excerpt from Galen Shields

Her heels thumped on the cold floor. The drone of heavy machinery drowned out the fire alarm that was now a distant whine. To her left was a series of mainframe computers that seemed to power the room’s equipment. In the center of the room was a circular chamber enclosed in glass. Insulated red cables connected the chamber to the nearest computers. Suddenly, the chamber began to rotate clockwise and hiss loudly, as a cold air shot out of an overhead pipe. She took in the scent and it smelled of helium. She wondered if she should be wearing any protective gear. A facemask, perhaps? She looked down and noticed the chamber was situated over a moving plate and with every rotation, a cloud of helium blew out of the pipe. She approached the chamber vigilantly, put her hand on the thick glass and peered in. When her eyes finished adjusting to the blinding blue light, she realized she was staring at a young girl.
“Bloody hell,” she said as her stomach lurched.
The girl lay on her back, her closed eyelids twitching as her head rolled back and forth on the platform she was so forcefully sprawled upon. A strange headgear rested atop her shaved head connected to a complex system of wires like glowing snakes. Her hands were bound to the platform by thick metal clasps and at every rotation of the chamber, her hand trembled. She looked no older than fifteen. A monitor flashed pictures of her brain and it made her sick to her stomach. She felt disgusted and betrayed. To know the company her husband put so many years of dedication into was doing such a thing made her want to shatter some of these monitors. Thick bold words flashed on the monitor over the girl’s brain X-ray.
TIME IS LIMITED. SWTICH RADIATION BEAM OFF ON LEFT CONSOLE.
She hurried over to the console, glimpsing back and forth at the poor girl in the rotating chamber. Her hand fell upon every button and switch on the console.
“Help me,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
She felt at any moment that air lock would hiss open and tall men in lab coats would pin her down. No answer from the messenger. She would have to do this on her own. Her eyes scanned the computer screen and landed on the words SERENA HILL STAGE SIX. Below was a subject history and a moving graph showing Serena’s brain patterns. Her eyes then found the radiation beam key. She tapped on the key and a separate window opened up, displaying its functions. She searched for an off key or something, but all she saw was complicated digital jargon. She decided to take her chances and pressed the first button her fingers could find, then looked up to see what happened. The circular radiation beam pointed robotically down over Serena and unleashed a yellow ray of light that shimmered across her body.
“No! No! That is not what I wanted!”
Serena began to tremble violently in her seat. In panic, she pressed another button and the chamber began rotating again, but this time it didn’t stop and with every rotation, the tube unleashed another rush of cold helium into the air. The computer didn’t seem to like this because it flashed the words, REDUCE HELIUM INTAKE.
“Well I can’t damn well reduce the helium if you will not cooperate!”
She pressed the same button as before and the mechanical radiation beam lifted back onto the roof and shut off, followed by a vibrating surge of power in the room. She pressed a key that said HOLDING RELEASE and instantly, the metal clasps around Serena’s hands and legs opened up and the girl shot up in spasms, her eyes drowned in tears.
“Dear God! How does one open this thing?!”
She scrolled through the endless keys, as Serena fell off the platform and collapsed on the ground, still connected to the headgear. The wires shot out from her head, keeping her propped against the platform in an awkward position. Charlotte pressed a button labeled CHAMBER FUNC.1 and the glass door slid open. Almost tripping over her heels, Charlotte ran as fast as she could into the chamber and kneeled down next to Serena, who clawed at the floor frantically, her legs kicking the platform behind her.
“There, there,” said Charlotte, not knowing what to do.
With a pale face, Serena pulled off the headgear and one by one yanked out every wire from the suction pads on her forehead, then collapsed with defeat. She opened her parched lips and spoke.
“A-avalon and back,” she said, her voice shot. “It’s…just a bedtime story. N-no such thing as m-monsters.”
Charlotte wrapped her arms around the girl and stroked her cheek with the back of her hand. Her face was ice cold. In fact, the chamber was freezing. She wrapped her shawl tightly around the two of them and rocked Serena in her arms like she were a child.
“You poor thing,” said Charlotte, looking around the room frantically. “We need to figure out how to get you out of here without anyone—.”
“H-her vitals are strong,” interjected Serena with her eyes closed. “Making primary incision.”
The poor girl was somewhere else, lost in God knows where. