I had posted this story awhile ago. My account had been hacked, so it got deleted. I want to repost it and finally finish this series. I really love this idea, and I hope you will too. Some might remember it, but I am adding changes to certain things. Enjoy.

Preface
Unfamiliar Surroundings

Unknown
August 2037

The beat came in a rhythm. A constant rhythm that pulsed against her temples like a drum.

Bump, bump, bump, bump…

Her lids slowly began to part. Little by little, light was able to slip through the thin veil of her lashes. Through the cracks of her parted eyelids, until she was nearly blinded. Her eyes fell closed again, shuttered away from the brightness by a weight that seemed to force them closed. After a few rapid winks and a harsh groan of annoyance, she could finally focus clearly.

Her neck was stiff.

Her back ached.

Her head throbbed.

Her arms and legs tingled.

Everything seemed to hit her all at once, and it was painful. It took a few moments for her to realize the room, that still spun in circles with dancing black dots, was unfamiliar. With eyes wide and a shiver down her spine, she felt a rush of panic course under her skin.

The room she found herself in was cold and damp; poorly lit as well. The pounding in her temples got worse with her movements. Her sore eyes glanced around, but she couldn't make out anything besides dark shadows and blacked-out corners. She looked above her head to find the single bulb that gave light around her. A beat-up dome hugged around the dying bulb. It flickered twice, allowing darkness to creep in, before it continued to give light; only to illuminate over her.

The headache grew too much, so she lowered her head back. Her fingers itched to rub circles against her temple bones to sooth the horrid pain, but she found her arms wouldn't budge to offer the relief she desperately craved.

'What-?' Her heavy head turned toward her arm.

Her gaze trailed the length of her slender, pale arm until she could no longer see flesh, but badly chipped painted wood. Her brows knotted in confusion. Both her arms seemed to be wrapped around the back of a chair and locked together at the wrists. She stopped wiggling her arms when something rough pinched her skin. She guessed a rope was used to hold her arms in place. Her teeth bit into her chapped lips while she tried to lift her body up so she could at least unwrap her sore arms from the chair; get in a better position. Not much progress was made when her legs refused to move another inch. She bent over to get a look at her legs. Both her ankles were pressed to the front legs of the chair and tied with rope to secure them.

The cold dampness of the room gave her a sense of unease that shivered through her. She commenced to wiggle her wrists beneath the rope to try and work the knot loose. Her body forced grunts of effort when time moved with no progress of freedom. Her only progress was pinching her skin.

She groaned in frustration, vibrating her throat, before she slumped against the chair. Her head back, she tried to calm her heartbeat that matched a roller coaster. The chair creaked from her rough movement. Her mind swam from the unnerving silence. Questions, so many questions crowded inside, but she didn't have an answer for any of them. It was like she stood before a mirror blacked over with marker when she tried to remember what had happened.

When the moan of old hinges echoed off the walls to ring in her ears, her body went stiff; the breath stolen from her lips. The noise dragged out like it wouldn't stop, which made her cringe into her shoulder to stop the ringing. When it finally stopped, the room grew unearthly quiet again. She grew restless. Her eyes moved in every direction they could. Her flight drive kicked into max to run. When a thump was heard, she jumped in the chair. Her heart thundered against her ribs, her throat tight, when she heard the thump again.

'Footsteps?' Her teeth harshly chewed on her bottom lip. The metallic taste of blood spread along her tongue. 'What the hell is going on?!'