Static Clings (Tag Hybris)
Bragi saw dots first. Millions of them. All whites and grays swirling right in front of his eyes. They were the only light in the room. The sound woke him up all the way. It sounded like a bad rainstorm, but unnatural. Wrong. It was noise, and Bragi couldn't figure out a way to make it stop being noise. Bragi couldn't tell if the throbbing pain in the back of this head came from the noise, or if the noise came from the throbbing. He wanted to close his eyes again, except he couldn't because of the dots, the noise, and his head.
The dots looked like a blizzard. They sounded like a snow storm in Niflheim, but Bragi couldn't be looking at that. His head hurt like fire and screamed for cold and numb. He could barely think between the routine pounds, and while this proved he was alive, it still took him awhile to figure out the blizzard was actually a broken television set that had been left on in front of him.
Beyond the static noise, there was a steady dripping sound. Bragi craned his neck around, but it was too dark outside the faint glow of the broken television, and he couldn't find the source of the drip. Looking around made him feel dizzy. If he stood suddenly, Bragi thought he'd throw up. But he couldn't stand. He couldn't move his arms or legs. There was rope in the way. He tugged and it stayed in the way. He didn't start to panic until he noticed the door was closed and there were no windows. That was when he realized the ropes meant he was tied up, and he didn't remember how he'd hit his head. Bragi didn't know where he was.
He pulled harder at the ropes, and bit down on his lip to keep from crying out, but sound came anyway in almost a muffled whimper. His wrists went red underneath the ropes, but Bragi didn't feel it because of his head. He bit his lip so hard he tasted blood, and continued to struggle, pulling until he could feel his wrists burn. The ropes didn't budge, but Bragi kept trying. He called for his wife. Idun. There was no answer. Time stretched. He went through every name he could think of. No one answered. The only noise he heard was dripping and static, until the door creaked open.