Madeleine Corstolla-Klein I blinked open my eyes, still heavily trying to force themselves closed. Bright lights flashed in my face, almost burning my eyes. I could hear strange noises coming from all around me, I couldn’t explain them to you if I tried. They were too specifically intricate, like the way the rain bounces off metal, or the way waves rock a boat, or the pattern of steps in the hallway. I turned my head to my left. A creature stood there. Just staring at me. It pulled a syringe from a floating platter that held other sharp probes and knives, and stabbed my upper arm. I clenched my jaw, sucking a painful breath through my teeth. Suddenly voices filled the room. It came from the creature. I could understand it. It waved at me, “Greetings Earthling! I see you have awakened from your rest.” I squinted at the creature. It was beautiful. Strangely but wonderfully beautiful. Its’ eyes were a metallic glazed galaxy color. Its scaled tail curled in amusement. “My apologies for any inconveniences that we may have caused. We have to take extra measures to ensure that you are who we have been looking for.” I tried to look for its mouth when I saw a small slit on its neck that looked like a squid's beak. I looked into the creature's eyes, narrowing my own. “Who exactly are you looking for?” It looked surprised that I had replied. “You, of course. Your name is Madeleine, correct?” “Yes…Why were you looking for me? Am I important or something?” The creature grabbed a probe and twisted it in its’ claws, gazing curiously at it. It made a noise that sounded like an attempted sigh. “Do you happen to recall an encounter with us?” It asked, still staring at the probe. “My…nightmares?” “No,” The creature wiped the probe with a clear looking cloth. “Any…accidents?” I tapped my fingers on the cold platform that I lay on, then stopped. It was talking about the rollercoaster. I twisted a bit, my back rubbing on the cold metal. “Yes. I do.” The creature flicked its claws, and a sort of screen popped up. It had an X-ray of my back. There were strange networks of thin lines that flowed into my upper arms, legs, and neck. “What are those?” I asked, trying to point, but remembering that my wrists were strapped down. It glanced at the screen, and again flicked its claws at it. The screen zoomed into my spine. The thin lines were now colored. Some were green, blue, yellow, red, and white. “These?” It pointed at the lines. “Those are wires. You did not know that?” I swallowed hard. No. Of course I didn’t. “No.” I said, it looked at me like I had said something wrong. “You were not aware that your spine is made of cybernetic material?” Cybernetic material. I’ve heard that before, I just can't remember when. I knew it meant that there was a part of me made from man-made material. Half of me wasn't human. My thoughts were interrupted with a beeping sound. It came from the floating screen, along with a blinking red light in the left corner. Symbols popped up including numbers with percentages. Everything started to blur, my breath felt like the Arctic. The creature grabbed my arm, and a slimy feeling engulfed my hand. It cursed something in its own language, failing whatever it had tried. The voices faded back to the intricate noises. The platform that I had been laying on moved and suddenly my surroundings were moving. The creature hopped on the platform, and started giving a sort of CPR. Whatever it was trying didn't work. And after the millionth time, everything faded away.
