TO LIVE FOR

0.1 NEXT TO NOTHING

Her eyes shot open, yet no light entered them. A loud gasp left her mouth and echoed around her. Her body ached and her lungs burned. A foul stench hung in the air making each breath feel so thick she had to gulp and gasp to take the slightest inhale. Her heart pounder in her chest and if it was trying to break free from her body. She laid flat on her back, her nose pointed to the ceiling. Her hands sprawled out to her side, searching for any sort of comfort. 

After a quick moment of catching her breath, she rolled on her stomach and then lifted herself up to a crawling position. Every muscle ached and her head felt as if it were trying to unscrew itself from her shoulders. A single sob left her lips and she felt tears pricking at her eyes. Fear crept through her body as she looked around and found nothing.

Darkness.

That was it. There was nothing but cold, empty darkness. Her terrified state only grew when she saw memories swarm into her blank vison and then disappear. Like watching a movie on a projector just before the power goes out. She couldn't recall what moments have already faded and knew she would have no idea that they were ever even there in mere minutes. 

"No- No... I can't... No-" She muttered to herself, her voice cracking with every syllable. She couldn't bare the thought of losing her memory. 

My name. What's my name?  She puzzled, searching her ever fading memories for her name. Marie. Her mind told her that that is her actual name. Her panic lessened the slightest amount and she took comfort in knowing her name. 

Do I have a family? Where are they? Where am I? Why can't I remember anything? Why can't I see anything? Am I Blind? Her head raced, each question plagued her mind as time seem to slow to agonizing seconds. 

"Calm... down... Pa-panicking won't... It won't he-help." Her hoarse voice wavered as she burred her face into her into her arms. Her nose now almost touching the cold metal floor. Her shins and elbows resting on the ground. Her hands covered her ears in hopes of blocking out any scary thoughts. Slowly, she took deep, shaky breaths in a sad attempt to calm herself. 

"My- my name... is Marie. I'm a-a girl... I-I can't remember a-any- anything." She slowly broke into small sobs as she listed off everything she knew. "My name i-is Marie. I'm a g-girl. I can't... I can't remember anything." Marie repeated over and over. It was all she had. Not even her eyes gave her any sort of reassurance. This was everything. And it was next to nothing. 

Suddenly, everything jerked up. The room she was in shifted. A quick yelp lift Marie's mouth as the shift took her off guard. It was then that she decided it was time to get up. So, with trembling mind and body, Marie stood from the ground. Her hands were outstretched as she rose. Her bottom lip quivered as fought back the choking sobs that tarred at her throat. 

She took shuffled steps in the darkness as the place she was in shook and trembled more and more every second. She searched for anything that could be helpful with her arms reaching out in front of her. 

"Hello? I-is anyone th-there?" She choked out, fear and the moving room causing every bit of her to quake. She received no answer. Only the loud squeaking and grinding of the metal elevator she was in. 

With one final hesitant step, she felt the tips of her fingers brush against the cold hard walls of her cage. She quickly scurried closer to the surface and leaned against it to stable herself. She tried reaching up to find any thing of use, but her fingers barely touched the ceiling before the cage shook again and she put her hands back on the wall. Using the wall as her guide, she kept her right hand placed on the metal and explored her surroundings. Her actions were like a kid running in a circle on a trampoline, with their hand on the net the whole time. After turning four times, Marie still found nothing. She was completely and utterly alone. 

She assumed that she was in an elevator, but an elevator to where? Maybe she was on her way to be a snack for some beast. Like a goat in a movie she couldn't remember the name of, or the actors who played in it, going up to be eaten by a dinosaur. Was her memory loss on purpose? Or was it her own doing? What would be the purpose of wiping her mind if she was just going to die anyway? 

Dropping to her knees with her right arm still pressed against the wall, Marie felt her heart explode in her chest. Is this how she was going to die? Alone and scared? Her hands shook and her breath's came in uneven and uneasy waves. Her mind ran away from any logical thinking and hid behind a cloud of doubt and distress. Marie had no idea what to do, so she simply scooted on her bottom backwards into the corner. She pressed her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins.

Maybe it was all a punishment, but what act could've earned this drastic treatment? Was she a murder? A thief? She could've been dangerous, or just a victim of someone else's mistake. Was it all a test? A sick joke? Her thoughts were so loud Marie almost believed she was talking out loud. 

There were holes in the walls of the cage, making it feel like a metal net. Marie stuck the tips of her small fingers through and traced the lines with her hands. She couldn't see anything, she could only hear the wretched sound of the box she was in move, so she appreciated the feel of anything. Her main working sense was one of her only reliefs from her horrific situation. 

If she was going to die, she could at least be at peace with it. With one deep breath and all of her focus on the cool sensation that tingled her fingers, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. Resting it on the wall behind her. After a moment of silence she spoke aloud, "My name is Marie. I'm a girl. I can't remember anything. I might die." She used her left hand and ran it though her hair, and took another deep breath. "My hair goes a little past my shoulders. I don't know what color it is. I don't know what I look like. I don't know where I am. I might die..." 

Her bottom lip quivered once again and her eyes filled with tears. She ran her hands up and down her shins from warmth and comfort, the side of her palms brushed against the top of what felt like combat boots, and something cold and hard. Just like everything else in the box. Curious, she patted around the top of her boot and found a small object. She pulled it out of its place and inspected it blindly. It was long, about five inches, flat, and thin. It was a knife.

"I have a knife?... I have a knife." She puzzled, then tucked it back into her boot. Careful not to lose it. She had a small fighting chance. A small smile tugged at her lip with the thought. 

What little joy she had was snatched away with a jolt as the box elevator came to a halt. There was no movement. Not from the elevator and not from Marie. She was barely breathing. Twenty-ish minutes passed and nothing happened. The only difference was that Marie could her the sound of her heart beats in her ears. 

Suddenly, a small thing strip of yellow light appeared on the ground with an echo of shifting metal. There was some sort of opening above her. The line of light began to thicken and the noise grew. Marie curled herself further into her corner and held her breath. Her hand instinctively went to the knife in her boot, but she didn't pull it out. Her eyes burned from the new light that was now flooding into the box from above, but at least now she know she wasn't blind. She looked to the source best she could with her eyes squinted and her left arm casting a shadow over most of her face as she held it up. 

She could see many silhouettes of people and the bright sky above them. So many faces stared down at her and one from the front dangled their leg from the top of the box before slipping in with a small jump. The person was a tall boy with blond hair and a smile on his lips. He was trying to look friendly, Marie could tell, but she didn't trust him. 

Her back stiffened as he approached her with slow steps. 

"It's okay. You can trust us." He attempted to sooth, gesturing to the group above them, but Marie only stared at the new boy.

"Can you tell me you name?" The blond asked as he knelt beside her. Marie just continued to stare expressionless. She was uncertain and didn't want to show fear or hope that this was a real rescue.

"Well, my name is Nick. And you can trust us." He held out his hand.

HAHA Y'ALL PROBABLY THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE NEWT.