There it was: a bright light at the end of the tunnel. A shine that forced the bird’s eyes shut as he rushed towards it. The light was hot, it was blinding, and it felt painful. Whether he was walking toward freedom or an untimely demise, the bird simply wanted release from the torture.

Suddenly, the vent gave way to a softer, looser floor. Opening his eyes, the bird could see he was surrounded by sand, a vast blue expanse beyond him.

Without wasting a moment, the crow flew up, up, up. And then his heart fell down, down, down. He hit a roof, a ceiling in the sky. Looking back toward the vent, he could see the “vast expanse” was a blue wall painted to mimic a desert.

Despite his test dragging ever onward, the bird could see no sign of progression. From the sky, he could see no blood, no organs, no bodies; there was only sand. Soaring away from whence he came, it wasn’t long before the sand would be populated with death. A single body laid on the sandy floor, a body that the bird felt compelled to check.

Landing next to the bird, it was dead, there was no possibly otherwise. He knew there was no other possibility. It was at this moment that he had stopped himself and wondered how he could know such a thing. His brain began to ache, his body tremble, his heart race, all signifying a revelation that was gracing the poor avian.

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This body was his. The bodies prior were his. How? Why? Not everything was clear yet, but he knew that every step he had taken, he had taken before. Every puzzle he solved, he solved before. But not every trap was always a success. How far had he gotten before? Was this his previous attempt?

His stomach began to seriously ache and moan.

This must have been a previous failure that hadn’t eaten. He had tried to ignore his hunger because there was nothing to eat; was he to die here again? Was there even a way to succeed? These thoughts were overshadowed by a dark, looming idea that he had been pushing away unconsciously.

Out of curiosity -nothing more, he thought to himself- he pecked the corpse. And again. And then he tore off a wing. Then he tore it apart, gulping down the flesh, little by little. And then a lot, by a lot. He continued until his hunger was satiated.

It was a gruesome sight, the desecrated…no, his desecrated body, but he wouldn’t let his previous death be in vain.

Flying back up, he had watched the land as he flew past the body, hoping to spot more bodies. He continued to scour the “sky” for what felt like hours, but may have been minutes, never spotting another body. What caught his attention, however, was another wall that he had found by crashing into it.

Fluttering back down to the earth, the crow could spot a pipe nearby, a blue pipe. His stomach no longer growling, but the heat beginning to take its toll on his body, the bird entered the pipe without question.