My mouth seemed filled with cotton, it had been so long since my captors had come to pour warm, stale water into my gaping mouth. I worked my jaw back and forth willing my salivary glands to work – but they were devoid of moisture.

Ignoring the discomfort and on the verge of panic that I might be left to die of dehydration, I did what any sensible man would.

I began screaming.

At first I tried to use words, compose sentences – passionate reasonings to sway those that held me. I couldn’t tell if the clanging machinery next door drowned out my pleas, so I yelled louder. When no one came, my entreaties turned to primal screams. The wails of a creature yearning, begging to be set free.

Eventually they came, the heavy metal door clanging loudly against the wall.

Shut up, you! they threatened before throwing water clumsily on my face. I licked it eagerly from cracked lips.

After I drank they shoved a cloth in my mouth. It was wet and tinged with the taste of blood.

More disturbingly, it smelled of her.