Yulian Starchenko

Thinking Inside the Box

I opened my eyes to see nothing but black. Was I asleep, or was I awake? Was it day, or was it night? My thoughts were actively running so I deduced that I was awake. But where was I? I could hear the ruffling of Styrofoam. I could feel the stretch of plastic wrap. I tried to move but I was strictly secured, as if for my own protection. There was no light, no space, and absolutely no sense of time. I began to doubt myself again and question whether I was actually asleep and this was all an elaborate yet intimidating dream. All of a sudden I felt movement. I felt myself being pulled against gravity, as if I were being lifted upwards. And then thumped on a hard surface, I was dropped. I heard a pop of bubble wrap, the sound so close to my ears that it made me flinch. My immediate instincts were to thrash until I could break free from my restraints, but the more I tried, the more I tired. It was useless. I heard an engine turn on, and I was on the move again. Am I being kidnapped? Who put me in here? Where are they taking me? My mind was racing with thoughts, puzzling myself into a deeper mental constraint than the physical one I was already in.