Black Balloon

Chapter 5

I awoke to the sounds of Jonah trying to open the door, having no idea how long I'd been out, seconds probably, although it felt like days. My entire body throbbed in pain. Every nerve ending bristled, tingling like a limb that has fallen asleep. Being knocked unconscious, or passing out, whichever it was, had wiped my brain clean and it took several seconds to remember where I was. I finally remembered my predicament and how I'd gotten there.

Touching the metal walls of my sarcophagus, I could feel that the heat had dissipated some. It was still warm, hot even, but no longer searing to the point of pain. As I felt around, instinctively searching for something to grasp on to, a handle, anything, my fingers encountered an object. It was oddly shaped, not the cube I had been holding moments ago, and it was cool to the touch. I grabbed it and recognized by touch; a porcelain cup with a handle, a coffee mug. Where did this come from?

Then I felt something else, something that filled me with terror. It was moving, a faint skitter that bristled along my back. My body tensed in fear sending sharp pains through my already sore back and shoulders. There was something alive in here with me. A scurrying, crawling thing was attempting to burrow under me, making little squeaking noises and trying desperately to hide itself. It tickled. It was fuzzy. Fuzzy and alive. I pictured a giant hairy spider crawling up my neck which caused my panic to return with a vengeance.

"Help! Open the door! Jonah!"

My blood curdling screams were amplified by the tiny echo chamber, becoming an ear-splitting horrified roar once again. I rolled to my side and felt the thing scuttle out from underneath me. I could hear its disgusting little tarantula feet scratching the walls of the tube, attempting to climb but sliding back down the smooth surface.

"Jonah! Open this goddamn door! Please..."

Finally, I heard the sound of metal coming from my feet, mechanical arms sliding back and forth as the complex door mechanism began to open. Jonah had figured it out. As soon as I was free I was going to murder that mother fucker. A sliver of light formed around the edges of the hatch and to my indescribable relief, it opened. Blended with a feeling of pure joy was an intense desire to beat the living shit out of Jonah as soon as I could get ahold of him. I would never forgive him for this. If the heat hadn't killed me, or the spider, or suffocation, a heart attack might have. I'd make him pay.

As the door opened fully, blinding light filled the tube. I saw only a harsh white glow as my pupils struggled to bring the image into focus. A corona of light formed around the door in a crescent moon pattern. With my eyes slowly adjusting, I discerned a figure standing just outside the door...but it wasn't Jonah. Nor was it Priscilla. It was someone I didn't recognize, a man, I thought. Only his eyes were visible. When my light-deprived pupils came fully into focus, I saw that he was wearing a white stocking cap, something like a hairnet, and a surgical mask. When he saw me, he stepped back in surprise.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?!?" the man shouted.

He seemed as confused as me. I returned his question in kind:

"Who are YOU!?"

He stepped back even further.

"Security! I need security down here!" he said.

"Jonah?" I yelled. "Priscilla?!"

Just then the tiny creature ran past me, out the open door, and dropped out of sight. It fell through the grating and probably to his little spidery death, making the slightest "tink" sound as he hit the metal. Good. Die, fucker. The man was too focused on me and he never noticed it fall. In my hand I was still holding the coffee cup, which had definitely not been in the tube when I climbed in. It was all very strange. I dropped the mug and the handle broke off.