Being

Something cold and slick was rubbing against Maria's face.

A feeling of truths slipping into the night overcame her for a moment before it too went into the night.

She opened her eyes and saw nothing.

However in opening her eyes she had awoken her other senses. She could hear the squeaking of plastic all around her, the uneven moaning of plastic wheels on hard concrete and the clacking of boots.

Her inner ear told her that she was on her back and being moved, gently rocked back and forth in time with the sounds of the wheels. Other sounds came and went as they moved, the beeping of machinery, low conversations and the grinding of some kind of machinery.

Her body felt numb, the only sensation she could feel was the cold thing that was laying across her face. Try as she might her limbs simply refused to react to the commands her brain was sending. So complete was the lack of sensation she was not even sure if she was breathing.

The sudden bang of doors, along with a judder of the trolley and change of sounds, told her that they had just moved outside. The distant sounds of traffic filtered down to her as she heard the sound of a car engine idling.

A voice, muffled beyond comprehension, began to speak just above her head.

Then another sound, high pitched and sharp, then the pattern of something onto the material. The trolley shook as something hit the ground. A cry began to go up and then there was another whine and another sound like wet clothes being dropped.

Silence then, eventually broke by cautious footsteps that came ever closer to where she lay. Maria simply waited, too focused on the sounds to bother actually feeling afraid.

Then the darkness was split it half with the sound of zipper and Maria found herself staring up at night sky. Then a face loomed into view, cold blue eyes peeking out from a black balaclava.

“Fuck,” the figure said with a woman's voice.

It was at this point Maria remembered that humans need to breathe.