Do you remember waking up in an unknown place? You were disoriented, unable to remember what happened. Where were you? The lighting was too poor to make out anything more than the shadows. You couldn't even turn your head enough to see what was in the room (was it even a room?) with you, because the ropes held you tightly and because something dug into your scalp painfully if you tried to move. Not that it mattered. You would have been incapable of moving much even if you had been free, because you were paralyzed out of fear.

 

Do you remember the intense anxiety building up in your chest until it felt unbearable? Where were you? Were you alone? Was someone else there with you? Whose side were they on? What was going to happen to you? Each question brought another wave of impending doom, breaths so quick and sharp they hurt. You began to cry and fervently, repeatedly, whisper a prayer. Padre nuestro, que está en el cielo... Again. And again. and again and again and again, until the words jumbled together, until they lost any sense of meaning and were the only things holding you away from insanity.

 

Are you still here? Yes? Well, do you remember the voice from behind you? A disdainful tone, a contemptuous laugh. Do you really believe that will save you? It temporarily freed you from your mental downward spiral. Instead, you physically froze in terror, your breathing becoming ragged. You held perfectly still yet you desperately needed to move, to run, to get away from there, them—all of them—but you couldn't. Do you hear me? You couldn't then, and you can't now. It's futile to even try.

 

Listen. Do you hear that? That incessant drone slowly building up to a crescendo? It's subtle yet deafening, indistinct yet unbearable. It assaults your ears, your body, your mind; you can physically feel the intense vibrations in your chest, an immense pressure, and it feels nearly impossible to tear yourself away. Your terror builds with it. You can feel an ominous presence behind you—but where, exactly? What is it? And what do they want? You squeeze your eyes tightly. You still haven't learned—there's nowhere to hide.

Look at me. An impassive voice echoes within your mind. The drone comes to a sudden halt and, unsettled, you find yourself looking up. How much time has passed? A grotesque creature towers over you from several feet away at the edge of the shadows. It rises up on two sets of legs; a pair of wings droop on either side. And its eyes—they're ancient, primordial even. You shudder and hurriedly look away. It makes a sound akin to a derisive laugh, moves a bit closer. The sound of its legs against the ground is so soft you almost think you're imagining it.

Pathetic, the creature hisses. You humans are all the same. So high and mighty until confronted by the unfamiliar—by a being greater than you.

It's right, you know. No, don't shake your head. You humans tried to play god, and look where that got you. Now you cower here.

It laughs again—this time, it's almost pitying. I wish you luck. It retreats into the darkness, its eyes devoid of expression. You desperately try to call out to it, to bring it back, because anything is better than being alone, but the most you can muster is a croak. The creature disappears from sight. That low hum slowly returns once more.

 

You drown in the despair that follows. The sheer terror and pain that engulf you as that endless mind-numbing drone bombards you once more. You can physically feel the violent vibrations, the immense pressure crushing your chest that worsens with every second. You can't escape, the thought doesn't even cross your mind. The noise reaches everywhere, there is

   nowhere

                 to

                      hide

and you feel yourself slipping further and further until it consumes your mind and the only thing left is emptiness