Like Black Mercury

My eyes opened.

I can't say that I opened my eyes because once my eyes were open, I tried to move and discovered I couldn't move any part of my body, except my eyes. I couldn't even blink.

I was lying on my back in complete darkness. I wasn't in pain, I just couldn't move. I moved my eyes back and forth, but found only black. After a while, I couldn't even tell if my eyes were still open.

My eyes closed.

*********************************

My eyes opened again. This time, to the faintest gray light. I could see two gray walls intersecting. I tried to move my eyes as widely to the right and left as I could, but couldn't get to another corner of the room - only Gray Wall 1, Gray Wall 2, and Gray Ceiling.

There were no windows or doors. The walls and ceiling were smooth. My greatest source of stimulation was the corner where Gray Wall 1, Gray Wall 2, and Gray Ceiling came together. Gray Corner, I suppose.

I don't know how long I looked at the corner, but the light in the room did not change. I could not see its source and the light was evenly diffused through my field of vision.

I moved my eyes back and forth, trying to expand my field of vision. Then trying to turn my head. Nothing.

My eyes closed.

********************************

My eyes opened again. The light was still evenly diffused, but it was just a bit brighter. I started the ritual of moving my eyes back and forth, up and down, to try to see more of my surroundings. I feel like I could see a bit more, but I was straining too hard to extend my peripheral vision and my eyes ached.

Well that was something new. My eyes ached. I focused on my entire body. I couldn't see any of it because it was completely covered with an immaculate gray sheet. I couldn't even make out shapes. The sheet was flat and pulled tight..

I looked down my nose and saw that the sheet came up under my neck. I couldn't see anything. My breathing grew heavier, but the sheet didn't move. My heartrate increased. I could feel myself getting angry.

My anger grew.

I imagined the feeling of my body going stiff. My legs and arms fully extended, my fingers and toes reaching, my mouth opening in a primal scream. I tried with everything I had to make these things happen.

But none of them happened. I remained still. Dead calm. Tears welled up in my eyes and they overflowed. They must have rolled down my cheeks, but I didn't feel them.

I don't know how long I cried. I could feel my eyes burning and growing tired.

I closed my eyes.

***********************************

I opened my eyes. I know I opened them because I had been dreaming - dreaming of the corner, but dreaming of hearing noises and seeing objects - flashes of objects moving around me, but moving too fast for me to discern any shapes.

I had a faint, metallic taste in my mouth. I didn't smell anything, but I heard something in my dream. The noises - what were the noises? Tones? Moving tones? Nothing that sounded remotely like language.

Then came the moment when I opened my eyes. I felt something on my chest. It was soft, like a round pillow, pressing down. Something in the room with me...

on me.

I opened my eyes, lingering for a fleeting second in the strange world between dreaming and waking, and expecting that the waking world would be the same as the dreaming world.

It wasn't. It was the same gray light. Same gray walls. Same gray ceiling. Same gray corner.

Now I felt rage.

This time I did not try to move my entire body. I focused my rage on my mouth and my voice. I was going to scream. The fury in my chest grew, making its way up my throat. In my mind, I saw my mouth open and I heard a throat-ripping scream.

What actually happened was that my lips parted, very slightly and I heard myself make a low noise.

"Buhhhhhh..."

While it wasn't the powerful war cry I was hoping for, it was something. I had managed to make a noise. I could feel a smile attempting to form, but failing.

I smiled inwardly and closed my eyes.

***************************************

I was startled awake by a loud whumph and felt all the air sucked out of my lungs. I desperately drew air into my lungs, gasping. My eyes were open and I was looking up at the ceiling. My lungs hurt.

I blinked a few times, trying to catch my breath. I realized I was breathing in through my nose and breathing out through my mouth, which meant I was able to open my mouth, albeit slightly. This brought the inward smile back. I may have even been able to lift the corners of my mouth to form an actual smile, but any semblance of a smile, outward or inward disappeared when I lowered my eyes from the ceiling to the wall.

*****************************

There was a shape on the wall. A black shape. But not a shape. It was like a shadow on the wall. A shadow with a large head and body.

But not a shadow. It was like...black liquid. No. It was like black mercury. It was a two-dimensional shape on the wall that had the appearance of deep, black liquid metal.

And it was moving. It was swelling. It swelled up and rose up the wall to the ceiling and expanded outward along both walls.

Then the swelling stopped. Now it was shaking and shimmering. I could feel the pressure in the room growing. It was making it harder to breathe. Then the sound came again.

Whumph! This time it was even louder. Once again, all the air was sucked out of my lungs and my head felt like an overfilled balloon. I gasped again, but this time I felt a gurgling sensation in my lungs.

Then I felt the pain in my lungs - intense and pulsing. It hurt to try to breathe, but I forced myself to control my breathing. I could feel liquid in my lungs and when I breathed, it felt like severe chest congestion.

I wanted to cough, but found that I couldn't. I worked hard to slow my breathing. I looked back at the black mercury. It had returned to its original shape - a large head and body.

Then it started to swell again.

I could feel myself panicking, but unable to move. The swelling and pulsing continued and the shape expanded again, reaching even farther along the walls than last time and rising up onto the ceiling until it hovered over me.

Was it looking at me? The black mercury continued to expand, covering the room. Yet, I could still see it shimmering and pulsing. Then it came, infinitely more powerful than before.

WHUMPH!

My eyes closed.