I don't remember what happened, the light just faded slowly from my eyes, along with all sense of life. All I felt was a sharp sensation running up my left arm, like I had been injected with bubbling acid. I felt empty, although something was there, something was inside of me, I could feel it building up, like an eruption, but the volcano had not exploded yet. The lava was still flowing wickedly, and silently. I couldn't see any light anymore, it was pitch black. I could make nothing out in the darkness that had me wrapped up so tightly, it would not let go, and so I let it take me.

Small delicate lights started to burst in front of my eyes, I thought I was slowly folding up into the deep dark black, but it had spat me back out. It was like I was looking up right into the face of a bright white star, it blinded me.

The burning inside me, it hurt so much, like a million hot pokers were stabbing at my insides. It swelled up deep within, like an explosion was taking place, inside my stomach, moving, coursing through my body, running through my veins burning and scalding, every inch of me it touched. I could feel my body shaking, it felt like there was an earthquake ripping through me. My body. My soul. Everything was black, I could see nothing, and hear nothing apart from the burning swishing inside, like an echo. Stars bursting in front of my eyes.

The pain was too much, I couldn't bear it, I felt like I was being ripped open from the inside. I still couldn't see or hear anything apart from the quickening beat of my heart...and that feeling, that horrid burning as if I was on fire, like red hot acid was pulsating through my veins. I could feel my body convulsing. I tried to keep my mind open, however much pain was searing through me, I had to concentrate, I would get through this antagonising ache somehow. I wanted to scream out so much, to let someone hear the pain I was going through. For someone to help. Although I knew no one could help. Not with excruciating pain like this. I was dying. I wanted it to end. When would it end...? Would I go to heaven, if it existed, or had I been bad enough in one life to be going somewhere worse... No, I was dying and I wanted it to end, for the pain to stop. I wanted to sleep, for everything to drift away, like a dream. I wanted to cry, I bit hard on my tongue, it didn't help the pain, but it helped focus my mind, I would not scream.

Someone help me, please, please...

"She's going to be okay she's coming round... better than we could have expected."

It was a man's voice, he was foreign. I realised I was starting to hear the sounds around me again, they were only faint, buzzing in the distance, but I could still hear his clear voice. Every octave whistling so clear.

He was talking to some others, from what I could hear it sounded as if there was seven or so of them, I couldn't quite tell if they where in the same vicinity or not, everything buzzed in and out of focus. With all other senses out of the window I was relying on my sense of hearing to try and understand where I was, and my hearing was amazing, it felt like radar or echolocation. Of course I have never witnessed radar myself, but I had read about it, and that's how it felt. There was so much energy. I was so dazed and confused. It had been so black and silent before, apart from the thrumming of acid and fire. What had happened to death, was I in heaven after all? I could barely remember anything, just a black haze cast over my vision of anything before now. What was happening and to me...?

They were standing around me. There was more than one person in the room, I could sense that now. I had that feeling of when you walk into a room and you think someone's watching you, but you can't see them. It felt like that now, there where people watching, it made me uneasy, not that I wasn't uneasy right now, just more uneasy, if that was possible. Ergh...

The burning blinded everything, I felt like a volcano ready to erupt. I hoped, after all, I was dead, it felt like it, maybe I was in hell or purgatory. I hadn't done anything wrong, well nothing majorly immoral when I was 'alive', if this is what I was... dead. I don't know what had driven me to think this, it just hurt so much, I must be being punished for something. Or maybe it was some kind of nightmare I was in, and it yet it seemed so real. I tried to push it aside. Did nightmares smell like this. I could smell the cold metal surrounding me, I could taste it. The air around me smelt sterile, but there was undertones of, what was it? Blood.

With my sense of hearing heightened, over the top of the excruciating pain which was slowly easing, I could sense them fidgeting about, as if eager to see me, to take a look. Ergh, not exactly what I need or want. Just make the pain stop. I hated people looking at me, all eyes on me, the small quiet girl who just walked into the room. Lucky for me I would always make myself unnoticed almost invisible to anyone who walked by, I was unnoticed and untouched, I kept to myself, nobody looked at me. I just sat, invisible to everyone, on my own. I would always be sitting in the corner of the room or at the back. Not now though, now I was the centre of attention to many eyes. Get me out of here, let me run. Let me hide.

It felt like I was on some kind of cushioned surface, a bed maybe, it was quite firm to the touch, which I did with my fingers, grabbing at anything I could find. I felt pinned down, I couldn't move much. Not that I wanted to move, but even when I tried, something was stopping me. Maybe I was dreaming after all and couldn't move myself enough to wake myself up.

The material smelt like it had previously inhabited a hospital, odd that I could pick up the scent of the fabric, but it was so strong, like cleaning fluids, and metal, raw metal.

