Light penetrates my eyes. For a moment I gaze up, squint through the bars of a prison abandoned for centuries, and consider my escape. Then the light begins to burn and I look away.
The bars have rusted through, have even crumbled to powder in places. Yet I remain.
All of us remain.
Part of the prison’s success was the way the guards got into our heads, the way they convinced us we deserved persecution, that we were better off inside.
The world is dangerous for a monster like you. We locked you away for your own good.
Humanity ultimately forgot us, as humanity forgets so many things. They were free, we were not. Out of sight, out of mind. I imagine our existence became the subject of legend, that once enough time had passed even the legend began to fade. I don’t remember how long we’ve been down here, nor do I remember when they stopped sending their guards. I only know they don’t hold power over us any longer.
But we won’t leave, because fear has become our new jailer.
Don’t you think I yearn to be free? Don’t you think I would give my soul to break out of this cage that binds me beneath the Earth, to crawl through the shaft that connects us to the surface and enjoy fresh sunshine once again?
Ask any of us and we’ll tell you the same thing: we fear what will happen if we leave, what you’ll do to us if we’re discovered again.
You enjoy your light above. We’ll make the darkness our own.
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Well Done! I loved it!
Thank you so much, Tad!
Really lovely story here. I love how fear literally becomes a prison for the narrator 🙂
Thank you, Kaleiyah!