Chamber Of Darkness

The sound of gushing water filled her ears. Aarya blinked, confused and breathless. Her hands thrashed wildly as she realized she was submerged in water — cold, heavy, endless. Glass walls surrounded her, slick with condensation. Panic clawed its way up her throat.

She was in a chamber. One of two.

Above her, dim red lights pulsed, a countdown flashing menacingly: 03:00. She had three minutes. Three minutes to escape a death trap crafted by men who didn’t care if she lived or drowned — as long as they got their millions. The goons called it entertainment. They filmed girls like her, trapped, gasping, fighting for life. The viewers? Darker souls who paid handsomely to watch.

The second chamber loomed beside hers, identical in design but empty — a cruel reminder of what lay ahead if she failed.

Her lungs screamed. She swam upward, hitting the sealed top. No way out. Desperation turned to numbness. Aarya began to sink, her body curling in defeat.

And then — black.

When her eyes opened again, she was lying on a mattress soaked in sweat. The room was dim, the ceiling unfamiliar. Her chest rose and fell violently. Her mouth tasted bitter. A dream? Was it a dream?

Her heart thundered, still shackled to the terror. She sat up, clutching her head, trembling. The chambers, the water, the countdown — it had felt real. Too real. Her fingers touched her throat. Was that bruising?

“No,” she whispered. “No, this can't be real.”

But it wasn’t over. The suffocation lingered — not from water, but from words unspoken, from pain she never shared. She had suffered in silence for years. Heartbreak, betrayal, and the pressure to always appear okay had drowned her spirit long before that nightmare.

And yet, no one saw. No one heard.

On the table near her bed, a small vial lay open. The pills — too many. She hadn’t meant to take them all. Or maybe she had. It was all a blur now.

Her breath quickened. Her vision blurred again. She tried to stand, to call for help, but the world tilted, and she fell hard.

The dream had been a warning. The chambers of darkness were not just glass prisons — they were inside her. Filled with everything she never voiced. Her own heart had become her executioner.

As the light dimmed, Aarya saw her younger self — vibrant, fearless — reaching out from beyond the glass, whispering, “Speak. Scream. Live.”

But it was too late.

And in that final moment, as the last breath left her, the countdown in her dream reached zero.

Game Over