MOTH MOUND

CHAPTER 5

EGOCENTRIC

DEFINITION

thinking only of oneself, without regard for the feelings or desires of others; self-centered.

"egocentric loners with an overinflated sense of self-worth"

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DATE - JULY 3RD 2015

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"Hey-hey, Alvis!" Tabby's chipper voice pitched after the door screech to our chambers "We gotta get you outside, my guy, we only have a few hours of sunlight left!" She poked me, and I lightly gargled. I looked around and saw Tabby with a low-to-ground trolly.

Had I passed out? How long for? It was frequent for me to fall asleep if I was watching through someone who was also about to drift to sleep. But passing out was unheard of for me to copy as well, usually, I just got kicked out of the vision. Though, not many soldiers pass out on the spot for me to verify that.

I checked my skin; dry and shriveled. I hadn't gotten any sustenance for days. With my leftover strength, I pull myself onto the trolly. Tabby pulled my arm as a weak attempt to assist. Once on the wheeled device, I coil in my tail and let Tabby begin her pursuit out.

The excitement of the past few days had left me malnourished, I had even forgotten I needed sustenance. As I do not have a mouth, my skin absorbs all its nutrients, water and food and all else. I have been referred to as a flower by Tabby before, and a vegetable by soldiers. Though I cannot think of a vegetable that by itself photosynthesizes.

Instead of heading out the front of the facility and just been laid in the sun, Tabby pushed the trolly into the darkest hallway of the Moth Mound. where the lights started to flash and the newer white paintwork had ceased.

All that was in this short hallway was the dingy elevator. Tabby stretched up to press the button which brought the elevator down while we waited, my gills gargled in protest, which Tabby noticed, "Oh yeah, the electric fence is busted it turns out." Tabby shrugged, and as she was about to continue, the sound of the elevator's horrified, rusted screams started as it moved for the first time in an estimated twelve years.

Tabby groaned as volume meter appeared on her face as her annoyed groans got louder, the bar on her screen grew. At full volume, she continued, "We can't go near the fence!" She yelled, "So we're gonna go to the roof!" She explained, her hands cupped as if it would somehow project her voice better.

I counted the seconds of how long the elevator took. It took forty-eight seconds for the elevator to rise from the forgotten depths of the basement. The doors screeched open, and the memories came back. The memories I could practically smell.

The yellow bars to hold you in were rusted, chipped and visibly weightless. Rotted boxes had still been left behind in the cruelly lit room. The lights had grown mold and moss, though I could not complain as it was a shock the lights even worked.

Tabby wheeled me in, careful to avoid the rusted pulley that centered in the elevator, which took up a third of the space in the already cramped room. The elevator was somehow both claustrophobic and Agoraphobia as you could see empty walls across both sides where darkness quickly swallowed both sides. Thankfully, that was only visible on the lower level.

The lower levels that reeked the elevator, and you could practically hear. Tabby stepped over to the control pad which featured a red button, an up button, a down button, and the 'close door' button. Tabby pressed the up button for less than a second and the elevator jolted grossly which made Tabby shriek, and myself gargle and find the strength to panic.