Secure, Contain, Survive

Part 1: The first awakening

The pungent smell of bleach and chemicals filled the room as the young woman slept soundly in the bed. The room was completely white, immaculate, and cleaned thoroughly and carefully. The door was sealed with tree locks and an old, torn, greyish lab coat covering the ever-so-noticeable gap between the door and the floor. There was barely any ventilation, and that's how she liked it.

The white-haired woman woke up to the sound of the clock, looking quite groggy. She felt as if she had been sleeping for a long time... so long that she had forgotten most things about her. Her name... she only remembered that she was Cire, but why was she sleeping there? It felt so familiar, yet at the same time, it felt completely alien to her. She felt eery, out of place, as if she didn't belong there.

The first thing she noticed, once she got the black bed sheets off of her, was the fact that she was fully dressed. As impeccable white lab coat, no name tag, unfortunately, a black shirt, and black, knee-long trousers. She was barefoot and was unable to locate any shoes... She was, as well, holding a notebook, locked as well with a small, white lock. No key unfortunately for her. Maybe it could have been something that could have helped her remember. Or maybe it was just a taunt, something placed there to distract her.

As she looked around she noticed the clock, still tick-tacking, alone on the empty, white desk, as immaculate as the rest of the room. She noticed the locks and the rags, the pungent smell of chemical and cleaning products... Was she in the hospital? Was she locked there? Did someone leave her there? Then why was the door locked from the inside? Why was she unable to remember anything?

-Ugh... think Cire think, just what have you gotten yourself into?

After a long time considering her options, the young scientist took her time to unlock the room. There were no sounds that could tell her where she was, or if anybody was there. As she lowered her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath something frightened her, to the point where she jerked back and fell on her butt. The doorknob was frigid to the touch as if a cloud of liquid nitrogen surrounded it. Her hand hurt and burned, trying to process the sudden and shocking cold.

Before she was able to process what had happened the room got progressively colder. The clock started ticking, and time stopped suddenly as if reality itself had ceased to exist. It was beautiful, yet terrifying and uncomprehensive at the same time. The young scientist's white skin got sickly pale due both to the decreasing temperature and the shock, her breathing getting more and more labored and short as her primal instincts of survival kicked in. She had to get out, she was in danger. That place wasn't safe.

Her red eyes darted everywhere, making sure that nothing and no one else was there... but there was nothing. Just an unusable clock and a blank room, just a bed and a desk with no chair to keep her company, no other exit than the now unlocked door. However, she felt scared. She didn't want to touch the doorknob again. What if anything worse happened to her? There were many scenarios where something could go wrong, and she didn't want to partake in any of them.

As she was considering her options, she suddenly noticed something above the desk, in the blank, immaculate wall. A black dot that started growing, getting bigger and bigger at every unexpected second. That was what eered her so much, that void that had managed to corner her.

To her surprise, however, the fear stopped as soon as she saw what came out of that portal. A raven. One three times bigger than his common counterpart, with bright red eyes instead of the usual jet-black ones. Black and greyish, unorganized, and burnt feathers. A beak is more reminiscent of the reconstruction of a prehistorical ancestor, a paradox in the form of something familiar. The creature plopped down on the desk before supporting his beak on the hard surface of the desk and managed to get up. He looked down at her from where she still sat, his regal appearance contrasting his unkempt appearance. The scientist managed to get up and slowly inched closer to him, feeling as if she had known him for a long time. Yet, somehow, she was unable to remember where she was.

-W-Who are you? - The scientist spoke, her hands trembling. From fear or the cold, she was unable to differentiate between both at that point. -Are you the one that caused the cold?

The creature nodded, letting out a low "caw!". Then, to her surprise, he talked, in a low, calm voice, reminiscent of a young child.

-Do you have a puzzle for me?

The clock had stopped ticking at 12 P.M sharp, probably a good time to take a break and have some lunch. Or maybe get entertained with a hobby, like solving puzzles.

*Author's note: How's the first episode? It's my first time writing anything like this, and I know I still have a long way to go. That's why I would appreciate any comment, both on the grammar and writing style, the most I want to get out of this is to improve.