The Time of Change

Observation

I gasp, the sound of my own hoarse voice startling me enough to make my heart skip a beat. Consciousness barrels into me like a steamroller, ripping me back into reality before I've even realized I left it. My mind reels. The last thing I remember is being stuck in one of the holes in the warehouse, then darkness. I suck in deep breaths, swallowing and inhaling unevenly. Rubbing my eyes under my glasses, I sigh and reach up to stretch my arms.

    They extend four inches in front of me before I touch solid glass.

    I'm trapped?

No, I can't be. The Doctor would never let that happen. I would never let that happen. My brain awakens like I have never experienced before, nerves coming alive with electricity and prompting me to fight or flee. I tap the glass with the tip of my finger. Claustrophobia settles in at such a pace that I'm knocked breathless. I attempt to regain control of my senses before I go into full-out panic mode, but it does little to help. Is this a coffin? Have I been buried? That doesn't make any sense.

A tiny voice in my head sneers, It looks like a coffin.

    "Let me out!" I gasp. "Can anybody hear me? I'm alive in here! Let me out!" A shadow passes over my encasement, and at once I'm overwhelmed with relief because if I can see someone, then I haven't been buried. Anger piles on top of my fear, making it seem smaller than it actually is. "I know you're out there!" I say with as much strength as I can muster. "My name is Annalise Song, and you'd better get me out of here, or so help me, I will kick your backside!" I pause, then squeak, "Please?"

    The figure leans over me again, and though I can't see its face clearly through the warbled, unclear glass, a feeling of unease washes over me. I resolve to be politer in my next request because something isn't right about the shape of this shadow.

"Shh!"

Indignation ignites like a flame, and my intention to be nice evaporates. "Did you just shush me?" I demand, my naturally high voice sounding rather shrill. "Did you really just shush me?" The figure moves back slightly, and it looks like it nods at something I cannot see. Within a second, I hear the rushing of air around me. Thick, opaque, odorless mist enters my glass cage.

    "No, no, no. No, don't do that. No gas. No gas!" I scream. A coughing fit overtakes me, and I hold my breath, praying I can keep the toxin out long enough that they will think it worked. The substance makes my eyes water. Another cough bubbles up in my throat, and before I can bite it back, it bursts out of me. I unwittingly inhale a large gulp of the gas; my vision becomes blurry and unfocused. The black dots don't appear at the corners of my sight, but I feel myself going under.

    My surroundings disappear before I have the chance to save myself.