The ambient temperature is nice and warm, but wherever I am...it's completely dark, making me feel anxious once more. I don't sense anyone near me, only hear the sounds of birds chirping in the distance and what sounds like rustling leaves above me.
After a few moments my eyes manage to and spot a somewhat lighter area...an opening of some sorts. I slowly crawl towards the opening while sensing nothing but cushions below me. Where the heck am I? The st thing I remember was talking to those agents, and a robot which ran after me. Did the robot sedate me?
After finally leaving the rather unusual pce behind me, I see that I have entered a spacious room, so I can now easily stand up. Gone are the sounds of the forest, leaving nothing but complete silence.
There's a rge window to my right, and I'm immediately drawn to it. The A/C panel on a nearby wall shows the time, '07.12 am,' which seems to confirm that I have spent the night in this strange room.
Someone must have put me in a training suit but forgot the shoes, so I'm walking on my socks. The floor is surprisingly war, which probably means that they have invested in a fancy underfloor heating system.
I now ever so carefully walk closer to the window, while trying not to make any sounds that might alert someone. There's some light entering the room from outside, but not nearly sufficient to properly inspect this room.
The cloudless starry sky still looks the same as it did earlier, but there's a hint of morning light above the horizon....dawn.
After staring outside for a few moments, I see a car's headlights passing by, probably a car. The slowly increasing morning light is now just enough for me to see a glimpse of my surroundings.
When I finally realize that the light wasn't from a passing car, but from an airpne of sorts, it can only mean that ...no matter how I look at it....I am standing inside a skyscraper. And to make matters worse, I am quite high up as well, since the streetlights are very far down below. There are even more skyscrapers nearby, one of those is right across the street.
The street looks pretty normal all the way down there, but there aren't any cars to be found anywhere. Who would build a skyscraper in the middle of nowhere? Shouldn't there at least be some traffic going on?
A few moments ter I see that all skyscrapers are connected by walkways made from semi-transparent gss. Their floor lights are softly illuminating the path for nightly travelers to other buildings.
The far distance between those buildings shows nothing but darkness. Wherever they brought me, the area looks devoid of any signs of civilization....except for my immediate area. Bumping my head into the gss in an effort to see more of my surroundings wasn't a particurly bright idea, unfortunately.
A few minutes ter I see the sun's rays slowly beginning to shed some light on my predicament...literally. But to be honest, without any doubt, this is the most beautiful unobstructed sunrise I have ever seen. It's also the first one witnessed by this city girl.
The little bit of extra light outside now reveals that this pce is somewhere desote, perhaps a desert even. There's nothing but an endless barren ndscape in the far distance around me.
After talking in this majestic sight, I waited for the sun to rise a bit more, but it will probably take some time before it will illuminate most of my room.
Where is this pce? Am I a prisoner? Reality is starting to sink in. I have been abducted....kidnapped...brought here against my will. Is this some kind of secret government location perhaps?
"Now where is the lightswitch?" I whispered to myself, determined to find the switch, but was startled by the lights being activated. My eyes hurt for a moment, so I had to shield them from the lights by using my right hand. Wait...did my voice just sound different? Nah, I'm thirsty, besides that's not important now, I need to hide!
Now that I can see everything clearly, I notice that the room is mostly devoid of furniture. Afraid that someone might enter the room, I quickly hide next to a cabinet.
After waiting there for a few minutes, I realized that nobody was about to enter the room. Did the lights respond to my verbal command? Or do the lights go on everywhere at the same time?
"I really need to get some answers." I said out loud again, and once more I realized that my voice was different. "No way...my voice really does sound different! La .......ahem....
In any case, my voice isn't my top priority right now. I need to leave this room and find safety elsewhere. Just one problem......there's no door?
Now that the lights are turned on, illuminating the room with full brightness, I see a wide white cabinet, covering the room from wall to wall. Strange markings like triangles and squiggly lines are printed on each cabinet door, but nothing happens when I touch them.
