Bitter Kisses (It's Just High School #3) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,9

at the persistent dripping. Where the hell is it coming from? Is it raining? But no, the dripping is too slow, too constant, almost hypnotic.

A gust of wind so cold blows over my face making my teeth start chattering. I feel the vibrations in my head.

Where am I and why is it so cold?

I try to search my mind, but it’s like there’s only darkness, like I’m existing in a blank space of nothingness.

Maybe I’m having some sort of nightmare. It’s not that unusual. Or I might be hungover. Yes, that’s more plausible.

Another gust of wind whips over me, this time, blowing my hair into my face, but as soon as it makes contact, I yelp. My hair is freezing cold and wet, with something gooey matted in it.

My nose tickles as a strong, pungent smell filters in. I recognize the unmistakable smell almost immediately and my heart start pounding against my chest… it’s blood.

My eyes fly open, as alarms blare up in my head as if I can sense some kind of unknown danger close to me, made more acute by the low buzzing, but the moment my eyes flare open, I’m met with nothing but thick, oppressive, endless darkness.

A frightened gasp escapes my lips. I can literally hear my heart pound even harder as fear snakes its way into the pit of my stomach.

Why is it so dark? Am I dreaming?

I force my eyes closed. Then open them again, but the view is still the same.

A shudder goes through me.

What the fuck is this?

I can feel myself start to panic as the smell of blood becomes stronger. Gingerly, I try to sit up straight, but I’m met with pain so acute, it steals my breath away.

My jaw drops open on silent scream as my body comes awake with very excruciating agony I’ve never felt before.

Every inch of me is in pain. Tears stings my eyes and I quickly decide to lie back down… wait, lie back! I’m lying on something smooth, hard and so damn cold.

Another gust of cold wind blows over my face and a quiver moves through me, making the soreness in my body even worse.

“Oh God.”

What happened to me?

I try to move my hand so I can move my hair from my face, but nothing happens. There’s no movement at all. I can’t feel my hands or my arms!

No, no, no…

I attempt to move my arms again, nothing. I try my legs, my toes, my fingers…all nothing. It’s almost as if all my limbs are disconnected to my body.

“Oh God,” I whisper, the pain in my voice echoing around me in the darkness. I try to shift and look around but the slightest movement to my head makes a new wave of agony rush into me like a tsunami, I swear I see stars. I start panting, feeling like I’m on the verge of passing out.

Something happened to me, of that I’m pretty sure but what? Straining to recall, I draw a blank.

I suck in deep breathes, trying to steady my heart but it doesn’t listen.

Get a grip and try to find a way to get up.

I mentally will myself to focus and concentrate on my surroundings and how I got here and what happened to my body.

Cold air blows over my face. The darkness is still there. The dripping sound is still there and I realize its water leaking from somewhere close by.

The buzzing whine keeps going it doesn’t change or falter and I soon realize that everything is happening with regularity, but there’s something disconcerting about all this, something flittering at the frail edges of my scattered consciousness, as if waiting for me to grasp it.

The cold wind, the whine… I’m in a dark, enclosed space!

Knock her out and throw her in there!

What was that? The vehement anger in that voice…

Alarms blare up in my head. That voice was directed at me, I just know it!

Why can’t I remember anything? The last thing I remember is… well, nothing. There’s just nothing.

No shapes, or blurred memories, just that one angry shout I heard in my head. But there’s something familiar and nerve-wrecking about that voice…

There’s an odd tingling sensation at the back of my head that’s screaming at me, almost begging me to remember something because this, there’s something seriously wrong here.

I can’t feel my limbs but I’m sure there are there. They must be, right? I must be desensitized because of the cold. I mean, when its cold, fingers become stiff and numb,