Survivor, Some questions are best left unasked Options

[Guest_Cailean_*]

Can’t ... think ...

“Just tell us the truth.”

… through … the noise.

“Tell us the truth and the pain will stop.”

I don’t know. I DON’T KNOW! They keep on asking but I don’t have any answers. I can barely hear the unending questions through the internal reverberation. The blood in my skull making far too much noise.

“I really want to help you, to answer your questions, but I don’t know. I don’t have any answers for you.”

My cracked lips croak out what my mind keeps screaming.

“The hell you don’t. You were the only survivor. The only witness. You have to know something. And you WILL tell us. Turn up the juice.”

The lightning tarantellas through my neural network again; I barely have the voice to scream, but scream I do, as the pounding in my head gets worse.

“We can keep this going for days longer, if need be. Save yourself the agony and tell us what happened.”

The din in my head, the pressure of pulsing plasma in my veins. They won’t even let me die, just leave me hanging here.

Can’t even hear the questions now, as the sanguine assault rises to fever pitch.

“Tell … what … penned … pain will … you … free.”

Free? Free from the torment, trapped in this room, free from the thunder of blood?

But …

“I don’t know, I DON’T KNOW! LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Crying with dry eyes, as if that would gain any sympathy from my tormentors. No, they don’t care, they just want the information THAT ISN’T THERE and they won’t let me go. Why can’t they just admit to themselves that I am ignorant and FINISH this already?

It’s a ringing in my ears, the pain shooting through my spine. I can’t think – I DON’T EVEN KNOW MY OWN NAME.

BY ALL THAT IS HOLY, STOP THIS TORMENT. Please leave me alone. You’ve broken me – how many times do you want me to beg and plead? I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!

Please …

My vision swims and darkens; I’ve felt so much that I’ve gone through pain and out the other side. I don’t care anymore, about anything.

I let myself slip away and the spiralling vortex in my mind steals my soul within the darkness.

                  -----------                          -----------                      ----------

“Sir, the survivor has regained consciousness.”

“Very well, let the interrogation resume. Who let the subject out of the persuasion interface? I gave no orders allowing that.”

“I don’t think it was planned, sir! AHHHH!” Scream dopplering during the unexpected flight through the plate glass; destination: six floors down to bone-splintering concrete embrace.

“A body is only a box to keep your mind in. You are Pandora, you rattled the box, it opened and I came out. Call me Nemesis, a sub-personality hypnotically implanted as a last protective measure for the secrets that lie within.”

“Oh please, oh please” Desperate, furious scrabbling into a corner, fearful panting. Breath hammering sharply through the darkened silence. Footfalls nearing ever closer, breath’s tempo increasing each step. “Please don’t kill me, please leave me alone.” Choked sobbing words forced out through nigh-relentless gasps.

Quiet, unseen smile.

“Pandora, welcome to Hell.”

Staggered, helpless scream ending in a sharp, sickening crack.

                  ----------                       ----------                    ----------

“… only survivor.”

“Preliminary examination shows evidence of torture and extreme adrenal stress, subject still unconscious …”

“… out of our depth, here. Any idea about what to do next?”

“… down to the station for questioning. The captain will find out what this survivor knows …”

© Cailean Darkwater, 2004.

[Cleo_Serapis]

Ohhh boy!

What a tease this one is - I am expecting MORE to this one "C"! :)

LOVE this line: "Crying with dry eyes, as if that would gain any sympathy from my tormentors."

“Oh please, oh please”  *Add a comma please :wink:

MORE MORE MORE please!!!!

HUGS!
~Cleo

:)

[Guest_Cailean_*]

Glad you enjoyed it, Cleo ... and here I was thinking that it was too dark! :)

As to more ... perhaps the poor sod has to go through exactly the same thing. Perhaps the end of the story is just going to be another repetition. People asking questions which they shouldn't.

I wrote the entire piece suffering migraines and severe tintinabulation in my left ear, which helped with the essence. Today I have had very little sleep, so I'm gonna try and write a new piece, haha :)

I inserted a full stop/period there after the second please. Since I typed it up with the same migraine, haha, typos will slip in!

This story was partially inspired, however, by a friend of the family who had been "retrained" by the Viet Cong. The poor woman was mind-shattered through the experience, simply because she was educated, she was a primary school teacher. Her love of children was her downfall - so Survivor is a sort of "revenge" on her behalf.

So ... Survivor, dedicated to Foong Ta. There are no more questions to answer.

Thanks again for your input, Cleo ... and glad you enjoyed it.

Cailean.

[Cleo_Serapis]

We ought to try a challenge "C":

"Write a short story about whatever comes to mind when in the midst of a splitting migraine just to see what comes of it?

Your friend seems an inspiration for good 'stuff' as you say even when those splitting headaches show themselves!

*hugs to Cailean*!
~Cleo

[Guest_Tao_*]

Hi Cailean,

So pain was the inspiration! I inherited migraine from my mom, so I know exactly what it’s like – avoiding noises and the light, as it turns me into a nocturnal insect looking for a rock to crawl under.

These passages really sum up the condition. Ya, it’s like that – and really makes you question whether you want to end it all. Great connection, it is like a sort of torture.

The din in my head, the pressure of pulsing plasma in my veins. They won’t even let me die, just leave me hanging here.

My vision swims and darkens; I’ve felt so much that I’ve gone through pain and out the other side. I don’t care anymore, about anything.

For me, it’s lots of water, pain killers and sleep, if I can.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have that threat of last resort? Don’t mess with me man, or the “thing” will come out. Or is that, “you wouldn’t like me when I’m mad?” Too bad your friend Foong couldn’t do exactly that during her ordeal.

Now, there’s some Darkwater stuff. And speaking of which, I think I’ve read one too many in your sci-fi genre. I’m writing some foreboding stuff too! Hey, get some rest. And if that doesn’t work, take dictations from the permanently insane, as opposed to temporarily. Materials galore!

David

[Guest_Cailean_*]

Glad you enjoyed it, Tao, and to hear you also suffer them, sucks! But perhaps you can use that pain into a piece, heh :)

I see a new post from you (your sci-fi piece!), and gonna also write up my thoughts on your other piece which I've read and enjoyed, but my computer crashed when I was writing you a response and then I had to jump out to the country this week.

Expect a response soon.

PS. Fox & Hounds sequel coming SOON! It's about a quarter done I reckon :)

Cailean.

*hugs to Cleo yet again* :) Problem with that Pandora challenge is, you'd have to give yourself a headache in time to make the date! :)

[Guest_Tao_*]

Ahoy Again,

I was posting a reply to Aphrodite's poem when MM kind of crashed yesterday. Good thing I was editing in my word processor. Almost lost that one!

You'll have to "pretend" that you have the migraine sometimes - it gives your writing even more intensity than usual!

BTW, talking to the trusting sweetie is good! One can never have enough faith from another being! :)

David