Blood.
The substance should be nothing foreign but blistering against the roof of my tongue is a product I have never tasted before. It has a dull metallic tinge to it and I can imagine- no, feel the liquid sloshing in my lungs. Filling my hollow vessels with red, bleeding through my body.
I'm drowning in my own blood.
The thought would have been funny and coaxed a bark of mirth were it not for the fact that my lungs were currently occupied. My fingers reach to wrap around the slope of my neck and they manage to pry a choking gasp from my parted lips. The raspy sound that emerge makes me cringe.
This isn't me.
"Just... try."
I want to love her, I really do.
"Stop." I'm on my knees. My body is stranded against the floor and my hands are seeking warmth along the cold tiles. All at once, the memory that swallows me whole stops and the suffocating feeling is gone. The lights overhead that burst with power a few moments ago now twinkle softly, the yellow flares milky and out of focus, as if offering solace.
The energy is drained from my body and I collapse to the ground, swiping at my hair. My tangled mess of a ponytail is drenched and my clothes are soaked with sweat. But none of these factors daunt me the way the shock from the aftermath does.
I was not prepared to face the ultimate test. I had lost to my emotions and my past.
"Ten seconds." I have barely catched my breath when Klara speaks. Attempting to form a coherent sentence is futile. The words froth along my mouth so I jerk my head to the side, gesturing with a firm shake that I don't want to hear anymore.
Klara chooses to ignore me.
"That's two seconds longer than your last run, Miss Notice. Would you like another go?"
I seal my eyes shut as my nails frantically dig into the thin fissures neatly strained against the floor. "What do you think, Klara? Would I like to hear more?"
There's silence as I anticipate her answer.
"I apologise if I have caused a conflict of interest. Would you like another go?"
I groan and this time, my fist makes its way from the air to the ground. The pain sparks through my palm and I have to grit my teeth to stifle the scream.
"Klara, just go on shut down mode already. What use is an artificial intelligence if it lacks intelligence?"
"Very well, Miss Notice. Your wish is my command. Shut down mode activated." There's a slow whir, followed by a frequency of clicks and I open my eyes to watch the transformation.
The four walls that have been closing in on me start to shift, the white wallpaper unravelling to reveal large glass pieces that spread from floor to ceiling. The ceiling rises as a clear blue liquid starts to seep through the tiles, cleansing the blood.
The world outside has caught on fire. Imprints of fading sunlight catch against the glass, painting a mosaic of orange-red hues. Where the sun meets the shoreline, an outline of yellow breaks out. The dipping orb scores rows of pigments along the expanse of sand and the water beneath me disappears. The floor tiles start to flip over, creating an entirely new floor plan. The cracks between spaces are gone and fuzzy carpets are displaced along the shiny white.
I rise to my feet and pad towards the tall dark closet stationed at the back of the room. My fingers grace the rich wood, the grainy texture feeling warm under the crease of my fingertips. I pull the door open and allow a shaky sigh to depart from my lungs.
YOU ARE READING
Three Degrees Of Danger (2019)
Science Fiction[ 2019 ONC ambassador's pick and ONC shortlister ] The three degrees of Danger are as follows: Denial. You pretend that it's not there and you lie to yourself that it'll pass. It won't. The second stage is evolution. You tell yourself that the worst...
