I opened my eyes, then promptly shut them again. The bright white lights seared the red insides of my eyelids. There were sounds around me. Soft murmurs in random pitches and odd muted clicks. -They're talking about you- my mind whispered. Why does my mind know something I don't? Which brings me back to this language I'm thinking in... it feels... familiar, yet boxy and unused. Where am I? And more importantly, who am I? -You are Eve- said my mind again. This was beginning to be freaky. the voice in my mind... it wasn't me, although it was talking to me in my own mental voice. I feels... synthetic....
I must know where I am. I must open my eyes again. I took a deep breath. It was icy cold, whooshing through my nostrils, and completely devoid of smells. I will open my eyes in three... two... one-
BZZZZZZTTTTT!!! White hot current shot through my skull from multiple points on my head. They coursed through my brain, streaking along millions of neuronic paths I never knew I had. I became a spectator in my own body as my eyelids blinked with the speed of hummingbird wings, my breaths became mechanical gasps and from my vocal cords spilled a meaningless jumble of sounds, both human and not. My limbs jerked, as if yanked by invisible strings, contorting to impossible angles. Even my heart beat as if it was trying to jump out of my chest. I didn't panic, because it was too surreal to allow for any emotions.
As fast as it came, it was over. I slumped back on my metal pyre, numbly registering the goosepimples shivering my naked flesh. I am not my own. That much was obvious. My know-it-all brain was quiet now... and thank goodness it was too. It was solving cosmic equations on it's own, for god's sake. Relief had just begun to set in, when a series of odd syllables interspersed with the previous clicks sounded out.
My brain translated for me- System check complete.
System- check-? I only had time for that half-thought, when they came in.
*********************
It's a beautiful summers day, heady with the sweet smell of flowers in full bloom. I leaned against the old maple, thankful for its shade. My mind wandered from the book in my hand. Its minute print held no charm for me this afternoon, for I was waiting for someone.
-He's late- I thought as I toyed with the delicate swarovski-crystals bracelet. "Something to remind you of me while I'm not here." he had said. As if he wasn't in the forefront of my mind all the time...
Crunch. I leaped up at the sound of dead leaves crushed beneath a boot. Finally. I turned with a radiant smile-
It's not him. My smile melted off like an ice-cream in this summer heat. It was a man in military uniform. My heart began to thud, banging in my rib cage. What if-?
"Miss Evelyn Stanford?" He inquired in a gravelly deep voice.
"Y-yes. Yes, that's me". My voice had gone quivery. No. Please no. "Has, has something happened to....?" my voice faltered.
He said two words-- "I'm sorry."
I fainted.
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