Celest's heart sank as she realized they would be trapped in a basement. She looked around, trying to take in their surroundings. The walls were made of dark, damp bricks, and the air was musty and stale. There were no windows, only a single bulb hanging from the ceiling, casting a dim light over the room. The other children were huddled together, shaking with fear.
Celest tried to calm them down, but her own fear was taking over. She had to find a way out, but how? As she was thinking, Celest heard a faint sound coming from above them. It sounded like footsteps, and they were getting closer. She motioned for the other children to be quiet and listened intently. The footsteps grew louder, louder and louder suddenly they suddenly stopped right above their heads. Celest heard the sound of a key turning in a lock, and her heart raced.
Was someone coming to rescue them, or was it their captor returning? The door to the basement opened, and a figure appeared at the top of the stairs. It was too dark to see their face, but Celest could tell they were carrying something. The figure descended the stairs, and as they came into the light, Celest could see that it was a woman, holding a tray of food.
The woman looked at the children with pity and set the tray down. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I wish I could help you." "Who are you?" Celest asked.
The woman hesitated for a moment before answering, "My name is Maria. I work in this house as a maid."
"Please, can you help us escape?" Celest pleaded.
Maria shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, I can't. But I will try to bring you food and water whenever I can."
Celest felt defeated. She had hoped that Maria could help them, but it seemed like they were truly alone. She looked at the other children, who were still trembling with fear, and knew that she had to be strong for them. She took a deep breath and said, "We have to keep trying to escape. We can't give up."
Every four days, Maria would come with food, and each time Celest hated her more and more. "Why would someone not help children suffering and still work for such monsters? I guess I gave us humans too much credit," she let out a dry chuckle.
Celest and the kids were left in the dark with nothing keeping their sanity but each other. Some of the kids stopped moving, barely functioning, only moving when they were allowed to eat whatever was given. Some even shut themselves instead of using the 'toilet' labeled bucket they were 'blessed with.'
Celest was fighting with herself for sanity; her psyche was slowly changing, and she just didn't realize it.
One day Rashid opened the door earlier than usual, "What happened?" Celest thought. To her surprise, Rashid was accompanied by a child around Celest's age, , which further intensified her confusion.
Rashid looks at her with a snicker, "Let's see, let's take her friend over there; she seems like she'll be good for practice," he said as he pointed to the guy next to Celest.
The boy suddenly exclaims, "I can finally test out my concept on real people!"
The boy's sudden exclamation cut through the air like a chilling breeze, "I can finally test out my concept on real people!" His words dripped with a sinister anticipation, casting a shadow over the room and plunging Celest into a deeper sense of foreboding.
Celest's heart sank as she realized what was about to happen. She quickly stood up, shielding the little kid next to her with her own body. "No! You can't do this!" she shouted at Rashid, her voice hoarse from lack of use.
Rashid just chuckled. "Oh, but we can. And we will," he said, grabbing the little kid by the arm and pulling him away from Celest. The kid started crying, begging Rashid to let him go. But it was no use.
Celest kept screaming, "Don't do this; we are humans like you; you can't do this; you'd be no more than a monster!"
Rashid turned and said, "There's no such thing as being human."
Celest felt her blood boil with anger and helplessness. She had to do something. But what could she do? She was just a powerless nine-year-old girl trapped in a cage.
As Rashid and the noble kid started to approach the crying child, Celest closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the scene. But she couldn't. She heard the screams and cries, the sound of metal clanging against the ground, and the sickening squelch of flesh hitting flesh.
As she cautiously opened her eyes again, Celest was confronted with a gruesome sight—the little kid, now almost unrecognizable, lay motionless on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood. Rashid and the noble kid were callously laughing and high-fiving each other amidst the horrifying aftermath. Celest felt a sickening knot in her stomach, unable to fully grasp the grotesque transformation she had just witnessed. And with a sinking feeling, she knew that the horrors had only just begun in their twisted experiments.
