My eyes shot open with such speed that everything was blurred. The blurriness faded to darkness, nay, it was not darkness. It was pure nothing. The space was infinite, never ending, holding no tangible form. Any rays of light that could penetrate this ominous world would send joyous sensations up my spine. As my mind once again started to drift away, I was awakened from this stifling nothingness by an instant loss of breath. My lungs could not expand and my throat began to close as I struggled to give life sustaining oxygen to my blood. Almost as quick as the lights had disappeared, all colors began to drift back into my vision.

Confused and bewildered, again, my body was put through peril. Still struggling for air, my body felt as if it was being ripped apart. The sensation of a cool, sharp blade plunging into my abdomen caused me to involuntarily scream out over and over; this was surely the death of me. The pain, the terror... the total and absolute agony. What was to become of me? I had no clue; I could not even see my surroundings, all I could see was flashes of bright color.

Finally, the blows stopped; however the tears kept flowing. As my breathing returned to normal, I thought this could be the end of this torture; oh how wrong I was.

As I lay on this hard surface, a warm, sticky sensation overcame my abdomen and I started to feel faint. I could hear the liquid dripping onto the floor, and I could smell iron as well as taste it; it was my blood. Realizing what was going on, the tears began to flow from my eyes once more. Before I could even get hold of myself, my ears started to ring and my body went rigid. A tingling sensation pulsed up my spine and I started to convulse, the taste of iron engulfing my mouth, a foamy substance collecting at the corners of my mouth. Through the ringing I could hear some shouts and footsteps coming towards me. As quickly as they began, they ceased. Still not being able to see, I was afraid that my attacker was standing over me; my fears came true. Two strong hands grabbed my shoulders and ripped me off the ground. I felt myself flying through the air, and then crashed to the now apparently concrete floor. My head met the floor before the rest of my body and I cried out in pain. My side was then met with a hard, swift kick; I went silent.

Awaiting my fate, the infamous tears began to flow once more; although I wasn't sure that they had ever stopped. The same two hands wrapped around my wrists and jerked my arms backwards; twisting and wringing them in the most painful way possible. My attackers tied my wrists together with a plastic substance, or maybe it was nylon rope; no... it was a zip tie. Next, my ankles were secured by another zip tie, this time this man, at least I presumed it was a man, was more gentle.

I heard the tapping of shoes move away from me and I knew I was safe from any more damage for now. My mind became fuzzy and my partial vision began to once more fade to black.

<><><><><><><><>

The early morning cold was what awoke me from my slumber. As my eyes fluttered open, I was surprised to be met with full vision. Carefully, I surveyed my surroundings. I was in an empty warehouse with rough, weathered concrete floors and brown, metal walls. I was exhausted, weak, and in pain. Slowly I rolled over onto my back where I discovered that the zip ties that had bound my wrists and ankles together had been removed. Slowly I sat up reluctantly and observed the damage that had been done to my body. First, I observed my arms and legs which were covered with bruises and various gashes inflicted by the blade, and handle of a knife. Then, I decided to look at where most of the damage had been done. Slowly, I turned my gaze to my abdomen and screamed. I had been stabbed repeatedly by my attacker, leaving my once blue T-Shirt completely red from the blood that had been freely flowing from my wounds; no wonder I was so weak... it was a miracle I was still alive, and for that I was thankful. I raised my head to my surroundings once more to discover where the sunlight could be coming from.

I found that a mid-sized industrial shipment door of the warehouse had been left open. A sensation of joy pulsed through my veins. With all the strength I could possible collect in my beaten and battered body, I began to drag myself towards the door. Each movement was a painful struggle, but I did it; I made it to my freedom. Using the sides of the door to pick myself up from the ground, I turned back to face my dungeon. In the center of the big, open space, a pool of blood had formed. A trail of blood where I had pulled myself along the floor started at that spot, and ended at my feet. This warehouse was surely my torture chamber; for a night, a day, a week, a month... I will never know. All I know is that pool of blood could have been my death bed; but no, I was strong, I pulled through. I made it; because as the darkness fades to black, you don't give up. You keep pushing forward to find that little bit of light in the darkness that could save your life; that is what saved mine.