Purgatory

The blinding flash of light slowly faded, leaving a painful afterglow that seared into the man's retina. He propped himself up in the bed. As his eyes readjusted, he gazed upon the sparsely furnished room. A pair of familiar jeans and a shirt were folded over a metal chair in the corner. He lifted himself out of the bed, feeling a tingling throughout his arms and legs, as if circulation was reaching them for the first time. He was surprised to find himself nude, and quickly pulled the clothes on, noticing the tailored fit. Though the walls were bare, blinds covered a window to the right of a mahogany desk that held a computer terminal. He approached the window and pulled the cord to open the slats. It was stuck. He shrugged and walked towards a door on the other side of the room, noticing that it was locked from the outside.

Minutes or hours passed, before the man tried to activate the computer monitor that was positioned in the middle of the desk. The interface was unusual. It was a blank screen, with just one button underneath. He pressed it. A virtual keyboard extended out to him, and the screen flickered into existence. A voice cut through the silence of the room, though it was difficult to tell where it was coming from. When the man turned his head to localize its source, he was still able to hear it with perfect clarity from all directions.

"Welcome, Mr. Halden. You are required to configure the settings in this system before you can continue. Please select the green square."

Images of colored shapes appeared directly in front of him. He touched the square, causing it to glow and recede slightly. It felt cool and solid against the pad of his finger.

"Excellent." The shapes vanished. More tests followed, involving different sounds, smells, tastes and other images. He had no way to estimate the time it took to complete the tasks. They were not difficult, nor tedious, but they seemed irrelevant to him. Eventually, they stopped.

"Thank you Mr. Halden. The calibration is complete. Your access has been authorized."

Halden finally spoke. "Am I a prisoner? What do you want from me? Money? I can give you money." Some memories trickled through. He couldn't remember specifics, but he had a sense that he was wealthy. "Please, just let me out."

He heard a click from the door. He walked towards it and found it unlocked. Turning the handle, he pushed the door outwards and a warm, wet breeze brushed across his check, as the sound of seagulls filled the air. He stepped onto cool soft sand, and looked upon an ocean that extended out indefinitely. The sun blazed directly above him. He walked towards the water and dipped his toes in. He sat down with his feet in the water, the cuffs of his jeans rolled up, as he let the surf crash into his shins. He laid down on his back, watching puffy white clouds meander overhead. His eyelids felt heavy, and as he drifted off, a blissful sensation of tranquility covered him like a blanket.

Waking up this time was much easier. He was able to adjust quickly, and looked towards the sky to try to estimate how long he had slept. The sun was still in the same location above him. The tide had not moved at all either. He looked back towards the room and found that the door was still ajar. As his eyes took in the rest of his surroundings, he frowned and ran back inside, sand cascading off of him. He accessed the monitor and immediately the voice materialized. "How can I assist you, sir?"

"Where am I? Did you build this place?" Halden felt a wave of paranoia. He didn't remember how he got here, and he found it unsettling how calm he had acted up until now. Someone must have drugged him. When he had looked beyond the doorway from the beach, he could see nothing. It was as if whatever lay behind it was blocked from his view. He knew that something must be there, but was unable to comprehend it, or process it.

"You built this place, Mr. Halden."

"I don't remember having this structure commissioned. And why can't I see the rest of the beach?" He paused. "I could swear the doorway was just floating in the middle of the sand"