The Cell
1387 Words
The throne room doors closed behind her.
The sound echoed longer than it should have.
Heavy.
Final.
It didn’t sound like a door closing.
It sounded like something ending.
Elara didn’t turn back.
She didn’t need to.
She knew there was nothing behind her anymore.
No safety.
No answers.
Only forward.
Two Zyraeth guards walked beside her.
Silent.
Precise.
Unmoving in ways that didn’t feel natural.
They didn’t touch her.
But she felt controlled.
Like something unseen was guiding her steps.
Correcting them.
Watching them.
“…where are you taking me…” she asked.
Her voice came out dry.
No response.
Not even a glance.
The corridor stretched endlessly.
Too long.
Too straight.
Too perfect.
The walls weren’t still.
They pulsed.
Slow.
Alive.
Like veins beneath skin.
Elara’s eyes followed the movement.
“…this place…”
Her voice lowered.
“…it’s alive…”
Neither guard responded.
But something in the walls reacted.
The deeper they walked—
The darker it became.
The light shifted.
From silver—
To dull.
To something wrong.
A color that didn’t belong to anything natural.
Then—
The smell hit her.
Elara stopped.
Her body reacted before her mind did.
“…what is that…”
It wasn’t just rot.
It was blood.
Burnt flesh.
Decay layered over time.
Something that had been left too long.
Her stomach twisted violently.
“…no…”
One of the guards turned slightly.
“For humans.”
Her breath caught.
“…what do you mean…”
No answer.
But she already understood.
She just didn’t want to.
The doors ahead opened.
Not like doors.
They didn’t swing.
They didn’t slide.
They split.
Like skin tearing open.
Something inside recoiled.
And what waited beyond—
Was not a room.
It was a cage.
INT. HOLDING CELL – ZYRAETH
The moment she stepped inside—
The smell swallowed her whole.
Elara staggered forward.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
“…no…”
Her eyes adjusted slowly.
Chains lined the walls.
Some empty.
Some… not.
Figures hung.
Others sat.
Others barely moved.
Humans.
Alive.
Barely.
Eyes hollow.
Skin pale.
Bodies thin.
Watching her.
The doors sealed behind her.
The sound echoed.
Like something locking.
Silence followed.
No one spoke.
Not at first.
They just stared.
Like they were measuring her.
Like they were remembering something.
Then—
A voice.
“…another one…”
Elara turned.
A man sat in the corner.
His face looked older than it should.
Not from time.
From suffering.
“…they brought another one…”
A woman nearby laughed softly.
But there was no joy in it.
“…she still looks whole…”
Elara swallowed.
Her throat felt tight.
“…where am I…”
A different voice answered this time.
“…you’re in the part they don’t show.”
Her chest tightened.
“…what does that mean…”
The man leaned his head back.
His voice flat.
“…it means this is where we wait.”
“…for what?”
Silence.
Then—
“To be used.”
Elara stepped further in.
Slowly.
Her eyes scanned everything.
The floor was stained.
Dark.
Layered.
Old and fresh mixed together.
She looked away quickly.
“…what happened here…”
No one answered directly.
The woman spoke again.
“…they feed.”
Elara froze.
“…feed…?”
The woman looked at her properly this time.
Her eyes empty.
“…on us.”
The words landed.
Slow.
Then hard.
Elara shook her head.
“…no…”
A man nearby laughed dryly.
“You think you’re different?”
Elara snapped.
“I am different.”
Silence.
The man stared at her.
Long.
Then—
“…we all said that.”
NEXT CELL – OTHER SIDE
A voice echoed faintly through the wall.
“…they went back again…”
Elara turned sharply.
“…what was that…”
The prisoners went quiet.
Listening.
Another voice came through.
“…I saw the ships leave…”
“…they’re going back to the human world…”
Elara moved closer to the wall.
“…who’s there?”
A weak voice answered.
“…another cell…”
A pause.
