Experiment Number One
CHAPTER THREE

After the incident, I had a few dreams about this place I named the “Euphoric River.” As you can guess, it was a river, and it made me feel euphoric. After what I thought at the time was my father killing me, I awoke in the seemingly endless void. I was at peace as my body gradually melted into the soft waves that carried me along. My mind slipped from one consciousness to another, and just like that, I was rid of any and all thoughts of life before. I was free.

The area around the Euphoric River was primarily dark; the only light source came from an isolated speck miles away. I knew that was my destination, but I had no urgency to get there. I was numb and I felt good. My body was weightless and my mind was clear.

It was too good to be true.

I hit a rock in the water and was instantly pulled out of my naive slumber. The waves began to pick up speed, and the smooth water turned rough and rugged. My body cracked against the rocks, and I was plagued with the memories of my life before. Flashes of my mother’s dead body, my father cleaning up his mess, him threatening to kill Amilio and Mariana, trying to kill me. I thought he did kill me. I had left Amilio and Mariana and willingly given them to my father. I killed my siblings.

I reached a hand out and latched onto a boulder, hoping to stop my body from knocking against any more rocks. After my palm continuously slipped off of the moistened surfaces, I finally got a good grip on one and holstered myself up. My body trembled, my breaths were heavy. As soon as I leveled myself out, a shock of pain invaded my body.

My back arched against the rocks and I screamed out. To whom, I don’t know. The sensation stopped for a few seconds and started back up again. It repeated that cycle for what felt like an eternity. Looking back, I can still feel the pain I was experiencing in the Euphoric River. It didn’t feel like a dream; more like I was facing an eternity in Hell. I was experiencing never-ending pain for the sins I committed upon my siblings. I believed I deserved it.

But, of course, my story doesn’t end with me being fried alive; I wish it were that easy.

I laid against the jagged surface, limp and exhausted like a fish snatched from water. A random gust of wind blew over me and raised my body in the air just like a feather. The wind grew stronger and faster, and suddenly, I was being eaten by the sky. My life in Hell was over. I was finally being released to Heaven.

I crashed through a surface with a heavy gasp. I opened my eyes just to be blinded by a bright light pointed directly at me. I had to turn my head away to release myself from the pain. Next to me sat someone on their knees. They were dressed in an all-white suit with goggles over their eyes. They looked down at me, and I noticed they gripped my wrist. I tried to pull away, but they held firm; in fact, all my limbs were stuck. I looked around me and despite the light in my face, I could make out three other people holding me down. I was definitely not in Heaven.

“Go tell Chief Raimond that the subject is awake,” one of the men said. One of the other men holding my feet got up at his request.

Chief? What the hell did I have to do with a chief? Then I remember the situation with my father. The police must have been there investigating what happened, and if they were there, that meant my father was going to jail.

I tried to pull myself from their grasp again, but they didn’t let up. I huffed, “Why are you guys holding me down?” My voice came out hoarse and jumbled. My father did real damage to my vocal cords. The light above me stabbed my eyes, creating a dull pain in the back of my brain that began to grow. “Can you get that light out of my face?” Still, the men didn’t reply, but one did what I asked. Then went back to staring at me. They were all staring at me. I tried to move again, but I was still stuck.

I panicked. Why was I being restrained? My father was the murderer. Why are they holding me down? Maybe they thought I did something that I didn’t. Perhaps my father lied to them and said I killed my mother. That was definitely a thing that my father would do.

“Can you let me out of here?” I asked. No one responded. My chest felt heavy, and my heart pounded faster. There was no way I was going to let my father put me down for the mistake he made. I wasn’t going to leave him in the care of my siblings. No.

I pulled at the restraints with as much force as I could. I got flashbacks to my father holding me down, how he sent me to the Euphoric River, and how he killed me. But he didn’t kill me because I was right there, living and breathing. To be given that second chance meant I had to go and replace my siblings. I had to go and save them.

So I screamed, “Let me go!” The men around me flinched away. The tension on my brain intensified with the more strength I was using to get out of their grasp. One of the men beside me threw himself back and yelped. He grabbed his wrist and claimed, “She shocked me!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, get back over here before–” The man on my left jumped back, releasing his hold on my wrist. My arms were free and I lifted myself up to see the last man holding my feet down. He looked at me with such fear, and at the time, I didn’t know why. The grip on my ankles loosened and I took the opportunity to kick him away. With little effort, he fell back.

“What are you guys doing? Hold her down!” The man to my left screamed.

I pushed myself up from the ground, ignoring all the pain that exploded in my body as I did so. To me, the pain meant nothing. It would mean nothing if I didn’t save my siblings. So I ran, well, at least I tried to run. I got under two feet away before I knocked into something and fell straight back to the ground. I groaned as my skull hit the rough exterior; I immediately reached back to soothe the pain and returned with bloody fingers. I gagged.

I tried to stand up again, but I wasn’t so quick then. My head became woozy, and I struggled to keep my eyes open. Before I knew it, the men were on me again, holding me back. I tried to pull away, but I was far too weak. I started to scream and cry and twist and pull. I was trying everything in my power to release myself. I had to, or else my siblings were in danger.

When I finally got one of the men off, a voice boomed and shook the house.

“Stand down!” The voice was harsh and thick. A tall man with dark skin and an even darker suit radiated over me.

“But Chief, she attacked–”

“I said stand down.”

All the men let me go.