Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Alice opened her eyes, this time quite easily, hoping for the darkness. It must all have been a dream, although she could not remember the last time she had ever had one. After so much darkness, she could only guess she had forgotten how to dream. As Alice woke she quickly realized that it had not been a dream after all. The room she was in was much darker than before, but she could still see her surroundings and it made a shiver run up the nape of her neck.

'It's okay Alice, just stay calm.' She began to look around, gathering in as much as she could. The wires and tubes had been reconnected to her body, which was draped with fabric. Clothes? It felt so strange to have something between her skin and the air. Alice tried to move her arms to check underneath, before realizing that her arms were now securely strapped down by her sides as were her legs. 'Probably from your little episode.'

The memory of what had happened came flooding back. 'Wait, why am I still here? They didn't kill me after all.'  So strange, she had assumed death was the only way out. As she turned her head around to see what was next to her, another shock came down upon her already frail spirit. 'My hair!' They had cut it.  Now she could tell it was much shorter than it had been in the darkness. They had always kept her hair long, almost down to her buttocks, but now it barely touched her ears. 'Maybe that's your punishment. No, that doesn't make sense.Ugh, I am so confused. What did I do to deserve this?' If only she could ask.

'Footsteps.' Yes, click . . . click . . . click. Someone was coming. Alice closed her eyes, hoping they would pass by her. 'Maybe this is where they bring the bad ones. For extra punishment, torture. Please, not me yet. Give me time.' The sound of the door knob turning told Alice that was not the case. It was her turn. 'Take your punishment like a good girl, maybe they'll send you back!' She turned her face towards the sound of the door, forgetting the brightness that lay behind it. As the door swung open, she was blinded by it. Before swinging her head around for cover, Alice caught a glimpse of a large shadow standing the the doorway. She could tell it was a man, but no more. With the light coming from behind him, it was impossible to see any distinguishing features about him. Just a shadow in the doorway.

“Sorry.” A rich deep voice came softly to Alice's ears. It was the first word she had heard since the beginning of the darkness. She remembered the men in white from before, especially the screaming one. Yes, he had been talking. But in her panic, she hadn't heard a word he said. As quickly as the light had come in through the door, it was gone. Bringing with it the peace and comfort of the almost-darkness. Alice could still see as before, but it wasn't blinding her anymore. But this man was going to get them both in trouble if he kept talking. Silence was mandatory, always. Her outburst from before was the exception she prayed would never come.

With the light removed once again, Alice turned her head back towards the man and scowled. He apparently didn't notice it and approached her side to look at her. A smile crept up on his face, revealing pearly white teeth. 'Ha, a smile! I haven't seen one of those since the beginning of the darkness either. Is it my Birthday or something? First a word, and now a smile?' This was just creepy.

“Good morning Jane!” He said, almost a whisper escaping the smile. Again Alice glared at him, trying to silently remind him of the rules. And secondly, Jane was not her name. 'If you have a Jane to go punish, then go do it. But my name is Alice.'

“It's good to have you back, we were all beginning to think you wouldn't make it.” He continued. Apparently giving him dirty faces wasn't the key to getting him to shut-up, so Alice began to motion with her hands that were still tied to her sides. Her gestures to silence him only made his smile bigger. 'What is wrong with this guy?'

“Wow, great motor function, Jane! We'll have you back up and running in no time!”

Running? That was another rule that was not to be broken. 'I can't run!' Jesus this guy was really trying her patience. “I'm going to check your vitals, then I would like you to answer some questions for me. Is that okay?” He said, as he began to move around to the other side of Alice. She stared blankly at him, refusing to break any more rules than she already had. If his guy was going to try to get her into more trouble, then he was going to be sorely disappointed.