mojo
06-24-2009, 01:12 AM
It was dark. It stank of piss and shit. Bugs and rats scampered about freely, much more so than the rest of us.
Some light filtered in from a grill a metre or so above our heads, it was also our only source of fresh air.
I could hear the trolley rumbling down the cobbled corridor carrying our daily meal, if we were lucky some potato soup and a couple of slices of bread.
The knife in my hand had been hard won, traded through many hands after being pilfered from the kitchen two months ago. Since then it had been slowly and lovingly honed to a fine edge on the sandstone blocks that made up our cell.
For all that time we had suffered in silence, meek, forgiving, cowered and weak, all the while building strength and courage.
The trolley had reached the cell next to ours, iron hinges grated against stone in protest.
"The time is now" i whispered and crept silently to a position beside the cell door.
"We will die here", said one of my comrades, more a prayer than a statement.
"We all die somewhere", i replied.
The door opened.
Some light filtered in from a grill a metre or so above our heads, it was also our only source of fresh air.
I could hear the trolley rumbling down the cobbled corridor carrying our daily meal, if we were lucky some potato soup and a couple of slices of bread.
The knife in my hand had been hard won, traded through many hands after being pilfered from the kitchen two months ago. Since then it had been slowly and lovingly honed to a fine edge on the sandstone blocks that made up our cell.
For all that time we had suffered in silence, meek, forgiving, cowered and weak, all the while building strength and courage.
The trolley had reached the cell next to ours, iron hinges grated against stone in protest.
"The time is now" i whispered and crept silently to a position beside the cell door.
"We will die here", said one of my comrades, more a prayer than a statement.
"We all die somewhere", i replied.
The door opened.