The Implant Variable

Containment

            It was pitch black when she woke up.

Or had she woken up? Rachel couldn't tell if her eyes actually were open at all, because she honestly couldn't see a thing. Not even her hands, which she discovered after having moved them in front of her face. Her breaths were shallow as well, she could hear that: they were hasty and short and choppy.

But she was alive.

Rubbing her eyes roughly, the girl was startled to feel the skin-on-skin contact it provided, meaning she was no longer wearing her favorite pair of gloves (which had ripped and become hole-ridden in the final fight anyways). Opening her eyes once more she still saw only darkness, so Rachel relied on her other senses to do some detective work instead. Patting herself down, she felt foreign clothing on her body; she wasn't wearing the thick winter gear required for daily life in the Spring any longer. She didn't exactly know what she was wearing, but from her assessment, she deduced the pants were shorts, stopping at the knee, and the shirt's sleeves went halfway up her forearms. There was also something... Odd around the waist of her pants, some sort of bulky and awkward belt. Despite all this she'd never felt so naked before, in this clothing that seemed so thin to her. All she'd ever known was heavy undergarments, shrouded by layers upon layers of clothing for warmth and protection. And now here she was, in a normal outfit. How disorienting.

Breathing as evenly as she could, the dark skinned girl began to stand, or at least, what she thought was standing. Not being able to see your feet or the ground made it very difficult to figure out which way was up.

Reaching out with her right hand for something to grab for stability, she struck a wall, which would be important to keep touching to find her way out of here. So, she let her palm fall flush against the cool presumably-concrete, and reached out with her left hand now too. And in doing so, surprisingly, she once again found nothing to grab, only a cool flat surface. Another wall.

A tight space. She was in a very narrow, constricted area, with nowhere really to go. It was like The Box all over again. Only much smaller.

Panic began to set in within as reality dawned upon her. She was in a pitch-black, tiny room, in foreign clothes, and alone. ALONE.

Aris?! She called out to him in her mind, but deep down inside knew he wouldn't answer. She couldn't feel his warmth, his presence like she usually could when the two spoke telepathically.

Nonetheless, she kept trying. Aris? Can you hear me? I'm stuck in this dark room, I can't see, I don't know where I am, I'm scared, my chest hurts-

Taking her first successful deep breath, she remembered. She should've been dead and cold to the touch right about now.

I'm alive.

Still, she received no answer from her best friend, leaving her feeling even more alone than she had before, if that was possible. Letting out a sigh in defeat, her shoulders dropped a little as her bare fingertips slid down a few inches on either wall. Rocking back on her heels absently in thought, Rachel realized that she COULD even shift her weight in that manner. That doesn't happen in ice skates.

Bending a leg across so her foot rested on her opposite thigh like a 4, the Icer grasped spastically to figure out her shoe situation.

Sneakers. Actual sneakers, not snow boots, not ice skates, but sneakers. She knew she'd worn them at some point in her life, but that was before the Spring, so she couldn't remember anything more than that fact. They fit comfortably though, and she felt the bottom and found grooves for traction. At least they were somewhat practical.

Putting her foot back down, Rachel's focus became absorbed by something else: light. Not much light, not very much at all, actually: only enough to barely make out the outlines of herself and the room, which she now confirmed was tiny, like a janitor-closet size. And empty, completely empty, except for herself and this newfound light source.

It was large, almost like a door, but definitely wasn't solid. It was a slate gray, shimmering and flowing viscously as if it were the surface of the ocean, being held back by some invisible wall. The glisten that the two-dimensional plane provided was the light she'd been seeing, glinting every once in a while and giving her a glimpse of her surroundings.

Whatever it was, it had to be her ticket out of there. It just had to. There was literally nothing else for her to utilize to escape. If interacting with this didn't work, she wouldn't be any worse off than she already was anyways, so she had to try.

Taking a few steps towards the planar surface, Rachel continued to skim her fingers along the walls, almost captivated by its behavior and motion patterns. She'd never seen anything like it in her life. Not in the life she remembered, at least.

Well, she thought to herself, swallowing whatever hesitation had been festering within her. Here goes.

Reaching forward, the girl eased her left hand towards the gray stuff, and then proved her suspicions correct by passing her arm through it. Yanking the appendage back and holding it close to her chest in almost disbelief, Rachel squinted her eyes at the surface, questioning whether or not this was a good idea after all. I mean, someone put her in this room, so someone would have to come back for her at some point, right?

She was pacing now, only a few half steps in either direction before pivoting, as she couldn't very much go any further than that. Ceasing her movement entirely and staring at the gray liquid-like surface, the Icer girl took a deep breath in. This was it.

With her heart about to burst from her chest, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and stepped through the flat-trans, vanishing from the dark room altogether.