

I lay motionless, engulfed in the inky, black abyss of darkness with no knowledge of where I was or whence I came. I had opened my eyes yet my view did not change, forcing me to question whether my sight had been lost or that the lack of light was so much so that I could not see my own limb mere inches from my face. What sequence of events were set in motion so as to bring me to such a cavernous void? All questions I had of my situation were rhetorical in nature and i resolved to investigate. I sat up and groped around my person tentatively. The ground was solid enough, if not a little moist and slick, yet a strange, putrid, sweet odour permeated the air. Like rotten fruit or spoiled meats it simultaneously invoked feelings of nausea and peculiar hunger. My muscles ached and protested as I pushed my heavy body off of the ground, keeping low. I had obviously been recumbent for some time as it took awhile for me to gain a full range of motion in my limbs. The darkness was absolute and the temperature frigid to the extreme. If there were a sliver of light that penetrated the mirk I would doubtlessly witness great clouds of vapour exiting from my mouth. I wrapped the rags I was adorned in closer around myself as I shuffled forwards, fearful of the environment around me. A myriad of unknown shapes and colours danced in front of me, abstract visions created by my mind from the confusion of acute blindness. With arms outstretched I moved a little faster assuming at some point I would collide with a wall or barrier of some kind. As the shapeless colours disappeared I noticed a small number of white orbs some indeterminate distance ahead of me, minute and constant they gazed upon me. Grouped in twos, they shone like jewels or small lights, perhaps as a guide. I moved towards them yet as I approached, primal fear overcame me suddenly. My intestines transformed into a writhing nest of eels and my legs began to tremble, not from the piercing cold, but from the overwhelming sense of terror. I fell to my knees, but my numb flesh felt no pain at the collapse. My mind raced and I became faint due to the rapid beating of my heart. I attempted to control my breathing as my whole person trembled wildly. The strange episode began to pass, I breathed deeply, the cold, pungent air entered my nostrils and was exhaled from my mouth as I focused on the movement of air, counting my breaths and the motion of my chest. As calmness returned to me and I raised my head to find the strange white orbs to have disappeared completely. Could whatever energy source that powered them have dissipated? Or perhaps they were not lights at all, but the orbs of secret voyeurs. The thought caused the minute hairs on the back of my neck to stand erect. Perhaps I wasn't alone in this pit, joined by demons or sinners who observed my every move in private glee. I called out in vain and the sound of my own vocalisations stimulated my hearing. Until now I had not perceived any noise other than my own shuffling footsteps on the cold stone beneath me and the echoes of the cavernous void that surrounded me. Now I became aware of a subtle drone, a constant hum that at first seemed to be all around, but then suddenly focused itself into occupying one direction. I decided to head in the direction I conceived the sound to be coming from and as I stepped forward I felt a sudden rush of air before me and the loud clang of something metallic making contact with the ground. I froze in place, adrenaline coursing through my veins as my body prepared to flee. The sense of fear was indescribable as unknown entities toyed with me in the darkness. I eventually lowered myself and stretched my arms out to locate the foreign object. My fingers worked through the wet dirt, over what I assumed to be dried pieces of wood and moist objects I dared not attempt to imagine, until finally I experienced the touch of something cool and metallic. I grasped its cylindrical form and lifted it up. It had a comfortable weight and as I blindly studied its form I discovered a strange series of gears and wheels with a protruding lever like mechanism.