"Where are we?"
"Get me out of here or I'll sue you!"
I woke up to countless screams of terror and pleas for mercy.
"This is illegal!"
"I haven't done anything!"
"Is this a joke? That's enough already!"
Extremely confused, I opened my eyes; the first thing that greeted me was a dirty stone ceiling, with moss growing in several places.
I straightened up and looked around: a hanging bed made of iron, attached to the wall, with chains of the same material securing the other end to keep it from falling.
The rest was something I had seen in some media, but had never known or come close to experiencing: a filthy, dusty prison that looked as though it had been abandoned for several generations.
A chill immediately ran through my entire body; the dampness and cold seeped into me. I was dressed in a simple shirt and pants of extremely poor quality.
I stood up, calming the goosebumps on my arms, only to feel a slight pain as I placed my feet on the floor. Not only because, due to the material, it was extremely cold, but because I had no slippers or anything like them; the hard texture and poorly maintained floor were uneven, and it hurt just to walk on it.
"What's going on?" I muttered in confusion.
I had no memory of how I had arrived at this place and didn't understand what was happening.
I walked toward the metal bars and looked outside. The view was much the same: metal cells spread throughout the place. Each cell was occupied by a person looking around and asking, confused, what was happening.
"Hey, you, looks like you woke up." A voice in front of me called out.
I glanced at him. He was a man with dirty blond hair, wearing the same clothes as me. He was leaning against the metal bars, staring at me.
"What's going on?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "No idea. I woke up a while ago. And trust me, I already screamed, banged, and cursed. It didn't do any good."
I frowned. "This can't be real… Is it some kind of social experiment?"
"If it is, they should refund my money," he replied with a dry laugh. "I didn't sign up for anything like this."
It was obvious he had no useful information, so I ignored him and searched the cell to see if there was any exit.
"Looking for a way out?" he asked.
I didn't respond.
"Don't waste your energy on that. There's no way out of this place. I already checked every stone, every corner… even tried loosening the bars. They didn't budge."
"There's always a way out," I muttered, more to convince myself than him.
"Sure," he said sarcastically. "And I'm sure a hero will come rescue us."
I kept ignoring him, but as expected, there was no exit.
From another nearby cell someone shouted, "Hey! There are cameras! They're watching us!"
"Where?" another replied in panic.
"I don't know! But this has to be some kind of sick game!"
I sat on the bed and held my face, not knowing what to do.
"So… am I going to stay here?" I muttered, dazed.
"If you know something, tell me," the blond insisted, now more serious. "Do you remember how you got here?"
I slowly shook my head. "Nothing. It's like… someone erased everything."
"Great," he replied. "Collective amnesia. This just keeps getting better."
I sighed, exhausted.
Clink.
The sound was soft, but clear.
"Did you hear that?" the blond whispered, straightening abruptly.
I turned toward the source of the sound. The metal door, firmly shut, was now slightly ajar.
"What…?"
As if in a chain reaction, shouts of joy echoed throughout the place.
"It opened!"
"The door is open!"
"We're free!"
The blond didn't move.
"I don't like this," he muttered.
"What?"
"If they wanted us locked up, they wouldn't just open it like that."
A man ran out of his cell, laughing hysterically.
"It's over! It's over!"
The blond stared at me.
"This isn't a release," he said in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Don't go out. Wait, for now," he said as he hid under the metal bed. Although he was partially visible from my angle, if someone looked from above he would be completely hidden.
The footsteps of everyone rushing out like an enraged mob grew more and more distant. It was obvious they had completely abandoned the place.
I waited, torn between going out or staying there, but eventually I decided to remain.
"?"
A strange sound was heard.
Like a distant scream.
I turned to ask him if he had heard it, but the gesture on his lips signaling me to stay silent stopped me.
Then he made another gesture, pointing to the space under the bed.
I nodded slightly and slid underneath, hiding.
Then—
"AAGGGGHHHHH!"
A bloodcurdling scream, as if someone were being tortured, echoed throughout the place.
Countless running footsteps were heard.
"Run!"
"It's coming down the hallway!"
"Don't look back!"
"Close the doors!"
"It's no use, they won't work!"
A metallic crash resounded.
CLANG!
"It's there! It's there!"
"What is that thing?!"
"It grabbed me—!"
The scream was cut off abruptly.
I covered my ears, terrified by the sudden sounds.
Screams, howls, and pleas were heard constantly. The sounds of something breaking, being torn apart, echoed through the countless cells.
Tears of terror and fear streamed down my face. I covered my mouth to keep from making a sound.
Minutes as long as hours.
And finally.
Silence.
Then… something dragging.
A wet, heavy sound.
Clank… clank…
Like slow, heavy footsteps echoing against the stone.
Someone sobbed between gasps.
"Please… please… no…" a small plea that ended as quickly as it began.
A dull noise of something breaking against the floor.
Silence again.
I felt my breathing grow irregular. My heart was pounding so hard I feared it might burst out of my chest.
Very close, in the hallway in front of our cell, something stopped.
The metallic sound was heard again.
Clink.
As if keys were softly clashing together.
The blond in front of me moved his lips very slowly, forming words.
Although I couldn't understand completely, it was enough.
"Don't make a sound," he said without actually speaking.
Then, a shadow passed beneath the crack of the door.
And it stopped.