Excruciating pain. Blinding Light. Deafening sounds. Heart hammering with a sickness of falling.
Senses assaulted, and writhing on the ground, Felix clawed uselessly at his face. In an effort to scream, he expelled the viscosity from his longs and mouth, coughing uncontrollably.
He tried to stand, but simply slid and flopped about, not at all sure what direction would be up. The thick sputum that covered his face closed again around his mouth, and panic set in as air supply was stifled. Felix again clawed at his face, shoving fingers through the film covering is gapping mouth with a subtle popping sensation. The film yielded and fingers plunged in. Clasping and ripping, the clingy substance began to fall away, now gritty from the surrounding soils.
The ringing and brightness began to subside, and Felix knelt on hands and knees, coughing violently to expel the last of the intrusive substance. The taste of blood filled his awareness, but he persisted in peeling and flinging, peeling and flinging. Fingers clasped around the material at one ear, and in pulling he could feel the rope-like slithering sensation as the connected slime withdrew.
One orifice at a time, Felix freed himself from his encapsulation, until only his eyes remained. He felt over his body, discovering that he was completely nude. Hands patting the ground around and before him, he sensed a cold rocky and damp surface. Something in his mind clicked. Able to breath, though in an unknown environment, he was at least stable.
‘Calm’, he thought ‘Take control’
Felix began the breathing exercises that were familiar to him for swimming laps and dealing with the anxiety of combat situations. Deep intentionally slow breaths. Focus on the moment, and let the puzzle reveal itself in time. Don’t be in a rush to your own death. He relaxed his muscles, letting breath and time slow his movements and sharpen what senses he did command. He listened.
‘Water. Echoes of water’.
Slowly crawling, one hand outstretched searching for danger, Felix closed on the sound until he felt his outreached fingers dip into the cold liquid. He brought his fingers to his nose and smelled for some trace of toxin or infectious source. But to his surprise, the scent was like chalk and wet stones. ‘No bacteria or rot, no chemical smell’, rubbing his fingers together for signs of oil. Hands together now, Felix scooped the cold liquid, splashing it on his arms, and then legs and chest, cleaning himself, delaying the inevitable. With few other options, Felix dunked his entire head below the surface, blowing out through nose and mouth as he vigorously scrubbed his face free of the remaining coating.
He sat back, wiping his face dry with his hands. He could hear the cawing of far-off birds, and a slight warmth spread over the portions of his skin that faced the same direction. Slowly, cautiously, he peeked through one eyelid spying a hazy light, as if looking through a key-hole. Felix chanced the other eye, and the image became clearer.
The space he occupied was dark, and light shown in through some large opening several meters away. There were silhouetted trees outside. It looked a bit like Felix was inside some natural cavern. He turned his attention back to the liquid he assumed was water, and saw a stream and small pool glistening with reflection.
Once more he attempted to stand, and on unsteady legs, rose. He staggered, almost slipping on the slime from which he had emerged, catching himself against something attached to the cavernous wall, feeling it crackle and bend beneath the pressure of his palm. Felix glided his hands across the surface, finding mostly smooth planes with the occasional spike-like protrusion. Straining to see, he scanned higher finding some type of plate-like surface. Something was off.
Not stone.
Plates.
Segments.
Moving.
The wall flexed under its own power, under Felix’s palms. He jolted back, falling onto his back-side, scurrying away. As his eyes began to acclimate to the object. The entire wall of the room expanded and contracted with deliberate rhythm, a long thick trail of mucus leading from it directly to Felix.
A chittering vibration passed through the stoney floor under his body.
