Everything went dark as the coarse sack was pulled over Rafael's head, plunging him into suffocating blackness. His breath came in rapid gasps, his lungs burning as panic clawed at him.
He screamed at first—desperate, raw shouts tearing from his throat, only to echo uselessly in the cramped, stifling space. When the pain of shouting became too much, he stopped, chest heaving, heart pounding like it might burst.
"Where are they taking me?" he muttered under his breath, gnawing on his fingernails in a nervous habit he hadn't done in years.
His hands trembled, his lips quivered.
Thoughts spiraled as the weight of fear pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe. He tried to calm himself, to think clearly, but the crushing anxiety in his chest only tightened.
