Memory Risk

Day One

     Stacie woke up with her lungs pulsating. In the darkness she fumbled around for any sense of placement. She first focused on the wires that were attached to her chest, arms and head. There wasn't an order to how she removed the sensors from her body. As soon as she touched a wire, she would pull as hard as she could. A stinging sensation was left behind from the violent removal of body hair. Free from the wires, she sat up straight. The sudden movement upright left her dizzy. Placing her hands to her side, she gripped the scratchy cotton fabric of her sheets. Her sense of touch was leading her to understand that she was on a bed. The smooth surface that she placed her feet down on sent a shiver up her spine. Goosebumps ran up her skin reminding her of how warm it was under the blanket that she threw to the side. When the room stopped spinning, she pushed herself off of the stiff mattress, and fumbled around in the black void of space. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust and the unknown made her heart pound inside her chest. The first thing she heard, aside from her heart racing and her lungs gasping, was the sound of dripping water coming from across the room.

     Following the sound, with her hands waving in front of her, Stacie found a smooth, cold porcelain surface, and gripped it tightly. Standing in front of the frigid object, she ran her hands across flat surface, until she found the source of the dripping. Identifying the object as a sink, she gripped the knobs, and turned them, releasing the water. To stimulate her senses, she placed her hands underneath the running water, and allowed the sensation to comfort her. The feeling was familiar, and in a small way it eased her disorientation. She allowed the vibrations of the stream to calm her. Focusing on the noise allowed her to forget about the absence of sight. Closing her eyes, she gave herself a minute to process her situation.

      The more she thought, the more agitated she became. Trying, she couldn't focus on anything. Memories weren't coming to her. She knew that she was in a room; she knew that she was touching a sink; she knew that she got out of a bed; she knew that she couldn't formulate an identity. There was nothing she could bring to the surface of her mind that let her understand what was going on. Her neurons couldn't catch a thought. Every time that she felt like she was getting somewhere, her mind would slip, and send her back into confusion. Trying to remember anything was like trying to pick up sand with a net. The more she tried, the more fatigue set in.

      While rubbing her brow, to relieve her headache, a light in her peripheral vision, caught her attention. At ground level, there was a segment of light that led her away from the sink. She got down on her knees to inspect the sliver of light reflecting off the glassy tile surface. Running her fingers around the edges of the wood surface, on top of the space, created the remembrance of a door. Understanding the concept of a door excited her. Reaching the hinges on the right side first, took her through the concept of how it worked, and led her to find the doorknob on the left side.

      Jerking the door open pierced her pupils and constricted them, making her squint. Wanting nothing more than to escape from the dark room, she stumbled out into the common area, temporarily blinded. Standing outside the doorway, she rubbed her palms over her eyelids. The water stream still ran down the drain behind her, and now she could her an electronic hum coming from across the room that she had just entered. In between blinks, she looked around the room as it slowly came into focus.

      Beside her was a long wooden dining room table with three chairs on each side. In front of the table was a small kitchen area complete with two sinks, stove, refrigerator, and cabinets. The source of light was coming from outside the glass windows to the right of the kitchen and the table. Outside the window was an enclosed grassy area. In the corner, outside, closest to her was a small in-ground pool. There were more objects outside, but she was easily distracted and returned her focus back to the inside of the room. On the opposite side of the room were three doors along the wall. Turning to her left, Stacie counted two more doors on her side. In the middle of the last wall, at the end, was one single door. The six doors along the edges all had name tags outside of them, but the single door was not labeled. Furnishing the center of the room was a set of couches and chairs, creating a circle. There were two quarter-circle couches, an arching love seat, and two round chairs that completed the round shape.