++ The Struggle ++

All I remember is the silence. It was so quiet. The silence disturbed my sleep and I remember the tightness of my limbs as my sleep became restless. Briefly pausing I parted my lips and took in a sharp breath. I remember how thin the air was, how musky the smell. My eyelids lifted but it was as if I’d never opened them. I tried again. Nothing. The darkness smothered me, and the air tightened. I gasped. It was smothering me, this silent darkness. My stiff joints willed to move but I couldn’t manage it. My mind screamed for release but the rigid sinew couldn’t yield. In a tumult of thoughts my mind tripped over itself and fell, leaving my taut body wracked with fear and confusion.

I don’t know how long it was before my mind untangled itself from the hopeless snarls. Again my body tried to move. Fingers twitched and went still again. Brow furrowed into ultimate concentration and my hand lifted from my chest only to stop a few inches from my face.

I remember what it felt like. It was smooth at first, my brow furrowing deeper as gentle fingertips explored the surface. It wasn’t that smooth after all. The surface was as crumpled as my forehead must have been. My mind was apathetic with darkness-smothered bewilderment. Then as quickly as my mind had tumulted before the horrible realisation hit me.

My eyes widened in perfect horror and my lips parted. The sound radiating from my tight gullet deafened me and I coughed, finding my movement and starting to thrash. Desperate screams radiated around the confined space, the claustrophobia smothered me as warmth spread down my hands and wrists. I didn’t feel anything but horror, terror and ultimate fear.

I coughed, the muskiness overcoming me, the darkness invading my soul and my senses. I couldn’t breathe anymore. I couldn’t feel. My fingernails snapped as I clawed at the lid of my prison. It wouldn’t give. The weight was too great. The pure power that enclosed me made escape impossible.

I was trapped in my prison of timber. My coffin…