SONDER (IV): tmr thomas

For those we lost to the bots

Leo Short

The floor is really damn cold. I'm shivering, trying to pull the white blouse, stained with sweat, tighter around me. No matter how hard I try, my body can't stop convulsing. I can hear my breath, heavy, reverberating off the tight walls. It hitches in my throat, again, and again, and again. I try to cough, to suck air in, but I can't.

This pain isn't even from adjusting to this room coming out of the Scorch. It's my body's exhaustion over the past few days. Is it weeks? I haven't slept much, or I've been sleeping all day. My arms are heavy, my head is foggy, and I'm so tired. Is that the lack of light, or the shock?

I wince aloud, holding my stomach. It is pressing in on itself. My stomach never bothers me, but now I feel like I could throw up. I bite the inside of my cheek, ripping open the healing cut from the previous night, where my teeth gnashed into my soft flesh. At this rate, I'll never heal.

They haven't killed me yet. I know they are going to. What are they waiting for? Is this one final trial? They must be wondering how long I can stay in isolation until my body begins to shut down. They must be mapping the patterns in my brain. I doubt there are any now. It feels as though everything is beginning to go numb in me.

I hear the bottom of the door slide open. The guard pushing something in that I can't see, and leaves. I don't see the light since I am facing away.

I push my arms against the ground. My elbow locks and I fall against the concrete. I'm too cold to move. Forcefully, I try to wiggle my toes. I lost the feeling in them either an hour ago or a week ago. It is impossible to tell these days.

I throw my arm forward, even though it hangs limply. I wrap my cold hands around my right knee and pull it up into me. Pins and needles erupt across my skin, stabbing me. I've got to move them to conserve body heat. Have they thrown me in a refrigerator? I'm probably just being dramatic. I tend to be dramatic when I'm panicking.

I breathe out, clearing my head. Stay calm, Leo, or you will die for sure.

I pull my other knee into my chest, curling up tightly. I need to get moving if I don't want to get frostbite or lose all feeling in an organ. The worst-case scenario here is me losing a body part, which isn't all that far off from possible.

I can't imagine Michelle and Dawn being dead. Their bodies still and lifeless. Even if that has happened, I'm not going to let myself die in this room. Not after putting up with that torture for so long. I am resilient.

I grunt as I turn over. My body is weak, and my lungs continue to seize in my chest. The guard left a note. I wrap my fingers around the paper, forcing myself to crawl closer to the door. The faint line of light illuminates the bottom of the page.

You've passed.

I look up, and the door unlocks.

It's the same guard who brought me here. I don't know his name.

"Get up," he instructs. "Let's go meet your friends."

Dawn short

"Get up," the guard instructs.

I pull myself away from the wall with one hand, using the other to shield myself from the light. Seriously, if he wanted me to move quickly, didn't he think it would be best to at least dim the hallway? Maybe bring a flashlight? Better yet, he could've put a light in this room. That would've been nice.