Die Vermillion (Version One)

Chapter Two: Rooms

          She slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a blinding white light. "What...", The girl started. She tried to lift her arms up to keep the light out of her eyes, but she couldn't move them. "Why can't I...". She realized that she was laying down, that she was breathing, and that she could feel her body. Well, I'm not dead. But where am I?

          The girl tried to remember where she last was, or remember anything at all. But she couldn't, and her forehead was throbbing with pain, only making thinking harder. She tried to move her arms around, and they could move, but she couldn't move them up, and the same thing with her legs.

         Just a few moments later, her eyes adjusted, but the light in her face still hurt her eyes. She lifted her head, and looked at her body. Her arms and legs were strapped down to a shiny white table made of what seemed like polished stone.

          "You're awake I see". The girl looked up to see a woman, who's blonde hair was tied up neatly in a bun that sat behind her head.

          "Yes... What's happening?". The girl's body started to fill with fear, a feeling she recognized.

          "You're in your home of course".

          "I am? Home?". She looked around, and saw that she was in a white room, that was brightly lit. There was a glass room to her right, and another table to her left. There were more people standing behind the woman, and people walking past the open room in the hallways connected to it. And the ones in front of the girl wore surgical masks.

          "Am I getting surgery?" she asked.

          "Yes, in a way. You just have to stay here until we're done, okay? We're trained scientists and surgeons, so you'll be all right", said the woman.

          "Okay". The girl saw one of the scientists go to a small table that was on wheels, and they grabbed something that looked like a defibrillator. "Why does he have that? What is he doing?", she asked in a shaky voice.

         "Oh dear, it's all right. It'll only hurt a bit".

        "What? Hurt?". She looked in the back, and saw a man. He looked familiar, like she's seen him before, and he was the only one who wasn't matching the others.

        The scientists tightened the straps, and switched the setting of the tool.

        "Wait, stop!". The woman took the tool, and slammed it onto the girl. She screamed in agony, and the pain was unreal. Electricity surrounded her, wrapping around her body in violent blue waves. It felt like thick needles being jabbed into her body all at once, over and over again. She looked at the woman's eyes, which were focused on pressing the pads of the tools on her as hard as she could. The girl kept screaming, it was the only thing she could do. This moment felt like it lasted forever, like she was going to be in eternal pain. The woman looked at the girl's eyes, then turned the voltage up. The pain increased, and the girl wanted to escape from it. She wished she would die in this moment, to release her from the pain. Just the sweet release of death. She looked up at the white ceiling, before she was engulfed in electricity and everything wore away.

          The girl awoke on the floor, feeling weak and sore. She struggled to lift herself up, falling back on her face a few times.

         When she actually sat up, she discovered she was in another room. This one was a small rectangle, and the walls were a blue-gray color, with white flooring. It was darker than the first room, only having a few smaller lights on the ceiling. The girl remembered what had happened to her in the first room, and panicked. The pain and fear all came back to her.

        The girl felt her face, as if making sure it was there, and felt a few bumps, and she flinched with pain. Stitches? Why do I have stitches?

        She looked around the room, seeing if there was anywhere to hide. She didn't want to encounter the woman again. The girl did remember her saying that this was home, is it really?

       She knew she couldn't remember anything before the bright room, or was there anything to remember at all? The girl didn't want to think about that just yet, only a way out. There was a mattress and a toilet in the room, which did resemble what a home had. Is this really home? She looked behind her and there was a door made of a hard material, but it wasn't metal. Nothing she has encountered or touched was metal, or a was a conductor. Does this have to do with the electricity?

          There was a sudden knock on the door, and a man opened it holding a paper and pen. For some reason he had a large bandage on his forearm. "Hello, I'm Chan, just here to confirm a few things". The girl backed away, and watched him with caution. He saw this, but ignored it. "Okay, so, first of all, this is you, right?". Chan turned the notebook around and showed a picture of a girl. That was her.

         "Yeah... that's me", she said.

         "Good, you just look a bit different, a little rougher than the picture I suppose. You are subject 601, that's your formal name? And, your informal name is Varin right?", said Chan.

         "My name? I-I don't know". The girl was confused, as she didn't remember her name. Subject 601? Varin?

         "Oh, well, that's a bit strange, it's says it here", said Chan as he pointed to the name on the file. Varin, she thought. Even if she didn't remember it, she'll have to go by it, it's the only name she knows for herself now.

         "And you supposedly learned how to fence at a young age?"

         "I don't remember that either", said Varin.

         "Oh, it says here you did, they are listed as special qualities. You hit your head pretty hard yesterday, so you must have forgotten that too. How much do you remember?".

         "Hold on", she said. Varin thought for a moment, and spoke again. "I don't remember anything before the white room".

         "Hmm, ok". Chan wrote down a few things in the notebook, and looked back up at her. You'll get it back soon I hope". He didn't seem sincere, with that last part anyways. She didn't have a choice but to believe what he said though, she didn't know anything, and would have to rely on the information he gave her.

         "Okay, but, what about yesterday? Why was I electrocuted? And why am I a subject?" she asked.

        "Oh, well because you are a subject. And you went through that procedure yesterday because you were specially chosen to have the ability to control electricity. Isn't that exciting? You are so lucky!", he exclaimed.

       "W-what? It hurt more than any pain I have ever felt, I never want to do that again". Chan frowned, and looked at her file, then back at Varin.

       "Yes, I know, there was no way to make it less painful than what you felt. But after a bit of repeating this process and turning up the voltage, you'll never endure that same experience again".

       "But- ". Chan walked out of the room and closedthe door. Varin ran up to it and tried to open it. It was locked. Damnit. She sat back down on the floor,wishing she knew more than just these rooms and her own alleged name. Shelooked at her hair, which was a very light brown, and could be dirty blonde. Inthe older photo of her, her hair was darker. It couldn't have been that old, my other features looked the same. Shealso looked at her clothing, and she was wearing one of those gowns you wear atthe doctor's office for a physical or something. What really happened to me? What is happening to me?