Fragment 002

“Huh? Where am I?” Everywhere I looked was darkness. This place, wherever it was, felt unnervingly warm and damp. How had I ended up here? And why couldn’t I remember anything before this moment?

As I stumbled through the cramped space, something slick clung to my skin, cold and unyielding. My body was coated in it, sticky and heavy. I reached out blindly, my hands met resistance, there was an invisible barrier. It wasn’t exactly solid. It gave slightly beneath my force, but pushed back all the same,it felt like a membrane rather than a wall.

I pressed against it some more, only to suddenly lose my balance. Even though I myself was still, something around me was moving, making it difficult to stay upright.

There was an abrupt jolt, it hurled me forwards, my face slammed into the slimy barrier. My stomach twisted.

Smack!

Suddenly, everything stopped. A strange impact pressed across my entire body.

The rhythmic pounding I once felt had ceased. The walls had not stopped moving completely, but the violent motion had softened into a gentle vibration.

I steadied myself after the impact and reached out once again, tracing the barrier with my hands. Beneath the layer of slime was a rough, creased surface. It wasn’t hard. If anything, it felt fragile. I dug my fingernails into it and pushed with the full force of my body. A faint creak answered me. My fingers clung to the surface as the creaking intensified, until a thin beam of light pierced through.

How strange. So there was something beyond this place.

Without warning, chaos erupted, a scream of horror ran through my ears as the pressure gave way and I was violently spat out. The wall tore apart like a curtain. Momentum sent me flying forwards. That once been a tiny beam now blinded me entirely. A moment later, a pillow of grit struck my face.

As I lay on the ground, an incredible warmth spread across my body. I forced one eye open, only to be met with a blast of white that forced it shut again. Hesitantly, I tried once more.

Slowly, the light became more bearable. Not as harsh this time. I could almost make out shapes, little more than hues of red and orange. My eyelids twitched, and gradually the blur of colour sharpened into something clearer.

I lay there with my ear pressed against the ground. Before me, stretched a blanket of endless red sand as far as my eyes could see, meeting at the horizon with an eerie orange sky.

I was confused before, and now, my confusion only deepened.