Could this be a test, like those 'escape room' scenarios? I mean, it definitely feels like that!
Clean, sterile, not even the faintest of scents is in the air. I know that I'm not in any immediate danger, but I still want to know what the heck is going on. Odd looking curtains hanging from the ceiling, resembling hammocks, seem to suggest that the person in charge of decorating should be fired soon.
When I lean against the cabinet, thinking about my predicament, I subconsciously scratch my head. The instant I notice something on top of my head, I begin to feel excessively worried.
"Oh god.....no no no....this can't be happening!" While using both hands to feel what's going on on top of my head, I make my way to the window once more, hoping to use it as a makeshift mirror.
Even though my reflection in the window isn't all that clear, it still shows in great detail what I had feared. I look different.......very different.
Staring back at me is a human woman, around my age, but I don't recognize her face at all. Her hair is pure white and it reaches up to her shoulders. But even worse....she has white furry ears on top of her head. Trust me, I checked thoroughly, but those things are the real thing. It's not one of those fake animal ear handbands you can buy...no, this is the real thing! There are no human ears where they should be!
I blink a few times and then feel a shiver while trying to stay calm. "There's a perfectly logical expnation for this...calm down....calm down." Goosebumps followed the shiver.
For some strange reason I still managed to not freak out. "Think....think! Did they drug me? Put some kind of hallucinogen into me? Ah...of course! Yes, this is just a prank!"
Only then did I notice that my hands look different as well. Why on Earth didn't I notice this before? While still having 5 digits on each hand, all of them have what appears to be a small dark brown animalistic cushion at the base. I'm not sure what is more unsettling to me: the big circur cushions embedded into my palms, or the bck curved and definitely sharp nails.
And those ears....seriously.... I can't stop gawking at them. They are very real, sensitive and definitely furry, reminding me of fox ears.
The ears' inner parts are surprisingly a very light shade of pink, further complimented by more white fluff on the inside. Maybe the additional sunlight is to bme, but now I can see even more details.
My hair seems to be kept together by a hair clip, something which I hadn't noticed earlier. Oh no....no...no way! My eyes are no longer brown, but amber colored. The pupil is no longer humanoid in appearance, but narrow and vertical instead. Even the training suit I'm wearing looks strange, even though it feels like comfortable PJs.
I'm embarrassed to admit, but for a moment I checked whether I had a tail. Thankfully...I do not. So maybe this is just a prank? I know that contact lenses exist that can make me look inhuman, so there's still hope.
I'm trying to stay calm, breathing in and out...but it's not really helping. I need to get out!"Where is the door?" I asked...hoping for another miracle to happen.
And sure enough, a door immediately slided open in the only pce I hadn't expected it to find....right next to the hole in the wall.
Alright, I learned my lesson. Things around here seem to be voice operated, a fact I will most definitely keep in mind while trying to escape.
I cautiously step into the hallway, studying the outside world for a moment. Thankfully it's just an ordinary hallway with well polished floors, so the only concern is that I should be careful while running on my socks.
"Oh crap......my feet too?!!!" I whispered. Now finally taking the time to study my feet, I remove one sock and make yet another startling discovery. My feet are smaller and narrower than they were only a day ago. My foot only has three digits, each with a bck animalistic nail. The feeling of missing a few toes instantly makes me wiggle them, in an effort to shake off the weird feeling.
The sole has some white fluff in between 3 darker pillowy areas...more cushions. I simply put the sock back on, ignoring these shocking revetions while prioritizing on survival.
The door behind me closed on its own, startling me, but only for a moment. Another deep breath helped to calm my nerves.
The hallway looks normal enough and I believe that I should find the elevator or a flight of stairs first. So far nobody has noticed me, nor cared about capturing me, and that realization gives me what I need most right now...hope. The hope that somehow people won't harm me and that things will work out fine....somehow.