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I found him on the ground, crumpled up into a ball. Funny how he seemed so much smaller down here when he was curled up into himself, so less imposing.
I could hardly believe he was the same man who’d tortured me, who I had been so afraid of.
But he was.
And it was up to me to make sure he never hurt anyone else ever again.
I walked to the center of the circular room, where the chains were still mounted into the ground. There were ones mounted into the wall as well, but I ignored those ones, for now.
I picked up the cuffs that were attached to two of the chains and carried them over to the man, dragging the chains along behind me through the dirt.
His eyes were open, on me, of course, and he was wide awake. My steps didn’t so much as falter.
His eyes were no longer ageless. They were filled with pain and his crumpled body resembled that of an old man.
Pathetic.
I might have screamed and cried when I’d been beaten and stripped of not only my magic but my sight. But I fancied I had never once looked this pathetic.
He didn’t move as I cuffed each of his ankles, chaining his legs up. If he had any fight left in him he was doing an excellent job of hiding it.
I wrapped my hands around the chains and started walking backwards, dragging him along with me. He whined like a wounded animal but it didn’t stop me.
I dragged him over to the wall where the other chains hung and dropped the ones I’d been holding onto. I picked up the empty cuffs and latched them around his wrists, chaining him up by his arms, too.
I stepped back into the center of the room, so I could take him in.
The last person to have been in those chains had been me. Only I’d been standing up. Due to his fucked up ankles, that I thought were most likely broken, the chances of getting him stood up on his feet were zilch.
That was okay. I didn’t need him standing for this next part.
I crouched down in front of him and this time when I met his eyes I didn’t tremble with fear. “How many times were you down here when I was beaten and humiliated? How many times did you stand up there at the top of this very hold and stare down here, watching me as I drowned?”
I was curious and I desperately wanted to know the answers to my questions. But I didn’t need them in order to find closure. I’d get that in a different way, and he was going to stop breathing to give it to me.
I would likely never understand this man, even if he did answer me. Some people were just born inherently evil, and I had a feeling every single man who’d either watched or participated in my abuse down here had been born that way.
He pursed his lips but his mouth remained firmly closed.
The silent treatment.
Wasn’t that familiar. I had played that game when I’d been chained up down here as well.
I hoped he was content dying with no one ever having known his name because question time was over.
It was time for me to get the fuck out of here so this could end for good.
I turned my back on him and walked over to the ladder. I clicked the flashlight off and began the climb back up.
The darkness no longer bothered me and I was stupid to have been afraid of it in the first place. I had known true darkness when my eyesight had been taken from me. Everything else had been short lived and paled in comparison.
But this man? Darkness was going to be his reality until his very last breath. Because he deserved it.
I concentrated on the earth surrounding me as I slowly climbed up the ladder. It was rich, healthy, and, most importantly, full of moisture. Apparently it had rained a whole lot here recently.
Looked like it was my lucky day.
I climbed out of the hole and laid down on my back on the grass. I placed my hands down, palms flat, and splayed my fingers wide, feeling the earth beneath the soft blades of grass.
