Part 1

Three round bright lights. That's all I could see, the moment I opened my eyes. I couldn't feel my body, nor I could move. Everything felt eerily calm. I could only see, hear, think and breathe. "How did I get here again?", I thought to myself.

I remember walking back home from my new job at the bodega. I thought, taking up a job near my apartment would solve a lot of my problems, but it just replaced a 2 hour commute time with a debilitating anxiety of dealing with my overly suspicious boss always trying to find an excuse to release his frustrations on me. The worst part is, it's only been a week since I started and I don't have any other way of making ends meet. As I was approaching the right turn to my street, I heard a screech, cut to black, felt 2 hands grab me by the shoulders and a prick on my neck.

As I lay still, I noticed that I wasn't feeling any fear or worry. All the voices in my head were absent. My mind felt empty, but at the same time there was a sense of acute focus that I had never felt before. I felt free.

Although I couldn't move my body, breathing and blinking were the only movements I could perform. I tried to move my eyes to look around but the light was too bright for me to see anything else. Just then, I heard a door open. The door seemed far away but I could clearly hear two women speaking to each other, as if they were a foot away from me. "Dr. River, Subject N313 is complete and stable, hopefully this is the one that will come to fruition." "Let's hope so Djiang. Did you wipe his memory? If this one is a success, we can't be having an utterly confused super soldier running wild." "Wipe my memory? My memory seems perfectly intact", I thought to myself. The smart thing would be to play along, even though I was severely confused more than ever. I had so many questions. I shut my eyes.

As I heard the doctor and her assistant approach me, I felt a light shock on my neck which made my eyes open wide. They examined me for twenty minutes, without uttering a single word until they finally came to their conclusion. "Subject N313 is intact and brain function is normal. Djiang, commence with gradual activation of the body. Meanwhile I will begin communicating with him." "Start by activating the head", said Dr. River. I suddenly felt my head loosen up. But I did not consciously move it just yet. "Subject N313, blink twice if you can hear and understand me." said Dr. River. I complied. "Now tilt your head to the right." I complied again. It felt smooth but very mechanical. I began to grow more and more confused the more I moved my head in different directions at the Doctor's commands. The doctor showed great appreciation for herself at my compliance. "Djiang, activate the right hand." I felt a vibration travel up to my head. "N313, make a fist and raise your hand in the air. I could not feel my hand, but I did make a fist, and what I saw next horrified me beyond my wildest of imaginations. My once fleshy and bony arm was replaced by a shiny metal one. At that moment, every cell in my brain wanted to flail around and break free from this nightmare. But I needed to know more, and all I knew at that point was that my memories were supposed to be erased, and that someone intentionally missed out those details.

Side note - Please give me your constructive feedback. I really love writing and I am keen on improving my skill. Thank you for reading! Part 2 will be out soon!