My Darling Neko

              I can feel.  My head swarm with images, a birthday party, maybe I drank too much.  The needle lying beside my arm connected by a tube filled with a greenish liquid got my attention.  I tried to sit up and gain my baring but my mind continued to flash images before my eyes.  The only image I tried to hold on to was of Katie.  My daughter had just turned five yesterday or was it a few days ago, I am not certain.  How long had I been here and where was I exactly?  The smell of bile was strong in the air as if this was a public urinal. Slowly I lifted my head a voice whispered out of the darkness, "Try not to think, they can read your thoughts."  I did not realize anyone else was here. I thought this was my own private hell, seems now I might have a tour guide.  Hands reached out to me and grasped the sides of my head. I tried to struggle and the voice whispered again, "Let me help you, do not be afraid."  How am I not supposed to be afraid? I did not even know where I was and something was keeping me from responding.  His touch was cold and mechanical and then a sharp pain in my skull made me scream out.  For the first time since awakening to this nightmare, I had found my voice.
         "Where am I and who are you?"  My voice was raspy and the pain in my head was so intense it brought tears to my eyes.  He looked at me with sharp eyes and then retreated into the shadows.
         The whisper came again, "You are now free to think, the device that was implanted has now been removed.  The liquid that coursed through your body was to keep you in a coma like state so they could study your mind.  You are not safe here, they will find you."  Things were getting stranger by the minute and I still had no idea where I was.  I wanted to ask the man more questions but he did not respond. 
I was alone for the first time in eight years and it scared me.  My husband and I had just celebrated our six-year anniversary by moving into a new house. Doug and I had only dated two years and we knew we had to get married. The timing had been perfect, he just finished law school and I was ready to commit to full time motherhood.  When Katie came along it was if everything was right with the world. She was smiling from the moment she was born.  We spent the first five years of marriage paying off Doug's tuition. When Katie was to turn five, he promised we would get a house. Katie loved it; she had really wanted a puppy. Now that we had moved from our cramped apartment, she now had a big yard to play in.  Everything was perfect, Katie was starting school and my husband, Doug had accepted a promotion that would make him a full partner at his firm.  Sitting here in this dark room made me wonder why someone would want to take from us everything we had to look forward to. 
         Reaching out into the darkness, I felt a wall behind me. I tried not to touch anything unnecessary in the room because the smell had indicated that it would not be safe.  I ran my fingers along the wall until I came to what felt like a doorknob. I slowly turned the knob and was surprised to find it was unlocked.  Pushing the door gently open, I immediately went blind in a hall full of light.  The walls had padding from ceiling to floor and the strangest part was no one was around.  I turned around to open the door and free the man but the door was gone.  I could not understand what was happening or why, my only focus now is getting out and back to my family.  I continued down the hall always aware of my surroundings, still no one tried to stop me from leaving.  A few more steps to the front door and I could see the outside now looming behind the glass.  When I reached the doorway, I looked back down the hall for any sign of life but no one was there, everything was calm.  This was too easy and I did not understand what they had done to me.  I was still uncertain who they were.  I threw open the doors and the sun hit my face and I could feel its warmth, a calm swept over me and then the world went black.
         I do not know how long I had laid there but people were surrounding me when I came to.  I can see the look of concern etched across their faces. "Are you going to be alright?" Someone said.
"Maybe it was sun stroke," suggested another.  I slowly stood up with the help of these strangers and I realized I was not where I should have been.  I was near my neighborhood and that was a relief but now I had no idea where the place I came from went.  I had no way of showing anyone that I was abducted or where to tell authorities they should investigate.  Maybe it had all been a dream; I could have been lying here for hours and imagined the whole thing. 
"Do you need a ride to your home?" A woman asks me as I try to walk away.
         "No I'm okay, I live in this neighborhood and I can make it to my house."  I continued to walk and then my walk became a sprint when I realized what a relief it would be to see Katie's face.  As I came around the side of my house, I saw her and a smile crept across my face. She was all right.  I ran over and threw my arms around her and she began to scream.
         "Let me go, I'm going to tell." She started kicking me hard.
         "Katie its mom, what’s wrong?" I tried to hold on to her, she continued to scream.  People came outside to see what was happening.  Doug came rushing out of the door to our daughter’s side. 
         "Who are you and what are you doing to my daughter?  I've called the police and they will be here any minute." His face was full of anger and fear.  He put himself between Katie and me; I could not understand what was going on.
         "Is this your idea of a joke, Doug?  I am her mother.  What has gotten into you?"  I tried to keep my voice steady but my knees were shaking with fear.  Then as if time itself had stopped, I watched myself emerge from the doorway and walk over to Katie and hug her.
         "What is going on here?  Are you alright Katie bug?"  The woman who looked just like me said. I felt as though I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone or maybe I was still asleep in that room and this was just a dream.  The authorities of course showed up in record time and did not want to hear any explanations.  They cuffed me and put me into the squad car as my neighbors looked on.  I continued to stare at the woman as we made our way out of the neighborhood. The cops began their routine questions about who I was and where I came from.  I told them the truth and they laughed at me and asked me if I was taking any "medication".  I knew there was nothing I could do. Trying to figure this out on my own was my only option.  That woman had looked like me back there with my family. If that was me, then just who was I?  I sat quietly in the backseat glad the questioning had stopped.  I knew when I got to the precinct there would be a completely new line of questions.  The sun was beginning to set and now all I had was the image of Katie's face full of fear, I scared her now and someone else was with my family.  What had they done to me?

                                                (Chapter 2)
                I awake and look down at my hands; pieces of jagged metal are running through my arms.  Nothing about this seemed real and my mind clearly could not focus.  I remember being in the police car but no other moments leading to this event.  My effort to free myself is short lived and as I continue to struggle to stay conscious, the blood began to flow freely from my body.  As my pulse began to slow, the more things around me started to lose shape and began to blur.  The light that surrounds me is bright but I do not feel its warmth. A cold feeling washes over me as I drown in its embrace.  If I was dying, I was no longer scared just wanting to escape to somewhere this pain was not.  As I drew in my final breath, I notice sitting in the corner, a man staring at me with a look of utter pleasure.  He seemed pleased as though he had just proven a point to a room full of disbelievers.  As the room faded I found out that my perception was accurate, a curtain above the side of my prison rose and staring down at my mangled form were many faces, though I could not make them out I felt they were satisfied. 
         Many things still needed to fall into place. The subject no longer had family, friends and most important, no history.  As far as the world outside of this facility, she, which he now named Neko, remained a hidden secret.  He was always careful when choosing them, however none of the others had lasted long enough.