Tanked

Rain - Chapter 3

I laid there, my back resting on the cold tile floor, my eyes glued to the ceiling. I was back to square one, in the sense of laying on the floor, senseless in my own bodily fluids.

However, this time I had other things on my mind, such as: What did this even mean? What was a person supposed to think when they just found out that they were inside a tank, but have no past memories to support it? I don’t know how long I stayed in that position, my thoughts racing at a million miles per hour- I had so many thoughts that needed to be pondered, that from time to time, I forgot to breathe. I thought that a normal person in my position would be home sick- but, I had no memory of a home to be sick about. I was just- blank.

Having no memories to call my own- this made me realize that the worst feeling you could ever feel is having nothing to feel at all. I was like a robot, a piece of scrap metal just waiting for a set of directions.

I didn’t know what I was supposed to do next.

Eventually, my thoughts settled to dust. They were definitely there, but I’d gotten the strength to suppress them for now. It was kind of like how after it rains, there’s still puddles of water everywhere, but at least you can avoid the water.

Rain.

Rain.

Pitter patter pitter patter pitter… I clutched my head and curled up into a ball, reeling from the sudden headache- the minute I thought of rain, the sound started to play in my ears like a movie beginning again after it had been paused.

With each drop that I heard smack the floor, the pain increased, until all I felt was the throbbing pain in my head, and my mind faded into black.

“Alright class, the rain has stopped just in time, so we can go outside! Get your rubber boots if you have them.” Mrs. Caitlin says, all of us hastily putting on our rain gear even though the rain had stopped, and getting in a neat line at the bright yellow door.

We marched outside in an orderly fashion, all of us following the ‘Hips and lips’ procedure, our tiny index fingers held closely to our mouths as if to say ‘shhhh….’.       

We got outside, and I was standing peacefully at the edge of the playground, gazing at the huge, brand new equipment the school had put in this summer.

I snapped out of my fixation on the monkey bars when a little blonde girl roared laughing, after splashing me with water from the puddle I was standing beside. She grabbed a brown haired girl’s hand, who had been spacing out and standing idly beside her, and they began running together across the damp mulch, weaving through the maze of my kindergarten classmates.

“Hey, get back here!” I yelled in frustration, stomping my feet but only managing to get myself more wet.

I sighed, but played along with their game and chased them in my klunky, bright green rain boots that were too big for me.

As I ran after them, I tripped but then caught myself, however the wind lifted my favorite green hat off of my head, landing in a murky brown puddle. I stared at it in shock for a little bit, but then began bawling.

I sunk to my knees, mulch digging into my brand new purple jeans, but I didn't care. I clutched my once beautiful plastic green hat to my chest, sobbing into it.

I didn't notice that the two girls I had been playing with before had come up behind me. They patted my back lightly with their small hands, attempting to comfort me with their hushed words and limited vocabulary.

Still, hot tears spilled onto my cheeks, and I tasted their saltiness on my tongue as the mist from the receeding storm blew onto us.

Eventually, I calmed down after I had no more tears to cry. I hiccuped, wiping my face with my sleeve but not accomplishing much considering there was no part of me that wasn’t soaking wet from me holding the drenched hat.

By this time, the storm has calmed completely and the sun was peeking through the ashy, gray clouds. Me and the 2 other girls sat against the damp, mossy bark of a wide tree, introducing ourselves while I tried to calm down.

“I am Ashley.” The blonde girl says, taking my hand and shaking it firmly.

Her cool blue-green eyes gazed at my face sympathetically before turning to the other girl. Her mouth was close to the other girl’s ear, with her hand covering her lips as if to stop any sound from leaking out of their whispering tunnel.

“And.. uh.. I... am Jessica.” The other girl says, her speech decreasing in volume with each word. She had 2 missing front teeth, which gave her a sort of speech impediment, and her eyes were the opposite of Ashley's; they were a deep chocolate brown.

Ashley pipes up again. “We’re very sorry about your hat. What's your name?”

With one last sniffle, I answered- “Olivia.”

“We can be besties!” She giggles happily, taking my hand and Jessica's, and running back to the playground with all the other kids. A small smile cracked through my sad composure, and I realized something: I was no longer alone.

I woke up suddenly, feeling like I had just been peacefully sleeping and someone dumped a bucket of ice water on me.

My eyes flew open, and my breathing was quick and labored, my lungs fighting for oxygen. I was in a puddle of cold sweat, and my hands were in fists, grasping a part of my shirt tightly.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm my breathing, and I slowly unclenched my fists, releasing the fabric of my shirt. When I opened my eyes again, I looked at the flat surface in front of me- a glass wall, with strange green water on the other side, and a small red button, barely visible, on the side.

This is when I realized that I was now practically kissing one of the glass tanks, and that I was stuck in between two of them. I scrambled away quickly, not wanting to be close to the inhuman, imprisoned person- even though I had just been one of them. Out of pure curiosity, I looked at the names of the tanks that I had been lying between, my eyes still wide with shock from the strange flashback.

The names were-

Jessica, on the right. Ashley, on the left.