Cancelled by Alex Anders

Author:Alex Anders [Anders , Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

WITHIN THE VOID

Chapter Nine

I was laying on my back on the uncomfortable ground of my room, staring up to the ceiling above and wondering just how deep underground I was. It’s weird but I had never really been claustrophobic before but now, I feel the walls closing in around me and worry that, if there were to be a quake, we would be crushed. That particular thought not helped by the fact I have perfect recall of an event I read about before my life turned to shit: A man went exploring in some caves. He took a wrong turn and as he pushed in deeper, the passageway got narrower until he found himself wedged. Despite the best efforts, rescuers were not able to free him and after many long hours, his heart gave out. To this day his body is trapped in those caves. The rescuers sealed his remains in there and put a plaque outside; I’m not sure if this is a memorial to the man, or a warning to others. Now, I’m here wondering if I am going to have a similar fate.

‘Do you know why you go to the darkness first?’ Jez said from his side of the room. ‘You know, that place you found yourself in before coming here?’

‘I could hazard a guess.’

We’d come for a lie down after tiring ourselves out scraping the food up from the ground where it’d been sprayed, only stopping off for a quick wash after the water had been changed for fresh - not that it smelled very “fresh”.

‘To reflect. We go there first to reflect upon what we’ve done to end up in such a position. We’re pushed from society, forced into the void and made to contemplate our life choices. Those screaming the loudest, I’m sure you would have heard them too, they’re the ones who are really fighting it but, as we all know, there is very little point in screaming into the void. The ones who go quiet though, like you must have done… They’re the ones who are let out briefly. They’re given a chance to apologise for their actions. Those who do? I guess they’re released from all of this. They’re put back into the society which first shunned them. Of course that’s a guess because we don’t know for sure. It’s not like we have a news channel down here, explaining what happens out there. But, ask around, none of the people down here apologised. They stood their ground and, next thing, they’re down here and adding to our steadily growing numbers.’ Jez thought for a moment before he added, ‘At least that’s how I think it works but it could be I’ve just given it all too much thought. What else am I going to do down here though? I think that’s the worst part about this place; all this time to do nothing with, other than think. It’s why it’s the death of you if you keep your family in your mind because, you’re only torturing yourself.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.