Three: Smoke and Mirrors (unedited)
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The clock ticks quietly in the background as I sit in the corner of the room, my head resting against the wall for support. My limbs ache with the past electrocution, and the feeling still runs rampant through my bones, like a treacherous nightmare that I can't wake up from.

My eyes wander to the food tray that is by the door, cold chicken and rice being presented to me. For a reason I can't describe, the idea of chicken truly leaves a vile taste in my mouth. Is it something that perhaps happened in my past life? At this point I am grasping at straws to figure out what may have transpired when I was ... free.

My traveling eyes soon find the clock that has been tormenting me since I have been in here. The ticks and the toks, I ponder how many I have counted by now. My head tells me eighteen-thousand-four-hundred-forty-eight. What is that? Four? Five? Six hours? Is this simply a punishment for me speaking the truth? Bastards, they were bastards. This is inhumane, to leave someone to rot in a room without the slightest hint of human contact.

I stand up, still wobbly on my aching legs, and go to the cold chicken. I make sure to give the camera a long stare as I pick up the tray and chuck it at the wall. Food splatters everywhere and the wall now has a new dent for decoration. I then raise my middle finger at the camera and storm back towards my corner.

Tick tock.

My eyes start to shut after my meltdown, drowsiness sets in. I hope I wouldn't regret my outburst, no, they couldn't do anything. Another electrocution, hah, go for it. No matter how many times they hurt me, I won't be silenced. I won't be under their control like Zade is.

I haven't been awake nor aware long, but I know these people have me under their control for a reason that is unjust. I wish things would be back to the way they were before this if only I knew what that life was like.

I bang the back of my head against the wall and slowly slide down to be completely against the floor. My body curls into the fetal position, and I attempt to not fall asleep. Yet, exhaustion is tempting me the a siren's song at sea.

I fight, I fight for so long, but I eventually give in to the sweet taste of sleep. Only the clock's ticking dragging me below the line of the living and the false hope of death.

--

"Awaken two-twenty-seven." My eyes meet the shine of the blinding lights. I want to let out a groan of pain, but I am quick to notice that my mouth can't move at all. I go to feel what is in my mouth, but my arms and legs are, once again, bound against the chair. I thrash about in the chair that I somehow ended up back in. The other person in my room takes note and my eyes travel to see the same person in the lab coat as beforehand.

"Patient two-twenty-seven is awake. She appears to be at a high threat level, aggressive behaviors being shown. Danger level a seven out of ten." My eyes narrow at the person that speaks through the same tape recorder-like object. I take in a deep breath through my nose and feel around my mouth, it is like I am gagged. Is it because I acted out? Well, that seems like a very logical reason.

My thrashing stops because I realize that there is no use when I am, in short, glued to the chair. I make sure to wiggle my fingers and toes, both of them have feelings. I also notice that there are no IVs like last time, which I am slightly thankful for.

Yet, one thing I notice with my left arm is that, underneath the healing bruise, the marking almost seems to be more lively, colorful some might say. My heart nearly drops dead when it continues to enlighten before my eyes. The person in the lab coat takes note too and quickly radios the people that are on the other line.

"Marking is enlightening, awakening might be near. The danger level has been moved to ten out of ten. Transportation to a safe room is mandatory."

Awakening? Danger level? I am beyond baffled, my heart pounding throughout my body. The blood that runs through my body is warm, burning even. All I can feel is hatred, for I want to kill everyone in this facility, I just want to go home, where ever that is.

I close my eyes, but only now do I notice how everything burns. My body feels like it is heating up, my arms, legs, eyes, fingertips, everything feels like it is heating up like I am slowly being thrown closer into a pit of a volcano. I stiffen and let out a pain-filled groan. I want to gasp for breath, it is like I am being deprived of my energy. My eyes seem to roll back in my head, and I can only be witness to the uncontrollable tremors that run rampant.

The noise soon fades out as I continue to thrash uncontrollably. I can feel hands on me, people attempting to get this shaking under control. I am terrified. What is happening to me?

