The Immaculate

Chapter 1

(Nick)

Have you ever felt like you were drowning? I can almost feel myself slipping under the artificially tranquil facade of the waves into the abstruse intensity beneath the ever serene exterior. The water is permeating my lungs with a burning sensation. I am striving for oxygen, but none exists.

My body is advancing into hypothermia; the pressure in my chest is rising by the second. I can taste the salt from the water on my lips. The salt stings my lips and my eyes, contributing to the pain swelling in my chest and lungs. My body is listless and still in acute pain at the same time.

I continue, sinking deeper and deeper below the depths. I try to open my eyes, but the salt smarts them excessively. So, I close them again. The pain persists, intensifying, and my body undergoes more senselessness. Everything is raging intense red, and I can feel the blood hammering against my skull.

I detect muted voices, but I can't comprehend what they are saying with the relentless pounding of my heart reverberating in my ears. Then, the sounds dissipate, and all that remains is the pain. Then there is emptiness; everything goes black, and I drift into tranquil black censorship; a void of oblivion. All pain dissipates, and then I am gone too.

My head is pounding, and I feel dreadful. As I open my eyes, all I see are various hues of black. I strive to sit up, but my head spins so, I lay back down, attempting to stay conscious. My head is swimming, my eyes burn, my body aches, and I have a severe migraine.

As I lay back down, I feel firm cold concrete against my back, and I start shivering. Where am I? I am incapable of seeing anything, and my intellect is obscure. I am having a strenuous time recollecting anything. I try to contemplate, but my head hurts too much.

After a few minutes, my eyes start to adjust, and the burning sensation starts to wane a little. I sit up, gradually, my body aching with every movement. I am freezing and stiff. I see opaque metal bars in the darkness in front of me.

The minute, box-like room resembles a penitentiary cell. Did I get thrown in jail? If so, why? Where am I, and what happened? I can focus slightly better now, but my intellect is still hazy. My eyes continue to go in and out of focus, causing me to become unbalanced.

The last I remember is getting on a bus reserved for university students traveling to NYU. So, did someone on the bus possess an illicit substance, and the police brought everyone to jail for examination; so they can identify who's guilty and who is innocent? I cannot remember anything subsequently from boarding the bus and riding for several hours.

All I recollect is my experience before the bus and a few monotonous hours on the bus. Did I pass out, or was I knocked out? I sit there, just gazing into the darkness, enigmas besieging my brain. Time crawls slowly; I can't perceive how long I sit here in my cell, at least a few hours transpire. It is cold, silent, and empty.

Then, a light appears at the end of the corridor. I draw myself back into the corner, hoping whoever it is won't notice me. Which is pretty hard to do, considering I am 6'3. The guard passes, thankfully, and opens up a cell several cells away from mine.

I watch as he shakes a tall blond awake and drags her to her feet. She glances around groggily and trails after him. As they pass my cell, I overhear some of their conversations. She persists on inquiring who he is, who she is, and where they are. The guard, on the other hand, remains silent.

I don't know who he is, or where we are, but why would she question who she was? Did she forget her own identity? There is an ominous feeling regarding everything that has transpired. I am still unsure of whatever's occurring, but it all appears peculiar and erratic.