A New Experiment Chapter 1: Welcome to the Party pt 1

Kana woke slowly, her vision still blurry from whatever had knocked her out. The first thought that came to mind? Why the hell did her back hurt so much?! Letting out a groan, she sat up slowly. Around her debris was swept aside by her hands; coating her skin with tiny pieces of wood and…straw?

Panic started to consume her as her hands searched for something, anything, when she felt the corner of something to her left. She followed it only to find a small wall that went only inches above her head. "What's going on?" she asked herself, hoping her frightened mind somehow held the answer. Her own voice sounded shriveled as Kana choked on her own anxiety.

Her breaths filled the somber space to the point of almost hyperventilation. Her mind was spinning in circles as she tried to come up with anything as she reached towards her feet. Pain exploded behind her eyes as her head hit the… what was that, the ceiling? A wall? There didn't seem to be quite an appropriate word she could grasp for with her panicked mind. Now tears seemed to almost spill from her wide almond shaped eyes, gathering on the edges of her vision as she finally came to grasp the reality of her situation. She was in a box! A fucking box!

Choking back sobs, tears and fear, she tried to get ahold of herself. She could get out. She could if she just tried! Kicking out with a slim leg, she tried to bust through the bottom of the coffin-like object she had found herself inside. However, it was to no avail. Letting out another ragged pant she tried once more. Once again nothing. Nothing!

Kana let loose an animal-like scream filled with terror and anxiety. Why of all people did this have to happen to her? She was always the good child where her brother had disobeyed their parents at every turn; she had always acted as their perfect child. Even going so far as to advance to a high school early so that she could achieve her father's dream of becoming a doctor sometime in the near future. Everything she had left behind… Her friends, any type of social life… What did that get her now? Regret and a box? Locked somewhere that she had no idea what was going to happen?

Honestly, this shit sucked!

Okay, and that only brought another rush of angry tears to her eyes. 'Alright, Kana. Keep it cool. Keep it cool…,' she silently begged herself. She needed to just get through this…

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Beside Kana sat another box, but this one was filled with a young man. Jay heard the frustrated yells and screams from somewhere very near him, but he didn't see the point in answering. Nothing good would come from it at this time anyway. All they would do was answer each other's fears, and he did not have the time to coddle a woman when something menacing was obviously going on. His dark eyes scanned the box's lid above him as he felt along the ridges. Touch was the only sense he had to go on since there was no light within the box that carried him. Jay tried to find any weak point that he could, but he soon came to the conclusion that any form of escape was useless with the lid closed this tight. It would also seem it was made out of some type of thin metal…

Maybe he should settle in for the long haul? Sighing, he moved an arm behind his head just as whatever was carrying them hit a large bump. "Shit!" he hissed as his elbow carelessly hit the side of the box. "Learn to drive, shithead." He added, forgetting he had decided to be quieter to avoid any conversation with the person next to him. Now, however, he had gotten her attention.

"Hello! Who's there?!" After a moment, only silence filled the air. Jay was trying to ignore the voice, but it called out one again. "Please! Help me! I'm trapped!"

Unable to stand the pathetic whining anymore. He lashed out at the disembodied voice. "Yeah, we both are loser. So shut the hell up and enjoy the ride. Doesn't look like there's a way out anyway." A whimper echoed through the hollow compartment the boxes were in and Jay suddenly felt like such an asshole. What would him being unkind help? Sure, he could take out his frustrations on her, but it wouldn't help either of them in this situation. It also didn't make him feel any better, no matter how much of a brave face he put on for himself.

Sighing, he laid his head back against his arm before letting out another couple of deep breaths, trying to get his spiraling emotions under control. "Look… I', sorry. We're both scared, but we can't really DO anything. We might as well lay back and bide our time. Alright?"

"…Alright," she answered back, though weakly. He would take what he could get though.

"I'm Jay. Looks like we'll have to keep each other company for a while. Got a name, Voice in the Dark?"

"Kana," it answered resolutely. 'Well, I guess she's not crying anymore…'

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On a boat, thousands of miles away…

"Dadda! Look what I caught!" Leofan yelled at the top of her lungs. She danced around as she waved the foot-long trout in the air, ecstatic about her success. Her and her father had been on the small fishing boat all day since they had taken a break from her studies early that morning. Sometimes, being homeschooled wasn't so horrible.

"Wonderful, my fawn!" he called back, his jovial eyes, the color of the sea around them, twinkling back at her. Sometimes, even though her father swore she looked like her deceased mother, just looking at him was like seeing herself in the mirror they had back at their small villa. They had the same large blue eyes and full lips, along with cinnamon blonde hair. However, where her father had a muscular frame and a well-defined chin, she had a curvier body and a small defiant chin that her dada swore went along with her personality. She did a bit of a happy dance before unhooding the fish and throwing it into the cooler. "Eeey...yup!" she heaved as she threw the reel out once more, watching as it slipped through the tranquil blue of the ocean surface. It was wonderful living off the little island off the coast of Italy. Leofan and her father lived a slow, but fulfilling life. That had no worries and they lived off the land, but still everyone must make money. For the two of them, that meant selling their talent at fishing. Checking her watch, she realized they only had mere hours before the fresh market would open their stalls. It seemed her father had come to the same conclusion as she had because the familiar sound of a reel being pulled in and the fish cooler closing filled her ears.

"Alright, fawn, time to go in!" he called from behind her. It still struck her as funny when her father spoke to her in such heavily accented English. "Got you, Dadda," she replied cheerfully as she stretched out her strained shoulders. Even at the age of seventeen it was hard for her to sit still during these long fishing trips. Leofan pulled everything in before the roar of the small Rutter boats engine came to life. She shifted towards the front of the boat, the red strands of her hair flying in the wind as the island in front of them became larger and larger.

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A couple of hours later she stood in front of a small market booth. The orange light of a setting sun causing the cinnamon in her hair to flash and dance. Already they had sold through most of their stock, but the slow heat was still becoming too much for the ice in their cooler.

"Come on! I'm old enough to go get some more ice. It's almost just around the corner!"

Her father only laughed mirthfully before cutting another fish in half. "Only around the corner? Child! It's half a mile walk!"

Leofan almost stomped her foot and pouted in frustration, but she knew that would not help her argument one bit. "Please, dada, I'll be find. I'm seventeen. You should at least trust me enough to get some ice! Please?"

Her father once again gave her a pained expression before turning back his attention towards his fish. "Alright, fawn. But be careful. And come back soon!" Leofan smiled sadly before giving her father a hug from behind. She knew truthfully that he was worried for her more than anything, but she would prove to him that such feelings were unfounded. After all, she could take care of herself.

With one last glace at her father, she left the comfort of their small market stall and began on her journey down the road. Already the sunlight had almost completely waned, leaving only a few small lanterns and a few lights from nearby shops lighting the tiny village.

Skippi9ng lightly, she went to turn a corner onto an indiscrete side street when a blow to the back of her knees brought her down. "Aaah!" she gasped out in panic, but not before a bag was quickly snapped over her head, obscuring any sight of her attackers she might have had.

"Da-!" She tried to scream, but a hit to the back of her head took any ounce of fight she had. Leofan's last thought before darkness consumed her was that she hoped her father would be fine and wouldn't miss her too much.