*Beep

*BEEP* The sounds of my bare feet pounding against the floor echo as I sprint from the bedroom across the bleak hallway, this place is unfamiliar, an endless jungle-maze of white corridors and static rooms. *BEEP* The blinding light reflects off the all-white hallway forcing me to squint. I run with my hand grazing the wall so that I can distinguish the doors from the walls, a small bump is sign enough for me to make a sharp turn into the nearest room to my left. Using my momentum I grab hold of the door and lurch myself in as quickly as possible, the only colour in the room comes  from some yellow sunflowers sitting on the bedside table. *BEEP* He’s getting closer I can feel it. Nothing’s told me what his intentions are, but I know I’m in danger; fear pulses through my body with each hushed gasp for air. No sounds come from outside, I cant stay in one place, cant allow myself to get comfortable. *BEEP* I harness my fear and use the adrenaline to propel myself down the nearly identical hallway frantically scanning my surroundings for the tell-tell sign of the shadow of a door, my next temporary safe haven.

My search is unsuccessful; these walls are endless, no opportunity for escape. It’s freezing cold, but my chest and legs are burning. I’m trapped. Just for a second, I close my eyes and picture laying down and falling asleep, a quick rest, I’ve probably out run him by now, I’m sure ill be fine. I open them again; my legs are giving up on me. The powerful smell of bleach is overwhelming, burning my eyes. Up ahead I notice an opening that jerks to the right. I slow my pace giving myself time to decide what option I should take. *BEEP* I come to a complete stop in front of the opening, looking back and forth between escape and capture.  This is where I falter, where I make my mistake. I didn’t know what I was running from, but right here is when the faceless shadow pushes me.

By the time my body has fallen away from the pressure of his hands, I have already planned my temporary escape and prepared myself for the shock of the walls impact, but my spine never feels the uncomfortable coldness of the white ceramic tiles. Instead I am consumed by a vast darkness. The cold leaves the soles of my feet and I begin my plummet into the dark abyss. I’m moving too quickly to be able to make out any of my surroundings, the rush of wind passing by my ears disorientates me, and all I can do is observe the peculiar shapes and shadows that pass me as I fall. Waving my arms around in despair, I reach out for anything to slow or even steady my fall. I feel small in this infinite darkness, vulnerable, scared.

It feels like I’ve been falling for an eternity, tense muscles in my shoulders and legs relax, and I start to enjoy this feeling of falling, the air pushing against my back, forcing an arch. If I concentrate hard enough I can convince myself that I’m actually floating, suspended in space. As I float in this euphoric state, I accept that I no longer have any control, there is simply nothing more I can do to divert the path of my fate… I’ve become numb to the cold; trust cocoons around me like a tightly wrapped blanket. Then, as if by chance, I hit something. It creaks beneath me, adjusting to the new weight of my body, but like an organism rejecting foreign bacteria the boundless net shoots me back up. Again I fall, but this time I hurriedly roll off, expecting to keep falling into the darkness. Instead, I hit a hard flat surface and am greeted by my own reflection. The lack of light makes it hard to see my features; the empty silhouette of my body follows me as I aimlessly wander around. I look up and see the speck of light where I must’ve fallen from. Then a new kind of darkness overcomes me and I lose consciousness.

I jolt awake, gasping for air, sucking in fumes of bleach that burn my throat. The bright white light looms above me, and every few seconds a faint *beep* pulls me out of my panic. There are tubes coming out of my arm connected to what seems to be a sack of water. Now that my eyes have adjusted I notice yellow sunflowers to my left. Gentle rays of sun leak through the window, catching specks of dust as they aimlessly float around. A soothing hum fills in the gaps between the beeps; my head twists around in response to a faintly familiar sound…

“She’s awake, she’s awake. Patient 2520 has broken from comatose! Reactivate the suppressor!”

The door swings open. Men and women in white coats flood into the room. Every eye attentively observing. And even under the mental asylums blinding lights, I was in the dark. 

Mirchou, Jeffrey R. "Hospital Emergency Hallway." Http://zoominmedical.com/hospital-emergency-hallway/. Word Press, 2004. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fzoominmedical.com%2Fhospital-emergency-hallway%2F>.