“…how many did they take this time…”
“…I don’t know…”
“…but they always come back with more…”
A different voice cut in.
“…they don’t stop…”
“…they never stop…”
Elara’s heart dropped.
“…they’re still taking people…”
“…yes,” the voice answered this time.
“…villages… cities…”
“…anyone they want…”
Another voice whispered—
“…children too…”
Elara’s breath shook.
“…no…”
“…we thought it would stop,” the voice continued.
“…we thought once they had enough…”
Silence.
Then—
“…they never have enough.”
Elara pressed her hand against the wall.
“…how long have you been here…”
A pause.
“…long enough to forget the sky.”
That hit harder than anything.
BACK TO CELL
The doors opened again.
Everyone flinched.
No one spoke.
A guard entered.
Dragging something.
A body.
Dead.
Thrown into the center.
It hit the ground heavily.
No care.
No pause.
Just dropped.
“Consume.”
The guard turned.
Left.
The doors sealed again.
Silence.
Then—
Movement.
A man crawled forward.
Slow.
Desperate.
Elara stared.
“…don’t…”
He didn’t stop.
Another followed.
Then another.
They didn’t look at each other.
They didn’t speak.
They just moved.
Hunger had taken everything else.
Elara’s voice broke.
“STOP!”
No one listened.
The sound—
It was wrong.
Too real.
Too human.
Elara backed into the wall.
Her breathing shaking.
“…this isn’t happening…”
The woman spoke again.
“…you’ll understand soon.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“…then you’ll die.”
TIME PASSES
There was no time.
No sun.
No night.
Only hunger.
Only waiting.
Only the sound of breathing.
Elara sat alone.
Her arms wrapped around herself.
Her body weaker now.
Her stomach twisted violently.
“…I won’t…”
Her voice was barely there.
“I won’t become like this…”
But her body didn’t agree.
Her head dropped slightly.
Her vision blurred.
Then—
The voice returned.
[You are rejecting survival.]
Her eyes snapped open.
“…leave me alone…”
[Your body requires adaptation.]
“I said STOP!”
Her hand slammed into the ground.
CRACK.
The floor split beneath her.
A pulse of energy shot outward.
The air warped.
Everyone froze.
“…did you feel that…” someone whispered.
The wall trembled slightly.
Even the chains moved.
Elara stared at her hand.
“…what is happening to me…”
The woman stared at her.
Different now.
“…you’re not like us…”
Elara shook her head slowly.
“…I don’t know what I am…”
ANOTHER MOMENT
The doors opened again.
Two guards entered.
They didn’t look at anyone else.
Only her.
“Stand.”
Elara didn’t move immediately.
“…why…”
The guard stepped closer.
“You are not for consumption.”
Silence.
That word again.
Elara’s voice dropped.
“…then what am I…”
A pause.
Then—
“Selection.”
The entire cell went still.
The prisoners stared at her.
Different now.
Not pity.
Not fear.
Something else.
Hope.
Or something close to it.
“…you’re leaving…” one whispered.
“…they don’t take us out…”
“…only those they choose…”
The voice from the other cell came again—
“…if you’re chosen…”
“…you don’t come back…”
Elara’s chest tightened.
“…I’m not staying here.”
The guard didn’t respond.
Because she wasn’t being asked.
FINAL MOMENT
Elara stood slowly.
Her legs weak.
But something inside her—
Was no longer weak.
She looked once at the prisoners.
At their eyes.
At what they had become.
At what she could become.
From the other cell—
A voice echoed again.
“…if you get out…”
“…tell them…”
“…we’re still here…”
Another voice followed—
“…tell them we didn’t just disappear…”
Elara’s jaw tightened.
Her voice low.
“…I will.”
The guards turned.
She followed.
Not because she wanted to.
But because something deeper—
Was pulling her forward.
Something stronger than fear.
Something older.
And behind her—
The cell closed again.
The voices faded.
But not completely.
They stayed with her.
And somewhere deep inside—
Something answered.
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