A sudden jolt of electricity behind the eyes—zap! The sensation of picking up speed—the gradual ramping up of some whirring component in his brain. He opened his eyes to a bright light. Pain receptors lit up with matched ferocity. He shut his eyes again.
Some deep, internal instinct told him open eyes were the way to go, so he tried again, though this time with a more reserved approach. He felt a strange sensation within himself—an extension of sorts—and his vision cleared and came into focus.
He averted his eyes from the fluorescent overhead lighting and turned his head, a peculiar compressing, decompressing sensation in his shoulder as he did so.
He seemed to be horizontal, though elevated from the ground. Next to him was a small table full of small, metal instruments. Downwards (from his perspective) was a door.
The same instinct that told him vision was worth a little discomfort spoke up again, telling him that that door was very important. It was important because it led to ‘out.’ He wasn’t sure what ‘out’ was, but that he needed to be there.
He twisted his abdomen and tumbled off the operating table onto the floor. He felt a warmth in his stomach and on the back of his head where it hit the tile. He attempted to lift himself off the ground but found movement very difficult. Nothing worked quite the way he expected it to.
He attempted to still his thoughts with deep, meditative breathing, only to discover he could not breathe. Panic set in further. He tried to suck air into his mouth with as much vigor he could, but when he flung his hand onto his chest there was no rise and fall there was only an eerie stillness.
Suddenly, he felt a hum come from within him, as if a switch had been tripped, and a pumping began in his chest. It felt like breathing on autopilot, only he was aware of it happening.
Slowly, strength returned to his muscles. Within minutes he was able to pull himself perpendicular to the earth for the first time since gaining consciousness, grasping onto the legs of the table he had just been lying on for support. He swivelled his head around until he found the door, then began the complex process of lifting himself to his feet.
First, he turned onto his side, then his stomach. He tucked his knees underneath his hips, thrusting his rear end into the air, then aligned his shoulders and lifted his torso as well. Once on all fours, he shifted his weight back onto his legs and, using the table again, hoisted himself vertically as carefully as possible, testing the strength in his legs.
When he was finally fully upright, he felt blood rush through his thighs, then calves, then feet, until he felt confident enough to take a step, then two, then three.
The doorknob proved exceptionally challenging. The motor skills necessary to grasp, twist, and pull with enough force was a lot to ask of him in his current state, but eventually he managed to unlatch the door from the jamb, taking extra care not to knock it shut again before he could swing a foot across the threshold.
The door opened at the apex of an L-shaped hallway. There were no markings of any kind on the white walls, and the ceiling was outfitted with the same fluorescent panel lighting as the room behind him. Roughly thirty feet ahead the hallway jutted to the left, and to the right it ran five times as far, punctuated periodically by padlocked doors.
Two men in white coats strolled around the first corner. One of them noticed the towering figure in the doorway immediately, putting his hand on his coworker’s chest and pointing in its direction.
No one moved for five, ten, fifteen agonizing seconds. There was fear in the eyes of the men in white, he could see that—read it. He could also read their body temperature, knew their exact height, weight, and was beginning to understand one had a weak right ankle.
He sprinted down the long hallway to the right. The men shouted, “hey!” in unison and began giving chase but fell behind quickly. His legs pumped furiously and efficiently, pressing into the linoleum on the right angle and at the right moment to take corners with inhuman agility.
Around the first corner was another long hallway leading to a door. Sunlight shone through the barred window.
Out.
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