I woke in total darkness, with a loud, steady beat thumping in the background. It sounded a little like a heartbeat, but the heart to make such a sound would have to be huge, bigger than any animal I had ever heard of.


    I wondered what it was, and moved to activate my night lamp.


    Something was wrong.


    Moving my arms felt like moving through jelly, and no light activated after I finished my motion.


    This sounded like a nightmare, or a horror film. Darkness and very slow movement, just great.


    It had to be a nightmare, because I was no actress. And even if I were, I sure as hell wouldn''t work in a horror film. Well, if the money offered was right? But no, I was no actress, and definitely didn''t remember starting to work on a film.


    Wait, if I knew I was dreaming, shouldn''t that mean I could control the dream?


    Yes, I was quite sure it did.


    I imagined myself, standing on a sandy beach, wind caressing my form as the sun shone on my back, a large towel next to me, ready for a very relaxing session of sunbathing.


    I smiled as I opened my eyes, ready for a great time, only to be disappointed.


    After all I was greeted by the same old, slightly red darkness I was imprisoned in before that now embarrassing episode. With nothing better to do I started trying to explore my surroundings with my hands.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I was in some kind of bubble, with my belly connected to a fleshy tube. I now knew why I felt like I was suspended in a liquid - because I was. I began to struggle, tried to rip the tube out of my stomach, but to no avail. I could move, but not apply a significant enough force for it to matter.


    I started struggling even harder than before, panicking just a little before exhaustion hit me like a freight train. I started drifting off, my mind slowly shutting down.


    No! Someone probably noticed my struggle and increased the drugs I just knew were affecting me. I couldn''t fail now! I would n''t fa il n o w!


    When I woke again I knew a lot of time had passed. I didn''t know how I knew that, but I did. I felt healthier, stronger now than I did back then, but was still suspended in the liquid, and still felt weaker than before my abduction. Nothing seemed to have changed about my situation anyways, so I resumed my futile tries of escape once again, until I drifted off to sleep again.


    When I woke for the third time something changed. My head felt like it was forced through a small opening. I twisted my body for a bit, until I felt a little less constricted and waited. After all this time something was finally changing and any change from this darkness had to be good!


    Finally, after what felt like hours I was able to take a deep breath for the first time since I woke up in darkness, and it felt glorious. So good even I managed to ignore the icy cold that seemed to permeate my whole body for a moment.


    But just a moment, as my body acted without my promoting, and I started crying my lungs out. That felt surprisingly good, and I was picked up by someone moments later, given a blanket and some liquid food. The warm food and blanket made sure I fell asleep immediately, without having any time to inspect my surroundings.