Ascension
By S. Watson
“You will land,” the Officer pointed towards various tips of the island, “here, here, here, and here.” Those that were sitting and facing the Officer all shook there heads affirmatively. “Upon breaching shore, you will continue through these parts of the jungle,” he paused to point at the points before continuing, “and continue onwards to these locations. Here you will position yourselves to create observation areas. Enough supplies will be provided in your packs to last you for three days, upon which you will scout the area ahead when the soldiers hit the beach here,” moving across the projector screen, casting a shadow on the board behind him, and pointed at western shoreline of the Island. Pausing to allow the audience to understand, he droned on, explaining “but, they will not show up until the navy as properly bombarded the fortress. It’s imperative that you do not move from your location, to do so would mean cer-” Louis looked forward in a trance. When he was told that he would be taking apart in this mission, he quickly started to become nervous. Louis had been pulled away from his normal duties among his old squad, specifically for his unique understanding of the American’s code talk and served as the perfect translator and decoder of messages. He and the three other men in the room were to strategically place themselves on the Island. Along with the translators would be a small squad of sharpshooters, however, only the men that were being briefed knew the specifics of the mission. This was intended so that if the men were caught, they wouldn’t be tortured into revealing the secrets of the mission. Something inside of Louis warned him of the dangers of the upcoming mission, but his military discipline however overrode his instincts.
It was just past Midnight. The stars in the sky twinkled, the Moon was a crescent tonight, only giving a glimmer of light on the sea. Standing among the men who were take apart of the mission, Louis looked around. There was barely enough light to illuminate the flag which wove above the aircraft carrier’s bridge. On the opposite end of the football field long ship, Louis could make out the souliette of Mustangs that could take to the sky at any moment if the situation called for it. The feeling of properly being defended, Louis realized, would soon be gone. Instead of the usual armored troop transport that were used on typical insertions were not being used tonight. Instead the twilight revealed twelve foot long jet black inflatable tubes. As he continued to think about this, thoughts of weakness and danger began to pop in his head. What if they were spotted? What if a gun misfired and revealed their position while they were floating towards the surface. Louis gripped his Thompson tighter in his palms. With a quick snap of the safety lever, he insured no such event would occur. As clouds started to move by the Moon, it became much harder to make out things in the distance. With a whistle, the squads were waved towards different tubes. Taking this spots in them, every man gripped their float as secure as possibly. A sudden surge of anxiety hit Louis. Through all of his military training and years of combat experience, this was possibly the most dangerous mission yet. He trusted in his abilities and realized that he wouldn’t have been picked if his superiors hadn’t felt similar. He couldn’t fail however, the burden wouldn’t be his to bare. Louis now felt steadfast determination as the cables lowered him until the latches gripping his tube let go, and with a splash, the boat motors began to grind forward.
Far in the distance massive, dull blob formed. It was obviously the Island, but one thing Louis hadn’t accounted for was the size of the Island itself. The Island itself had a single mountain on it, the enemy which was entrench there had built a fortress out of the mountain. Nor the amount of activity on it, each minute revealing a more defined island. “Look, up there, is that a plane?
“No one said there would be planes. What is this?” two disgruntled soldiers expressed. Indeed, the briefing hadn’t revealed this. Whether to ensure the Soldiers wouldn’t back out or because they had received inaccurate reports, Louis didn’t know. With the men a few miles away from the Island, they realized that the mission was a suicide run. Horror creeped into every single man’s mind. They knew what was before them, they knew they were fodder. Each man lowered themselves, hunching forward. They grinded their teeth, bit their lips, readied their weapons. Each man waited for the second that they would be caught, the moment they would begin shooting at the enemy that wanted them dead. A sense of determination which was common among the Navy motivated them forward. Louis shifted the weight beneath him as he sat in the middle of his tube. His partner next to him awkwardly leaded forward, constantly hitting Louis with his shoulder with each wave the boat went over. While the boat continued forwards each man’s attention was on the future, they had forgotten exactly where they were supposed to land. Louis’ and one other were going correctly. But the other two, in their own ignorance, shifted in the same direction. As Louis glanced over, he squinted and tried to make out what the boats were doing. With each cloud that slowly moved in front of the Moon, the boats were floating closer and closer together. One was farther away from the other and as the boats started to approach the Island, rocks began to appear. The men aboard the leading boat gasped as their boat began to shift and change direction as the tides within the rocks changed it’s heading. The men in the boat farther back didn’t notice this and when they started to approach the boat ahead of them, they immediately drew their guns in caution. While the men in the first boat began attempts to change the motor’s direction, it became obvious the boats were going to have a head on collision. As a massive cloud blocked the Moon, Louis watched in pure awe and horror as the second boat popped a round at the first. Suddenly a flurry of weapons rounds burst in the silence of the night.
