Tag, You're It

Chapter 1

I couldn't remember how I'd ended up where I was, but I knew I didn't belong there.

There was sand beneath me; it stuck to my skin as though it wanted to grind me away into nothing. I didn't want to move. I was scared to breathe, afraid I'd set something off.

I had been almost killed twice in the two days I had been in here; once with a knife falling from the ceiling, the other from a spike that shot up through the sand below my feet.

Why would someone attempt to kill me if I belonged there?

They wouldn't. Therefore, I was in danger.

I knew, at some point, I'd have to make the ascent to the top of this cell that I was trapped in, but to do so was a scary thought. It was true that the ceiling was the only way out, I'd checked and rechecked a million times, but what if something came out of the walls? What if the world ended and this was the only place I'd be safe? What if that outside world was my safety? I closed my eyes.

My name is Austen Grey. I'd been in this cell for two days, but someone was looking for me. I would get out.

This was pointless.

I stood, suddenly determined to make it to the top of this cursed cell. Cement walls surrounded me, the sand falling away beneath my feet. The cell I was in was quite small. The width of the cell was just wide enough for me to turn and the length was my arm span. At least it would be easier to climb. I take in a deep breath and start the large climb up.

The cool cement against my back made my skin tingle. I take a small break, resting my body for a moment. My legs were shaking in exertion and my head pounded. I could feel my hands, already sore from the rough sand below me, start to peel and reveal pink skin that was too tender to withstand the harshness of the walls. Swearing, I glance down and swallow.

The sand was gone. I was looking down at an empty black hole. The doors below the sand that held me up swayed back and forth gently, indicating they just opened. I couldn't see the bottom of the hole, but the cold air shooting up and nipping at my skin told me it wasn't anything I wanted to fall into.

My hands were no longer a concern of mine.

I started the ascent again, cautious as I looked at the walls for anything that would cause me to fall to my imminent death. My body was weak, being malnourished, yet I had no choice but to keep climbing. As I reached the top I hear a click and the wooden door that kept me from the outside world starts to open. My eye catches a red dot on the corner of the door and it begins to blink faster. I don't stick around to see what it was.

My body tenses as I allow myself to slide down the wall. It's not a moment too soon either because as soon as I steady myself, flames erupt above my head. Smoke fills the cell I'm in as the wood burns but then it rolls out and into the unknown world outside. My heart is beating so fast in my chest I'm surprised my body isn't the thing exploding. Who would go through such an extent to keep someone contained?

I start the ascent once more, but when I reach the top the only thing I see is more darkness. My hands are burnt on the edges of the wretched cell I was in, but that was the least of my concern. I was out.

As I rolled onto a cool floor, I took a moment to breathe and let my muscles relax. The moment was short lived because light flooded in from every corner of the room and I had no time to let my eyes adjust before I felt hands on my arms. I tried to scream, but my lack of using my voice made the noise come out disgruntled and inhuman. By the time I could actually tell that the person leading me roughly through this bright world was a male, he let me go.

I was in another dark room. Great, now my eyes have to- I freeze as the temperature drops considerably fast. My heart is beating so loud in my chest I wonder how it's still in there. I swallow and step forward carefully. The temperature gets a little warmer. I follow the heat. My hands stay out in front of me as my eyes were rendered useless. The only noise I could hear was my own erratic heart rate and breathing.