*Edited Sept. 14, 2017 (Originally published June 19, 2015)

When I woke up again, I found myself in a small, dark room filled with dust and mildew. Panic set in as memories of my recent discovery flashed through my muddled mind. I wasn't alive. I wasn't even really human anymore... What had happened to me? What was I?! What was going on?!! I placed a hand on my chest, searching for even the faintest beat of my heart. Nothing, not even a single shuddering beat could be felt. Frantically, I started running my hands over my body, trying to find signs of any wounds, wondering what had happened to kill me. All that met my touch and sight was unblemished, although unnaturally pale, skin. No cuts, no holes, not even a bit of blood somewhere to show that a wound existed. Arms, legs, head and torso were checked and rechecked, nothing more than smudges of dirt and grime from having lain on the ground could be found. I must have sat for nearly an hour in confusion before something interrupted my thoughts.

The sound of the door being unlocked caused me to turn my head before it was followed by the creak of the door slowly opening. The soft light of a distant torch barely even gave enough light to see anything in the hallway, my room getting just enough to barely make out someone entering the dismal room I was in. The door closed behind them and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness left behind, I found myself looking into an almost familiar pair of eyes. Eyes that I could only be likened to peering up at the night sky, pinpoints of light seeming to randomly shift about within the otherwise hauntingly black eyes, almost like watching a galaxy slowly spinning and expanding within the darkness. I felt like I was losing myself within those eyes, being sucked into the endless stars floating within their depths. And then they blinked, breaking the connection and allowing me to look away once more.

I nearly jumped when I felt something touch my arm, feeling almost hot against my own cold skin. Looking down, I could barely make out slender fingers being slowly pulled back, those haunting eyes watching my reaction. I tried to ask why they touched me, but I had forgotten that I didn't breath anymore and nothing more than a breathy sigh came out. Frowning, I slowly forced air into my dead lungs and turned back to the figure in front of me. In a voice that sounded like it hadn't been used in days, if not weeks, I haltingly began asking what had happened, why I was here, what I was and who they were. And why they touched me.

Oh, how that question burned within my mind, along with why their eyes seemed to haunt me even when I closed my eyes before looking at them again. They simply stood there watching me for a moment longer before turning around and opening the door to exit the room. Just as I moved to try and follow, they shut the door and I heard the click of the lock moving back into place, a sound that caused a feeling of desperation to fill me.

I shuffled as quickly as I could to the door, reaching out to rattle the handle in hopes it would somehow open. I called out in a broken whisper, pleading with the person to let me out, to not leave me alone in this dark room. The only answer I received was the sound of their footsteps softly moving away down the hall. I slid down the wall next to the door as I could feel tracks of ice cold water run down my face. Lifting my fingers, I pulled more air into my lungs, releasing my broken laughter into the air as I wiped my frozen tears from my cheeks. I guess even the dead can cry in this prison for the damned.