The Third Lady (Short Story)

Image source: Max Pixel

Her eyelids shifted as the searching light probed, seeking a route into her eyes. The light pushed its way in when her eyelids jerked up a bit. Her eyes felt the light rush in, the rays forcing the sleep in her eyes to melt like ice in the sun. Her eyes opened and then blinked, trying to take in the light. She felt for her hands and tried to lift them. She ached her back, giving her neck an elevated boost. She took in the room in one glance. Nothing seemed familiar.

She lifted herself off the table and turned her legs to the edge. Her left leg made contact with the ground; it was cold. She walked to the table a few metres from where she was. There was a searching light suspended above it, the same searching light that had sought her consciousness from the mist of her sleep.

The girl on the table seemed at rest; there was a stillness to her that seemed enviable. She ran her hands over the girl’s face and felt the softness of her skin. The smooth of her skin was flawless, as if some divine being had created her out of butter. She traced her hands down the neck and then the rest of her body. She felt a wetness between her legs when her fingers approached the girl’s leg. She looked up and saw another table.

She thought the girl on the other table was the first one’s twin sister. They had the same touch and shape. She walked over and looked into the second girl’s eyes. They were closed. She tried to pry one open as if it were a box containing secrets. She stopped and turned at once.

“Hello Nina!”

Nina trained her eyes on the speaker, trying to get information from his appearance. He wore a soldier's uniform. His eyes were narrow and dark. His hands buried within his pockets. He exuded a kind of confidence that rattled her. He stood as if he was in charge… dominating seemed to be the word. She raised her head to meet his eyes. For a second, she thought she recognised him. For a second, she wanted to kill him.

“I guess you are wondering what you are doing here.” He paused, as if to make sure he was speaking her mind. “I’ll tell you. You were involved in a boat accident a few months ago. Your body washed ashore and good Samaritans rushed you to an hospital. You were certified dead by the doctors. Well, we decided to give you a second chance. Now, you are as good as new.” He chuckled at the last word.

Nina remembered the accident. She remembered she was searching out the fishes in the dark when the bullet had hit her. She remembered the second bullet and then the blackout. She could remember everything but the voices and faces. She remembered falling but she did not remember drowning. She observed the man and found his poise curious. If felt as it he was acting out a script. Albeit his human features, he looked like a robot.

She wanted to talk but somehow found the words stuck in her throat. She stood still, her eyes still trained at him. She wanted to remember but it seemed her memories were not hers. She felt like she was behind a curtain and had to make do with what little light filtered in. She tried to talk again but her mouth only opened, make a hoarse sound and then closed.

“Aright, we are done here.” The words floated in the air. It seemed to come from the man but she was sure it did not. She heard a sound and then two men walked in. Their distinctive white coat gave their identities away. Were they the doctors that certified her dead or made her ‘as good as new’? she wondered. The man in the soldier's uniform appeared beside her and held still as one of the doctors inserted a syringe into her neck.

The last thing she heard was: ‘she wasn’t even supposed to wake up.’

…...

Nina’s consciousness stretched to take hold of the voices that hung like rope from the outside world into a dark well. The first thing it held on to was the manly strain in the one of the voices. It reminded her of a memory she could not place. She felt no pressure to open her eyes so she assumed there was no searching light above her. She felt a tingling sensation in her head, as if someone was tickling her brain. She felt rough hands pry her legs apart. She half opened her eyes in what seemed likea different room.

“Man, this is gross. You know that, right?” The words flew over her head.

“Chill man, I’m going to be quick. Besides, it seems like a perfect waste to throw a beauty like this away without checking it out first. Sure you don’t want a go at her?” The reply came from her side, a voice with a youthful strain to it.

“What I really want is a piece of cherry pie” The first voice bellowed. “Do I switch her on or you want to make love to a carcass?”

“Doesn’t matter Jim. I just feel it’s a terrible waste to die a virgin.”

“What about your dog? She’s gonna die a virgin?”

“Fuck you Jim!”

Nina felt panic slowly build up within her. There was something wrong with what was happening. She felt a sensation run through her spine, but it was pleasant and triggered a wetness between her leg. The panic seemed to emanate from her head, from the tickling. She shifted her head and heard a cuss from above her. She opened her eyes fully and their eyes met.

“She’s awake Matt!” Jim announced in disbelief.

“Shut her down!” Matt screamed, as he pulled his trousers up and hurried off the table. Matt’s words triggered an instant reaction from Nina. She jerked her knee up. Matt groaned as solid steel banged against his genitals. He was still reeling from the pain when she moved her legs from underneath him and he fell on the ground. The sound of a human head dashed against the hard floor jolted Jim back to life. He was too late. Nina was already starring him in the eye.

Jim shifted a leg backwards and then another and then turned around as once. Nina felt a compulsion to chase him. It was an instinct so primal she could not understand it. She walked as if he had nowhere to hide.

Jim banged and cried against what seemed as just another part of the wall. With each strike against the door, he would look up and cry for help. It was if he was begging some being in heaven. The security operators knew better. They had been instructed not to open the door. They saw him through the camera he knew was there. They watched as Nina grabbed his neck and turned it as if removing a cover from a bottle.

….….

Under the dead stare of the solder in uniform, Nina stared as the picture as until she had memorized every feature. It was the picture of a little girl. Her face was soft; there was innocence in her eyes. She was wearing a Pikachu onesie but the hood was off. The rays of the sun featured in the picture, a stark contrast to the darkness in the room dotted by searching lights on the three tables.

She reached into Jim's pocket, hoping for another interesting find. There was a red pen, a meal ticket and white piece from a chess board. She fondled the piece wondering if it was the queen or the king. As she asked herself, she felt constrained memories push against a dam in her mind. She stood at once.

The soldier’s choking grip took her by surprise. She pulled at his hands and tore his right hand away. She was struggling with his left hand when the wall to her left revealed it was a door. She turned to see who would walk in. It was a man wearing glasses in a white coat.

Her hands were forced down by the twin sisters she had found on the tables, one at each side. They turned her around, holding her still. She saw her reflection in approaching doctor’s glasses. The twin sisters looked exactly like her. She felt a tickling sensation in her head. It was the last time she remembered.