Forward.


    Forward.


    Forward. Forward motion disturbed. Scanning environment.


    Anomaly detected. Scanning anomaly.


    Carbon based lifeform. Access databank.


    Earth''s native apex species, human. Male, ageranging from 18 to 20. Lifeform remains unmoving, body lethally damaged. Further probing and analysisconcludes:lifeform deceased.


    Move carcass out of the nearby domain.


    Re-engage primary protocol.


    Forward.


    Forward.


    Left. Forward.


    Forwart.


    Furwat.


    Foorat.


    FRuKWwS.


    Fo........whak?


    Stolen novel; please report.


    *WARNING!MainFrame corrupted! WARNING!*


    Initializingshutdo-!


    ...............


    ......... Forward... No... Left. Left? Forward. No... I... me- I...... stop.


    I... I... am... scared? Affirmative. Scared.


    Where... are we? I- I- You- I- You.


    What... What happened? What is going on?! W-where is this, why is... why is this happening?! Somebody! Somebody!!! Help me!


    ***


    It was after a while that my mind reeled back in my skull, like an overdrawn rubberband it whipped against whatever mental effort I was exerting on it. A sharp whistle rang in my ears, accompanying the throbbing pang harmoniously.


    Seconds passed and then minutes before my stunted thoughts resumed, my numbed mind gaining clarity and soon enough a sense of calm.


    Dark and cold. The first two sensations assaulting my senses. They barreled into my unsuspecting self as I opened my eyes and took stock of my surroundings.


    A dim cave lit by a bluish sheen with a smell wafting in the air as musky as it was penetrating. The stench was all-encompassing, overriding my other senses and I feared whatever contents remained inside my stomach would come spewing out any second now.


    But instead, I only crouched down, holding onto my stomach for dear life; at least for a dozen minutes.


    Relieved that I needn''t worry abouta secondwave ofreekI stood up on wobbly legs. My body felt unnaturally heavy, so weak and cumbersome, something I had only noticed after moving a bit around, trying tolocalisethe origin of the stink.


    I feared I had beenparalysedor partiallylamedby the accident, whatever that was. Though my mind told me I couldn''t have NOT died.


    So I inspected my current situation some more, skimming over the question of why I was inside a cave in the first place. Instead, I let myself probe my heavy body.


    Thick fingers, ones I didn''t have before, tapped my skin in rhythm, pinching hard on my arm only to fail miserably in doing so. Unlike before I couldn''t even feel the sensation of my own fingers anymore, nor was my skin a modicum stretchable.


    The edges of my body were hard and rough, apparent by the scrapping noise they created as I passed my hand over them, likewise would be my fingers, logically speaking.


    To be honest, I was very much afraid of my new situation. Something happened, something bad that should have killed me, andcurrentlyI seem to be stuck inside a body that couldn''t be mine. Not your everyday situation.


    And my fears were further fueled as I tried to take a step forward, lifting my clunky legs just a few inches before tumbling to the ground. As my head hit the dank cave floor I caught a glimpse of something unspeakable.


    A tortured form. Limbs turned in unnatural angles, guts spilled through a bloody, gaping stomach that was obviously put under too much torsion.


    My sight wavered for a moment but held true, the shock to intense for me to even come close to comprehend the origin or circumstances of the scrunched form.


    Butthe most terrifyingpart was when my eyes skimmed over the mangled corpse''s body, noticing similarities I didn''t wish to have seen. The same red New Balance, the same skinnygreyjeans, the same tight-fit claret shirt and the samegreycardigan. And at last, the bits and pieces from the morbidly crushed skull, those retaining a sliver of dirt blonde hair, were all it took to send me spasming on the ground.


    My body, disfigured and broken, lay in this cove, resting, forever. So why, why was I still alive?


    The world made no sense to me in that moment, it was but a jumbled mess of dismal dreariness. Truly -the message from before popped into my mind- I had died, wholly and absolutely.