I was uncomfortable laying here, not because of the excruciating pain, and the burning running through me like I was in the deepest pit of hell, or because I was pinned down, but to think of being in whatever state I was for them to be watching over me... and writhing about in agony, with all these people watching...ergh... If it was a dream I would live through it when I would eventually, I hoped, woke up. Then I could forget about it, like it never happened, it was just another nightmare. It would have been a bad dream and nothing more, I would never look back on it again. But if this was happening....

The pain was fading now, it had eased since I could remember it starting, had it been hours, days...so long. The faint murmur and buzzing of voices grew louder with every minute that passed by.

"She's waking up." It was the man's voice again. His voice full of intrigue.

"How did this happen, how did she come to be here." It was a woman's voice, speaking to no one in particular than herself. She spoke softly, and seemed worried.

"There was a mugging just over by the ridge, she was barely alive when we got to her. I thought she would be the perfect candidate for our little... experiments." The same man from before spoke. Mania laced his voiced.

A mugging, what was he talking about?

Another woman giggled. I felt afraid, she sounded sadistic. "Ruskin." She exhaled. That must have been his name. "This is going to be our greatest achievement yet."

"Oh, Alice. She's going to be marvelous."

I wished I was dreaming, these people, their voices were too much to take in, the sort of voices only the imagination could dream up. I somehow knew I was not in any case dreaming. Everything felt too real. But I wanted to wake from this storm. The pain was starting to ease, Alice and Ruskin's voices soon trilled away, and everything went black again.

* * * 

I could start to see a faint light appearing in front of my eyes, but it was so hazy. I could just make out the shape of somebody standing over me and their cold hands loosely holding on to my wrist, thumbs pressed into my veins, the touch was so light, it felt like a woman, but the hand was so cold, ice cold. I blacked out again. She must have sat with her hand on me for ages, when the blackness finally disappeared, her hands were still wrapped around me, but her touch had grown warmer, much warmer. The room I was in was bright, the walls all painted pure white.

"Not long now, her vitals seem to be picking up." A man spoke. From what I could see he was tall with sleek blond hair, muscles protruded from every inch of his body. He was speaking to the woman holding me, I could see them both a bit more clearly now; she with red hair.

There were more bodies positioned around the room, two to my left standing by an old wooden door, no doubt leading out to a hallway. Oh yes I was planning my exit without really noticing it myself. There was a male with brown shoulder length hair by the door, he was also of muscular build, rugged yet beautiful. His arm was metal, the light bounced off it, affecting my eyes. There was a girl with pretty locks of hair falling almost to her waist, her eyes were trained on me, as if searching for something, red wisps of smoke flowed around her finger tips.

Two, by a large window to my right. A coloured man with his arms folded across his chest and another older male a cocky glint behind his eyes, the way he stood screamed playboy billionaire. He squinted in my direction, a tough look on his face, like he wanted to avenge someone, at least that's what I think it looked like.

Finally, there were two others standing at the lower part of my body, near my feet. A man, is that what he was? He was red, purple, he wasn't normal looking. He was accompanied by another man, who smiled towards me, he had a sort of comfort about him. His face looked as if it was deep in thought, thinking about something. I felt defensive surrounded by so many people gawking at me. Why did I feel like this? Gah, get me out! I tried to move, have a bit of freedom. They all looked worried as soon as I moved. So I stopped and stayed as still as possible. Plan- If I ever got out of here, I would run for it straight away. If they got in my way... their problem. Why was I feeling like this!?

The room around myself and everyone else, was coming into view more clearly. Besides being very bright and white, and occupied by a lot of people, the room was very large. There were machines buzzing and beeping around me. Looking down I could see many of them were hooked up to me, tubes weaved around my bedside, some had different coloured liquids flowing through them and needles pierced my skin. The bed beneath me was centred in the middle of the room. It looked like a hospital ward, with in a lab. It was very clean and fresh, still smelling of cleaning fluids and a mixture of other chemicals. It burnt my throat, and hurt my nose. I wrinkled my nose up in disgust, and tried to push the smell out of my mind. It reminded me of somewhere else.

"Her thoughts, they will still be very hazy, she may be confused. Dazed." The kind man at the foot of my bed said. He took out some of the tubes.

"She has a sort of shimmer around her body too... can you all see it?" The younger girl asked, coming closer towards me.

Hazy thoughts, shimmering body, what are you talking about?

"Yes." They all murmured in unison...apart from the rugged metal armed man by the door, he had his head cocked to one side, his expression unreadable.

"She sort of looks nearly... transparent." They all stared at me, looking between themselves with odd looks etched onto their furrowed brows. 

"Interesting" the older man said, his tone deep. He was intrigued with what he saw.

Transparent, I thought. How can I look transparent?

"I don't know." The young girl said, almost instantly, looking directly towards me. Her face showed signs of stress, and confusion. She was trying to hide it, but not very well.

It was as if she was reaching into my mind.