Excerpt from SHEER INJURY, Coming Soon

He paced the floor. The voice would not cease; he needed for the man to be quiet. He could not make sense of what was happening to him. What was the incessant rustling sound and the voice that would not keep quiet? At first it started in his dreams. He would awaken with sweat pouring from his brow and his heart beating wildly in his chest. They were disturbing images that plagued him, while he slept. He was in a dark and unfamiliar place. It was cold and damp and he was alone. For some reason he could not imagine that he was more than a mere child, in his dream. Yet, he was flooded with mature emotions. His fear was palpable. He could feel the bile rising up through his throat and into his mouth. He could not be a child and understand this kind of terror.

He could not remember, from his dream, the place where he was kept. He did not remember seeing other children where he was, but he could hear children’s laughter in the distance. The man would come to visit him to bring him food and water. He would unchain his hands so he could eat, but his feet remained in shackles. What he could not determine was if he was in a room or in a hole. It was dark and the ground or the floor beneath his was cold … or was it damp? He was blindfolded, so he was unable to tell if it was night or day. What he knew for certain was the biting horror that assailed him. It never left him, it was his constant companion.