A Place In The Universe ((Book 2 in the Almost the Heir Series))

Chapter Three: Cravings?

Sushi

One thought repeated itself in Elena's mind as she woke up for the third time: Sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi.
As she opened her eyes, her mind felt a bit clearer than it had been in... well, her mind hadn't been this clear for as far back as her memory went. Except for the pesky thought of sushi that seemed to rattle against her skull.

Ignoring the dull ache that always seemed to throb in the back of her mind, she sat up and looked around. Straining to see in the dark, she could make out that she was still in the same lab, on the same metal table. The only difference was that this time she must've been wrapped up in no less than three thick blankets. The lab was empty and dead silent except for the noise Elena was making. The only light in the room was the dim glow that one screen was emitting.

Wrapping the blankets tighter around her shoulders, she slid off the table to take a look around. Elena shivered as the cold of the tile floor shocked the soles of her feet.

There were countless beakers and test tubes and everything in between filled with liquids in every color of the rainbow. She knew that each one was filled with a different toxin or antidote. They all seemed eerie in her opinion; the silence deafening and the darkness casting an odd shadow on everything in the room. Elena recognized the feeling as fear: something she hadn't felt this strongly since those first four nights she spent in the woods. Her fear wasn't as strong as it was those four nights long ago. In fact, it was a very dull feeling in this scenario.

Back then, she was bewildered. She had just awoken in an unfamiliar place, no recollection of anything. And I mean anything. All she could do was follow her self-preservation instincts. Elena shivered, though, she wasn't sure if it was because of the memory or because she still hadn't adjusted to the cold tile.

Doing a quick scan of the room, Elena noticed that there was only one door. Suddenly feeling the urge to escape, she hastily stumbled to the door and tried the handle. Locked. She sighed, looking through the window in the door at the keypad outside the door. The keypad must've unlocked the door, as there was no visible way to unlock the door from the inside. An all too familiar flash of pain shot through her head, so strong that her vision went white.

When the feeling passed, one thing remained in her mind. 2401. Elena disregarded the number, but focused more on the pain in her wrist. I don't like it here. Too much pain. she decided.

Having had enough the confusion and pain that exploring always seemed to bring her, Elena crossed the cold tile floor back over to the metal examination table that she was calling a bed. The two blankets that had been spread across the table in an attempt to make it more comfortable had slid off, probably when she had slid off of it earlier.

She grabbed the blankets and began to spread them across the table once more. She was no more than three quarters of the way done when she caught her reflection in the shiny metal. It would be a lie to say she glanced at it and moved on. In fact, Elena stood there for longer than she would have liked to admit, staring at the slightly distorted image of herself. Though she was unsure why, there was the feeling of a bottomless pit in her stomach. Unsure of the empty feeling and the twinge of sadness that came with it, she finished spreading out the blankets and hauled herself back up on the makeshift bed.

With one last look around the room, she curled up under her blankets and closed her eyes. However, as soon as she did...

Sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi sushi

Elena's groan reverberated around the room. For she had a pillow, she would definitely be smashing her face into it repeatedly. This would be one long night...