In the distance, red dots began to pop up all over the fortress which had become illuminated by the full force of the moon. The lights in reality were alarms pulsing. The sound of sirens began to wail quietly in the distance, while the sound of planes which had died out prior to the friendly fire now returned. Flying low, Louis watched on as both the boats were hit with rounds, leaving the boat as well as there bodies decimated. They were both strafed with bullets, water splashed and flew in the air. In retaliation the few men who physically able shot back, but to no avail. The airplanes screamed over them, the red dot on their sides barely visible. Now only a quarter of a mile away from the Island, Louis and those around him thought in dread of reality. Spot lights lit up the sky, others lit the beaches. Louis watched as a spotlight revealed a spot a yard away from his location. The operator of the spotlight and the machine gunner beside him were watching everything the light revealed, the gunner eager to squeeze his trigger. Time slowed down to nearly a standstill as Louis watched the spot light shift ever so slowly towards him. He breathed biting his lip, he blinked softly. He looked at the man in front of him, at the back of his helmet. He wondered if he was experiencing the same feelings that he was. WIth a final breath, the world around him exploded into the brightest hailstorm he could imagine. Machine gun fire erupted in the distance and simultaneously exploded around him. Instantly, startled shouts came forth from a few of the men. Metallic grunts and the echoing sound of rounds hitting flesh rang in Louis’ helmet as it slipped down on his ears. Louis leaned as far forward as possible, he could hear dozens of rounds fly and pass over his head. The single thought went through Louis’s mind was that his world would be extinguished with one round. The soldier in front of him in a single moment jerk violently and started to fall out of the boat. Louis gripped the back of his now bloody shirt, shifting his body back in front of Louis. The man’s neck had been torn open, a majority of his horribly disfigured spine was now visible among the bloodied scraps of flesh that hung from his jaw and vertebrae. Only a second into the suppression, Louis knew that his entire squad had been slaughtered with out a single shot back in retaliation. Unable to move out of fear, Louis felt his partner bump into him again. Glancing at him, Louis’ stomach dropped and he felt nauseous as he saw his that his partner’s head had been destroyed, only part of his jaw remained; his torso was equally decimated. The shoulders which had only minutes ago bumped into him were now torn away, only the bones and tendons now lay atop them. In an instant of pure deperation, Louis threw himself sideways, landing in the water. In mid flight, a round tore through his arm, instantly taking most his bicep with itself. Louis’s brain exploded as the nerve endings in his body sent it messages of only the most agonizing of pains. As Louis fell towards the water, he blacked out.
It was all so hazy. Why was he here? Something felt familiar, but the feeling was beyond distant. As Louis walked forward, he approached his cousin’s house. A handful of other children ran around in their costumes, enjoying themselves. Louis felt as if he were in a daze, each step he took felt as if he himself weren’t taking them. Nothing seemed perfectly natural. The children ran by him, but he couldn’t particularly make them out in detail. He tried to strain his mind to understand what was happening, but everything continued on whether or not he understood Louis watched as his hand reach forward, gripping the door handle. As he turned it, the door opened, and before him his aunt invited him. “They’re in the basement” she told him as she pointed towards a door. Her voiced echoed off the walls, something was obviously not right. Once again walking without meaning, Louis approached the door. With each step, his pace slowed down. His pulse began to increase continuously while the world rapidly began to slow down until he was barely moving. In an instant the door swung open, revealing a unbelievably bright light. As the world around him distorted and shifted away, it turned to darkness. However, the temporary reality of the darkness became no more once it became enveloped by the light. Louis shook as he began to experience a sharp pain on his forehead. The previous feelings of helplessness and no self control faded away as Louis regained consciousness.
