Before I even opened my eyes, I knew I was in danger. Something deep inside told me— instinct. Something was wrong, definitely wrong. My entire body ached, like I had been beaten. The throbbing of a bruise seemed to reassure my assumption. A faint taste of irony, metallic blood lingered on my tongue. This isn’t good. I thought.
A fog of sleep still clung to my mind. Where am I? Through my eye lids I saw the soft glow of orange; I sensed a light behind them. Peeling my eyelids back, a sudden flash of white neon flooded through them. A dull pain chasing after. I blinked rapidly waiting for them to adjust to the new sudden lights. For a brief moment it felt like I had fallen asleep in class, and that a teacher had just flicked on the lights. At least that’s what I hoped. Still I could not shake the looming though I had woken with. I was in danger.
When my vision finally cleared I saw a wall inches from my face. I was lying on the ground. My arms had been pulled behind me, but I didn’t feel any rope. That’s a good sign. right? Suddenly from behind I heard a scuff of rubber. A shoe. The sound sent an overwhelming terror through me. My survival instincts kicked in, controlling all my thoughts and actions. I snapped my eyes shut and froze.
A mans rugged voiced followed shortly after. “Vhat vill ve do vith it zhen? Irritation added sharpness to his words. He spat the word “it” like it was discussing thing that did not even deserved to be named. I felt his eyes scanning over me, studying me. Eyes creping over me, burning with hatred, examining where I laid on the floor, still looking unconscious. Looking for any and all flaws. Any weakness. Any reason to get rid of me. I tried to keep my breathing slowed; but my pulse was jumping—heart nearly lunching from my chest. Sweat dotted along my palms and forehead.
Every cell in my body wanted to scream and claw my way out. Panic was consuming me. Why am I so scared? I tried to think of an answer, but none came. Trying to shake my fear away, I began thinking of something pleasant; like it was all a dream. But still the thought lingered over. My subconscious told me one thing—kills him before he kills you. But why would this man want to kill me? Again, no answer came to me.
“Mr. Shepard wants to question it before anything else. We may get some useable information out of this one. Unlike the last time. He does not want a repeat of your action with this one. ” A women commanded harshly to the man. Her word did not seem as spiteful as the man’s had; yet is seemed all compaction in her voice had died long ago, leaving nothing but an empty—emotionless—shell.
The man laughed darkly, remembering whatever had happened the last time. His laughter shook something deep inside me; telling me, it wasn’t good. “It vas not my fault, it vounldn’t talk.” He turned and began to walk away, rubber soles squeaking. Then women’s high heels snapped across the tiled floor behind him.
I waited for them to close a door locking me in the room, but the sound never came. Their footsteps faded down a hallway until there was none. Silence. Running my options through my head, I shortly realized I only had two, neither ideal. I could wait here for this “Mr. Shepard” and see what he wanted or try an escape from a building that I didn’t know anything about. It only took a second to choose the better of my options; I was going to escape—somehow.
Lifting my right arm from behind me, I tried to pushing myself off the ground. My arms trembled underneath the stress of my weight, threating to crumble. Blood pounded in my eardrums, echoing in my mind. The pain from the temples made me wonder if I had been struck recently, and the cause for all my confusion. I was weak, very weak. All of my energy seemed to be drained away. Finally able to slump against the wall, I examined around the room. Forming a plan.
The entire room was filled with bright neon light; it was a simple square shaped room. The floor and walls were covered in titles. Expect for myself the room was completely empty. Something immediately caught my eye. A door. An open door. It too dark to see anything, down its corridor; but it was open, a way out.
Relief flooded through me. I scrabbled to my feet. My hope pushing me thought the pain and exhaustion. Using the wall for support I stumbled my way away across, to the door. With each step a new pain raced through my legs, like electricity, but I ignored it. I have to get out of here, before they come back.
Suddenly I buckled in half and fell to the ground. My face smashed against the floor. A new indescribable pain rushed into the skull; I felt it cracking underneath my skin. Each fiber of the bone splintering. A scream echoed off the wall. It was mine. Tears spilled from face unto the floor, forming a small puddle. Clasping my hands around my head, I began to scream again.
A Soft sound echoed inside my mind. A voice. “Don’t scream!” It was soothing, yet sounded worried. I bit unto my lip, trying to keep the screams welding in my throat from escaping. I didn’t understand why, but I wanted to listen to it—no needed to listen to it.
“I am so sorry—I know this hurts for you, but please bear with it.” It hushed. A boy? How is a boy’s voice in my head?
“What is going on?” I sobbed through the pain. “What is happening? I don’t understand!”
The voice seemed hollow, “You were taken? By One. Don’t you remember?”
“No!” I clenched my hair tugging at the roots. All I wanted was for the pain to stop. “I woke up here I don’t know how I got here or why! I’m just a normal high schooler. My name is – “I stopped. My name. What is my name? Why don’t I remember it?
“The safety program…..” The voice seemed stunned. Whatever this ‘program’ was, it mustn’t have been very good.
“What happened? Why don’t I know anything?”
There was a pause in the voice, and the pain seemed to be slipping away; like water falling in through a crack, until only the damp memory of it remained. A dull numbing was all that was left. With no answer, I tried to put it behind me. Hearing voices? I might be kidnapped but I’m not crazy. I wanted to laugh away my worries; but still it loitered, pushing heavily on my thoughts.
