The shadow skillfully slinks through the corridors-

It flashes a sly smile as it slithers over the walls.

The figure sneaks across the surface of scattered stones,

seeking someone specifically.

 

It spots the shivering, scared survivor, sulking in his solitude.

The serpent silently surrounds the son,

who sits in surrender to the secrets lurking in the somber scenery.

He is no longer clothed in strength,

but is scantily clad and suffering in shame.

 

The sole man stares into space,

stupefied by his solemn situation.

His spirit is stricken.

His skin is singed by the sun and his reasoning is scorched

by his significant sorrows.

The son stands and screams to shock his senses.

But there is no sound.

 

Shaking, he slumps to his seat in the sewage: a shell of a man,

a shuck with scarcely a soul.

 

 

He has succumbed to his sadness.

He is servant to the serpent.

The shadow slides across the slippery stone.

The snake gives a sickening smirk

and steals the son’s sanity.

The man’s strength

slowly

slips…

and his strangled soul seeps

into the scraggly, stone wall.

 

The serpent sings his threats with a sneering smile.

The survivor slides deeper into his subconscious.

A slimy shape starts to spread itself across his body.

The son’s serenity disappears;

he sits in submission to the snake’s power.

He is utterly subdued, and his spirit subtly gives into sleep.

 

The strength of the son’s heart is scotched.

He subserviently starts to collapse under the serpent.

 

He sits in an open-air sepulchre, enclosed by towering headstones.

 

Something... stirs:

Silent, yet filled with sound.

A memory- trickles into soul.

And suddenly,

 

A spark ignites and explodes in his spirit.

His sight and senses are restimulated.

He is a survivor.

 

He screeches and starts scratching at the rocks.

No sound emits from his throat.

The shadow tightens itself around the man’s sternum.

The son scrapes the stones and his fingers find the steel at his side.

 

He clutches the sword and thrusts the blade into the air.

His inner screams start to form an audible cry.

He gathers his strength and strikes the serpent.

The man slices and slits the shadow that savagely suppressed him.

Subhuman screams shatter the silent space.

 

The violent squirming and slithering subsides.

The spent son settles himself on the stone.

His strength overcame his sorrow.

He releases his steel savior and the sword splashes

into the serpent’s grisly bile.

 

He screams.

His success and sorrow echo off the corridor walls.

The son is a survivor-

the sole, strong one.