Prologue
620 Words
He lay on the ground and felt the warmth of the earth against his cheek as the ringing sound continued to reverberate in his ears. He felt confused and disoriented, not knowing where he was and how he came to be there. As the pain in his head gradually dissipated, so did the ringing sound and he was able to hear more clearly. There were groans all around him that sounded unearthly, like coming from somewhere at the bottom of a deep well, and composed of voices that both moaned and cried in anguish. Perhaps this is the sound of hell, he thought. Perhaps he had died and he had been thrown to the inferno with all these sinful souls.
“Wake up!” He heard a feminine voice and there was the tap of a heavy hand on his shoulder. The same hand then proceeded to shake him vigorously that he felt compelled to lift his heavy eyelids.
“Where am I?” he said as he tried to see through the inky blackness. Gradually, the formless shadows started to take shape and he was able to see the figure of a woman sitting on the ground by his side. She continued to shake his shoulder as her eyes darted around her. She had a youthful face although he could tell that she was probably older than she looked. There was a sheen of perspiration on her smooth forehead and shallow lines formed between her thin eyebrows. Her eyes opened wide, showing her brown irises that looked darker against the whiteness of her eyeballs. She breathed heavily, evident in the rise and fall of her chest and the movement of her nose. Her small mouth remained shut, but her lips quivered as if she were cold. Then, he realized that she was not quivering from the cold, but of terror.
“You have to get up!” said the woman with the youthful face when she heard him speak. She looked at him intently, trying to see if he was listening, if he understood what she was saying.
He struggled to sit up, the woman helping him by pulling his arm. He felt the blood drain from his head as he sat up and for a moment thought he would blackout. He propped himself up by placing his arms behind him and closed his eyes for a few moments until he felt better. When he opened his eyes, the woman’s face was just a few inches from him and he saw from her brown eyes that she was quite worried. Was she worried about him?
“Do you remember why you’re here?” the woman asked. “You have to remember!” her voice pleaded.
Seeing the woman’s face and hearing the urgency in her voice, he struggled to remember. There was a dull ache in his head and he felt nauseous. If not for the presence of the woman in front of him, he knew he would have puked. He tried to relax his breathing and thought of other things to calm himself. Other things. Peaceful things. Beautiful, calming scenery like a pristine beach with smooth rolling waves that leave behind a clear, glassy surface.
The clear waters looked calm and serene until it was disturbed by the coming of a motorboat that was filled with people. The sound of the rolling waves was replaced with the roar of the motor and the excited shouts of the passengers.
Then, he remembered that he was one of those people. He arrived at that beautiful beach and thought he had found paradise. But things got awry quite quickly and people started to die…
- Writer
