Crying in the Darkness

Darren woke up a few hours later in a dark, dungeon-like room. His head pounded and his vision was blurred. He looked around the damp cell groggily, not recalling what happened to get him here. The only source of light was a small torch in the corner, flickering away. Darren rubbed at his temples trying to remember what had happened, where he was, why he was here for that mat He He leaned up against the stone wall and hung his head. Slowly but surely the events of earlier came flooding back into his memory. Colby, dinner, The General...then darkness, and now he was here. He remembered the lustful way The General had looked at his body, again it sent shivers down his spine. What were they going to do to him?

Darren had been sitting there for hours until he heard his first sign of life, other than the rats that were scurrying about. His captor was laughing as he walked down the dimly lit stairs into the dungeon. Darren's head jerked up, the torch flickering it's light across his tear-streaked face.

"Wake up boy!" The General,s booming voice commanded as he lit a lamp brightening the room thoroughly. "Get up! It's time to go!" Darren recoiled further into the wall, trying to hide from The General's cold voice.

"G-go where?" He asked tentatively. The General ignored his question, and continued to unlock the small cell Darren was in.

"I said get UP BOY!" He shouted, the veins in his temple bulging slightly. Darren flinched at the harshness in the other man's voice.

"But...where are we going?" Darren asked still sitting on the ground, trembling slightly. The General's face was turning a bright red.

"LISTEN TO ME YOU LITTLE BASTARD! YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A PIECE OF DIRT! YOU ARE MY SLAVE YOU WILL DO AS I SAY DO YOU UNDERSTAND! AND YOU NEVER ADRESS THOSE OF A HIGHER STATUS THEN YOU!" Darren blinked as The General spat out these harsh truths. "NOW GET UP!" But Darren was to confused and frightened to move so he stayed put. The General threw open the prison door and charged over to where Darren was. "DO AS I SAY BOY!" He shouted as he wrenched Darren up by his hair. This caused Darren to cry out in pain "First lesson, boy. Never cry out. I see you have a lot to learn. I will *thoroughly* enjoy *teaching* you." He sneered, dragging Darren out of the damp cell.

That night Darren's terrified screams could be heard all through the dungeons as he was beaten.

Over time Darren's screams became fewer and softer...until there were none at all. He never spoke. His eyes, which were once shimmering blue, had lost their sparkle and were now a dull gray showing no sign of the vibrant life that used to be contained there. He scarcely ate, even the meager amount of food he was given, if you could call it food. Every night he cried himself to sleep in the dark dungeon. His eyes were always red and swollen and the straw he slept on was stained with his blood. The only thing that kept him sane was his wife. Thinking, that perhaps one day, he would return to her bright smiling face, that maybe, once this was all over, he could go back to her and things would go back to how they used to be. Until one day, as he was being whipped, her face, beautiful yet blurry, faded away as well.

He would never see her again, he was going to die, die in pain and sorrow, alone...

TBC...