The Counterfeit

one

She was alive.

Or at least she thought she was.

The truth is, Jasmine couldn't tell if she was in some kind of alternate universe or just in a literal pitch black room.

It wasn't really a room, either. There was no way of telling because the darkness was so immensly thick, you could cut it with a knife. No floor. No ceiling. No nothing.

Just an empty, excruciatingly silent darkness.

The only sound Jasmine could acknowledge was the heaving of her own chest exhaling the strangely cool air. Considering nothing was there, Jasmine thought it was odd the air had a feel to it.

She blinked uncountable times, trying to see if she was missing something. Something small, reaching out to somehow guide her away from this black hole. But nothing reached out. Nothing came to help.

Jasmine's palms began to sweat as queries bashed against her skull.
What the hell is this?
How did I even get here?

The more she questioned herself, the more distant her memory became. It was like opaque fog was flooding her mind the more she thought about it.

What must've been several minutes passed until Jasmine finally came to the conclusion that her memory was long gone.

The only thing fresh in her mind was the nothingness surrounding her. Caving in on her. Eating away her thoughts.

In that moment, she felt a wave of calmness hit her. A calm acceptance that she was going to be stuck in this emptiness for as long as life went on.

Or so she thought.

Almost directly above her head, the darkness began to slide apart as if they were automatic doors, revealing a blinding, white light. Instinctively, Jasmine threw her hands above her head, shielding her already watery eyes.

The darkness kept sliding apart until finally, it stopped, leaving the light beaming over Jasmine in a large, square shape. She squinted, unable to see anything due to how intense the light was. With the light came a scorching hot gust of air that was more unpleasant than the darkness' coolness.

When Jasmine's eyes were adjusted enough for her to move her hands away, she called out.
"Hey!"

Nothing.

"Is anyone there?"

Still, nothing.

"I'd like to know where the hell I am." She muttered to herself. Almost a split second after she'd spoken, what appeared to be a ladder folded down from the opening above her, making her jump.

It wasn't your average ladder however. It was a baby blue colour and it shimmered in the light above. The structure was odd too: it looked wobbly, like when you flick water it wobbles. And it sure didn't look safe to climb.

When the ladder hit whatever Jasmine was standing on, she edged toward it. Her whole body was tense with uncertainty. The closer she got, the more unrealistic and ghost-like the ladder appeared to be.

Jasmine rubbed her sore eyes to make sure she wasn't just imagining things. She pinched herself too. But the ladder didn't disappear or fold back up. It stayed. Firm in place.

Convinced this wasn't just in her head, Jasmine stretched her arm out and gripped the nearest step. She was expecting her hand to flow right through it, like it was air, but instead her hand was greeted with the chilled, solid texture of metal.

She was astonished. Astonished that something so phantom like could feel so real.

Jasmine tried pulling at the ladder to see if it would fall. It stayed. She positioned one foot on the bottom step and lifted her other up, using her bodyweight to push down. The ladder still stayed.

Finally confident the ladder was not going anywhere, she began to climb. One foot after another. Slowly and steadily. Curiously anxious.

Deciding it was best not to look back, Jasmine reached the top. Squinting due to the beaming light. After taking a deep breath, she scrambled off the ladder and instantly felt the rough, brittle surface beneath her.

It took a moment before she could open her eyes properly. But she realised the light wasn't surrounding her anymore. It was radiating from above her in a circular shape.

The sun.

Curious, Jasmine stood up and rubbed her eyes for a second time. Her vision steadily came into focus and she managed to make out the shapes around her.

Overwhelmed was an understatement.

She was smack bang in the middle of a deserted, dry, rocky wasteland.