Before they woke up.
* * *
Scrape.
Scrape.
Scrape.
The sound filled the world almost as completely as the overwhelming darkness. The darkness was the world, its sides pressed against her, wet sliminess against her skin. She pushed against it, but it would not yield. It was like being a fly trapped in ointment. She could move inside its hollow innards, but she could not escape it. Her nails scratched at the membrane, but it would not tear, it simply stretched, taunting her with the possibility of rupture. It became her world and she could not escape it. She took a breath and it followed the path into her lungs, making her cough. She opened her mouth and it flowed down her throat, blocking her scream.
The need to escape was overwhelming, but she could not even see where she was because
