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A sharp pain went straight into my eyes and I immediately squinted. The darkness was too much to comprehend, so thick that it felt like my overgrown nails could penetrate its flesh.

The atmosphere here was different, it was more silent than the last one. They had put me in an isolated room alone and taken the fold off my eyes. They brought me here to teach me a lesson.

“This one is too stubborn, once we finish teaching her a lesson, she’ll behave well and keep mute like the others” the voice said before giving me a scalding blow on my mouth. 

Liquid dripped off of the spot he had hit me, it definitely wasn’t saliva, this liquid tasted and smelled like iron. It was blood.

I groaned. 

Another blow, then another, then another to my stomach, then another to my left ear, then another to my stomach again and one heavy one to my left eye. 

All these blows coming from a creature that I couldn’t see. The people here are heartless.

“Just let me go… home” I whispered amid my heavy breathes.

“Throw me into the water, please” I begged.

There was silence.

Where they actually considering to grant my wish?

A bucket of water was brought out from God knows where and he forcefully dipped my head inside it.

I tried fighting him off but the longer my head stayed inside the water, the weaker I became. The water painfully went through my nose, it was excruciating. I tried to make out the word “please” but it was just me making the sounds of rumbling waters.

He let me go.

“Do you still want to be thrown into the water, you bitch?” The shouted.

I shook my head implying a “No”

“Good.” That was all he said.

As I lay there panting heavily, battered and bruised, the silence weighed heavily upon me, broken only by the sound of my ragged breaths. I couldn't see my assailant, but their presence loomed over me like a shadow.

"Why are you doing this to us?" I finally managed to croak out, my voice barely above a whisper.

The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity before a voice, cold and devoid of empathy, replied, "You ask too many questions. Just do as you're told, and maybe we'll let you live."

The threat in their words sent shivers down my spine, but I couldn't bring myself to stay silent. "But why? What have we done to deserve this?" I pleaded, desperation creeping into my voice.

There was a pause, as if they were considering my question, before they spoke again, their voice dripping with malice, "You're nothing but pawns in a much larger game. And we always get what we want."

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. We were just pieces on a chessboard, moved around at the whims of our captors. But I refused to accept that fate.

"We won't be your playthings forever," I vowed, defiance burning within me despite the pain. “I’ll find a way to escape, and when i do, you'll regret ever crossing me.” Deep down I knew I was throwing empty threats but I just had to say something, I had to fight back. I’m not one to leave without a fight.

There was no response, only the sound of footsteps fading into the distance as my tormentor left me alone in the darkness once again. But despite the fear and uncertainty that gripped my heart, every glimmer of hope fading into extinction. We may be trapped for now, but as long as we had each other, we still had a fighting chance. Right?

As hours turned into days, the darkness enveloped me like a suffocating shroud, each passing moment heavier than the last. I remained a beacon of strength amidst our shared despair, my slow breath a reminder that I wasn’t not entirely lost. Days blurred into nights, marked only by the rhythm of my breaths echoing off the cold walls.

Despite the weight of our confinement, I refused to succumb to despair. My resilience an anchor, a testament to the indomitable spirit that burned within me. Even as the days stretched on, my resolve remained unbroken, a flicker of hope in the encroaching darkness. I was going to leave this place, I’m going to escape, taking the girls with me. This was my plan.

And in those fleeting moments of respite, when my tormentor's footsteps echoed elsewhere, I found solace in my own company. With whispered words and silent prayers, and every passing moment, a longing for home, for my freedom. Though the shadows threatened to consume me, my eyes blazed with a defiant light, a beacon of hope in the depths of despair.