You would not believe any of this unless you had seen it. At the time, even I could not believe my eyes. None of it made sense.

I remember waking on a hard bed. I gasped and let loose a scream. My mouth opened wide and I yelled on and on. My memory had shattered. My name, who I was, what I was doing, nothing would surface.

Thick straps dangled from the bedframe and a series of knotted plastic tubes draped down across my right arm from a machine above my head. A white gown covered my body. I looked around for a familiar face, for a nurse or doctor, anyone, but the room stood empty. Instruments quietly whirred and clicked. Above, the bar lighting hummed. The silence was intense, as if I had found myself in a sealed vacuum.

Unconsciously, my fingers brushed over a ridge on my belly - I suspected that something had been taken from my insides. I rose from the bed and pounded towards the door opposite. A series of confusing letters and a number were printed on the glass pane:

“8 NEMICEPS.”

On the other side, scorch marks encumbered my vision but I could make out a corridor. Similar entrances lined the way but there was no movement. Everything was still. Disturbingly, blood and a black tar-like substance coated the walls and their chrome railings as well as what appeared to be some sort of medical equipment, which had fallen, scattering itself across the floor. The place had been the site of a desperate struggle but between what or whom I could not tell. I turned the handle and pulled.

Immediately, I was struck by the stench. The reek was unbearable, as if something had festered away for days. I pinned my nose shut and forced myself forward, there was no other choice. Dodging the mess as best I could, I made my way through the facility, swapping my gown for ill-fitting clothes and a pair of military boots which had been dumped in front of a laundry chute. In room after room, more strange machines and their tentacles lolled across empty beds.

I pushed open a set of double doors that led to a badly lit stairwell and descended until I ran out of steps. Pushing through a further set, I came into a reception area. A circular marble desk stood proudly in the centre, encircling a pair of heavy benches. They had been turned onto their sides, spilling leafy green plants and their soil onto the ground along with hundreds of envelopes, paper and stationery. Bullet holes pockmarked everything in sight. A translucent panel displaying a collection of slick corporate logos had not escaped the fray and flickered sporadically.

I took a couple steps before I froze. In a segment of the revolving door, with its back to me, a strange creature was staring out into the world outside. The thing was vaguely humanoid but wraith-like and horrifying. Tall, wiry, thin. I panicked and stepped backwards onto something which cracked beneath my feet. Blind as the thing was, it could still hear.

Stumbling and tripping over my boots, I sped from the agitated presence which wailed and shrieked as it began to chase. Back up the staircase I bolted. I sprinted and sprinted until I chanced upon a secure room. I swung the heavy metal door shut and sealed myself inside.

And there it was - encased in a square container, the part of me that had been taken.

The freak banged on the door savagely but it had lost my attention. All I cared for was the gift in the incubator. A slimy black organ, like an eel or tentacle. It trembled. I was meant to find this thing. Meant to have it. I broke open the casing with my fist, feeling no pain as I smashed through the glass and laid my hands on it.

Just touching it made my spine tingle.

I then gorged myself on the cord. How sweet and satisfying the taste! For a moment - bliss. It felt as if I had tasted the cure of all my ills. I knew I wanted more. I needed more. However, my legs had begun to sway. My skin dampened and I felt as if plunged into a sweltering jungle. The room spun faster and faster before a thunderclap pierced my eardrums. Whether this was from the wraith banging on the metal door or another source altogether I was unsure. My ears continued to ring and the general stench seemed to multiply in its rancidness. I attempted to shut my eyes but images pulsated and danced before me.

I felt panic and extreme nausea. I felt so sick. Dizzily I slid down, the once solid world now a shimmering mirage.