Storytelling Week 14: War's Effects

I looked out my window to peer into the night, hoping to calm myself. I was covered in sweat and my heart was still pounding on the inner walls of my chest. I swung my feet around and sat on the edge of the bed, taking deep breaths to try and slow my heart rate down. The war never allows me sleep anymore. The flashbacks constantly keep me awake. I pray that the war will end soon, for the sake of the others still having to fight. The flashback that woke me up tonight was the time I was captured by the enemy. I have never seen someone enjoy torturing another human so much, until I met my torturer. He did not seem human most of the time. When I would look in his eyes, it felt like I was looking into a black hole. He had no soul at all. The only facial feature that he was his terrible smile. His smile always sent chills down my spine. The physical abuse I endured is something no one should ever experience, and I do mean no one. I do not care how wicked they are, this man crossed the line even the most wicked people would not dare to. He knew every aspect of the human body, and knew how to inflict the most pain possible, while keeping me conscious and alive. He started with the toes and fingers; first ripping of the nails, than cutting the bones in half, and finally removing the whole thing. After that he worked through my chest and stomach, slashing away at all the muscle and perforating my intestines. The pain was so intense that my body grew numb to it all, but some how he knew I was and would pause so I could gain feeling again. I do not know how he kept me alive and conscious the whole time. I just wanted to die, but every time I lost too much blood, he would bring in more pints to keep me attentive. What monster keeps storage of blood to be able to torture someone longer? I just do not understand the monstrosity of that man, nor can imagine how black his soul must have been.

I do not know how I survived nor how they found me. I didn’t know where I was, but I did know I was deep underground. The last thing I remember was the walls shaking and followed by a huge explosive light. I lost consciousness, and woke up apparently weeks later in a hospital. The first words I heard after months of silence was, “you are safe now, you are safe.”I kept those words in the front of my mind at all times. They are the only thing that calms me down. “You are safe now, you are safe.” With one last deep breath, I laid back down to sleep again.

(Image from TripAdvisor)

Author’s Notes: I adopted this story from the Dante’s Inferno unit. Dante describes vivid scenes of torture and despair. I wanted to try to translate that into a more modern and practical time. My character suffers form post traumatic stress from the war he fought in. He witnessed monstrous things like Dante did. The only differences is Dante’s was in a dream and saw what was happening, my character had to live through it and it still continues to haunt him. My goal was to make everything more practical so it is easier to relate and sympathize with my character. Dante’s Inferno is very dark, but for some it is really hard to relate to and be impacted.