Alyshia turned up the radio to drown out the sound of the road under her tires. Resting her elbow on the open window, she let her hand ride the night air currents. Humming along with the song, she flipped her high beams on, and steered her jeep around a curve. The drive home always seemed longer at night, and she still had a long way to go. Passing a farm with a large pond, she glanced over and saw the full moon reflected on the still water. Looking back to the road, she caught her breath, and slammed on the brakes as something small and furry ran in front of her. As her front tire skidded into the gravel on the side of the road, she jerked the wheel to the left to try to get back on the road, and felt the whole jeep rock with a stomach wrenching lurch. Time seemed to slow as she looked up and saw a telephone pole coming toward her. The only thing she could think, as she watched the front of her jeep crumple and the telephone pole get even closer was,
who will feed my cat?
Pain... Lights, too bright, flashing... Something so cold, feels like metal... More pain... Voices, talking? Can't understand... A hissing noise and the pain fades... Something cold and wet flowing down her throat, tastes sweet but with bitterness underneath... Everything fades to black...
"You must wake up now."
"You must wake up, now!"
"Wake up!"
With a sigh Alyshia rolled over to her side and snuggled up to her pillow. It felt odd, slick, and cool to the touch. Opening her eyes, she blinked drowsily at the wall in front of her. Her head felt rather fuzzy, but she was fairly certain that she was not in her own bed. For one thing, her walls were not such a soft green color, like the first green of spring. She closed her eyes again, rubbing her hand against the bed beneath her. The surface felt firm, but when she pressed against it, it gave and felt rather like goo in a pouch.
"You must get up now"
With a scream Alyshia came fully awake and shot up in the bed, gathering the light cover around her and pulling it up to her chin. She blinked hard to clear the film from her eyes as she looked around the strange room. Seeing the woman (woman?) standing in front of her she gave another scream, this one louder, as she tried to inch through the wall behind her.