He coughed up his tooth, it had nearly become lodged deep in his throat. Spitting it out, water soon followed. Releasing the contents of his stomach on the sand next to him the soldier smacked Louis again in the head with his rifle. If Louis hadn’t shown life signs, the soldier may have shot him for good measure. His arm had become severely infected, which was outwardly obvious due to the discoloration of his tissue. His Louis began to rapidly collect his mind, he could feel the heaviness of his arm, the total lack of control. When he tried to move his arm, thing happened. Louis realized in silent dismay that he was attempting to move muscles that no longer existed. As the Soldier above him grabbed him by his waterlogged backpack, Louis stumbled onto his feet A soldier had his rifle aimed at the hip, pointing towards Louis. His partner began to take out the contents of the pack. As Louis watched, he began to drift into light headiness. But something kept him from passing out, from giving up. As Louis regained his mental barings, he looked at the shoreline ahead of him. Farther up the shore several corpses were laying as a soldier went through their pockets and packs. The Sun was barely over the horizon, the morning was just dawning. Snapping to attention as the soldier began to talk in his native tongue, Louis watch as the soldier held a picture of Louis’ daughter. He handed it to the other soldier who was holding the rifle. In response, the soldier said nothing. Looking back at Louis, they looked into each other’s eyes. Bringing his rifle up, he looked through it’s iron sights, once again making eye contact with louis through it’s small metallic circle. Louis heard the sound of a pop and crack.
Snapping to attention as the soldier began to speak in his native tongue, Louis watch as the soldier held a picture Louis’s daughter. He handed it to the other soldier who was holding the rifle. In response, the soldier said nothing. Looking back at Louis, they looked into each other’s eyes. With a wave of a hand, the soldiers lead Louis at gunpoint towards the jungle’s edge. Louis’ mind began to race and wonder what had just happened to himself, his initial thought was of de ja vu, but something suggested more.
Hall after hall went by, light after light. Louis slipped in and out of delirium, the mixture of infection, mild dehydration, and hunger were taking their toll on him. He was bound perhaps, even he were not though, he was in no position to do anything. In a mindset of only the most minimal self control, Louis looked upwards at lights, at the faces of men who he had grown to despise. The only feelings Louis felt during these periods of the darkness occasionally being interrupted by light were helplessness and defenselessness. These feelings were truly realized as reality when Louis snapped upwards. The dark surrounded him, absolute and impenetrable. The sudden change in setting upset Louis as he adjusted to the formlessness of his domain. Gazing upwards, there was only one hint of light that illuminated a negligible amount of space within his cell. A hole six feet above him let out a small amount of light, but as soon as Louis noticed it, it disappeared. Now he was completely solitary. As time began to rapidly pass by him, he sat where he was. The abyss in which he resided plunged him into a state of anxiety. He tried to imagine his surroundings, the situation of his comrades, and where he was. As his anxiety began to pass, for the first time since his boat had been fired upon, he was completely aware. As he began to analyze his situation, Louis began to sort the past out as pest he could. The past day... or perhaps few hours... Louis realized he had no reference point for what time it was. He tried his best to think, he could hardly understand what had happened. He kept thinking of the soldier grabbed the picture. Why had he done so? As Louis continued to ponder and meditate in a state of anxiousness, he eventually began to slow down. He was stripped of his clothing, his identity. The uniform which adorned his American affiliation was no longer with him, Louis was saddened by this. His constant companion through his time at sea was now gone. Inclined to lay, he reached for the ground and was unable to support himself, and his previous train of thought came to a sudden and horrible halt. Everything that had been his mind escaped as quickly as the light in the hole above. Now he was awkwardly sprawled at an angle on the ground. “My God.” he whispered in horror, as he began to feel the nub of an arm which had been sliced off. With a yell that never ended, an aching soreness shot up through his body. Louis came to realize how complete his captors had their hold on him.