As everything turns into a mix of colors and sounds, hands roam over my body, and I am being rushed somewhere. Sharp turns make my head spend even faster, and I want to throw up, but I still have little to no control over my body.

Hours, it feels like hours. Everything is both slow and fast, time is simply limitless at this point. The feeling of hands remains over my body, every single inch of my skin no longer pure. It isn't intrusive, but it feels like I am being tainted by these horrid beings. Every single touch darkens a bit of my mind.

Eventually, things fade out as my conscious decides to evade the torture, the pain I am being put through.

Alas, after what seems to be a millennium of purgatory, I finally feel myself start to slip back into reality. My eyes slowly roll forward to where I gain back my vision, and the uncontrollable thrashing finally dims down.

The very first thing I take note of is that the gag is out, no longer stealing the only voice I have. A large breath of air is thrown into my lungs and I can feel it get caught through my windpipe leading to me choking. I have to sit for a moment and allow myself to clear my throat, making sure I wouldn't suffocate.

My eyes finally adjust after my breath is returned, steady this time. I follow the walls of the room, no one with me. There are plain white walls, much like the one I was in beforehand, but this time, the only light that is cast is from a single lightbulb that illuminates above me. Panic bubbles within the pit of my stomach and my head whips around, looking for a possible exit. Finding a door, I launch towards the exit and pull at the doorknob, but it doesn't budge. My pounds echo through the room as I slam my fists into the door, my dry voice begging to be let out. Yet, much to my assumption, not a single soul comes to my aid.

I can only kick the door, rather harshly, with my bare foot. It dents slightly, but I am only left with no satisfaction and an aching pain in my foot. Irritated, I pound against the door again, letting out a string of curses simultaneously.

Despite wanting to calm down, the anger that drives through my heart only heightens. My voice only gets louder and my punches only get thrown harder. Yet, despite my best attempts, the door doesn't break open. This leads to my eyes darting around the room to where I can see a small camera up in the left corner of the room. The little green light blinking, signaling it is recording my every move. My teeth clench together, and I use all my height to leap for the camera.

It may have been tall, but I managed to nearly get to it. I allow myself to scream in frustration. Finally, everything finally stops spinning and I can feel the anger within my heart start to bubble lower, calmer. Yet, it is not gone, for it is only dormant.

My jaw unclenches and I stand for a moment, the energy, the pain, only flows through me. Yet, as everything comes to a calm, the flame flows through. It isn't literature, it isn't fiction, it burns, it scorches my palms, my heart.

I close my eyes and stomp my aching foot on the ground. From there, I allow the fury to flow out, and I release a pain-filled scream. For when I open my eyes an eerie silence fills my ears, only the gentle sound of fire burning through my ears. When I look down, I am both terrified and tranquil to see something so unfamiliar yet so amicable at the same time, fire. My palms are ablaze with flames reaching high, colors from dawn to dusk, spring to winter blaze. I should be screaming, but it is familiar; this is something I know should happen.

For this is simply a key being unlocked, a piece of my memory finally being unveiled.

With the flames flying high, I look at the camera, my heart beating a second faster and frustrated. My legs bend slightly as I use the wall to jump towards the camera, unleashing the bound-up energy. When I get closer I let the fire flow from my body to the camera, a flaming mass dashing forward, scorching the object out of existence.

My feet find themselves back on the ground, and I allow the flame within my stomach to boil down, back to calamity. The flames held within my palms soon sizzle out, and whilst I wanted to be sent into astonishment, beyond curious as to what happened, a part of me knew this was normal. This was just a part of me.

I hold out my right hand and let the energy rise, like a volcano's steam rising through the dancing lava. For there, my hypothesis is confirmed as a sizzle extends from my fingers and it enlightens with a small blaze.

I take in a silent breath and let the flame be extinguished. I shake my head and rub my hands against my pants. My breath is jagged, and I can only nod my head.

"I am going to escape out of here, even if I have to burn this place down to ashes." 

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