6 - Into The Castle

“Ugh!” As soon as he caught the scent, he brought his hands to his face. The smell was strong and pungent. It made him sick and he gagged, hoping he wouldn’t lose the breakfast he’d just had.

Asher kept his nose covered with an arm, the other arm frantically searching for a wall, pillar, or any sort of concrete surface that would somehow reassure his state of mind. His foot tripped over the other, but he maintained balance from falling, also feeling the need to be as quiet as a mouse.

The silence inside told him to keep still and keep hushed, but it only made the pounding of his heart more audible to his own ears. He was afraid and he could not deny that to himself anymore.

Asher bit his lip. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea, he thought. He looked back, trying to make out the door, but saw nothing. He was lost in the darkness; a big black void and he wished desperately that he was at home, safe where he could enjoy the light and the sight of actual objects.

Hsss.

Asher’s head turned swiftly to the side. What was that?

He kept still, his instincts telling him not to move, not to breathe, only to listen harder for what could have possibly made the faint hissing noise.

It’s just your imagination. Just your imagination. He could feel his heart beating right out of his ribcage. Thu-thump! Thu-thump! Thu-thump!

Asher shut his eyes, getting frantic. Shhh!

He thought by doing this, he could quiet down his heartbeats, but realized what a dumb idea that was. It’s okay! It’s fine! You’re okay! You’re fine!

Chanting in his head worked. It calmed him down and slowed his palpitations. It also distracted him from his fears.

You’re okay, Asher, you’re fine...

Asher blinked. Maybe it was just his imaginations. There was nothing else but silence that swallowed up the empty space all around him.

He took a step forward and stumbled. He did as best as he could to keep any sound from coming out of him.

His leg had bumped into something hard. What could that have been? Asher had images circling his head; a skull, bones, a small furry animal. All his guesses made the fear return once again and he regretted ever taking that one step.

It couldn’t be what he thought it was, whatever he was thinking. He only kept telling himself this to give him courage to find out its true form. Slowly, he crouched down, his hand feeling for the object and felt it against his knuckles after only a few seconds.

He sighed with relief. The object, he could feel, was some sort of container. He guessed it to be an old wooden bucket. The wood was wet, however, and as he was feeling for it, all of a sudden a splinter caught on his finger and he quickly retreated his hand, the pain shooting into his nerves as if it were punishment for touching the object.

Asher whimpered silently, taking a deep breath and a long sigh. He swallowed the pain down and ignored the feeling, terror being the only thing he could feel as he struggled in cold sweat. Christ, he cursed in his head. This was getting ridiculous. He was just panicking. That was it. That was all. Right?

Wrong!