Tick. Tick. Tick. My eyes fluttered open. I had no clue where I was. Wherever I was, it was so dark in there, all I could see was a small line of sunlight peeking underneath what seemed to be a door. I took a second to analyze my surroundings, which wasn’t much: A cold, dark, and oddly humid room, plus that little line of sunlight. I noticed a soft, consistent sound. Tick. Tick. Tick. That sound will have to wait, I decided; first, I need to figure out how and when I got here. I stood up, and it was at that moment I realized I was barefoot. The floor was wet with cold water, just enough to wet the bottom of my feet, and enough to make me notice that my t-shirt and shorts were soaked with water. It just keeps getting more weird. I try to puzzle the pieces together; a cold, dark room, wet floors, and wet clothes. None of it makes sense. Why did the room have water in it? Why was I soaking wet? I forget about when I notice that noise again. Tick. Tick. Tick. I’m positive it’s getting louder… but how? I haven’t moved. All I did was stand up, and even then it volume didn’t increase until just now. None of this makes sense. None of this makes sense even in the slightest way. I put my hand on the wall behind me. It feels grainy, like concrete. So did the floor now that I think about it. I walked forward, slowly, one hand on the wall, and the other held out in front of me, to prevent me from walking straight into a wall. I walked about ten paces forward, and then stopped. The hand stuck out in front of me made contact with something… but not concrete. It was… fluffy? It was similar to the texture of the stuffing inside a stuffed animal. I pushed my hand into it, expecting concrete behind it, but my hand kept sinking in. I quickly pulled my hand away, but my curiosity couldn’t resist. I touched the wall again, with just my fingertips, then slowly pushed my hand in, then my arm. My whole arm all the up to my shoulder blade was completely submerged in the stuffing. I wiggled my arm around, decided there was nothing, and kept walking along the wall. The ticking was louder. Tick. Tick. Tick. I figured that would be important when we got to that. I made it to the end of the stuffing wall, and found myself touching the familiar concrete again. I began walking again. I was on the same wall as the door. I might finally get some answers. As I neared the door, the ticking was even more persistent. Tick. Tick. Tick. I was starting to get the feeling that the whole ticking problem was a little more relevant now, but my eagerness to get out overshadowed that ticking problem. I quickened my pace. Then I felt my hand meet the smooth, cool wood of the door. I placed my other hand on the door and quickly began searching for a doorknob, or handle, just anything that would open the door and get me out of this weird room. I kept scanning the door, running my hands over it from top to bottom. Oh no. Oh no no no no no no no. I ran my fingers through my hair. Wait. I felt the top of my head. My hair was completely gone. I don’t remember how I got here, but I know for sure that I had hair before. Plus, I loved my hair, I would never in my right mind shave it off. The realization hit me like a sack of bricks. This isn’t just a weird situation I stumbled into. Had I been… taken? No. Who wants to kidnap a woman in her mid twenties? But still… it could’ve happened, no matter how unlikely it was. My heart was beating in my chest like someone playing a drum in a marching band. TICK. TICK. TICK. The sounds were even louder than before. I couldn’t figure anything out. Nothing made sense. This wasn’t one of those situations where everything is weird but I came to one of the big conclusions at the end where everything suddenly worked out. I need to get out. I pushed on the door with all my body weight, but it barely moved. I walked away from the door, back to the wall I was originally at, and ran at full speed towards the door, turned around at the last second, and slapped my shoulder into the door with the full force of my body. There it was. Daylight. I never thought I’d be so happy to see that big flaming ball of fire beaming down onto the ground. My eyes took a minute to adjust, and while that happened I just laid there flat against the door, which had fallen onto the ground. I got up and took in my surroundings. I was literally in the middle of nowhere. No grass, no trees, just dirt. I stepped forward off the door and onto the dirt, walked a few paces forward, and turned around to see where I was being held. It looked like an ordinary house. I peered into the room I had just come out of, and it was… normal. There was no dark concrete room. There was a living room. Dark wooden floors, cream white walls, a crisp leather couch. Family photos were hung on the walls. This was someone’s house. Not that damp concrete room with the fuzzy wall. Oh God. I’m losing my mind. I turned and started running from the house. I run hard into something, almost like a wall. Once I regather myself, I stand up and stick my hand out. What I thought was more land, was a wall. An illusion. I put my hand along the wall, and start running sideways, looking for an exit. I glance to my right, and lo and behold, I see a road. With an actual moving car. That can’t be fake. I forget about the wall, turn, and run like I never have before towards the car. The car starts slowing down. Oh my God, they actually see me. I watch and slow down to a jog as they turn into the driveway of the house. I run up to the car and start thanking the family, but they all walk right by me, as if I wasn’t there. I follow them inside the house, trying to get their attention. The father points out the door I blew over and orders the mom and children to stay outside while he checks out the house. I follow him through the living room, into the kitchen where I watch him stumble over, and fall down, trembling. I walked around him to see what had shocked him so badly, only to come across the worst thing imaginable. Me. It was me. Lying on the floor. Unconscious. On the ground. I tried to convince myself that I was just asleep, or I got knocked out, but by the state that my physical form was in, I just knew that wasn’t the case.