Captive in the Dark

Description: 

A young boy seeks refuge from his pursuer. He finds a dark place to hide, but isn't sure if it's the best place. Will the darkness be a friend or a foe? Can he outlast his enemy and stay tucked away until the coast is clear? 

Story: 

You’ve been looking for me for some time now. How long, I couldn’t say. The darkness that surrounds me and the confines of this enclosure have had my mind anywhere except for the elapsed time. If I played this right, you’ll never find me, but I have no clue just how many spots you’ve checked.

A small crack in the cupboard that shields me from your discovery allows me to not be in total blackness and fear. Flashes of movement past my minuscule line of sight causes my heart to pound faster.

You’ve grown closer, honing in on your target. The ever so subtle creaks of the floorboards beneath your heavy steps give away your position, as I stay still to not give away mine. You try to be stealthy, but that skill is not one you possess.

I contemplate the idea of shutting the cupboard door, but to be left alone in the dark frightens me too much to follow through with the notion. The groaning of the floor has ceased. Why have you stopped moving? My heart is rapidly drumming away inside my chest. I wonder if it will rip out from inside me.

I take my hands and cover my mouth, as I can sense the intensity of each breath rising, and I must not let the involuntary function of an adrenaline spike become your reason for finding me. The floor croaks again, but the sound seems farther away than before.

You’ve left my area… for now. Relief floods my body and I relax my head back against the wall behind me.

BANG!

My head slams hard, as if I were trying to use it to break through the wall and escape with my freedom. The utter blackness around me is not only a friend, but an enemy. It skewed my depth perception, and I flung my head back too far, too fast.

Mere seconds after colliding my skull into the wall, I hear you scurry back to the sound of the unintentional thud.

You ravage door after door, examining all cupboards and closets, looking for your helpless prey. With the barrage of banging, I close my hideaway, forcing myself into the abyss of dreaded darkness. I sit there, eyes closed, welcoming total blindness, waiting for you to open my door and find your victim.

Seconds go by, but I no longer hear the clamoring of your investigation into my slip-up. Are you there outside my hideaway, waiting for me to look at you?

I pry one eye open and see… nothing.

I’m still in my little cubic hiding place, door not opened, you not there salivating over your prize. Something must’ve happened.

Then I feel it, the booming echo of your cinderblock feet racing up the stairs sends vibrations through me and my sanctuary. You are on a mission! But what stole your attention away from me?

Doesn’t matter. I’m safe a little while longer.

An eternity goes by and I haven’t heard, touched, or even smelt a thing in the blackness. I’m thinking it’s clear to come out now. Slowly, I reach for the door, learning from my earlier mistake with the wall behind me.

That glorious sliver of golden light streams in once again, easing my angst.

The sudden screech of the door as I push further halts my movement. A few silent seconds pass, so I test my luck more. Out of nowhere a thought races into my brain.

Do I change my place of refuge? Would that increase my chance of survival?

As quickly as the idea entered my mind, I dismiss it. NO! I’ll play the long game, stay forever hidden here until you surrender your search. I return to the darkness and allow the weight of the door to fall back against my fingertips until my only friend leaves me once more.

Just as the door gently rests against the frame, I hear something other than my breath.

Bum, bum. Bum, bum. I hear your muffled voice over the pounding of my heart against my chest.

The barrier of my prison warps your words, but I can understand your tone. Hopefully, you will give up and I can free myself from isolation. I sense the tension rising as you race once more around the house, double checking and second guessing yourself.

How have you not found me? Surely, you don’t believe you’ve looked everywhere.

I cover my mouth as I giggle at the growing sound of anguish in your moans and movements. You’ve removed any element of surprise, your stomps are that of a charging rhino, your grunts of misfortune resembling a raging bull, your mumblings the sweet sound of failure.

A metaphysical weight lifts from my shoulders, and my body relaxes for the first time since being stuck in my tiny compartment. It’s nice to loosen up, even if only slightly. My body needed the break from the severity of my predicament.

Wait. What was that? My ears recognize an extra set of footsteps. A fresh voice accompanies it.

“We’ll find him, don’t worry. He can’t hide forever.” Oh, no! The determination in that second voice sends a shiver down my spine.

There goes my fleeting moment of peace. You have called in reinforcements; my luck surely will run out soon. Instantaneous fear causes my chest to tighten and my breaths to feel constrained, I’m struggling to keep calm for my safety.

Every inch of this house must’ve been covered by now, especially with the extra set of eyes, but somehow my door remains unopened by hands other than my own.

With every aching minute that passes, my limbs become more numb from the constant state of contraction. My knees are bent into my chest, my bottom sore from the hard surface on which it sits.

Tracing my fingers against the wall to the left and in front of me distracts me from the unceasing pain my body is experiencing. I analyze every blemish of the unfinished wood, every marking or bump from years of wear and tear. Each imperfection tells its own unique story, one only to be told in circumstances like mine.

I sit in the unrelenting obscurity, only because there’s no other choice. Well, no other good choice. My mind is telling me to let the light in for a third time.

Is my boredom worth being discovered? The idea of betting against the odds intrigues me. Especially since I can pick up you and your companion scampering around above me, the hollow floor giving away your every move.

I needed the light; I missed it.

All logic failed, and so the door nudged open again, and I allow myself a look at the freedom just beyond my grasp. You are still upstairs, but I don’t want to push my luck. The door closes again, and I decide this would be the last time until it was one hundred percent safe to come out.

Holding myself captive here means there’s not much to occupy me, and with that the mind wanders.

Foremost, I wonder if one of your goons will find me soon or will this torture go on much longer. All I want is to leave this hell-hole. Thoughts of food follow swiftly thereafter. I have been hiding so long that my stomach has growled at me, and ideas of a scrumptious meal are making me restless.

I shuffle from right butt cheek to left, trying to disperse the agony of my situation. Why are you still after me, I wonder?

If I were in your shoes, I would have given up long ago. I for one, thank you for your struggle, but I wish this would all be over soon.

After a long pause of silence, the vibrations of the stairs whisper to me through the walls, making me aware of your approach. Round three is underway.

I wait for the footsteps to come closer, but you stop at the bottom of the stairs. I pick up another conversation, but I cannot decipher your words as the door distorts the sound waves. Your voice abruptly becomes louder. I hear you crystal clear.

“Alright Caleb, you win! It’s over! You can come out now.”

It might be a trick to fool me into giving myself up. So, no, I’ll stay right here, thank you very much.

Suddenly, a symphony of voices belts out. “Caleb! Come out, you won!”

A smile breaks across my face. There was no denying it now. I wanted to bask in my glory, so I push on the door for the last time. In an instant the golden light floods my hiding spot. I pause for a second for dramatic effect.

Then I unravel my body and climb through the exit back into the world I have hidden from for too long. I stand there proudly as a sea of ooh’s and ah’s rain over me.

The crowd hushes as you proclaim you had checked my hiding place. A satisfied grin steals across my countenance and I pump my fists in victory to mock your failure.

“Bow down to the King of Hide and Seek!”