The Trapped

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- S U T T E R-

11.21.16 // 8:41 p.m.

WHEN I JUMPED through the small door, I landed on a cemented staircase and ended up twisting my ankle. I am laying down on the staircase, directly under the hole as the raindrops continue to fall on my face. I roll my ankle and hiss loudly as a sharp pain shoots up my leg. I stand up and slowly begin to hobble down a dimly lit hallway. It smells strongly of smoke and dust and I have to pinch my nose to keep from coughing.

I turn a corner and there is a crooked metal door with smoke seeping through the cracks on the sides. The latch on the outside is broken and lays on the floor, as if someone had tried to break out, but never made it through. I push the door and find that the bolts are loose. With a few heavy pushes, the door swings open and bangs loudly against the wall behind it.

I stand there, making sure all is silent before stepping through. I wave my hand in front of my face to clear the smoke in front of me. When it fades away, what I see makes me take a step back and hold a hand in front of my mouth to keep from throwing up.

Everywhere around me, in metal cages, is dead people. Some cages ablaze with fire, the smoke from it mixing together in the air, creating a dark cloud above. Most of the people are dressed in animal costumes, some of them are partially naked, as if they struggled a lot before they took their final breath.

The air smells of death and faintly of some kind of gas. I walk to the left with my jacket over my nose and mouth to avoid breathing as I look straight ahead, not wanting to see the corpses that were scattered around.

There is a small cave with the reflection of water bouncing off of the dark walls. I slowly walk in and turn the corner. Right in front of me is a gigantic fish tank and inside of it is a young, thin girl.

Her blonde hair is floating in the water, her lips and hands are blue, and her skin is pale, almost translucent. She must have been in here for days, maybe even weeks. I stare at her for a moment, feeling that I should be able to help her, but I can't. She's dead. I sigh as I drop to my knees and place my head on the fish tank.

Suddenly, a loud and distant scream ripples through the thick air. I stand up abruptly and take off, my feet pounding painfully against the dusty cement.

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-jayymckenziee