He sat in the corner. This enemy was unlike any he had faced before. It was cunning, unrelenting, strategic. He was out of his element, and they knew this. He was in their territory now and he was at their mercy. Sitting in a state of paranoia, Louis waited for the enemy to show it’s face. He looked onwards, at the familiar darkness. Although his enemy was out of sight, the darkness itself was something Louis kept underestimating. There something about the darkness, he could feel it around him. His cell was hot and stuffy, he could feel the sweat drip. What was preventing it, the end? This, perhaps was a torture worse then death itself. Louis knew that his enemy believed that death was a gift, that death was mercy. At that time, no mercy was being shown. Each breath brought with it the previous feelings of increasing anxiousness that Louis had endured. He couldn’t be kept within these boundaries for much longer, his muscles ached with inactivity. Something scampered somewhere near him, but was immediately silenced as it went through the wall and out of his cell. This event caused to him to think, how big was his cell? Louis had not found the time to feel around, preoccupation with his recent amputation sapped his energy as well as his attention. Putting as much force as he could muster, he pushed himself backwards, shimmying himself upwards the wall. After he had finally stood up, Louis began to struggle forward. The sudden head rush that hit him forced him to stagger against the wall. The knock reminded him of a moment long ago, a recurring memory which of late, he had been frequently meditating on. Perhaps she hadn’t noticed, given how distraught she was at the time, and given how fast she had ran by him. He tried to yell at her as he passed, but she didn’t even stop. He almost resented himself for not saying what he wanted too. Had he yelled, if he had even made any kind noise in that dark abyss, Louis hadn’t noticed. What took place wasn’t right, but yet-. Louis ended his thoughts. Now rebounding off the wall, he moved forward along it, his right hand gliding across it’s damp and cold exterior. He took a few steps, anticipating along the way what was to come. It soon became obvious how deceiving the darkness had been, cloaking the true nature of the cell. After several more steps, something caught his attention. The now growing familiarity he associated with the feeling of the stone that made up the wall had shifted to something more ridged, the feeling of wood. He stopped. Without thinking he scratched the wood, but to know avail. He stooped over, with all his might he began to rip at the wood, he scratched the wood more and more viciously. Every second increased his ferocity. Soon without noticing, Louis had begun to rip off his finger nails, progressively resulting in the bloody stubs of his fingertips beginning to strip back to their bone. His neck twitched, blood began to drip from a nostril, and his eyes rolled.
After several more steps, something caught his attention. The now growing familiarity he associated with the feeling of the stone that made up the wall had shifted to something more ridged, the feeling of wood. He put his hand on the wood. It was a door. When Louis began to feel compelled to scratch at the door, he stopped. An occurrence which had happened, as if recently, reminded of him of how he felt presently. As he stood in the darkness, he remembered the beach and the soldiers. The question which was previously asked but that remained unanswered resurfaced in his mind. His hand was raised above him on the wall, his forehead was pressed against the wood. Inhaling the musk ingrained within the wood, he pressed his mind harder then last time. The image of his daughter was perfectly visualized, nearly every detail. Perhaps, it was something else. Was something in the picture that revealed himself as important? Obviously it was critical, for he was still alive. Soon standing along the wall, his back began to buckle, and fatigue started to creep into every muscle of his body. His arm, now nonexistent beckoned him to rest. At first resisting, Louis soon couldn’t help his legs from giving out. The floor was cold and damp. Laying on his stomach, he used his arm to keep his head from coming contact with the filthy flooring. For the first time Louis asked himself, “What have I gotten myself into?”
