|Demands|

                                    

                                          
                                        •CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT•
                          
Drip 
                          
Drip
                          
Drip
                          
Thumping, pounding, echoing. 
                          
Whimpers, groans of pain. 
                          
Where? Where is the noise coming from?
                          
Unable to lift my lids, I instead listen closely. 
                          
To the left of me...no..the right of me? Pained groans echo, sound waves bouncing off the walls in an orderly fashion as they seep into my ear canal and ring throughout my brain. 
                          
Everything was too loud. Too intense. 
                          
Another pained groan, but now a different one, haunted by loss. 
                          
My eyes snap open in fear, gripping my heart like a vine. Squeaking sounds appear from the corner, and my body freezes, not moving an inch. 
                          
I knew what had happened, but welcoming reality was something that would make everything all too real. 
                          
I glance around, using only my eyes to guide me. It was dark, very dark. But not dark enough that I couldn't make out a silhouette, crouching in the corner with its arms wrapped around its knees. 
                          
Fear grips me once more, my breathing increasing gradually. 
                          
It was unmoving, just a stiff statue. 
                          
I lick my dry lips, a metallic taste in close proximity as it registers on my taste buds. Suddenly, I become nauseous, a foul smell hitting me like a freight train. 
                          
It smelled of the dead. Dead, rotting bodies. 
                          
I attempt to move my body, wiggling my toes first. Next, I lift my fingers one by one to make sure I'd be able to use my extremities if need be. 
                          
Which I'm guessing, in order to escape this I will need to. 
                          
I inhale sharply as pain rips through my arm, feeling a sticky warmth flow freely down my forearm. I bite my lip to silence myself, all of my being begging me not to disturb the unknown creature sitting stoically in the corner. 
                          
The pounding increases, and it dawns on me that the pounding isn't from the outside, it's within. The dull, aching pain spreads throughout my head, increasing the difficulty of my movements. It was debilitating. 
                          
A whimper escapes me, loud and unexpected. 
                          
I freeze once more as shuffling is heard, not wanting to glance to see what awaits me. 
                          
But, my brain betrays me, forcing my head to tilt towards the creature. 
                          
Fuck. 
                          
It's wide, white eyes peer at me through the darkness. It snarls lightly, the sharpened teeth glinting, flickering like a star. 
                          
I tense, my muscles coiling into action. 
                          
"Dinner," the creature whispers, it's voice raspy as if it smoked ten packs a day.