My eyes fluttered open to a blinding whiteness. The pain echoing throughout my body and bones assures me that I am not dead. If I am not dead, then where am I?
I manage to blink, for a moment the whiteness seems to engulf me before it fades to the white grey color of the walls. I am in a small room lying on a bed. The lights around me are reflecting off the walls, but they no longer blind me. A few feet from me, lying in her own bed is another girl. There is a sensation that I know her, but I cannot see her face.
We are alone in the room, so I slowly rise into a seated position, the room spins but only for a moment. Now that my eyes are focused on the girl with me I recognize my sister, Alex.
I continue to peer around the room, but I only find our two beds, a clump of odd machinery embedded in the wall and a small bedside table. Nothing looks familiar. There is a shrinking feeling in my stomach as the realization comes that I am hurt and nearly alone in a room I have never seen before.
How did I get here?
The scratches, bruises and burns tell me that something isn’t right. Something bad happened. But I don’t remember anything out of the usual. Wait. I don’t remember anything. Panic seizes my body. What has happened to me?
Alex has opened her eyes or one of them as I now notice that she had one black eye that is swollen shut. Her face slowly begins to register her surroundings, and she slowly becomes confused as well. She finally turns to me and manages a small smile, she knows who I am. This is a comfort.
The doorknob jiggles. We both turn to the door as it opens. In enters a woman dressed in all white. She has a soft smile on her face. She is glowing, happy. But who is she? Would I recognize her if I did know her?
I come to the conclusion that I would recognize her if I had known her, like I had recognized Alex. This woman holds no familiarity. I recoil up against the back wall as a wave of fear drowns my senses.
The woman avoids me and my sister completely as she goes to adjust the machines on the wall. We watch in interest as she works. What is she doing? I become somewhat aware of a drowsy feeling beginning to flood my thoughts. Before I completely lose consciousness again she uses a needle to inject something under my skin.
The next time I wake the scene has changed, the room is still small, but the walls are now a calming light blue. The machines are gone, but Alex is still beside me.
Her presence makes the pain bearable. There is a burning through my blood and my whole body hurts. I feel alert.
In pain, I thrash around on my bed, but this does not help. The burning begins to dull, but the pain makes me wish I was dead. I am still alive when I notice the woman standing over us. She is watching me intently. I still my body. How long has she been standing there?
A groan escapes my lips as the burning fades. The pain grows. The woman in a black suit continues to watch me, but there are no words exchanged. She’ll glance at Alex every once in a while, but she continues to scrutinize me.
My memory has not returned with the clarity I feel in my mind.
What have these strangers done to me?
