One. Blink.

“Hello?”

Two. Breathe.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

One. Blink.

“What… where… where am I?” I said, a slight choke could be heard in my voice. Where was I? Everything was black. There was nothing. Nothing but pain.

My eyes felt as if they were being ripped from my skull. I opened my mouth to call for help again but the only thing that came out was a scream. Tears caressed my cheeks, and sweat flowed down the back of my neck. My mouth tasted metallic and sticky, almost certainly blood… the only question was from where.

Two. Breathe.

I managed to open my eyes. I expected a piercing light to enter but the only thing visible was darkness. Who am I? Where did I come from? My eye began to settle, allowing a flood of thoughts to enter my mind. Why am I here? Why can’t I remember anything?

I felt around my surroundings… there felt to be a table with sharp tools, a counter with what I presume are latex gloves, and what seems to be a chair… though it has an odd shape and metal pieces connected to it. I wave my hands out in front of me as I walk around, feeling all the surfaces around me. Door. I checked the handle, but it’s locked. I make my way back to the counter and run my fingers across the cool surface until I slice my finger on what felt to be a scalpel. I jolt my hand back in pain and suck on my finger. Definitely blood.

One. Blink.

I continued to brush up against the side of the wall, looking for anything different. Something pokes my side as I’m walking along, and my fingers feel the familiar shape of a light switch. I excitedly flip it on and the fluorescent lighting shoots a bullet through my skull, almost a cruel joke from what i predicted earlier. Everything was spinning. Black and White flickers clouded my vision as I struggled to breathe through the damp, lingering air.

An indescribable smell hangs in the air… one I remember. Surgery. I remember. Surgery.

Two. Breathe.

Blood. Everything, everywhere. Blood. So much of it. I retched all over the white ceramic tile, shielding up what’s left of its glossy texture. What the blood didn’t cover my vomit did. The wallpaper was stained red and the sharp tools, which were operating equipment, were bathed in the sticky red substance. The chair I earlier felt earlier appears a dentist chair and is located in the center of the room. The chair is the most normal thing in the room, apart from the metal restraints that appear towards the bottom, middle, top and sides. It seems as if it was the only thing bothered to be cleaned.

One. Blink.

The locked door bursts open. “SHIT!” Panics a man dressed in white scrubs. Another man grabs one of the ominous sharp tools— a syringe— and stabs me in the side. I can feel the liquid injected into my body spreading, branching off through my veins like a cascade of agony. I flail my limbs in an attempt to stop the two men from grabbing me… but everything is fading…

Darkness.

“How was she thinking still?” Said a voice from somewhere in the room.

“We’ve already removed half of it. I don’t know what else we can do, sir.” I heard, still regaining consciousness.

“Take it all out. Move directly into phase 11. She isn’t progressing like I thought she would.”

“Yes sir, we will start right away.”

The door slams and I can hear footsteps move away from the door.

Where am I? Am I still in this hell-hole? I try moving, but I’m stuck. Trapped. My ankles, waist, neck, and wrist are held tightly to a chair. I try to scream but nothing comes out, just a dry rasp.

Two. Breathe.

Suddenly, I can hear a whirring noise from behind me. A saw. I sit helplessly as I feel the rotating metal enter slowly into My skull. An agonizing, tortuous pain fills my entire body. I pray for death, but for some reason, I know it won’t come.

Darkness.

“It’s done sir, we’ve fully removed it, as well as a prototype replacement. It should finally start functioning properly.”

“Perfect. Follow me to my office”

A creak of the door sounds and a train of footsteps carries away my last breath of hope.

One. Blink

Two. Breathe.

One. Blink.