Closing the door behind him, Louis began to step down the wooden stairs which lead into the basement. Looking at his foot, he began analyzing each step. With his descent, Louis felt a growing weight. Slowly, Louis was making his way farther and farther into the basement. As he began to think about where he was, he felt as if he were having de ja vu. Nearly at the bottom of the stairs, he began to understand where he was. Reaching the final step, he finally understand what was truly at work. At some point in his life, he had already experienced this. Although it felt as if it were a memory, Louis couldn’t remember what was going to happen next. The light on the wall flickered, a ball rolled off a box and on to the ground. Louis was now in his cousin’s basement. But his cousin was no where to be found. Something was odd in the air, something ominous. Along the walls of the large basement were lockers, boxes, and at the very end, a refrigerator. Beginning to pace from end of the basement, Louis knew his cousin was somewhere near by. With each investigation of nearby hiding places, he came up empty handed. At any second he could reveal himself. But Louis knew that this wouldn’t going to be the case, instead he was going to hide. His location was just on the tip of tongue, on the very edge of realization. A few feet from the opposite end of the basement, Louis stopped. Although he hadn’t come to a conclusion to where his cousin was, something urged to him to leave the basement immediately. Turning around, Louis began to walk briskly away from the wall. Something horrible was about to be sprung, and Louis awkwardly tried to avoid the trigger as best he could. The realization that he was truly helpless to avoiding what were to come, was realized to late. As someone yelled “NOW!” the lights in the basement went unlit and darkness came upon Louis. As quickly as the lights went out, Louis’ heart plunged. Staying in place, he tried to be invisible. The muffled voice had come from behind him and now Louis focused on his attention to the sounds around him. Eerily, there was silence. Until something cracked open behind him and a slight hum became audible. Along with the sound came a sudden flash of light, confusing Louis. Without understanding, Louis turned around to see the origin of the sound and noise. The outline of something horrible was visible, surrounded by light. Something with an unnatural body. Something with grotesque ears. Something with fangs. Something that disappeared as the refrigerator behind it closed.
The light which faded previously began to take focus once again, blinding Louis as he attempted to squint. He closed them immediately as he began to take control of his feelings. He felt straps bound his arms and legs. The leather had become wet with perspiration, yet although he attempted, he could not unbind himself. He heard someone across the room muttering in foreign tongue. Sounds of scratching, and tools being tossed were audible. Something kept him from opening his eyes, he feared what would appear. Rather then being forced to eventually, he opted to do the horrible deed himself. Opening them, he shuttered. All around him were the most horrifying of tools. Louis could feel his heart rate increase as gazed upon drills of various lengths, hammers with dozens of different heads, and vials with liquids of every color within the spectrum collected inside them. Skulls adorned the wall on his right, one after another. There mouths were set in a ghastly smile, a hue of green was shining on their rough appearance. Louis started to wonder who the owner of these horrible tools was. Unfocusing his eyes, Louis noticed a drill was aimed directly at him, looking him the eye no less then two inches away from him. Thoughts from the darkest parts of mind began to creep up, scenarios with the most disturbing outcomes as well. Closing his eyes again, Louis feared what was going to become of him. A sharp pain came upon his cheek as a Doctor slapped him. Jerking his head to the left, the Doctor grasped Louis head and forced him to look at the picture from the beach. Looking at it, the Doctor pointed at something behind his daughter in the bottom left hand corner of the picture. A horrible realization hit Louis as he began to piece together why the picture had been so important to the enemy. In the picture was Louis’ radio equipment adorning the typing Military camo. The enemy now knew who he was.
“We know. Now, you will begin to explain the codes. Don’t act like you can’t translate them either, we know code talkers’ jobs.” the doctor scoffed in a slight foreign accent. Although Louis realized the horrible position he was in and that he was at the mercy of his captor, fear as well as instinct kept his mouth shut. Although he had convinced himself on what he was going to do, constant thoughts of what was going to happen kept popping into his head. Disillusioned, Louis began to take himself mentally away from the situation. Eyes dull, as well as his mind, Louis steeled himself for what was to come. His eyes swayed from the doctor, as he turned away and began to mess around with his utensils, as well as the drill which was positioned so close to his eyes. The Doctor turned around, facing Louis. In his right hand was a knife.
