A letter had appeared into my mailbox. It was unusual as I had never received a letter before in my life. Making my way back into the house, I sat down on my couch in front of the fireplace. Nervousness filled me up, for I had never planned for things such as this. It was a usual sight. But the letter appeared surprisingly plain. White envelope with a smudged-up stamp on the top right.
As I slowly opened the envelope, a wave of lavender rushed into my nose. It was scented with fragrance that could easily knock someone out. However, not me as I have worked in countless beauty departments myself. Taking out the letter, I placed the envelope onto the desk on my left and opened up the words that were presented to me. The handwriting was spectacular. My eyes gleamed as I saw each letter intricately presented. The cursive writing made me feel unwanted happiness. For my first letter, this was truly angelic.
Dear Annabeth,
I am writing this letter to you for a congratulations. You, of all the nineteen million people living in this city, have been selected to partake in what will be the greatest discovery known to man. I am a scientist or a psychologist, whichever one you are more comfortable with, who is looking for someone desirable. And that someone is you. You fit all the categories required for the experiment, and I assure you that you will also be paid immensely. The money, if you are curious as of now, will range from between one to ten million dollars. As a scientist, it is my duty to bring forth ideas and inventions that will reshape the future. Today is the day that you can accompany me in that. I will be eagerly waiting for your arrival at the location I have sent in the envelope. Let us change the future. Together.
Yours sincerely, The Scientist.
An experiment.
I thought to myself. During my teenage years, I learnt quite a few things about science and psychology. It always was a fascinating subject, and the things that we had learned from it have helped us move forward as a society. However, I had an uneasiness within my heart. Something about all of this seemed odd. Multiple questions began to spring forth into my head.
Why me? What type of experiment is this? How dangerous will it be?
I had read quite a few experiments that had crossed the line of morality, and some have terrified me to this day. Pacing around the room for a couple of hours, I continued to ponder on the matter heavily. I thought and thought and thought and thought. In some instances, my mind had settled the argument and had voted in favour of going, but every time I reached for the letter, my mind proposed another argument. And for hours on hours, I was in a never-ending loop of conflict.
Night had fallen, and the nocturnal animals began to spring from their habitats. The dead silence of the night poked my mind as I felt nervous.
Knock Knock. Knock Knock.
My body froze. Sweat began to trickle down my forehead as my mind spiralled into different places.
I'm in the middle of a forest. Who would venture here and arrive this late to meet me?
The knocking continued for what felt like eternity. The same pattern repeating from the other side of the door, gradually growing in force each time it was ignored.
Knock Knock. Knock Knock.
Building up the courage, I made my way towards the door, making sure that I did not make a sound in case of alerting whatever lay on the other side. As I stood in front of the massive door, I peered at the knob for quite some time. I could see my reflection contorted inside it. My eyes stared deep within my own soul as sweat continued to flow down my face. Letting out a gulp, my hand shakily reached for the knob. Grasping onto it tightly, I took a deep breath and flung the door open in case the person outside ran. No one. It was me and the never-ending darkness. At that moment, my heart dropped, and I began to panic.
What was that? Maybe it was an animal? Or was it a trick of the mind?
I lifted my hand towards my mouth, but then I stopped. My eyes darted open as my hand began to shake immensely. My mind, beginning to break, tried to process what I had done before making my way here. But I could remember nothing useful. And with a small gasp, my voice almost to the point of breaking let out what I was thinking the whole time.
"A knife?"