Stones. Stones and
rocks and dirt. This was all I could see
from horizon to horizon. Nothing but
stones and dirt. How did I get
here? What is this place? I look around, confused. Even the sky is the color of dirt. There is light, but no sun. What is a sun? My feet are bare. I can feel the dirt grinding into the bottom
of my feet; sliding between my toes. It feels
like it is trying to work its way up into my skin, to turn me into dirt and
rocks too.
I can’t remember my name.
What I am doing here? I realize distantly
that this should concern me, but all I can feel is a fuzzy sort of numbness,
dulling the edge of my panic. Some part
of my mind realizes that this is very wrong.
But I can’t seem to make the connection to why it is wrong. How long have I been here? Forever?
A moment? I shift my feet in the
dirt. A cloud of dust rises. It seems strange, how loudly it sounds in the
silence surrounding me. The crunch and
rustle. A slight whispering of my dress
that sounds like a storm to my deprived ears.
White fabric, reaches to my ankles, my throat, my
wrists. A white dress quickly turning
dingy brown in the dust. I look down at
my feet, my dirty toes. There is
something different than dirt and rock lying next to my foot. Its color not quite the same brown as the
earth and the sky. Round and small. I pick it up, wondering.
It is heavy and smooth in my hand. Heavier than it should be, I think. I hold it cupped in both hands, and gently breathe
away the dust covering it. It shines
then, deep rich brown, and glossy.
As I watch, a tiny crack appears in its surface. And then a color! A sprout!
Green tendrils shoot forth. I
drop it in surprise. A roaring noise
fills my head, as the little sprout quickly takes root in the dust. I stumble backwards as it grows. Within seconds (or maybe it is longer?) there
is a mass the size of a tree before me.
But with no trunk and no leaves.
Just a mass of deep green vines.
They start to move, waving towards me. My fear and panic finally break through the
numbness. RUN! My thoughts scream at me.
I scramble, trying to find balance, to force my legs to move. The gently waving vines begin to move faster;
to whip and writhe with anger. One
brushes my foot as I struggle to move away.
Its touch revoltes me.
The fear shoots through me like electricity, giving energy
to my lethargic limbs. I run, my feet
punch clouds of dust into the air; my breath sticks in my lungs. My heart feels like exploding!
I glance back only once, to see a forest of the vines behind
me now, all waving madly, reaching forward toward me. It seems to double in size in that instant,
gaining ground as it puts down new roots.
I want to scream, but have no breath.
My eyes blind with terror, I don’t realize what is in front
of me at first. Not until the shock of
color nearly blinds me. Light! Light in as many colors as I know a name for. Shimmering and beckoning. A seemingly
impossible wall of colored light, only steps away. I crash through the colors as if they are a
wall of glass. They shatter around me,
like a fractured rainbow. I can almost
hear a sound as it breaks, a tinkling, chiming sound. I feel relief, sure that somehow this point
indicates safety from the massive thing growing
behind me. And then I feel the air
crushed from my lungs. I can’t
breathe! I gasp, but there is no
air. The cold hits me then, freezing my
thoughts. My fingers, toes, all feeling goes
quickly into the cold. As blackness
envelopes my thoughts. I wonder… what is a body?
Dirt. Rich and
dark. Squirming with a million living
things. I can feel them stirring under
my toes. My toes? My body?
I look at my hands, pale and small against the dark of the ground. Trees surround me. Roots growing deep into the loam, trunks
towering above me. The green leaves so
far up that I can’t see them without craning my neck. Warm light filters down, enough to cause a
sort of pseudo twilight in the forest. Where
am I? How did I get here? Who am I?
Numbness. I can
remember nothing. Should I be panic? Who could feel fear among the peace and
stillness of these giants? I put my hand
on the trunk of the closest tree. It hums
slightly, like a heartbeat almost. I
sigh, and lean my ear against it, listening to the sound. I could stay forever like that.
If not for the snap of a twig that startles me. So small a sound, but so loud and out of
place. I instantly feel afraid. Fear rushes through my blood, awaking a
strange tingling in my feet and hands. RUN!
I turn away from the tree, and stumble over the exposed roots on the
ground. A movement catches my eye. Something dark, and fast, and nearly silent.
I move then, as quickly as I can around the dense
trees. I dare not risk a glance behind
me, afraid to fall over the roots that spread everywhere before me. The cloth of my dress snags and catches. The trees now hinder me. I almost imagine them reaching their great
limbs down, blocking my path.
Is that the panting breath of my hunter behind me? Or my own labored attempts echoing strangely
off the trees? Panic. Fear.
Blindness. Nothing but trees all
around, and nowhere to go.
And then… a shimmering ahead. Colors?
A rainbow stretching out like a wall.
I run faster, scraping my palms along the rough tree bark in my hurry to
reach the promise of safety. My heart
pounds in my ears, making it difficult to hear anything but my own blood
pumping. Run, run, run.
Two men stand in front of a glass wall. One is short, but muscular, and wearing a
dark suit. He has carefully styled hair,
and stands with authority. The man next
to him is nearly two heads taller, but slouched uncomfortably. The harsh lights
glare off his nearly bald head. He wears a white lab coat, buttoned over a dark
navy jumpsuit.
Behind the glass there is a hospital bed and a mess of machines. It is almost impossible to make out the form
of a young girl lying on the bed, for all the tubes and wires surrounding
her. The readout on the glass window
shows her heart rate and various other important factors of her health. It also shows a small close up of her pale
face. Her eyes are closed, but moving
rapidly. Long lashes are wet with
tears. A few strands of dark hair have
escaped the plastic cap on her head, sticking to the sweat on her brow. Her mouth and nose are covered with a plastic
mask, keeping her breathing steady. The
heart rate monitor is going wild,
beeping at a rapid pace.
The short man watchs the display with a detached expression,
“How long has she been undergoing the treatment?”
“27 hours and 14 minutes.
Her body will not be able to take much more. But the treatment has never failed
before. We will get results.” The tall man seems to be saying this to
himself more than to his companion.
“We’ve also never had to perform the treatment on a child
before,” The shorter man says.
“Age doesn’t really matter in this case. I am certain that her resistance is because
of the drugs she was given before we found her.
We found traces of magnatite in her bloodstream. Crude, but it does interfere with the machines. It’s making it difficult to hold her in one
scene for very long.” The doctor checked
one of the readouts. “See, she’s already
moved on to another one. This is the 434th
scene that she’s been through.”
“Does she remember them?”
“No. Especially not with
the magnatite in her blood still. She’ll
have trouble remember that she’s human in this state.”
“Good. I need you to
speed this up. We can’t waste any more
time.”
He pinches his lips together, visibly upset. “Look, this is a very difficult
procedure! Accessing the subconscious
mind is extremely delicate, especially when the subject is unwilling! I can’t just flip a switch and make it go
faster! It’s impossible to determine how
long each subject will take!”
“You have two hours.
After that I’m bringing Doctor Mandel in.” At that, he walks away, leaving the man in
the lab coat sputtering his objections.
The girl behind the glass cycles into her 435th scene.
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