“This is what must be done? So be it.”
Bloodied and battered Louis was slipping into a state of near death. His tongue was swollen and he craved water. His stomach was as empty as the abyss with hunger. His mind was beginning to turn inside out. His time spent in the Doctor’s office was beginning to be to much for him. Louis’ vision was beginning to fade, he knew that he was going to crack. Louis could no longer see the Doctor’s eyes, with his head slumped at an angle, all he saw was the reflection of the light off the Doctor’s glasses. The clock on the wall which up until had been unnoticed begun to tick-tock loudly. An almost dream like scene lay before louis. With every second that passed, it felt like an eternity for Louis. Cuts adorned his body, drill which was aimed at his eye, was only a trick. Instead, the doctor had saved it for something more “special,” as put it. Although there was previously a nub where his arm ahd been amputated, now there was a collective of gaping holes. Taking effort to look away from the doctor’s glasses, he began to scan down his arm. Held in a clenched fist was a syringe. Louis’ mind began to ponder what could be the purpose of it. He began to clench his fists and flex his legs in anticipation. The skulls on the wall began to stare at him. Posters of human anatomy that adorned the wall were also apart of this horrible audience. All eyes were on him, their was a show about to take place and the audience watched in eager anticipation. The star of this twisted sitcom was Louis himself.
‘This. This is it, this is what’s going to make you talk. Any efforts to resist will be futile, I assure you,” he told Louis as he began to pace towards him. He continued, “Your mind will be rendered nearly useless after less then hour, so, I’m going to be making you talk fast.” The Doctor placed the needle near Louis’ neck. His voiced seemed to boom and echo off the walls around him. “You will not be missed.” he laughingly whispered. TIme stood still. Louis only had a feint idea of what was to come. He could feel the presence of the doctor but could not completely see him, the light above blocked all definite vision. But the needle itself could not be seen at all. The needle, made of fine metal was only millimeters away.
Louis was plunged into a world of darkness once again. Stuck within the confines of his own mind, he was lost. He attempted to give explanations of his sudden transitioning. Initially unaware of what had become of him, he soon became very aware. Something moved towards him cumbersomely. As moments began to pass by, each one resulting into another bulky step, Louis’ thoughts which had only seconds ago been logical, began to degrade into a sheer state of terror. Stumblingly, Louis began to make his way away from the sounds in front of him. But as he began to quicken his pace, so did the noises behind him. As Louis began to start running, the sudden fear of being pounced upon by the darkness itself began to ravage him. Where were the steps? Louis knew that he had descended down to this hell from somewhere, but the location of them pervaded them. He could hear the breathing of the beast behind him and he knew that stopping was not an option. When Louis’ foot made contact with the elevated stair, he lost balance, flying face first into them. At his dismay, the beast grabbed him by the legs and attempted to drag him back into the darkness, back to the place which would be the end of him. With all his might, louis attempted to kick in desperation at the beast. Making contact with that dreaded arm, Louis broke his grip and began making his way back up the stairs. The vertical assent seemed to take forever, the steps themselves began to multiply. With sheer effort, he forced himself up them. After what seemed a life time, Louis made it to the door. As he reached for the door handle, it was locked. Stupefied and in a state of awe, he stood in place. Bending down to the keyhole, he looked through. At the moment he made eye contact with the person on the other side, Louis had the wind knocked out of him as he was swept off his feet by the beast, which tore him away to the place where light did not shine. Louis hands grinded on each step, leaving fingernails behind.
His body shook, the walls rattled. Reality itself began to shake. He couldn’t open his eyes, for he lacked the willpower to do so. As his sense began to fully take shape, he could no longer feel the constant feeling of his restraints. With a thought, Louis woozily stood up. The room rattled again, this time nearly causing him to fall. Stumbling, Louis caught himself with his good arm. As if he were reliving it again, his mind acknowledged his handicap once more. An oddity of some sort occurred in the corner of his eye. Looking over, he saw something standing and staring at him. Louis was making eye contact with something horrible. It was the beast from the memory which haunted him. In it’s hands was the syringe which had only previously been in his veins. Taking a step forward, Louis felt as if he were in a temporary state of paralyzation. The colors around him shifted in hues and brightness. The vibrancy of the ancient lighting that illuminated the room began to take on hues of red. Moving forward once more, the room began to take on the shape of the basement that Louis kept finding himself in. For the first time, the beast took notice of him.
