February 8th | Teen Ink

February 8th

April 14, 2016
By Anonymous

February 8th
Today was bright and sunny. My window was open just enough to see it. Today was February 8th. Today is the day my parents died in a car accident. I thought to myself, “how ironic. The nicest, brightest, day. And it is the date of my parent's death.” I abruptly stood up, and I walked into the lobby of the hotel. It wasn’t five stars or anything, but it was nice. I saw a man dressed up real nice, I thought he was kinda cute. The label on his clipboard read, “Better Future, Better People.” I walked up to him to ask about what he was doing. He told me his company was looking for “test subjects” that were willing to spend time in a box. Where time would seemingly go on forever. He told me that how they did it was beyond my comprehension. I told him that I would be interested in participating. I told him my name. He wrote it down and walked away.
Later that day I was just starting to doze off, then the lights turned on. The Television turned on. Everything turned on. A thud on the door woke me from this daze. The door was now ajar. No light passed in. Only the whites of eyes, I counted at least 3 pairs. The door creaked open, they entered. I was stunned by shock and disbelief, for one of the silhouettes looked like the man from earlier. All eyes were on me. They got bigger and bigger. It became colder and colder. I couldn’t feel my body, I couldn’t see. I was in comatose.
I awoke, it was dark. I was frightened, I shrieked. I stood up, I felt around. I felt something, I don’t know what. My eyes started to adjust, I could barely make out what it was. A name tag. I could just see the name: Rose. I decided to take the name for now. I continued to feel around. I sensed a coldness. It was a metal food tray, used for prisoners. It had enough food for a single day, so I decided to save it. My eye had adjusted, but I could only see twelve inches ahead, not even. I paced around the room feeling, trying to figure out where I am. I estimated the size of the room: about 10ft wide 20ft long and 8ft high. I continued to pace, trying to find a way out. I found nothing.
What felt like several hours later I fell asleep. I did not dream, I did not think. I just awoke. In the same spot I had the day before, I found the name tag where I found it last time and the food tray.  I paced around, this time in panic, in order to find a way out. I attempted to break my way out. I punched the wall, I tore at it, I did what I could. No luck. I think I made cracks but there were so many to start with. I do not feel that there is a way out, but somehow I could breathe, I could think, but I could not talk. I could only scream. I tried and tried to find a way out. I ran around the room I felt around, for I could not accept it. I could not handle the idea of not escaping. I snapped. I ran faster and faster, as time went on. I hit the wall, I kicked the wall. I couldn’t stop. I fell over in one of the corners and blacked out.
I woke again. It was still dark, but I had gotten used to it. I stood up. I noticed I woke not where I had blacked out, but where I had started. Everything was where it started. I thought after I passed out my body brought everything back to where it was as if I had only lost control. I calmed myself, 1-2...-9-10. I found the food tray and decided to eat all of the food. I paced, found the name tag, and continued to pace. I thought to myself, “I need to stay calm rose, I may not know now, but I will get out. I got this.” These were my last thoughts of the day, as I continued to pace and blacked out.
As I reanimated from sleep I was thinking of the food tray. All the food was back. I found the name tag. I thought of how could someone bring food in here, but was interrupted by another thought. Why does everything reset in the morning? I decide to test it. I took the name tag, and calmly took the short side of the card. I rubbed it against my skin, similar to a saw. I felt the pain. A pain only describable by a sane person. But I was not anymore. I felt it but never acknowledged it. I continued until a steady stream of blood spewed out. I brought my arm to my face, and laughed, I watched the blood trickle down my arm, dripping off. I saw it dry. I saw it cake. I thought why should I waste such liquid. So I put my head under my arm and slowly intake some of it. I swirled it around my mouth so I could taste it. It was salty. It was perfect. I began to feel light headed, and decided I was dehydrated, and ingested more. I laid down, arm to my side, and watched the blood run for another few minutes It started drying up and staining the ground as I closed my eyes. Now, I thought, it was over.
I was wrong. I woke up again. There was no cut. There was no blood. Everything reset. I took both the food tray and name tag. I slit my wrist again. I took the tray and bashed my head in. With no hesitation. I would surely be dead this time, I thought to myself. I’ll finally be free. I had a vision. It was a majestic white gate. With a golden crest on top. The gate swiftly closed itself. A hole emerged beneath me. I fell. I woke up. I had been reset. Now, I thought to myself, I know that even death can’t get me out.
I took the name tag. And looked closer. It was a keycard. I became ecstatic and overwhelmed. I looked for somewhere to insert it. Then I remembered. The cracks in the walls. I ran to the wall. I put the key card in many cracks and had no luck. I ran frantically to wall to wall in order to have a chance at finding the right one. The day reset. I started again. Running from wall to wall. I lost all hope. I knew I was insane at this point. But I thought I’d hold on to hope. I walked depressed from wall to wall. Dragging my feet. Head down. Arms numbed. I inserted the keycard in another group of cracks, with no luck. I shuffled along to the next group and still no luck. I walked over to the food tray. Decide to take my mind off of the keycard. Ate the food. Then went back to the wall. I inserted the keycard into a crack that seemed to be alone. A window opened. A chunk of the wall, a small chunk, had been moved back and fell outside. The window was roughly 7 feet off the ground. It was 4 feet wide. I could just reach it. The day reset.
Enraged I stood up. I grabbed the card. I ran to the wall. I found the crack. I got the window open. Now I had to find a way out. I felt around the base of the window and found a ladder. The ladder was made of nothing but barbed wire. I attempted to climb up it. My skin was removed chunk by chunk. Following my skin leaving a sharp pain would arise in my hands, and arms. I fell from the ladder and got barbs stuck all over my body. I freed myself. But I had lost a lot of skin. I walked to the food tray and ate. I sat and thought.
I knew if I were to wake up again I would lose it, worse than I already had. I needed to get out now. I thought of using the tray to guard my body in case I fell but decided that would just add weight to the climb. Instead, I took the tray and propped it against the wall. I used it to get higher and try to get out of the room. I could reach almost out of the window, but couldn’t pull myself out. I almost gave up. I was about to slit my wrist again and give up. I would rot in here. Forever. Then it hit me. Why not use the tray with the ladder? I propped it at the bottom of the ladder. I stepped on it. Reached up on the ladder. I pulled myself up. Ignoring the pain, and skin. I got to the window. I crawled out.
I became overjoyed getting out.  It was warm. I felt no breeze. I didn’t look around I just stared at the box. The box looked several decades old. The box collapsed in front of me. The entire thing broke and fell. I was safe. The building was gone. What replaced the box frightened me. I saw twenty more boxes in a row. I felt cold. Knowing they’re more of these boxes. I turned around. Behind me was nothing. It was empty. It was a wasteland. I remembered. Today is February 8th. The date my parents died.



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