Trapped. Caged. Dark. Empty. Lost.

Where am I? How did I get here? What happened to me?

The last thing I remembered was falling asleep at my friend Cass’s house. I was on the couch that week because my apartment building was being fumigated and Cass let me stay until I was able to go back. I had been so, so tired from the day’s events of shopping and work at the office that I could hardly stay awake as my head hit the pillow.

When I had woken up, I thought I had gone blind. I was encompassed in an endless blanket of black, and I felt as if I had somehow fallen into a void and hit the bottom. I had started to panic and hyperventilate. I had always been so claustrophobic. I had laid there, in the cold, smooth ground, curled into a hall and trying to catch my breath as my eyes zipped around trying to find any kind of light or bearings. I managed to crawl around on my hands and knees, and I discovered walls around me. The room was maybe a hundred square feet. It was hard to estimate, but it seemed like a pretty large room.

It was empty. No belongings, no furniture, no switches or thing on the walls. I was totally lost in the dark with nothing but my thoughts. My mind had begun to run rapid as I sat there rocking back and forth for comfort. Was I drugged and kidnapped? Did Cass know I was gone? Was Cass responsible for this? Surely not! Cass was my friend and cared about me. Does my family know? How long have I been here? Will I ever see the light of day again?!

At that petrifying thought, I jumped up to my feet and began pounding my fists against the walls, which were seemingly a metallic material. I shouted and screamed until my throat was raw and I couldn’t feel my hands. I begged to be let out, to be free. I promised my captors or whoever had put me here whatever they wanted. I vowed to never tell anyone what happened, or even my own limbs. Maybe they were some kind of sick monsters like the puppet from “Saw” and would make me chop off my limbs for a chance of escape. Maybe they would make me commit horrible crimes for my freedom or the safety of my loved ones. Maybe they had my family and friends here and they were experiencing the same thing! I began pounding at the walls again in a renewed frantic frenzy.

After what felt like forever, I couldn’t lift my fists any longer and dropped to the ground in exhaustion and fear. I began to weep uncontrollably, wreaking my body in sobs. I was going to die here. I was going to slowly rot in here until I breathed my last breath.

Breath. Air. That’s it! There has to be an air vent around here somewhere! I have to be getting air in here somehow! I began searching the walls again, a sense of purpose finally allowing me to hold on to any sanity I had left. When my search ended in fruitless anger, I began jumping up to see if I could reach the ceiling. I could! Just barely brushing my fingers on the top, but it was something. I began to jump around to continue my search, and finally I found something! A metal grate roughly two feet wide on the ceiling!

There were some small screws keeping it closed, but maybe I could shove my nails into the groves and undo them. Giving my arms a quick break, I began to leap up with all my strength to fit my nails into the grooves. My nail broke. Heaving, I tried once more on my other nail and the screw moved a smidge. Success! I continued working on the screw for who knows how long. My fingers ached and my legs were being to feel like jelly as the minutes ticked by. But I had to get out of this dark, empty room before I lost what sanity I had remaining. Then, a glorious sound echoed throughout the room. The screw had finally become loose enough to plummet from the grate and hit the floor. Yes! I’m just one screw closer to possibly getting out of here!

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you, my dear friend.” A cold voice chuckled.