Factory Reset | ✓

cleanse

Today began just like any other day.

I woke up to buzzing and after the whole song and dance of the window disappearing, my tray of breakfast appeared — the same as it had been the last few days. The same as it always will be. The taste was just as magical as it was the first day I had it. I could grow used to this routine.

Regular meals and for the most part, I was well-taken care of. Or at least I had no problems I could remember. With all the time in the world to rest and just relax, it was kind of nice.

Sometime after breakfast, I'd be escorted to a washroom where I could use a toilet and sink. I always felt relieved to go first thing in the morning. It felt like a sign that I was in peak health.

Or at least I was supposed to be escorted there but that didn't happen today. Instead, while walking, we took a much farther route and I ended up in a room much different than the washroom. There was no toilet or sink or much of anything in the room. It was all empty.

By the time I turned around to face the door again, it was closed. Turning the door knob just once revealed that it was locked, so for now, I would be stuck here. I turned back around, trying to take inventory of the room. There wasn't much more to it other than the giant drain in the middle.

I took a step backwards, my back brushing against the wall. A giant drain? Was this entire room some sort of... bathtub? But there wasn't any water in here — it was like an empty bathtub then.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I walked closer to the drain to get a closer look at it. It was twice as big as my bed, which was barely large enough for just me to sleep on. The entire thing was silver and made of blades with small openings in-between each one — big enough to drain water.

While glancing over the width of the drain, a small yellow post-it note that escaped me earlier caught my eye. I picked it up off the ground and read over its contents, my face burning.

"Remove all of your clothes and throw them on the drain," it said.

I threw the note to the ground, glaring at it. Did it really expect me to do that? Here? Now? As much as I knew that I probably smelled, stripping in an empty room like this was out of my comfort zone. Out of anyone's comfort zone, I would imagine. Though, what choice did I have?

The door was locked, and it seemed as if I wouldn't be allowed out of this room until I did what they wanted me to do. Better to get this over with sooner rather than later, I reasoned. Maybe I smelled more than I thought I did. After all, you did get used to your own scent but others didn't.

I pulled off my jacket first, throwing it onto the drain, and waited a few seconds. Nothing happened, so I began taking off the rest of my clothes. I kept going until there was nothing but skin left. Something about being naked for the first time in a while made me feel vulnerable.

Especially as I gazed at the silver blades staring back at me. They looked sharp enough to cut someone like me up — actually sharp enough to cut any human up into tiny little pieces.

I shook my head, trying to get the intrusive thoughts out of my head. Thinking about potential bodily harm would just make me panic over nothing. I wouldn't get hurt from where I was standing as long as I made sure not to walk any closer. Nothing would hurt me from here.

A shiver spread through my body and I wished I was still wearing my clothes. They laid in a pile on top of the drain where I had thrown them. What was supposed to be happening now?

As if someone could hear my thoughts, the gaps between the blades widened and the clothes I was wearing fell in. A few seconds later, I could hear a resounding splash coming from below.

I tiptoed closer, almost falling in myself, when the blades all rotated and the gaps disappeared. Instead of the alternating pattern of blade and gap, it was all just one continuous silver panel. On one hand, there would be no way for me to accidentally fall inside. On the other hand—

A drop of water fell on my nose, distracting me from my thoughts. Instinctively, I looked up to see where it had come from and the sight of the ceiling surprised me. I hadn't expected to see so many tiny holes — each of them glittered as if the light reflected against the water drops falling.

As if I was standing beneath the clouds, it began to rain down on me.

▬▬▬

The water level was rising quicker than I could have anticipated.

It kept pouring and pouring even when the water began pooling on the floor. In the blink of an eye, it was already up to my ankles and it showed no sign of stopping soon — it just kept going.

I tried to hold my hands above my head to protect myself from the torrential downpour but after a while, I grew tired of holding them. The water continued to fall on me at a steady rate.

Would the entire room eventually be filled with water? Would I drown here?

Even though I had trouble remembering my past, something told me that I didn't know how to swim, and that scared me. What chance would I have at surviving if this filled up too much?

"Help!" I shouted, as if anyone could hear me, but there was no answer.

I looked down again to check the water level. It was nearly to my knees now, and still going higher and higher. Even taking just one step was getting harder because of all the water.

Closing my eyes, I tried to distract myself from my impending doom. My mind felt blank but when I pushed it a bit, something came tumbling loose and I let the image fill my head.

"What if we wake up?" I asked, fear lining my voice.

"What do you mean, Aura?" Atlas stared at me as if I asked the dumbest question in the world.

"What if it doesn't work? What if we wake up underwater?"

He sighed, clearly having gotten tired of repeating himself. "It will work. I've made sure of it."

Was that... me? Was that my memory? I shook my head to see if anything else would come out of it, but nothing else did. Nothing about who Atlas was and certainly not what happened to me.

I knew there was a reason I was here, but... what if the reason was me?

When I opened my eyes again, the water had reached my hips. I was certain I'd die here. Why would they waste so much water in this room otherwise? Why go through all of this for me? I deserved better than this — deserved better than a watery grave in an empty building.

But we don't always get what we deserve, and I resigned myself to a life under the water.