Thirteen

2

I'm God by Clams Casino

My thoughts slowly crawl back to me. I feel like I've woken up from the dead. My brain is so slow at waking up. My eyes feel like a ton of bricks, and it feels like I've pulled every muscle possible in my body.

The thought of opening my eyes fully makes my stomach churn, but I still try to pry my lids apart. When I force them open, I'm immediately blinded by the brightness of white florescent lights above me. The world feels like it's spinning too fast, and I have to squint to let my eyes adjust to the light.

I struggle to sit up, feeling the blood rushing from my head, causing me a splitting headache. It honestly feels like my brain is going to explode. I hold my head in my hands, praying that the headache would go away.

Once having a grasp on reality, I look beyond my hands and down towards my whole body, realising I'm now in a completely white outfit, wearing a white t-shirt, white jogging bottoms and white ankle socks.

What unsettles me is that I physically can't remember putting this outfit on, or even owning it.

Around one ankle is a small black device like an ankle monitor. I try to pull it off, but nothing happens, and it only makes my skin go red.

Fuck.

Where am I?

My eyes desperately dart around me. Surrounding me are thick, white concrete walls, the same material as the floor I woke up on, nearly two stories high. I spin my head, looking behind me to see three long corridors. I lift myself up off of the floor, noticing how much my body aches. Each step I take feels like I have weights attached to my ankles.

This strange environment and situation sends shivers down my spine. Anxiety bubbles in the bottom of my stomach.

A female voice suddenly speaks out of nowhere, startling me and making me jump.

"Subject thirteen, began Labyrinth test at 1:07 pm."

Holy shit.

My mind suddenly starts racing. This is like some movie shit. Maybe it's some sort of social experiment or some fucking elaborate prank. My heart is in my throat and there is no way I'm doing this.

I take a single step back away from those corridors, my heart racing.

I suddenly feel a sharp pain ripple through my leg, around where the device around my ankle is. I collapse onto my knees, my breathing fast.

Was the device around my ankle meant to hurt me?

I'm assuming it was some sort of warning for refusing to go down one of the corridors. . .

I pull myself up off the floor and turn to look at the three long corridors. I take a deep breath and try to think straight. If the female voice said this is a 'labyrinth ', then surely this is just one big maze. And to find the exit to every maze, is to always take right turns or to always stick to the right wall.

Out of the three options, I glance at the right corridor and hobble my way towards it, slightly limping.
As I walk, I glide my hand over the tall white wall, the bumps and irregularities of the concrete running underneath my fingers. I quickly come to a turn, following the right wall around the corner and ignoring the option to turn left.

The silence draws my attention to how loud my heart is beating in my chest. The rhythmic beat is the only thing keeping me calmer.

I'm about to go another right turn when another shock is delivered up my leg and through my body. I crumple to the floor in agony. The short sharp shock is gone as soon as it arrives, but the intensity is excruciating. My vision goes blurry with tears and my brain feels fuzzy.