Rashid approached Celest with a sinister grin and remarked, "Now that was a good expression. I might keep you." His words hung in the air, laden with a disturbing implication that sent a chill through Celest's already unsettled core. The ominous promise hinted at a fate she dared not imagine in the hands of these twisted experimenters.
Celest shot a venomous glare at Rashid, her eyes brimming with intense hatred that a 9 year old should not be capable of. "You're sick," she spat out, the words laden with disdain and repulsion. The atmosphere crackled with tension, as Celest stood defiant against the depravity unfolding around her.
Rashid's chuckle echoed with a disturbing resonance. "I'm just doing what needs to be done to survive in this world," he replied with a chilling smirk. His words, steeped in a cold pragmatism, hinted at a darkness that went beyond mere survival, The casual acceptance of cruelty for survival painted a grim picture of the world they inhabited, leaving Celest grappling with the harsh reality she found herself entangled in.
"But this isn't survival; this is a nightmare!" Celest's voice quivered with a haunting mix of anger and desperation. Rashid's expression twisted into a sadistic grin. "Watch your tongue, little girl. You're lucky to even be breathing right now. Don't make me regret keeping you around," he taunted, relishing in the agony that painted Celest's face. In that moment, the cold realization set in – her tormentor found pleasure in her suffering, turning the nightmare into a grotesque spectacle of sadism.
Celest fell silent, a tumultuous mix of fear and anger swirling within her. Despite the overwhelming sense of powerlessness, she clung to a flicker of hope. Glancing at the other children in the cage, she saw fear and sadness reflected in their eyes. Determination ignited within her; she knew she couldn't succumb to despair. A plan began to form in her mind as she recognized the shared plight of the children. It was clear she needed to find a way to save them all from the clutches of this heartless torment..
As Celest observed the agonizing experiments on the other children, a storm of helplessness raged within her. "I can't let them suffer like this," she thought, her mind frantically searching for a plan. Yet, with each failed attempt, her inner voice echoed a harsh reality: "You're powerless, no...we are powerless and every plan we make risks their lives even more. You're only 9, what can you really do. Just accept the situation maybe we can see dad again "
But Celest, consumed by a mix of denial and rage, resisted the defeated notion. "No! I won't accept this!" she fiercely thought, her small fists clenching in frustration till her tiny fists bled.
Sadly no matter how hard she tried, the only thing she was able to do was watch as her fellow captives suffered. She couldn't save them, and she couldn't even comfort them. Every time she showed any positive emotions towards someone, Rashid added them to the list.
Each glance, every shared moment of solidarity, became a silent acknowledgment of their shared plight. The constraints on her actions cast a chilling shadow over any glimmer of connection, leaving Celest in a desperate dance between maintaining hope and navigating the perilous consequences of any hint of compassion.
It was a cruel and heartless game, and Celest felt like she was trapped in a never-ending nightmare. She knew that she had to keep trying, but with each passing day, her hope dwindled. She was losing herself in the darkness that surrounded her, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold on.
The relentless weight of the situation pressed on her, and Celest questioned how much longer she could endure. The tendrils of hope, once so resilient, now seemed fragile and fleeting. In the midst of the heartless game, she battled not only the external threats but also an internal struggle against the encroaching darkness that threatened to consume her spirit.
Celest knew that she had to keep her emotions under control if she was going to survive. She couldn't let Rashid see any fear or vulnerability in her. So, she put on a confident face and spoke to him as if she didn't care about anything that was happening.
She cracked jokes, tried to make Rashid laugh, hoping to divert his attention and perhaps, in a twisted turn of events, make him lose interest in tormenting her. The weight of this performance was heavy, especially when witnessing the suffering of the other children.
It was a difficult façade to keep up, especially when she saw the other children being tortured and experimented on. But Celest knew that she had to stay strong, not just for herself, but for the others as well.
However, Rashid, seemingly immune to her efforts, continued to relish in tormenting her, adding another layer to Celest's struggle as she navigated the thin line between defiance and the grim reality that unfolded within the confines of their captivity.