• It was bright. Too bright. My eyes could not see beyond the intense light to the surrounding area. I squinted into the light, but it was too much. My eyes shut for what seemed to be minutes. Despite the intensity of the illumination, my mind was still black. No thoughts. No memories. Even the state of mind I had at the time was slow moving. Like molten lava under rock, my thoughts churned very slowly.
    My mind slowly extended into my limbs. I explored my appendages, as one would divulge the secrets of a cave. I came to find that my body was still intact, still whole. I tried then to once again open my eyes. It was still bright, and it was painful but my eyes began to adjust. It felt like I had not seen day in quite some time.
    What I discovered upon opening my eyes was a world of white. The walls, the table on which I lay, were all white. I was strapped to some sort of breathing machine, my face covered in some sort of mask. I was not scared though. I was simply nothing. I felt nothing and I knew nothing. I was just there. I didn’t need to wait long before I heard others among me.
    “Medical team, prepare the subject for movement.” The voice was low, and deep. I still did not stir. I lay and allowed my body to be carried where it may. I closed my eyes once more, to endure the ride.
    When I opened them once more, my eyes could see and adjust easily to the surrounding area. It was a little inhuman. I took a moment to flex my fingers slightly, and actually feel my body. It was an old and ancient feeling, but I got the feel of it quickly, like one gets the feel of a new car. Turning my focus upward, I saw that I was no longer alone. I was surrounded by three other people. A female, and two males. I also realized that I was sitting in a wheel chair. My mind, though I remembered nothing was starting to easily and quickly process things.
    “Recovery time, fast paced. Cell count?” The female stated. The first male doctor responded.
    “Cell count: High. Cell regeneration: High.” He stated, observing a clipboard. I was becoming more aware by the second. My mind was moving faster now, and far more efficiently. I looked from the first, to the second, to the third doctor. Though I felt as though I should have some kind of thoughts, I had none. Wishing for some kind of memory or recollection for explanation of my current situation, I sat there only to be left empty handed. My legs felt strong but I knew they were still not capable of the movement I was capable of.
    My body felt powerful, but like a computer rebooting it was still powering up to it’s full potential. My attention was called forward as I was addressed by the female.
    “Can you speak?” she asked slowly, deliberately. A fire of indignance rose from my stomach. I waited a moment to answer. I did not like this female.
    “I can.” I stated simply. The woman looked pleased. I felt my face twist a little and there was a familiar expression.
    “I don’t think she likes you Cathlene.” One of the male doctors teased as they all read the glare on my face. The man who spoke I liked. He was tall and his features were appealing. The woman sniffed oddly at the remark and looked back at the clipboard she held.
    “What color is the wall?” she asked slowly once more. The raging tide that had began to stir within me was now boiling.
    “Do not insult my intelligence.” I stated harshly. My voice surprised me though I didn’t show it. It was crisp and clear, and sharp. At that time I heard a small laugh escape from the lips of the first male. The female Cathlene just glared and jotted things down on her board. I could no longer stand sitting and waiting and being stared at by these people. I felt an immense rush of energy in my limbs and began to push myself up and out of the chair. Before I could so much as plant a single foot on the ground all of the doctors stepped back. In the momentary confusion I didn’t move fast enough to escape the braces that shot out, locking my wrists to the chair. I looked down at them blankly and then pulled my gaze back up. Sitting in my small white room, I realized that the I could see the doctors through a glass shield.
    “Sorry if it’s uncomfortable…” Cathlene said, I detected a sneer in there but let it go seeing as how they now had the upper hand. I could feel the potential of my strength rushing through me yet it was just not enough to break the braces. I simply looked back through the glass at the three, waiting for something. And then a fourth human stepped into view. He was male and he was tall. Slightly elderly but he looked smart, no doubt. The other’s stepped aside so that he may take his place at the front.
    The way he observed me was far different from the other three. He was intense, and his eyes felt as though they were looking through me and not just at me. I never wavered, my eyes stayed direct, and my mind stayed focused. Though that wasn’t a hard task since it still felt like and empty abyss. He finished his scan abruptly and a grin spread across his face.
    “Aurelli…” He said clearly into the microphone. No sooner had the sound reverberated off my eardrums did my mind suddenly filled with random information. Pieces of a life flashed before my very eyes. I couldn’t hold a single thought for more than five seconds before it was ripped away and a new one replaced it.
    He had said my name, I was Aurelli, and from what I saw I was not always here. I had a life. I had freedom once. But no more. I saw a family and I saw myself. A mother and a father looking at me worriedly and then the images changed. I saw a dark room, and I felt pain. My arm was bleeding, I could smell the blood and feel the fear. I could see the pain in my own eyes…
    I snapped back to reality. My eyes went wide and I looked forward focusing on nothing. My breathing was labored and I was thankful at that moment that I was still wearing oxygen. My body calmed slowly and I looked back at the man.
    “Who are you?” I asked, partially out of breath.
    “Vitals are all returning to normal.” The third male said. That only held my attention for a moment as I waited for my question to be answered.
    “I am the only person in the world you will ever fear.” He said. He was not offering an introduction, he was dominating me. I looked on, my vitals all back in check. I wondered for a moment why I knew that, better yet, how I knew that. “Do you know why you are here?” He asked professionally. I could handle this kind of speaking, not that idiocy the female doctor offered.
    “No.” I stated simply. He nodded once and looked down at my arm. I too looked down as a simple reaction. There traced a very thin scare, hardly noticeable. I also noticed how pale I was. It was unnatural.
    “You saw that, I assume, in your small flash of memory.” He said, still looking at it without any other movement or gesture. I said nothing and simply traced the scare with my eyes. It was long, and thin. There wasn’t really anything special about it. “You are here, because that wound healed in approximately 25.4 seconds. You were only a child then, your possibilities now are endless. You are here, because you are different.” He stated firmly, looking directly at me now as if I had something important to understand. I could barely comprehend what he was saying though. There was so much running through my previously empty mind.
    “Sir I think she needs time to recover to a more decent level before we continue.” The female said. I suddenly began pulling at the braces. My body was strong, and I knew it was. My arms strained against the cold steal but I felt nothing. It was impressive in my eyes. With a sickening snap the steal was rendered useless and I had an arm free. My first move was removing the oxygen. And my second move was to bust the steal brace on my left arm. At this point I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I was just tired of these restraints.
    “She is ready,” The leader of the strange team said.


    “Name?”
    “Aurelli.”
    “Date of birth?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “I see… “