Minutes ticked by and I realized I was still on the floor. Still in danger. Still no clue where I was. Picking myself up again, staggering closer to the door. If I was going to get out, now was my chance. Soon I stood in front of the blackened hallway. Still I could see nothing on the other side. Jus the empty blackness of the hallway
Placing one foot over the thresh, a blink of blue flashed in front of me. Before I could even move an electric current was feed through me. Screaming, I recoiled my foot and flew backward. Lying on the ground my body began to shake uncontrollably.
A deep burning circled my throat, almost winning over the pain from the shock. The room began to spin wildly faster and faster, until the world was a blur. The light began grow darker, until there was nothing but darkness. From down the hallway I hear the muttered sound of footsteps running, then nothing at all.
I awoke to find myself curled on the floor. I hope that when I opened my eyes, I would be in my room; If I even owned one. But the blinding neon lights greeted my vision once more, and without even seeing I knew I was still in that perdition place.
I had no idea how long I had been out. My entire body felt tingly and numb. A painful sting still loomed under the skin of my left leg, which had been the shocks worst victim. I must have blackout for most of the pain, which I was sincerely glade for.
Pulling myself up, I sat in the middle of the room. Looking around, I sighed with relief, I was alone. No ‘Mr. Shepherd’ or Robot-girl and Mr. Dark-and-scary. Glancing at the door, I shuttered. The hallway’s darkness seemed endless. Who knew what other, worse, things they had laying await on the other side of the door.
Shrugging off the thought, I turned to my leg. The jean was singed around the cuff; rolling it up over my knee I examined the damage. The skin was pink and very tender. Its shape reminded me of a dead tree, with its bear branches cracking across the skin. The odd design spread up my ankle and twisted it’s self around the calf. I found the new scare strangely enchanting, like something from a dark fairytale.
I laughed to myself. Of course a scare only to remind me of how impossible this was. Kidnapped with no memory? Zapped and shocked and bruised? It sounded like a bad story.
For the first time I stopped to examine myself. I didn’t even remember what I looked like. The jeans I was wearing were torn and covered oil. The knees were curst with dirt, and what I hoped wasn’t blood. I was wearing a thick sweatshirt, two-times too big. It was black with the word ‘Fallen’ in white paint, written across the chest. Along the sleeves were white feathers gracefully falling, like after a bird had been shot down.
Something was missing this time, I looked down. My shoes had been removed, and a shiny tracker bolted to my ankle. The thought made me sick. Someone had come in here, taken my shoes, just taken them! Just like they had taken me. Though I didn’t have any memories I know I didn’t volunteer for this. And who ever had taken me, and my shoes, still was watching. They must have watched when I shocked myself, and knew about it. But didn’t help. Swiveling around, I looked for cameras, but I didn’t see anything obvious.
The memory of the shock played through my mind, like on replay. At first it sent chills up my spin. These people had me locked up. I felt so venerable, I was positive I had never felt this scared before. The more the memories play, and my scream echo in my mind, again and again and again, the more enraged I became. I wanted to lock them up. Shock them. Attach a metal tracker to their leg. See how they liked it. Somehow I think they would rethink their “guest policies” after that. I wanted to make them suffer.
Then I remember the pain before I had blacked out— the burning around my throat. I lightly patted the skin, looking for something. My finger brushed the burn, it sent stinging shiver along my body. I muttered a curse. Then I found it. I traced my fingers around the metal. I pulled a chain from beneath the thick sweatshirt. A tag had been threaded through. Flipping it over in my hand, I examined it. The name “Alic” was carved into it.
Alic, why does that name sound so familiar? The name rang in my mind. It seemed—no was— is important to me. I searched for an answer, but like before, nothing answered my questions. It was buried deep inside my memory; for whatever reason, I couldn’t accesses.
Although something unwanted did return. The throbbing from before. Grasping my skull I waited for the pain—and the voice, to return. This time the pain wasn’t as server as before.
“Did you remember? “ The voice seemed extinct—hopeful.
Unintentionally, I snapped at it. “Remember what! That I was kidnaped? My name? My school? My friends? My family? Why I hear a voice? Cause I’m pretty sure that’s not normal! And neither is being locked up in a room with an invisible door that shocks me when I walk through it!”
The voice fell silent. The words linger in the air. “I- I’m sorry.” I whispered, resting my head on my knees “please don’t go…. I don’t have anything else…” nothing else to hold onto, nothing else that seems real.
“I will never leave you. I was just waiting until you were done venting. You normally feel better after that.” I could hear a soft smiled rolling unto the voice’s lips. “If you want I will do my best to explain what’s happing and answer you first you have to understand I cannot tell you everything. It’s for you own safety.”
“How would not telling me be safer?” I tried to soften my voice, that way still ruff with rage. There were so many things that were missing from my Swiss-cheese brain. I just wanted to know what had happened. Who was I, and why I was here.
The voice sighted. “Because, they want information. And you, being you idiotic self-threw yourself in danger to protect someone, and were captured instead. Then the ‘fault-safe’ program kicked in and…well… now you’re here.”