I wake up for the second time, in a strange place. I’m not as cramped, but I’m a lot worse off. I’m in pain. My head is throbbing, one arm is okay, but the other feels… I don’t want to think about it. I can twitch one ankle but it feels badly sprained. My other leg feels completely numb. There is a blueish glow that is fairly bright coming from somewhere, but lifting my head hurts too much to look around. From where I lie, I can see the broken earth, the jagged metal above me; a hole in the floor of whatever this facility is, maybe 15 feet deep. At least I know now it’s not a space ship. I chuckle at the thought which causes a searing pain in my head that makes me wince.

There is no doubt anymore… I need help. Even the help of those strangers. I start to call out but my voice sounds so quiet. Muffled by the closeness of the space. And what is that glow, anyway? I feel around with my still-good hand. I feel some empty spaces, gaps between the bedrock, almost like some part of a natural cave beneath the facility.

My hand brushes the numb leg and I feel wetness. I start to fear blood, but as I hold up my hand to my face , I see my fingers are covered in a strange gel-like substance that is the source of the glow! I smile for a moment before I start to realize… I try to wipe it away on the dirt next to me, but my fingers are already completely numb. What is happening?!

I call out more urgently, but my voice feels even weaker. I can feel it now… the numbness is spreading. To my other leg, and over my hips. And now, from up my fingers, as the blue glowing good is crawling over my hand,

The numbness spreads further and further, and the glow gets brighter and brighter as it covered more and more of me. Even though the process is agonizingly slow, it seems like almost no time at all before it reaches my face. All my cries have gone unanswered.

I squeeze my lips shut, but by the time it reaches my nose they are too numb for me to keep closed. I’m glad for the numbness. Part of me is certain that I’m being eaten alive by this thing, even if I can’t feel it. In a moment, it will cover me completely, and all I can do is hope that I wake-up from whatever this nightmare is.

But deep down I know that I won’t.

1- This is the end.

rc 1/27 The content of this page is the intellectual property and copyright material of Charles McLean Redding. Any resemblance to real events, locations, or people are entirely coincidental, and probably a serious cause for concern. No content may be copied and/or distributed without Charles McLean Redding’s express consent and authorization.