Escape
My feet ascend the crumbling staircase, struggling for grip against the faded concrete. Aching limbs cry out in anguish, tired of this oft-repeated journey. I look up at the structure ahead of me yet also above me. This is the last time, I say to myself.
The entrance is just as enticing as the first time, perhaps even more. Moonlight glints off the door, the polished wood leading to the land of familiarity. A creak emanates as I push through the cloud of old memories. This once glamorous setting is now a despairing sight. The walls are adorned with the tattered remains of wallpaper. Time has turned the purple into a faint pink, and old conflicts have left intricate patterns, through which the grimy wall underneath is sighted. In terms of furniture, there is nothing substantial. Of the few chairs that remain, no two point to one another. Like everything in this godforsaken place, they speak of a fruitless past best forgotten. The solitary light source, a chandelier, hangs limply from its chains. Besides the strands of moonlight streaming in through the high, small windows, the room is shrouded in darkness.
My footsteps echo across the desolate chamber as I make my way to the small box in the corner. This unassuming device holds the only article of importance: a key, shaped like a vital organ. As I reach in, I hear the creak of the doorway behind me. Before my mind can process what is happening, my body is already in motion. Leaping to my left, I realise I haven't acted a moment too soon as something embeds with a dull thud into the wall, inches beside me. Turning around, I come face to face with my worst nightmare. Where others would greet his presence, I feel nothing but disdain. Even in mortal form, there is no mistaking the feathery appendages protruding from behind, or the quiver peering out beside his neck.
As we stare off, I realise there's only one way I can win this. I immediately charge forward, hoping to catch the beast by surprise. He's too quick for me, however, as he easily sidesteps my attempted tackle. Overbalancing, my awkward lunge ends with me crashing into a chair. Realising how exposed I was, I quickly grab the chair and hold it out in front of me. An arrow shatters through the wooden seat, and I fling the now-defunct shield at my attacker. It shatters into a million pieces on contact with the creature, and I charge again through the shower of splinters. This time he's unaware of my charge and my boot crunches into his ribs. Once he's doubled over in pain, I execute a perfectly timed knee to the skull. As he slumps to his side, I reach out and pry the bow from his grip. You'll never be using this on me again.
With that, my knee goes through, breaking the weapon clean in two. There is a sense of contentment as I move to pick up the key from the box.
Approaching the exit, the dark cloud shrouding my mind starts to lift. My short lived relief comes to an end as I spot something. I see it before I feel it, but a distinctly cherry-tipped arrowhead protrudes from my chest. From behind me, a hoarse voice whispers "Did you think you'd stop me that easily? A bow can only do so much, you know."
As he twists it gleefully, I feel the all-too-familiar poison coursing through my veins. My mind spirals downward into the depths of what I feared the most. The room starts to shift back to what it once was. The glimmer of the brand new chandelier is blinding, and the purple wallpaper is as eye catching as ever.
I'm back where I always was, and the winged beast has me in his grasp.
There is no escape.
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