I didn't scream anymore.
I learned that the hard way.
The first time I screamed, they laughed.
Loud, cruel laughter that echoed in the empty space like I was some kind of joke.
The second time, they hit me. Hard enough to make my ears ring, hard enough that I tasted blood.
By the third time…
I understood.
Silence was safer.
Now, the only sound that left me was the uneven rhythm of my breathing, shaky and weak, barely holding together.
My wrists burned as they dragged me across the cold ground, the rough surface scraping against my skin. I didn't even try to fight anymore. Fighting only made it worse. Everything made it worse.
My body felt like it didn't belong to me. Every inch of it ached — deep, dull pain mixed with sharp bursts that came whenever they pulled too hard or moved too fast.
I didn't know how long I had been here.
Hours… maybe days.
Time had blurred into something meaningless. There was no morning, no night. Just darkness, voices, and pain.
"Move."
The voice cut through the silence, rough and impatient.
I tried to obey. I really did.
But my legs trembled beneath me, too weak to carry my weight. The moment I tried to stand properly, my knees buckled, and I hit the ground again with a dull thud.
A soft gasp escaped me before I could stop it.
My mistake.
Pain came instantly.
A hand tangled into my hair, yanking my head back so violently that a sharp cry almost tore from my throat. My scalp burned, my vision spinning as I was forced to look up.
"Don't test me."
His voice was low, dangerous.
I clenched my teeth, forcing the sound back down, forcing the tears away.
Don't cry.
Don't react.
Just survive.
That was all that mattered now.
Surviving.
My feet dragged uselessly behind me as they pulled me forward again. I focused on that — on the movement, on the ground beneath me, on anything that could keep my mind from drifting too far into fear.
Fear made everything worse.
The air outside felt different.
Colder.
Sharper.
We had moved.
Somewhere else.
I didn't recognize anything. Not that I expected to.
Everything about this place felt wrong — empty, distant, like I had been pulled out of the world I knew and thrown into something else entirely.
Something darker.
The sound of metal sliding made my heart jump.
A van.
The door creaked open slowly, the noise loud in the quiet night.
I froze.
Even before I could see inside, I knew…
That was meant for me.
"Get in."
I didn't move.
Not because I didn't understand.
But because something deep inside me resisted. Something small, stubborn, and desperate.
If I got in…
There was no going back.
"I said—"
I didn't wait for him to finish.
A shove came from behind, hard enough to send me stumbling forward.
My body slammed against the edge of the van before I was pushed inside, collapsing onto the cold metal floor.
Pain exploded through me, sharp and blinding.
But I stayed quiet.
I had learned.
The door slammed shut behind me with a heavy sound that echoed in the confined space.
Darkness swallowed everything.
I couldn't see them anymore.
But I could hear them.
Muffled voices.
Movement.
The sound of footsteps shifting just outside.
Then silence.
The engine roared to life, the vibration running through the floor beneath me.
We were moving.
My chest tightened as panic clawed its way up, threatening to break through everything I had been holding back.
No.
No screaming.
No crying.
Not anymore.
I curled slightly on the floor, my body aching in protest, my hands still bound, my breathing shallow.
Think.
I needed to think.
But every thought led to the same place —
Where were they taking me?
And worse…
Why?
I squeezed my eyes shut, as if that could block everything out.
Memories tried to surface — flashes of something normal, something safe. But they felt distant now, like they belonged to someone else.
That life…
It was gone.
A sudden stop jolted my body forward, dragging a soft sound from my throat before I could stop it.
The engine cut off.
Silence again.
Heavy.
Thick.
Suffocating.
Footsteps approached.
My heart started pounding, louder this time, harder.
The door slid open.
Light flooded in, blinding me instantly.
I turned my head away, squeezing my eyes shut as pain shot through them.
"Out."
I didn't move fast enough.
Hands grabbed me again — rough, unkind, pulling me out like I weighed nothing. My feet barely touched the ground before I was dragged forward.
I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust, trying to see where I was.
But everything still felt like a blur.
Shapes. Shadows. Movement.
And then…
Something changed.
The air shifted.
The men dragging me slowed.
Not stopped…
But slowed.
Like something — or someone — was there.
Watching.
Waiting.
A chill ran down my spine, sharper than anything I had felt before.
Worse than pain.
Worse than fear.
Because this…
This felt different.
Dangerous in a way I couldn't explain.
I didn't know why…
But in that moment, with my body weak and my mind barely holding together…
One thought echoed louder than everything else.
Whoever is here…
He's worse.