Floating

Time was at a standstill, an eternity of emptiness compressed into a single moment.

Thoughts tried to form but remained just as frozen as he was.

Floating

He was trapped, encased in the blue amber that preserved him.

Nothing moved. Nothing happened. Nothing could.

Floating

A change in pressure and the darkness shifted.

Falling

The barest hint of a thought returned, comforting him in his desolation.

Falling

The world around him began to move though he knew not where.

Thud

Adrian’s body landed unceremoniously onto the cold metal grates beneath him. Sensation exploded back into reality. A blue liquid dripped off him, draining into the ground through small metal slots.

Adrian spluttered and coughed, a blue gel expelling itself from his lungs as he desperately gasped for air. Shards of crystalline matter remained lodged between the grates, slowly changing state until they disappeared below.

His limbs refused to listen, barely twitching when he tried to move. His best effort wasn’t enough, and he gave up in favour of remaining motionless. He expelled what was left in his lungs and lay there in a daze, not comprehending what was happening.

The last thing he remembered was his futile struggle against the blue. Everything had been blue. He’d felt himself fade as the last vestiges of life fled from his body. His mind had shut down, turning itself off. And then, everything went black.

The darkness.

That crushing, never ending darkness.

Adrian shivered for entirely different reasons as his body heat leached away into the ground beneath him. He breathed deep lungfuls of air, immersed in the simple feeling of being. Blinking owlishly, he rid his eyes of the substance that clouded them while he lay on his back and stared at the ceiling.

The lights hurt, his eyes still too sensitive. They slowly adjusted to the harsh glare as his vision came into focus. He stared down at the silver cuffs adorning each of his wrists. The sound of pressurized machines perked his ears, and he tilted his head towards it. He saw the nozzle just in time to recognize what it was but staying still and trying to figure out its purpose had taken one moment too long.

A jet of water spouted from the tip and hammered into him relentlessly, dousing him from head to toe. A second jet joined the first and together they systematically cleaned off the blue substance that still clung to his clothes. The two machines were not gentle as they went about their work, but they did their jobs well.

Surprised by the sudden shower, Adrian quickly turned onto his stomach. He tried rolling away, but the machines followed him, never missing their intended target. He turtled until they stopped at last, satisfied that he was clean.

Standing up, he got his first good look at his surroundings. The room he was in was circular and its gunmetal-grey metallic walls were scored with deep blue lines. The floor was likewise made of the same material and had a geometric pattern of concentric circles that closed in towards the centre, cut off by the grates he had fallen onto mere moments ago.

The pod he’d fallen out of was in an upright position in the centre of the room within the smallest circle, connected to some kind of large, grey machinery. The doors of the pod were open and still dripping. A myriad of tubes ran between his pod and the machine. Adrian studied it more closely.

Its form was unlike any he had ever seen. It was oval in shape and reached the ceiling. Blue rings formed around its exterior. Smaller versions of the machine jutted from the main body at various heights, each end capped with a red glowing bulb containing liquid bubbling softly within. The offshoots themselves had smaller versions of the markings that ran along the main body. The machine was utterly alien in appearance and function to Adrian.

Four robotic arms surrounded the machine and hung down from the ceiling. Two were located above the pod and the other two were along the sides. Adrian paused. The arms looked familiar and were identical to the arms he’d seen installing pods right before he’d been shoved into his.

But that would mean . . . I’m still in a research facility, he realized. He hadn’t believed himself free when his captors opted to put him into stasis. This was simply the next step in his long, unpleasant journey. He must be in the hands of the illustrious benefactors his previous tormentors spoke of.

Looking around the empty room, Adrian saw no obvious door. Turning his attention back to the pod, his gaze traced the tubes connected to the machine while he wondered what their purpose was. The thin glass doors that had sealed him shut stared back. Not wanting to be any closer than necessary, he kept his distance. Unpleasant memories flashed by in his mind.

A strange suctioning, melting, bubbling sound came from behind Adrian that caught his attention. He whipped around in time to see a part of the wall behind him melt away, revealing what lay behind. Apprehension filled him as he wondered what to do next. Apart from the pod and machine, the room was empty. The only sensible choice he had was to explore what lay beyond.

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With unsteady steps, Adrian made his way towards the door, still wet. He entered a long, wide corridor that was made of the same gunmetal-grey material as the room he’d woken up in. The floors upon which he dripped as he walked had grooves that formed geometric patterns, and the walls had glowing blue lines that ran along them in an uneven square-waved pattern. He wondered what they meant.

Several steps later, the wall materialized behind him, cutting him off from the room he’d woken up in. What the hell? Adrian thought. He turned back around and brought a hand to the newly formed wall. The metal was cool to the touch and unyielding. A dull, metallic clang resounded when he rapped his knuckles against it.

The blue lines running along the walls rose in the shape of a large square, exactly the size of the opening he’d come through. Casting a critical glance back down the hallway, he eyed the other square patterns with mistrust. He made his way towards the nearest one and waited for something to happen. When nothing did, he was forced to shelve his suspicions and continue down the corridor.

Eventually, he came to a dead end and frowned. The same melting, bubbling, suctioning sound caught his attention and his head swiveled towards the source. To his left, another opening in the wall had formed, as if it had always been there.

