Phadia
Tomato Goddess
It was cold and damp. That was the first thing that Mae noticed as she awoke.
The heat must be out again...
Her thoughts were muddled as she tried to shake off the sleep. Without opening her eyes, Mae tried to roll over in an attempt to get back under the blankets.
Huh? My body... it won't move!
The second thing she noticed, sent the sleepy feeling fleeing from her mind with its tail between its legs.
Her eyes flew open in an instant, and she found herself squinting up at a brightly lit white ceiling. In the moment it took for Mae to open her eyes, her brain had already registered several things.
She was not in her own bed.
She was not in the Meredith Home for Unwanted Children.
She was strapped to what she assumed was an operating table.
There were at least two other people in the room with her, dressed in white suits and hooded masks. Mae assumed they were doctors.
"Test was a success. Forty-two verified corpses. Three in critical. Zero escapes." The voice was cold, emotionless.
What? Is he talking to me? What's going on?! I don't remember being in a hospital...
"Initiating procedure eighteen." Another voice. This time from behind Mae.
Startled, she tried to turn around and see what was going on, but found her body completely restrained. The only thing she could see was a gloved hand holding a syringe.
"What's going on?" she squeaked. "What...?" Mae trailed off, relieved as the syringe disappeared from view. The relief was short lived, however, as a sudden numb cold began creeping up her arm.
An IV!
"What was that?! I'm not sick! Why-" Her words cut off abruptly, as the syringe's contents coursed her veins, the cold rapidly giving way to a burning sensation.
Then the burning intensified, growing into an all out pain.
"It's hurts! It's burning! Let me go!"
Her pleas were met with nothing, but one of the strange man's voices announcing, "Procedure number eighteen was a success. Initiating procedure number nineteen," as he picked up another syringe.
Then next thing she knew, Mae found herself lying on an earthen floor.
Where...? She tried to piece her scattered thoughts together. Did I black out?
She could feel that the restraints had been removed. Moaning, she tried to haul herself up off the floor, but failed miserably as her aching body refused to cooperate.
Where am I now?
From her current position, she wasn't able to see much. The only two things that really stood out, were the iron bars stretching across the gap in front of her, and the number fifty-two, etched into the earthen walls just beyond the barred door.
A prison cell?
As she lay on the ground, Mae could hear distant screaming and crying. Confused murmurs filled the air, as well as the smell of vomit and stale air.
Why? Why am I here?!
Mae could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to understand what was going on.
The last thing I remember was going to bed in the orphanage... What did I do to end up here?!
The heat must be out again...
Her thoughts were muddled as she tried to shake off the sleep. Without opening her eyes, Mae tried to roll over in an attempt to get back under the blankets.
Huh? My body... it won't move!
The second thing she noticed, sent the sleepy feeling fleeing from her mind with its tail between its legs.
Her eyes flew open in an instant, and she found herself squinting up at a brightly lit white ceiling. In the moment it took for Mae to open her eyes, her brain had already registered several things.
She was not in her own bed.
She was not in the Meredith Home for Unwanted Children.
She was strapped to what she assumed was an operating table.
There were at least two other people in the room with her, dressed in white suits and hooded masks. Mae assumed they were doctors.
"Test was a success. Forty-two verified corpses. Three in critical. Zero escapes." The voice was cold, emotionless.
What? Is he talking to me? What's going on?! I don't remember being in a hospital...
"Initiating procedure eighteen." Another voice. This time from behind Mae.
Startled, she tried to turn around and see what was going on, but found her body completely restrained. The only thing she could see was a gloved hand holding a syringe.
"What's going on?" she squeaked. "What...?" Mae trailed off, relieved as the syringe disappeared from view. The relief was short lived, however, as a sudden numb cold began creeping up her arm.
An IV!
"What was that?! I'm not sick! Why-" Her words cut off abruptly, as the syringe's contents coursed her veins, the cold rapidly giving way to a burning sensation.
Then the burning intensified, growing into an all out pain.
"It's hurts! It's burning! Let me go!"
Her pleas were met with nothing, but one of the strange man's voices announcing, "Procedure number eighteen was a success. Initiating procedure number nineteen," as he picked up another syringe.
Then next thing she knew, Mae found herself lying on an earthen floor.
Where...? She tried to piece her scattered thoughts together. Did I black out?
She could feel that the restraints had been removed. Moaning, she tried to haul herself up off the floor, but failed miserably as her aching body refused to cooperate.
Where am I now?
From her current position, she wasn't able to see much. The only two things that really stood out, were the iron bars stretching across the gap in front of her, and the number fifty-two, etched into the earthen walls just beyond the barred door.
A prison cell?
As she lay on the ground, Mae could hear distant screaming and crying. Confused murmurs filled the air, as well as the smell of vomit and stale air.
Why? Why am I here?!
Mae could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to understand what was going on.
The last thing I remember was going to bed in the orphanage... What did I do to end up here?!