Erica Mays

Corridor.

I shift uncomfortably on the hard ground as the sound of rushing whirls around me, a gentle breeze moving the air in contrast to the loud noise filling my ears. I open my eyes hesitantly, blinking to attempt to clear my vision. I sit up quick, noticing I’m not in my room where I thought I was. Rubbing my eyes, I attempt to clear them and feel a grainy sensation all over my face. Sand? Where am I? I look down at my hand, squinting in the darkness, and see billions of tiny black and white crystals, barely visible in the dark cavern I found myself sitting in. What in the world is going on? Shaking my hand, I find myself unable to remove any of the crystals and start to look around and gauge my surroundings. Everyone always told me that my eyesight was way better than it should be, especially in the dark, almost superhuman. Even with that help, though, I found myself unable to see anything but my own body, and a tiny pinprick of light seemingly far off in the distance. Looking down at my legs, I can see they also have the crystal sand covering them, but as I brush my hand down the length of my leg it falls off, to reveal skin that I’d not seen before. My leg looks pink, soft, almost like a newborn baby. Definitely not the scarred, freckled legs I’m used to. I brush away the rest of the granules from my legs, then brush my hands together, watching the shower of crystals fall to the ground. I move my hands to my temples, gently rubbing them, trying to figure out what is going on. I look again towards the tiny, white light, straining my eyes to try to make out something in this dark abyss, but even after giving my eyes time to adjust to the darkness, it was me, and that damn light. Frustrated, I tried to stand to investigate, almost immediately hitting my head on the ceiling of wherever I was. Ow! I wince in pain and shrink back down to my knees, swearing I feel the ceiling lower and brush against my unruly hair. I reach my hand, gingerly, to where the ceiling should be, and stare in amazement as my arm completely extends, not encountering any surfaces. I keep my arm extended and sweep down and around me, not finding any other surfaces. Confused, I pull my legs to my chest, head to my knees, and desperately try to remember anything before this moment.