Horrors

Dissecting Table

     As I approached the tables, I witnessed a set of horrors the like of which I could never have imagined in my worst nightmares. What I could only perceive as human bodies were laid upon the table, concealed under white sheets. I thought I heard a low moan emanating from one. Despite my fright, I suddenly felt an irresistible urge to see who, or what, lay underneath. Forgetting myself, I moved toward the sound and lifted a corner of one of the sheets. 

     Under the blood-soaked material was a Negro woman, bound to the table by several heavy leather straps, along with a yoke around her neck. I could not tell whether she was alive, but I detected no breath, and her skin was clammy and cool to my touch. Her face seemed vaguely familiar, but I could not place where I might have seen her before. I moved to the other tables and, pulling back their sheets as well, I saw that they, too, were young colored women. What was this place?

     Just then, a thunderous crack pierced the air and a massive tree branch came crashing through the window, shattering the glass and embedding itself into the floor with tremendous force. I ran for cover as the violent wind suddenly whipped through the chamber, sending water, glass shards, leaves, sand, and other debris swirling about.

 [TO BE CONTINUED.]