I find myself in the middle of an unknown patch of life, and I instinctively know I am not safe.

One of them asks aloud, “is this really happening”?

Another one answers, “no, it’s just another psychotic moment she’s having”.

I respond with, “I cannot be sure”.

The faces around me are familiar.

Their smiles are not.

Are those jagged teeth I see behind their veiled, semi-friendly smiles?

I begin to wonder how quickly my flesh will be ripped apart, once again and fed to the monsters.

“Not again”, one of the voices whispers.

“You may as well go ahead and prepare yourself, it’s really happening. Again.”

“Oh God, please not again”.

The walls slide up as if out of nowhere and enclose me. I hear them chanting as they dance around the outside of the wall.

“The time is now”, they chant over and over.

The time is now.