“What are you doing? How did you get u-” but the beast’s foreign accent was silenced as Louis began to grip his throat. Holding tight and venting his anger, Louis watched as the beast began to shift in his hands. Only moments ago Louis felt no strength in his body, but now he was able to hold the beast in place with one arm. In anger, Louis tried to put his other hand around the beast’s throat. Although he first imagined gripping it’s throat, he soon noticed it had returned. He visualized the phantom arm, but was unsure if it was truly there or not. The beast’s face soon had glasses, the red lights around him reflected off of them, hiding it’s horrible pupils. As Louis began to loosen his grip, another vibration shook reality, shifting the room once more. Louis now noticed the door which lead out of the room. Releasing his grip and stumbling towards it, he tried to open the door. For some reason, his instinct told him it was locked, but upon turning the handle, it opened. Leaving the room which had served as his place of torture, he was now welcomed by a dank and damp hallway. Closing the door behind himself, he began to run down the corridor with full speed. Although his previous surge of adrenaline and energy was beginning to lessen, something urged him to continue. On the walls were signs with arrows, but the words on them were no more then mere lines. Louis once again felt the paranoia that he was placed in a test, as if the enemy had planned out all what was happening. Sprinting, in mid-lunge, someone sprinted by him, causing Louis to stumble into a ladder which he almost passed up. Looking down the hallway, he saw his aunt hysterically running towards the torture room. Stunned, Louis refused to allow her to pass by again. “It wasn’t my fault” Louis yelled at the top of his lungs. Her hysterical screaming now turned to a horrible moaning. Turning away, he grabbed the ladder, and he slowly forced himself upwards, compensating for his handicap. He looked down once more. Stunned by what he saw, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Beneath him, the floor was nonexistent, instead replaced by pure blackness. Refusing to experience the darkness which had been his reality for so long, Louis began making his way up to the next hall way, towards light. Reaching the top of the ladder which had just saved him, he turned right down the new hall way. As he ran, he took note of the walls. The cracks in between each brick seemed to be leaking smoke. Soon, Louis reach another wall, it seemed as if he had hit a dead end. Louis was in a stupor, he knew that soon he would no longer be able to push himself. When a door on the wall opened and an explosion of flames flew from it, Louis stumbled backwards. With a scream, a being made of fire escaped the door, screaming at him in a tone of agonizing pain. The sudden thought of being engulfed within the hellish flames, urged Louis to make his way to where he had previously came. But as quickly as he ran, the flame and the sudden surge of smoke followed him. Passing the ladder which he had climbed, he continued down the hallway. Soon, the ladder too was engulfed in the burning flames, the damp feeling which the hallway had only previously felt like, now was replaced with an intolerable heat. The heat felt like it was burning Louis from the inside out, but he was completely unable to sweat. Approaching another ladder, Louis was almost sweeped away by the flames once again. But as much as he tried, Louis could not move fast enough up the ladder, his handicap now more so then ever was failing him. With the greatest of efforts, he inched himself up. Peeking beneath him, only smoke greeted him. New beings ran beneath him, all screaming. They ran in disorganized patterns, trampling each other. Some attempted to quench the oncoming flames. But they made no effect. As Louis slowly began reaching the top, the flames below claimed new victims. The beings themselves took on the form of the fire, strengthening it. Grabbing the last part of the ladder which would grant him escape, Louis looked down once more. Rapidly, the ladder itself began to disappear, falling into the abysmal darkness which wanted so dearly to claim Louis for itself. Shimming himself up the last few inches, Louis dragged himself away from the ladder. With sudden force that startled the disillusioned Louis, flames exploded from the place that he had just ascended. Crawling once more down a final hallway, Louis moved slowly towards a final door. As the hall began to fill with smoke, each crawl was a struggle for life and sanity for Louis. Foot by foot, meter by meter, Louis crawled towards the exit. The walls took on the forms of all those that Louis had met in the military, fought alongside with, and all those that he had killed. The proximity from the wall increased and decreased with each movement. Choked by smoke, Louis began to cough. This phenomenon raised no question in Louis’ head, he resented it instead. He didn’t look in their eyes, he was ashamed of hat he had done. The faces beckoned him to talk, to make conversation. His eyes burned, but didn’t water. Oxygen rapidly became scarce, there wasn’t enough for Louis to breath.
