The Quicksilver Seconds

Prologue

            Metallic blue eyes stared unblinking at a tiled ceiling. Long fingers with long, purple nails tangled in white sheets. Sweat coated the forehead of the unexpecting individual. Dry lips stayed closed, caging in a dormant tongue. Limbs remained stiff and mind uncomprehending.

            Water dripped from the ceiling making tiny sounds. Logically it should have been clear, but not in the disoriented mind of the partially conscious individual. In her mind, beyond her tangle of brunette, she saw the sound differently. It was not water dripping from the ceiling. It was a quicksilver second falling from the cracks in stability and bouncing sluggishly back up to the ceiling over and over.

            Somewhere in her numbness she found it difficult to live in the same second more than once. It wouldn’t be until the next quicksilver second that she would be able to blink. It wouldn’t be until the third quicksilver second that she would regain thought and panic. And it wouldn’t be until the fourth quicksilver second that she would be able to do anything about it.

            The recurring quicksilver second stuck to the ceiling and began its descent again. The drop stretched and strained her mind as it did. The drop became long and thin before the thick bottom disconnected. The line of quicksilver above second one morphed into the droplet of second two.

            The first second came into contact with the linoleum tile floor. The quicksilver second flattened and rebounded as it appeared to rewind in time. The two suspended second collided and fused into one drop that couldn’t decide which direction it was going; up or down. A fragment pulled free of the quicksilver mass and head upward. The rest of the drop, second one bound with second two, fell to the ground.

            Her eyelids made haste and she blinked once. Her eyes stung and watered, feeling like warm sand paper was being drug along them against the way her eyes rolled. It was agonizing, but she couldn’t move or rub her eyes. All she could do was blink and let the excess water slip from her eyes and into her hairline.

            The fused quicksilver seconds trailed their way up through the air as little second three splashed into it. The small drop made such an impact that it drove the whole three seconds down to the ground. As they hit thoughts suddenly flooded into her mind.

            How is this happening? I thought I was dead. How didn’t I notice any of this happening? Why didn’t it register at all? Most importantly, how am I supposed to get up?

            The questions and confusion continued to rush into her like the blood coursing through her veins. She could feel the blood swirling around in her head, causing it to ache faintly as she sorted out what was going on. Of course, her situation was incomprehensible to the human mind. She would have to adapt.

            The three fused quicksilver seconds bounced back and forth from the ceiling to the floor several times, giving her plenty of time to think.

            What’s happening to me? I can’t feel anything but the pain in my eyes. Where am I and how did I get here? Something isn’t right, no, something is terribly wrong. The atmosphere here-I’ve never felt anything like it. It’s like I’m not even on earth anymore. Have I been drugged? The walls are white. Am I in a hospital?

            The quicksilver seconds decided not to give her too much time to think about where she was or how she got there. After all, she would never figure it out by lying in a bed. Once she was up she probably wouldn’t understand it either. Years could have the same conclusion, assuming she had what it took to live that long.

            One final quicksilver second spilt off at the side and fell with the rest. The drop hit and all of her bindings were released. Her fingers twitched, as did the restless muscles in her legs. She brought her hands to her face, rubbing her eyes and blinking to work out the stinging. She moved her legs to keep them busy and within a few panicked seconds she was on her feet.