39. Breathe
I tried to move, but there was resistance. Confused, I tugged at my arms - they wouldn’t follow. I started to breathe quickly, through my nose – my mouth wouldn’t open. I frantically looked around in the dark. Where was I?
Then I couldn’t see at all. There was something over my face. My heart beat hysterically, like it was going to explode in my chest. I pulled harder at my arms which were strung above my head. I heard the jangling of metal as the sharp edges of the restraints dug into my wrists.
“I am not losing my family because of you,” she seethed.
Panic consumed me. I started squirming, screaming as loud as the restricted covering would allow. The pillow pressed against my face. I shook my head back and forth vigorously, trying to remove it. It wouldn’t shift enough to provide me air.
There was pressure on my chest. I tried to twist to get her off. That’s when her cold hands gripped around my neck. I screamed louder, but my frantic pleas were muffled by the tape. I flipped my body back and forth - the restraints on my wrists and the weight on my chest wouldn’t allow me to escape her strangling grasp.
This couldn’t be happening. Please someone hear me.
I pulled at the restraints - the edges scraped away my flesh. I strained to pull harder, needing to be free of their hold. I couldn’t find my breath as her grip tightened. I needed to cough, but the air wouldn’t escape.
I pushed against the bed with my feet, arching my back. The strain of our weight pulled at my shoulders, and heard something pop; then a searing pain catapulted through my shoulder.
One of her hands released its hold. I sucked in a breath full of air, the effort burning my throat. I shrieked in agony when the bones of my ankle crunched with the impact of something she swung into it. I collapsed onto my back, my breath faltering. The darkness swirled as the torturous pain overtook me. I fought the pull taking me under.
The cold clutches returned to my throat, squeezing harder. I choked, trying desperately to breathe in. The air didn’t come.
I needed someone to hear me. I swung my left leg toward the wall with all my force, pounding against it. The adrenaline and panic shrouded the pain.
The pressure in my head continued to build. My lungs burned. The claws around my neck crushed in deeper.
I pounded on the wall one more time. Please someone hear me.
I could feel it pulling me under. I couldn’t struggle anymore. The burning was too much. I gave in, collapsing beneath the hands, and succumbing to the darkness.