The face of the doctor, his reflecting glasses tilted at an angle, appeared on the wall and whispered, “I forgive you.” as louis crawled past without acknowledging him.
The face of the very distraught aunt appeared on the wall and whispered,
“I forgive you” as Louis who at the sound of her voice, flinched and looked away.
The face of the beast, grisly as it was appeared and growled,
“I forgive you.” as Louis stopped to look at him. They were face to face. As if accepting Louis, the beast’s face contorted back into the stone wall in which he was made. Louis could no longer breath. The world around him began to shift and contort into darkness. Soon the only thing visible in Louis’ squinting burning eyes was the exit. The voices now silenced, Louis urged himself to escape. Crumbled on the floor, straining to survive, Louis reached the door. Now at his weakest, Louis was closest to escape. The flames which had been stalking him through out this nightmare began to make their presence known once more. Louis’ fear of the darkness which wanted him to itself was only matched by the dry, burning flames which devoured others into it’s being. Propping himself up one knee required what seemed monstrous strength. Louis coughed and gasped for breath. He could no longer think properly. Getting on the other knee required nearly every muscle in his body. His hand on the hinge, Louis used his final bit of strength to pull it open. As it fully opened, in an instant, Louis was once again engulfed by the blinding light. Darkness’ enemy appeared, fighting it back. Basking in the light, Louis breathed fresh air for the first time in what seemed a life time. As this moment past, Louis felt an unnatural surge of heat push behind and past him, ejecting him forward and through the air, sending him into the sky. The last thing Louis saw was the Sun high in the air as it was beginning to dawn. The last sensation he felt was the joy of feeling it’s warmth on himself. His last thought was of the darkness of which he had finally escaped.
EPILOGUE
As the Navy began it’s bombardment of the Japanese Fortress Island, they were were met with mild air force resistance, as well as small arms fire. Quickly decimating the fortress’es’ defenses with heavy artillery, the navy unknowingly set the fortress ablaze, killing under two-hundred men inside. As the invasion force arrived on the island, they began assaulting the base, taking prisoners by surprise, and quickly gaining control of the fortress. The fortress’ initial size was greatly underestimated, the miles of underground tunnels beneath the fortress had not been accounted by the original intelligence. Of the initial scouting/invasion force, only one survived. Due to the initial forces cover being blown, they were quickly dispersed by enemy aircraft. None of the dead’s bodies were recovered. However the only soldier of the initial force which survived was nearly overlooked. On the verge of death several yards away from the base, his body was only recovered after a soldier noticed that the the foliage had been broken by something. It would seem that the survivor had been put through severe experimental torture, even having his left arm amputated for some unknown reason, although there are already several theories behind this. The survivor somehow orchestrated his own escape, making his way to the top of the fortress. Upon opening the door to escape, he was promptly dispatched by a burst of flames that escaped the enclosed hallway when it was opened. He has been relocated to the closet ship where he being treated for third degree burns and several dozen lesions on his body. Because of this, we have been unable to positively identify him, he was nude when we found him. Results have shown that due to prolonged lack of oxygen he has become close to brain dead. However, it seems there is still hope. Although he is in some kind of mentally induced coma, he has shown some simple signs of communication. The most obvious being of course, when he is left in the doctor’s room, alone, after the doctors have turned out the lights.
