God's Cage | WOTG #1

twenty-six | beyond the darkness

CADE
Beyond the Darkness

—

There was nothing left to do but count the seconds that were passing by. Until seconds turned into minutes. Until minutes turned into hours.

I was looking at the curvature of the smooth white walls and stared at it until its color was stamped at the back of my eyelids and would still see it every time I would close my eyes. My chest rose and fell as I sat at the thin hovering glass at the center of this chamber, a blanket lying lifeless on the floor, and waited for Goldberg's minions to arrive.

I didn't even know why I was waiting for Goldberg's assistants to fetch me. It was just I was so bored I could feel my bones turning into stones.

Kinuha ko ang kumot na nakakalat sa sahig at itinali 'yon sa 'king baywang. Nagisip-isip ako at sinubukang tuklasin kung ano ang binabalak nilang gawin sa 'kin. Pero walang pumapasok sa utak ko. Para bang kahit anong pilit kong isip ay hindi 'to gumagana at walang namumuo sa isip ko.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit kanina'y halos sumabog ang dibdib ko sa galit. Samantalang ngayon ay bakante ang puso ko sa kahit anong emosyon. Nakatunganha lang ako sa kawalan at pati takot ay hindi ako nakararamdam. Dahil ba siguro wala na akong pakialam kung ano ang gusto nilang gawin sa 'kin dahil wala nang taong mag-aalala kapag nawala na ako rito sa mundo?

Mahigit kalahating oras na ang nakakalipas at wala pa ring dumadating. Wala pa ring sumusundo sa 'kin para simulan na ang eksperimentong isasagawa nila. Yumuko na lang ako at sinalo ng aking dalawang kamay ang aking mukha ko. Wala na akong magagawa pa para makaalis pa dito.

Ito na. Ito na siguro ang mga huling bagay na naiisip ko.

A moment later a beep had made me look up. I searched everywhere to where that sound had come from but I didn't find any.

Or that was what I thought.

I looked up and saw a glass window four meters above. On the other side of the window were Goldberg's four android-like assistants and all of them were looking at me like a new specimen.

No. I was really their new specimen.

They were wearing their black and blue uniforms with the research facility's logo—three triangular shapes that created another triangular shape with words too far for me to read. 

I wasn't inside a room. I was in a cage.

I saw this cage once, but the difference was I was on the other side. The side where people would observe, not the side where the animals would be observed. I saw this cage once in a zoo. A cage to contain wild and vicious animals that posed danger.

Only dangerous animals were put into cages like this.

And right now, I was inside one.

Isa sa kanila ang bumuka ang bibig at nagsalita at hindi ko marinig kung ano ang mga salitang lumalabas sa kanilang mga bibig. Habang nagsasalita sila ay nagsisitanguan rin na parang sumasang-ayon sa isa't-isa.

Sumigaw ako.

"Anong gagawin niyo sa'kin!" sigaw ko na tila parang walang nakarinig.

'Yon ay dahil wala nga talagang nakarinig.

Tuloy-tuloy lang sa sila sa pinag-uusapan nila at kalaunan ay sabay-sabay silang tumango na parang nagkasundo-sundo sa isang malaki at mabigat na desisyon. Pagkatapos noon ay lumapit ang isang lalaki sa isang mic. May pinindot siya at nagsimulang magsalita.