The world was a black pit, vision limited to just a few inches. Katnya felt as though there was a viscous fog all around her, poking and prodding her. It hindered her movements as she fumbled around, trying to find a way to climb out of this awful pit. Faces appeared before her bringing forth emotions of comfort, happiness, joy, and peace. They lingered there, and she basked in the glow of their love. With painful screams the faces were sucked away into the darkness, pulling the positive emotions with them, leaving her with agonising loss.
Katnya fell to her knees from the force of the sudden emotions hitting her. She wrapped herself in her arms and tried to ignore it all, hoping to leave this place by pure force of will. A face from her past flew past her, dragging memories of emotions from her. Confusion, romance, and finally loss. It was quick, barely a fleeting moment, and it was gone, leaving her alone in this dark pit once again. The emotions had not been strong this time, and they allowed her to regain some confidence. She pulled herself to her feet and came face to face with a tall figure with a comforting smile. He drifted up slowly till he stopped seemingly on the edge of the pit. He knelt and reached a hand down towards her. It radiated comfort, support, love, and happiness.
Katnya hesitated for a moment, something felt wrong about all this. Could it be too good to be true? Maybe it was, but it was better than being in this pit. She seized the hand and scrambled out of the pit with his help. Together they rose to their feet, standing in an open space, surrounded by a thin white mist that twisted and curled around them, warmed by the sun. They wrapped their arms around one another, and the comfort and happiness flooded her. She let out a sigh, her muscles relaxing and squeezed him gently. After a long while, she pulled back and looked up to his face, seeking the comfort of his smile.
His face was twisted and inhuman with fangs jutting from his mouth and red eyes. The beast snarled and lashed out at her, scratching her face with vicious claws. Katnya cried out, and took a step back, teetering on the edge of the pit. She paused. Could she fall back into the pit to escape? Or should she try to make it past the monster before her?
She turned her back on the beast and stepped into the pit. She fell for just a moment before jolting to a stop, caught by the monster, its claws raking up her arm as it clung to her. Katnya struggled. She writhed and twisted, trying to pull away from the beast as it gnashed its teeth to try and bite her, spittle and blood dripping down onto her. Cold hard metal clamped around her wrist and a chain jangled against the manacle as it was about to be secured, trapping her. Placing both feet against the wall of the pit, she heaved and pulled herself away, freeing herself from the grasp of the terrible beast. She tumbled and fell far longer than she should have and came crashing to the ground in the bottom of the pit.
She lay there for a time sobbing, curled up in a ball as the black fog once again prodded and pulled at her. Her face stung as tears rolled through the claw wounds. Slowly she calmed and looked to her aching arm. Around her wrist was still clamped a manacle. She saw no keyhole or pin to unlock it. It was just a circle of cold iron with a chain was attached to it. The hefty chain was only about two feet long and connected the manacle to a large steel ball about one foot across. When she stood, it weighed her down, and she had to gather it up in both arms and heave it up with her.
She stood now deeper in the pit than before. Being pushed around by the unseen hands of the oppressive fog, lugging this heavy weight with her. She cradled it in both her arms, each step a chore as she staggered forwards, hoping to find some way back up out of the pit. As she struggled, another face appeared before her and the weight in her arms lessened as a pair of gentle hands supported it. She felt safe and comfortable. Or at least, as safe and comfortable as it was possible to be in this dark prison. And she felt passion, an intense, burning passion. In a small circle around them the black fog melted away, freeing them from its darkness. Katnya took a deep breath of fresh air, savouring it. She leant her head forward, resting her forehead against the other woman’s as they held up the lump of metal between them. Katnya closed her eyes and took a deep breath, this felt good.
She dropped to the floor as the weight in her arms became far heavier than before. It clanged on the hard ground, the sound echoing through the fog that had rushed back in around Katnya. The other woman was nowhere to be seen. She had vanished, leaving Katnya alone, crying on the floor, clutching at the weight in her arms, unable to let it go.
For a long time Katnya remained there motionless. She did not know how long truly passed, for it could have been seconds or millennia. A sudden knock jolted her back to awareness. She lifted her head as the whole pit reverberated at another knock. Then another. She hauled herself to her feet at the fourth knock. And looked about her, desperate to see what was happening in the gloom. Then the final face appeared, smiled, and reached out to take back the weight.
Blinding light flooded the world, the dark fog banished in an instant, and Katnya woke up to a loud knock at her front door and bright sunlight streaming through cracks in her shutters.
