Snippet #1892127

Peaceful piano music sounded through the air of the quiet apartment. The plush room was empty, its comfortable sofas and luxurious beds remaining unoccupied. The two main occupants of the room was gone, off at some concert. Their daughter, their beloved daughter, had been feeling a little ill, and so had stayed home instead of accompanying them. For some reason, she had been seeing random black splotches across her vision in certain places, but before she could look again, they were gone.

The girl felt that something was wrong, even though she couldn't put her finger on it. She decided to play her piano to take her mind off of it, but no matter what, she couldn't concentrate. Black flashed across the white keys, confusing her and ruining her songs. The sunlight streaming through the window suddenly took on a hellish red hue, bathing the apartment in crimson light. The sky flashed from blue to jet black, as though it had become night time in an instant. But when she blinked, it was gone.

"Am I going insane?" The girl wondered aloud, rubbing her head before attempting the song again. No luck. Yet again, her fingers moved to the wrong keys - it was so hard to play by sight when the appearance of the keys changed at random! This was so frustrating! Slamming her hands down angrily on the keys, she resolved to go get something to eat, then take a nap. Maybe things would clear up a-

A scream tore through the air as the girl fell backward, staring in horror at the stumps that were once her hands. The darkness was spreading from the keys, it was trying to devour her whole! No, no, no, no, this was a dream, it couldn't be happening!

Another scream. Oh no, it had gotten her leg, she had to escape, she had to get away! She desperately crawled across the floor as it faded to black right behind her. She had reached the door, if she could just get out-

No, no, no! Without her leg, she couldn't stand high enough to open it. The darkness was coming coming coming coming-

She bashed against the door, screaming incoherently for help. No one responded. The darkness was right behind her now, she had to get away! Desperately, she turned to her only avenue of escape - the window. Dragging herself across the ground as the darkness crawled up the stumps of her arms and leg, she hurled herself through the glass, shards of the substance tearing painfully into her skin - but she couldn't worry about that now. The darkness was right behind her, even if the fall would probably kill her, she had to get away!

It was useless. She screamed in terror to find the very sky cloaked in darkness, looming over her as though to swallow her up. Like some terrible nightmare abomination from beyond the world she knew, the darkness closed in for the kill, and her body was sucked up. She struggled to the last, screaming and thrashing and fighting - all in vain. She could not escape.

"Mother! Father! Help me!" She screamed as the darkness crawled across her once beautiful face, devouring it. The last thing she saw was that horrible blackness, darker than the darkest night, consuming her form and sending her plummeting helplessly into its shadows...

The girl lurched awake, thrashing about wildly. Suddenly, what surrounded her was water, not darkness. Maddened by fear, she thrashed about wildly, trying to carry herself out of the liquid. Agony tore through her body as electricity jolted through her prison, but she cared not. Hauling herself out, she rolled up on top of the tube, looking around frantically to discern where she was.

She was not at home, wherever she might have been. As her panic subsided, she noticed several things - firstly, she was in some sort of laboratory. Secondly, she was stark naked. Thirdly, she was in the same room as several other people. On instinct, she folded her arms over her chest, curling up on top of the tube and crawling backward, hoping not to be seen. What was happening?! Where was she?!

Then, she noticed a few other things. She wasn't embarrassed. She wasn't even afraid anymore. This discovery should have frightened her more than anything else, but she couldn't help but feel... empty. It was as though she couldn't feel anything at all.

Filling herself with a cold, logical rationality, she examined the room around her. She noticed the plaque, as well as the name written on her own tube. "T01 - Hitori Ayumu."

So... she wasn't Human. That meant that the memories she still had must have been some sort of dream meant to prepare her for the real world. She could understand that, she supposed. Well, the next steps obviously would be to find out where she was, to get some clothes so as to blend into society, and to discover exactly what the real world was really like. It didn't seem like anyone was here, which meant she would just have to find them.

Crawling down from the top of her tube, she dropped softly to the floor. Although she wasn't embarrassed, per say - she couldn't feel any emotions at the moment, after all - she still covered herself as best she could with her arms. She had been taught by her past experiences that showing herself like this was not socially acceptable, which meant it was something she must not do.

"Hello," She greeted coolly. "Did you all just wake up here, too?"