The agonizing time in between
Cw: Captivity, past violence, implied panic attacks
The door closed shut and Whumpee didn't register it. After five minutes they moved, slowly. After ten the shock started to wear off. Would this feeling ever go away?
Whumpee didn't like it, usually, to see time pass. To realize how much they had wasted but now they wished for nothing more than a clock, a watch even a phone if just to see what time it was. How long had they been here. Here alone. They felt the crude stone wall pressing into their back. Just like when they had been pushed against it. They wrapped their arms around their legs, pressed their chin onto their knees. Skin torn. It still burned.
Whumpee's breath was short. The pain from where they'd been struck, their ribcage still hurt. A numb, throbing pain that didn't seem to disappear.
Crying was the worst part. Not because everything became blurry, not even the way their throat closed and began to hurt. The short moments of panic, the gasps for air to make sure they could still breathe. Freely. No hands around their throat, no fingers pressing down on their windpipe.
The worse part was the helplessness, the overbearing, inescapable feeling of despair. There was no way out. When it was over, when the hyperventilating stopped Whumpee buried their face between their legs. Their breathing became steadier. Their throat still hurt.
They did fall in and out of sleep or consciousness. Time passed. Whumpee couldn't control it. Maybe it was good that they slept, maybe they would wake up and find themselves somewhere else. Somewhere nicer. A warm, soft bed, wearing clean clothes. A glass of water standing on their bed side. But everytime Whumpee opened their eyes, felt the cold stone press into their back, felt their bruised body and the heavy silence around them they hoped not to sleep again. It never worked of course, the same way that sliver of hope, of resuce never truly faded.
What wouldn't they do for a glass of water? Their throat was dry, their head pounding. Water, something anything to drink. Their stomach rumbled, their eyes were getting heavy again. Whumpee wanted to sleep, wake up and realize that they were finally out, that they were safe. To be anywhere but here.
Their eyes began to water again. Whumpee shuddered, squeezed their eyes shut and pushed their legs closer to their chest.