Stories from Spartans

Catherine McClees, Copy Editor|May 12, 2023

Stories+from+Spartans

The winner of this issue’s creative writing contest was Alessandra Acosta with her story “Rebooted.” Read it below:

It’s too dark. I can’t see anything. I feel around and grab the closest thing to a blanket I can find. Shivering, I wrap the… whatever it is, around my arms and rub my hands together. I’m not sure where I am, or who I am, but I won’t be able to find out until I can figure out how to not freeze to death. It feels slimy and thick. Still, it’s what I can work with. Something in my mind tells me I’m used to the cold so I’m able to stay awake. I need to.

STAND UP.
I can’t tell if that was an intercom or a voice in my head.
STAND UP NOW.
A sharp pain raises up my spine into my scalp. It’s unpleasant, but not unbearable. I stand up anyway.
DROP IT. I dropped the slime blanket and began to analyze my surroundings. From what I could see, it was a small room with tiles on all four walls. The floor was glossy and concrete-like. Some dark splotches of color in some spots, but mostly a clean surface. I tried to turn around to see what I was sleeping on, but for some reason, I couldn’t move anything except for my eyes. I’m standing close to the wall in my left view, and to my right, I can see an operation table behind a plastic bag hanging on a metal stick with wheels at the bottom. I can’t tell what it’s filled with but I know for certain it was probably injected into my system.
FLICKER. A dim light from the ceiling illuminates the room, blinding me for a second. After I gain my eyesight, I have nothing else to do but wait. Wait for something to happen. Wait for someone to enter through the door that was standing right in front of me. Wait, there’s a door? I feel a sharp pain in my scalp fall down my spine, reverting back to wherever it came from. My feet started to feel cold from the glossy floor. That’s when I knew I could move again. Without questioning a thing, I walked up to the door, pulled down the latch, and just pushed my way out of there. I closed my eyes hoping that when they opened, everything would make sense.