that is a good idea,” he responded. “But, how are we going to do all that without any supplies?”
My first thought of hearing that is the kitchen, there should be food there even if this cabin is not really my former house, “there is a kitchen just like any house would, we should check it out,” pointing towards a room that was just across from where we were. “I bet that there are some leftovers, and probably a few bottles of water, too.” I suggested walking over to the kitchen.
“Well, let us go,” he said as he followed after me. The two of us entered the kitchen area, the light coming from the bulbs on the ceilings illuminated the space nicely. There was a sink with running water next to a stove with pots and pans hanging above it. And, sitting atop a small table was a broken radio.
“A radio?” Smith commented, “what is doing here, especially in the kitchen?” He asked.
“I do not know,” I shrugged, “perhaps it came with this place?” My guesses appeared to be pretty reasonable, since this was a weird place still part of the prison or whatever it was. “Well, it is not working,” I pointed out, “so it will not help us much anyway.”
He looked at the radio, “Yeah, you are right, but it looks old,” he added. “Regardless, let eat first. Come on, we should checkout the refrigerator if there is anything else to eat and drink from,” Smith walked to the refrigerator and opened it.
“Oh, hey, this is not bad,” he exclaimed, pulling a bottle of jelly and piece of bread. “Here, give me that knife,” he gestured me to the knife that hung by the side of the counter, “were going to start eating bread with jelly,” he grinned.
“Sounds good to me,” I smiled back, grabbing the knife as I approached him, taking the knife from my hand before opening the bottle of jelly and using the said utensil to spread the jam onto the slice of two pieces of bread.
We then sat down, both of us having a seat near the windows. We ate in silence for some moments, enjoying the taste of the sweet, sour, and bitter combination of flavors. Everything around us, the atmosphere, all was silent, and the darkness outside the window was uninterrupted. It was as if the world had ceased to exist.
However, our peace was interrupted by the sounds of Lilith calling me from the broken radio at the stove, her alluring voice “Hey,” she called from the radio, “are you there?” The motherly tone sounded odd, as though she was trying to sound more like a girl than anything else. She must have known that I was here.
My face lifted with spirits of joy and comfort of hearing her voice again as I hastily stood up and approached the broken radio with a smile on my face, “mommy? mommy is that you?!” I spoke in a childish voice.
“Yes, it is me,” Lilith replied, sounding happy, “I am worried sick! Where are you sweetie?” Her voice was soft and gentle, and the emotion in it was so genuine, so heartfelt.
“I am sorry, mommy,” I apologized, “but I could not find a way out of this place,” I explained, “and now I think I am lost and trapped with Sir Smith in this weird prison!”
After mentioning his name, her tone of voice completely changed, “oh dear, my precious child, you should have brought him with you,” she grimly stated with a hint of amusement in her voice.
“What do you mean mommy? His a friend of mine,” I questioned, “his helping me escape,” I added, unsure of what to make of the sudden change of subject.
“Because his going to kill you.” Her sudden cold and venomous words caused a chill to run down my spine, resulting me to turnaround, seeing an angry and insane Smith with his fists clenched tightly as he glared at me, ready to pounce on me in a second.
“S-sir? What’s wrong?”
He gritted his teeth before speaking, eyes filled with hatred and rage as he stared at me while keeping his distance. “That bitch…you are her son, are you? It makes sense now, oh everything is starting to click,” he snarled, causing me more confusion at his change of behavior and accusation.
“I do not understand, what are you saying?” I refuse to believe that the idea of the person responsible for kidnapping us was mommy, that is impossible and outrageous to consider!
Smith took a couple of steps forward, stopping within nearness of my vicinity with his vengeful and insane eyes staring deeply into mine. “You are the reason for all this, your fault that we are all stuck in this mess. You are the one responsible for all of it,” his lips curled with disgust and hate, “it is all because of you, that is why everyone is suffering, because you are her son! LILITH!”
“L-Llith? How do you know about her?!” I took a couple of steps back as he advanced closer to me, looking for any possible chance that I would escape from him.
His maddening and vindictive look never left his face as he continued his tirade, “she is the one who did it, the mother of yours, and the cause of all our suffering, and the death of so many people! It all fucking makes since now! I know from the moment you mention a certain someone, it was her all long!”
What? Is Smith saying that Lilith was all this doing? That is a lie, complete and dubious nonsense. I will always refuse to believe that such a thing could ever happen.
“I-Impossible,” I stuttered, “what are you talking about? She did not do anything, she is not the one who kidnapped us!” Saying those words, even though it is the truth, did not help resolve this matter.
“She is the one, the real culprit, but no, that is not even half of it,” his voice turned more sinister and malicious, “but if I kill you, then perhaps I could have my revenge?” Smith immediately wrapped around my neck with his hands, squeezing tightly enough for me to feel the air escaping. “I will tear off your head and shove it down the throat of that witch, then it is over,” he whispered as his fingers tightened around my windpipe, making it harder for me to breathe.
“I-i-” Trying to speak at this state was useless, it is almost like trying to talk underwater as his grip squeezed tighter and tighter.
“DIE YOU HELLSPAWN!”
It hurts. Why does this always hurt? I tried to scream, to fight back but the horrific memory of being choked was all too vivid and fresh in my mind. My vision blurred as the pain increased in intensity.
“Please stop…” I could not finish the sentence. The feeling of the hot blood dripping down from my eyes and mouth, dripped onto the cold floor beneath me. “Please…”
Smith did not listen, he continued to squeeze until I decided to close my eyes, hoping to return into the dark and sweet oblivion of sleep, but as I opened them again…
“Huh?”
I am..back home?
Staring in the front door of my home, the sunlight from above shining brightly, beautiful snowflakes falling gently and the cold wind blowing all around me in a gentle breeze.
Did that really happen? Was everything a dream?
No, that was not a dream.
I touched my upper lip, feeling the remaining stain of blood dried there, the small cut on my forehead, then feeling my neck, where the bruises still remained from being strangled. It was all real, everything, and yet, nothing made sense of how I was just sent back home.
“What is going on?”
