She struggles against her bonds
Her arms are strapped at the wrists
Thick leather bonds cross her chest and stomach
Her ankles are shackled and bonded
A gag is in her mouth cover by a muzzle

The room is pitch dark
But her mind plays tricks
Things are moving in the dark
Dancing in her vision.

It's cold in here.
But her body has given up shivering
Her throat is sore with screams
All in vain because they all echoed back
At least now she knows
Her prison seems deep and endless

Her body is covered in lacerations
From the things lurking in the darkness
She's stopped crying out with every slice
She's given into the pain
Accepting and welcoming the torture

Far away a door swings on squeaky hinges
A sliver of light falls into the dark
It doesn't reach her
In fact it barely stretches out
Before the darkness swallows it.

A figure steps in shrouded in shadows
His steps echo on forever in every direction
A fear creeps into the girl
Spreading through her
Somethings different, somethings changed
But not for the better. How can it get worse?

He walks for what seems eternity
Every footfall sounding threateningly
As he steps up to her
She gives up and goes limp
Prepared to take anything he's going to give

In a deep voice slick with evil
He speaks not to her but the darkness
"Leave her alone..." Her heart lifts
He's come to set her free
Come to bring her to the light

"You've let her get too weak,
Bled her out too much.
She'll die if you keep it up
Give her time to heal before you start again."
With that he turns on his heals
He walks back to the door
Then turns to address her
"Darling, you'll see me again
Our next meeting will be worse,
Worse thank everything here.
But after, if you do everything right,
You'll thank me."
The door opens and squeals shut behind him.

The truth sinks into her flesh
And her slow beating blood.
She's being kept alive just to endure more
She's here to be tortured by the dark
And a decision is made, she wants to die, to end this all.
But even that power has been taken away.
"Let me die! Kill me!"
She pleads with the creatures
Scuttling nervously at her feet and around her.
"I can't take any more! Let me die!"

From the darkness around her head
Emerges a creature, it's eyes are filled with sorrow
Quickly it runs it's razor claws
Across her throat and then both wrists
Leaving deep, dark crevices
The warm blood flows freely and fast
She takes a deep, shaky breath relief flooding her body and mind.
The creature cuts loose all her bonds
She falls to the ground finally free.
She never would have made it out on her own
An eternity in the dark would have been her future
If not for this merciful monster.
She whispers to him,
"Thank you. You've set me free."

The creature is ripped from her side
She hears it being torn apart for it's betrayal
And it seems fair, it wasn't happy either

She feels her life ebbing away
The beats of her tired heart slowing down
The flow weakening
She takes another breath and slips into the dark
But this is a peaceful darkness
And it's not long before she's flooded by light

She's free.