Chapter 2: What the Word?
Alex splashed down into the pit full of the same slime he was in before. He plunged deep into it, heading to the bottom. The weird floating things that were in his tank swam around his head again.
How deep is this thing? And what is this floating stuff?
He shrugged, turned, and swam to the top and took a deep breath. Alex recovered fast and looked around. The room he was in was dark and quiet. He couldn't see anything so he swam forward. He smacked in to a slab of concrete head on.
Ow!
He climbed out, rubbing his bruised nose, dripping slime. There was only small area to walk. He headed forward with his arms stretched out in front of him. He walked along the wall until he reached a door. He looked for a handle but there was none.
That is useless.
He moved on and tripped over a pile of… he didn't know what. He picked himself up and touched the pile again. It was a pile of clothes. He picked up what felt like a shirt and slid it on. He found boxers and pants. He slid them on.
I hope nothing is backwards.
After he found nothing else, he scurried back to the door and sat for what seemed like hours. He heard a hissing sound coming from the dark surroundings. He sniffed and smelt a sweet, sickly sweet smell. He started swaying. He felt really tired and dizzy.
What… what… is going… on?
He passed out. Right before his eyes closed, he saw the door open and two pairs of feet.
Alex woke up on a cot in another dark room. He sighed.
This is getting old, really old.
He stood up and walked forward. He felt glass and panicked for a second. He thought he was in the tank again but there was no slime. He knocked and a light turned on, revealing a face on the other side. Alex jumped back startled. It was the same man that tried to talk to him before. His lips were moving but no sound was heard. He seemed to realize that. He pointed to Alex and then downward. Alex looked down and saw a button. He pressed it.
"Thank you. Hi Alex, how are you?"
"Who are you? What do you want with me?"
"Of course, you want answers. Well, I am sorry but I can't answer them. I just came to tell you will be departing very soon."
Alex gulped.
"You don't mean… " he started.
"Death?" the man asked.
Alex nodded his head and the man laughed.
"No, we are not going to kill you. We letting you go home."
"What's the catch?"
"There's no catch. You helped us and we're letting you go."
"What do you mean I helped you? I did nothing of that sort."
"Oh, but you did," the man, now called Lab (lame but he was the only person in a lab coat to talk to him, so there was no confusion), smirked.
"No I didn't. So, can I leave now?"
"Okay, if that is what you want. The man pressed a button on his side and a door opened on the inside of Alex's room. The man waved and left. Alex hesitated then headed to the door. He peeked through and stepped inside. It locked behind him and he tried to open it but it refused to move. He continued forward and entered a chamber. A door slid from the wall and locked him in. Banging on it turned out fruitless. He sighed and looked around. This time there was a dim light. He stretched and walked over to a pair of shoes. He could hardly see much of anything, not even the color of the shoes in his hands. He slipped them on and walked around. They were comfortable enough. He had that weird feeling again. Also, he felt a weight hanging from his head, onto his shoulders, and down his back. It was itching. Before he could investigate what it was, more gas came.
Okay, this is too much.
As he tipped to the side, the floor opened up under his feet.
And this too.
The last thing he saw was his house speeding up too meet him.
Oh no!
Alex woke up in his bed. It was morning and his alarm was blaring. He stretched, yawned, and turned it off.
"That was a weird dream," he said out loud.
His voice sounded strange but he shrugged it off.
Probably nothing.
He got up and walked to his mirror and stifled a shriek.
"What the word?"
He stared in horror at what he saw in his mirror. He saw himself. Or should it be herself.
