1

I wake drenched in sweat, something is wrong. The floor shudders and I pull myself to my knees, bracing one hand against the wall. The room I'm in is small, and there is just enough light that I can make out boxes and sacks stacked against one wall.


"Hello?" I whisper, then laugh at myself. Nobody is going to answer me, so it's kind of pointless to call out.


My heart thunders against my ribcage, so hard and fast I can practically hear it over the screeching and grinding of the room I'm in.


Elevator. The term pops into my mind and I grab it, clinging to it.


That's when it hits me. I don't remember any details about myself, my life, my friends or family, but I know things about the world. I know elevators, geography, math, basic facts and I know that I am moving up.


(Y/N). That's my name. I repeat it in my head until it sounds strange. How is it that I remember my own name but not anyone else's? I don't even know how old I am.


I sink down in the corner of the elevator and lean my head back against the wall, listening to the grinding and clunking of the machinery all around me.


I think I should be scared, but I'm not, just confused. Maybe I'm so scared that I'm just not feeling it.


I don't know how long I sit in that corner, but after what feels like an age the elevator comes to a stop and the roof opens in to reveal the sky. I squint at the light, after being in the dark it looks blinding. My eyes take a second to adjust and I haul myself to my feet, dusting off my slightly numb butt and walking over to a crate.


I look at the sky again, the walls of the elevator are way too high for me to climb or jump out, so I'll have to use the crates to boost myself.


I stack some up, then, keeping one hand on the wall for balance, I climb to the top of my crate tower and pull myself up over the lip of the box.


I find myself standing in a grassy glade, a forest to one end and a small vegetable garden to the other. There's a small shack under one huge stand-alone tree and a barn near the vegetable patches. Animals smells and sounds drift from it.


But it isn't any of this that makes my jaw drop, it's the huge walls that enclose the whole glade, massive ivy-covered structures with a door in each. The glade is a small square of green enclosed by the biggest walls I think I've ever seen, even if I can't remember anything.


Near the shack is a pile of rope and wood, just sitting there. I go over to it and take a closer look. Each piece of wood is about the length of my forearm and I cast a glance back to the elevator box and an idea of how to get all the supplies out of it strikes me.


The ladder is wonky and rough, but I'm confident it will hold my weight.


I tie one end of it to the hinge of the box door, tugging to make sure it will stay. It does.


Carefully I descend into the box, although it's a lot harder than I thought.


This isn't going to work, I think, pulling myself back up. I need more rope.


I try again, this time with a piece of rope tied around my waist. When I get down to the bottom of the box, I tie it around the first sack I see, labelled "flour." With one end in my hand I climb back up the ladder. When I get to the top I stop to catch my breath, my biceps and hands burning.


After a minute I turn and start pulling on the rope, the sack of flour proving to be a lot heavier than I first thought. After a lot of granting and sweating I finally get it to the top, then just sit there and look at it. I can tell this is going to be a long day. 

Comment