Track of the Beast: A Brock Stone Adventure

Interlude 5

Stone came to with cold water splashing on his face. His eyes still burned. He sat up and looked around, but he could not see. He was still blind.

“What have you done to me?”

“There is nothing wrong with your eyes.” Gideon’s voice seemed to fill the space around him.

“Why can’t I see?”

“You must be born again. Like a child in the womb. You are sightless now, but you will see again. If you survive your birth.”

Stone touched his eyes, blinked. He wished he could know for certain that he still had his eyesight. He reached out and his hand found a smooth, cold stone wall. He stood and felt his way along the wall, trying to take the measure of the space in which he was confined.

“What do you mean by ‘survive the birth’?” He asked.

“Childbirth is painful and traumatic.”

“That doesn’t bode well for me.”

“I assure you the process is infinitely more painful for the one who is birthing the child.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Stone turned a corner, felt his way along the next wall.

“It was not intended for comfort. It is simply the truth,” Gideon said.

Stone completed a circuit of the room. He was in a cell about twenty feet square. A metal door without a knob or hinges was set in one wall. He explored the edges with the tips of his fingers, pushed and tugged, but it would not budge. With a growl of frustration, he threw his shoulder into the door. Sharp, stabbing pain was his lone reward.

Something struck him across the shins. He let out a grunt of pain and threw a wild punch that struck only open air. In a flash, his feet were swept out from under him, and he landed hard on the stone floor. Before he could regain his feet, something struck him across the base of the skull and he slumped to the ground, dazed.

A rain of sharp blows poured down upon him. He tried to fight back, but his punches and kicks were useless against his unseen assailant, who moved on silent feet in the darkness.

Without warning, the attack ended. Stone lurched to his feet, excruciating scorching every inch of his flesh. He tried in vain to get his hands on his attacker, but the person was gone.

He was alone in the darkness.