Adrian debated whether he should continue his exploration, his fear of the unknown paralyzing him into indecision. His heart beat frantically and he remained frozen, unnerved by the unnaturalness of wherever he’d found himself. What choice do I have? he thought, before reluctantly continuing to the next corridor. No sooner after he took several steps, the same sound came from behind him. Whirling around, he came face to face with another perfectly formed wall.

His unease grew. What is this place? he thought. Not for the first time, he wondered where he was and for what purpose he was being forced to explore the facility. He continued down the much shorter hallway and found another opening waiting for him. When the same phenomenon occurred after he passed the threshold, Adrian knew something was up.

It’s like I’m being shepherded somewhere. But where? Why? He tried keeping a mental map, but as he delved further into the maze of twisting, winding corridors, Adrian eventually became lost. With each new hallway he discovered, a growing feeling of dread made itself known. Strange symbols he couldn’t identify adorned the walls the further in he went.

His adventure came to an abrupt end when he found himself in a large room. The walls, floor and ceiling were stark white, giving it an expansive feel. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he inched towards the centre of the room.

The wall materialized behind him, trapping him inside.

Adrian’s eyes widened. He spun around and walked to where the wall had been just moments ago. There was no seam nor crack to be found. There was no sign of a door having ever been there at all.

Whoever was controlling his environment must have arranged for him to end up in this room. His choice to explore had been an illusion. He could have avoided this had he remained where he’d woken up. He shook his head. No, he thought. Given the circumstances, he’d made the best decision he could at the time and had no way of knowing he was dancing in the palms of another’s hands.

Adrian looked around his new cell. It was a rather large room, easily several times the size of his room at the previous facility, which had been for five people. He looked up towards the ceiling but couldn’t find an obvious source of light.

Along one of the walls was a long, narrow slot. A black tube jutted out of it. He walked over and inspected it. It looked like it was made of rubber and was the only splash of colour in the room. He hesitatingly reached out. It looked smooth but he found it rough to the touch as he ran his hands over it.

He was unclear as to it’s purpose and inspected it more closely, moving toward the centre of the tube. He bent it in his hands, taken aback by its flexibility. Two small drops of a clear, odorless liquid trickled out when he squeezed it.

Adrian jumped back. Both droplets landed on the floor. Bending over, he sniffed the wet spot on the ground, but it didn’t smell like anything. He carefully wiped a finger through the wet surface. It felt like water. Standing back up, he grabbed hold of the tube again.

With nothing else to lose, he put his lips to the tube and sucked. Water flooded into his mouth, and he choked on it. Swallowing roughly, he winced as it went down his throat.

“That solves that mystery,” he said aloud to himself. He looked around, wondering if his captors could hear him speak. He went silent for fear of being heard.

He continued his patrol around the room until he came across a small hole with a tiny nozzle pointed upwards, just under the rim. He bent down and looked at it. It was about two fists wide and circular. He would have to take care not to trip over it. Looking at the nozzle, he waved his hand over it. A small, concentrated stream of water spurted out. Adrian found that it resembled a bidet.

They’ve trapped me here and given me water and a toilet, he thought. At least, I hope that’s a toilet. His stomach grumbled loudly in protest of its neglect. All that’s missing is some food, he mused. He looked around the room but saw no other feature of note. Now what?

He paced around in circles, nervous energy from being trapped in yet another cell driving him to find a distraction. Several minutes later, he stopped and sat on the floor, his back against one of the walls.

Intrusive thoughts tumbled around in his mind incessantly. He replayed the experiments that had already been performed on him prior to waking up in the strange room. Memories of long hours spent curled up in pain on an uncomfortable cot alongside his cellmates came and went as time crawled by. Recollections of the constant stream of injections full of unidentifiable substances flashed by. He knew not what they did nor why he’d been given them, save that they were highly lethal. He’d survived, but he wondered at what cost.

His final moments before being shoved in the pod fought for dominance in his mind. Adrian tried in vain to push away the memory of liquid entering his lungs and drowning him as he gasped for air that wasn’t there. His breath came in short shallow gasps as he forced himself to calm down.

Closing his eyes, he tapped his fingers nervously against the floor. His ears pricked and his eyes snapped open. There it was. That sound again. That suctioning, melting, bubbling sound. Adrian’s heart beat frantically in his chest as he expected to finally encounter his captors. He got ready to get up and run. He’d spent enough time as a lab rat.

But nothing happened. There was no grand door that materialized out of thin air. No person to finally explain to him what was going on. Nothing. His eyes searched the barren room, trying to spot any differences. He noticed a two-foot, cubic hole in one of the walls that was chest height. There was something inside.

Adrian cautiously got up and walked over, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for any sudden sounds or movement, paranoid that he would be snuck up on by someone. He made it to the slot without incident and looked around but kept his guard up as he looked at the item that was inside.

It was a small loaf of purple bread. Prodding it with one hand, he found it to be dense, yet surprisingly spongy. The outer crust felt thin and as if it would be easy to bite into. He picked it up and smelled it, putting it back just as quickly. The loaf smelled like aged mouldy socks. His nose did not appreciate the experience, and neither did the rest of him.

Adrian didn’t like it. It was new. He’d learned long ago that new never meant anything good. Doing the only sensible thing he could think of, he left the loaf where it was and settled back down against the wall, both hoping and fearing that something else would happen.