Against the Current

The glare of the sun woke me up.

I blink, trying valiantly to chase away my grogginess but fail to do so. I opened my eyes fully and stare at the ceiling. I sigh out loud in frustration and swing my legs off the bed.

I roughly scrub at my face and sneeze due to my efforts. I get off my bed and stretch as I make my way to the bathroom.

I open the door and lose my balance as a huge wave of water hits me head on. I splutter as Im swept away by the current. I flounder around, searching for something to grab on to. My fingers come in contact with a handle of some sort and I grab on to it for all my worth.

Unfortunately, the handle was that of the door to my room. Meaning, it wasnt locked.

The door swung open and more water gushed in.

Oh, youve got to be kidding me! I yelled in frustration as I braced myself against the door. Need to get out. I thought frantically as I watched my room fill up rapidly with water. If I didnt get out soon, I would drown.

I grunt as I throw myself forward and swim away from the door and to what used to be the entrance of my room. I grasp the door frame and pull myself forward, against the current. My legs kick out in effort to keep me afloat. I gasp as I notice the expanse of blue out my door.

No other option I think to myself as I took a deep breath and let go of the door frame. I kick out again but this time, I aimed for the blue. I swim away from the drowning room, without looking back. Instead, I look around me, searching for a way to the surface but to no avail. It was murky wherever I turned. Just as I was beginning to panic, I saw it.

A faint glimmer far away in the distance. I kick out again, making my way to that glimmer.

Its too far away. I whispered in my head. I was beginning to feel thee ache in my lungs and my arms. I wont make it. Was the final thought I had before letting the water pull me down, my eyes closing.

Funnily, the light was getting closer somehow.

***

The pain in my lungs woke me up.

I open my eyes but closed them almost immediately. The light that greeted me was blinding.

I waited a few minutes before slowly opening my eyes, letting them adjust to the light. I blinked as the room came into focus. I was in a hospital room of some sort. I say some sort because it looked like a hospital room but at the same time, it didnt.

The bed was a bit too big for; three of me could fit in there and each of us had to at least be 7ft long to fill it completely. The room was the exact opposite though; it was only 4ft high. It also had no windows.

I turned my head and notice the bottles on the table also looked funny. The had a slot on each side instead of grooves, almost like someone had to insert something in there to pick it up.

Hello human, good afternoon. A mechanical voice greeted me off to my left. I turned, slightly startled, to see who it was.

My brain couldnt, wouldnt comprehend what it saw.

It was a fish, that was obvious, it was as big as my forearm. What my brain couldnt begin to understand was the robot the fish was attached to.

Imagine a spacesuit but instead of a helmet, there was a fishbowl filled with water where, the fish right now was floatingtalking to me.

There was a sort of screen on the chest of the suit where words appeared whenever it spoke. The mechanical voice had been male, so I was guessing it was a guyfish.

Human? it/he asked. I looked at the helmet-bowl, my mouth opening and closing like a fish. [excuse the expression]

Huh? I asked in response, blankly.

I asked whether you were okay? it/he asked. Oh I replied dumbly. My brain wasnt forming coherent sentences at this point. It was still trying to process what my eyes were seeing.

Im fine, thanks. I mumbled as I tried to get up but fell back in fright as the fish moved towards me suddenly.

The suit had walked on its own towards me!

I stared, frightened, as the suit lowered itself such that the helmet-bowl was in level with my head. My eyes widened as this happened. One part of my brain was struggling to decide whether it should be horrified or frightened while another part was curious as to how the helmet-bowl hadnt toppled over yet.

Suctioned bottom, maybe?

No! you mustnt do that! Your liver is not stable yet! it/he yelled.

I looked at him, bewildered. My liver?

My what?! I exclaimed, confused.

I began panicking [and getting confused] when the fish went on a rant as to why I couldnt move. My airbags apparently werent adjusting to the oxygen level there and was overworking itself. Also, my liver was beating too quickly for reasons unknown to the fishbot.

My airbags werent adjusting to the oxygen levels.

My liver was beating too quickly.

WHAT THE FISH IS GOING ON? [excuse the expression]

With a strangled scream/shriek, I launched myself off the bed, knocking the helmet-bowl off as I did so.

The bowl shattered as I landed on the floor, scraping my knees as I had landed on the shards. I struggled to get to the door, stumbling all the way. Something heavy landed on me and I collapsed on the floor, wet.

The last thing I saw was the flopping and floundering body of the fish on my chest before everything went dark.

[To be continued]