light

B1-Caligula/c1-naked.md

@@ -1,19 +1,20 @@
 # Chapter 1
-# Naked and Alone
-41 I woke up naked and alone in a cold dark prison cell. I had no memory of how I
-got here. In fact as I thought about it I couldn't remember anything about 
-anything. How cliche I thought, amnesia! I shivered and looked down at my body.
-Against all the odds I found myself in good health, clean, and uninjured. I ran
-my hands down the sides of my trim, toned, almost wiry body and admired myself.
-I was in excellent shape. I admired as well my dark almost reddish brown skin.
-I did discover some old scar tissue on my sides, a criss cross of what must have
-been once a serious wound on my thigh: claw marks? Teeth? Knife wounds? So 
-strange to bear such marks but no memories. I must be or have been some sort of
-warrior I thought. Maybe a hunter. I tried to conjure something out of the 
-association but nothing came. Or maybe I'm some sort of an outlaw. Who might
-have captured me I wondered, and placed me in this cell. I gingerly touched my
-face and discovered another cruel long gash extending from my forehead, crossing
-my left eye, cheek, and lips. 
+## Naked and Alone
+
+[[41]] I woke up naked and alone in a cold dark prison cell. I had no memory of
+how I got here. In fact as I thought about it I couldn't remember anything
+about anything. How cliche I thought, amnesia! I shivered and looked down at my
+body.  Against all the odds I found myself in good health, clean, and
+uninjured. I ran my hands down the sides of my trim, toned, almost wiry body
+and admired myself.  I was in excellent shape. I admired as well my dark almost
+reddish brown skin.  I did discover some old scar tissue on my sides, a criss
+cross of what must have been once a serious wound on my thigh: claw marks?
+Teeth? Knife wounds? So strange to bear such marks but no memories. I must be
+or have been some sort of warrior I thought. Maybe a hunter. I tried to conjure
+something out of the association but nothing came. Or maybe I'm some sort of an
+outlaw. Who might have captured me I wondered, and placed me in this cell. I
+gingerly touched my face and discovered another cruel long gash extending from
+my forehead, crossing my left eye, cheek, and lips. 
 
 Wow, I thought, it is a wonder I'm not blind in that eye, or maybe I am? I
 closed my eye and gently touched the outside of my eyelid. It felt okay but how
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@ I felt like that was a thing. I started then to wonder whether worrying about
 losing my mind could cause me to panic. I didn't feel panicked. I didn't even
 feel as worried as I think a woman should feel upon finding herself naked and
 alone in a dungeon cell. I only felt a kind of eager anticipation, almost
-exhilaration. Weird. I'm pretty sure that's not how people are supposed to feel
+exhilaration. Weird. [[43]]I'm pretty sure that's not how people are supposed to feel
 in prisons or dungeons or ... oubliettes. Oh my god what a word. Oubliette. A
 place where prisoners were thrown to be forgotten. Was I being starved? I had no
 memory of ever having been fed in this place. Wait maybe the oubliette has made
@@ -63,4 +64,38 @@ might have called these stupid bars into existence by imagining them. That would
 be idiotic. Surely I could have the presence of mind have imagined myself waking
 up beneath silk sheets on a luxurious palanquin begin carried towards a soothing
 tropical oasis or riad. Or in a temple surrounded by devoted dancers... I took a
-moment
+moment to close my eyes and [[45]] concentrate on just such a scene, wondering
+as I did so where these images were even coming from. For just a second I felt
+or remembered a warm touch, a soft silky caress, a hand, cream coloured on my
+ruddy ... What!? My eyes jolted open and no, it didn't work I was still cold,
+alone, and locked up in the pitch black... Wait no. What is that? There was a
+flicker of something. In the otherwise pure uninterrupted night there was a
+flaw, a flame. I blinked each eye, one at a time and saw with satisfaction that
+each eye agreed, the light was real and both of my eyes were fully functional.
+The light bobbed and flickered as though being carried. That was because someone
+was carrying it. As it approached, it grew painfully bright to my eyes. It was
+like seeing the sun for the first time I imagined. I had seen the sun before.
+Right?  I was now actually blinded by its brilliance but I could not tear my
+thirsty gaze away from this glorious fire. 
+
+"The last one is awake." a voice came from the flickering void just behind the
+light. It sounded muted as though the speaker were turned away from me
+addressing another. "I'll process her and you handle the surface delivery. Then
+we can all go home for the night."
+
+From deeper in the dark came a muffled and incomprehensible reply.
+
+"No" spoke the first voice again from behind the flame. I was beginning to make
+out a figure, cowled and obscured. A woman's voice, perhaps. "I've got it. Just
+stay ready in case" there was a pause, "in case she chooses to do things the
+hard way."
+
+Then louder and clearly, yes it was a woman's voice, strangely accented, and she
+must be facing me now, looking at me from behind the flame.
+
+"You don't want to do things the hard way do you?"
+
+At this point the flame was directly outside the bars of my cell. The vertical
+bars of the cage, silhouetted  against the light cast shadowy stripes sectioning
+my body and face as I stood up. [[47]]
+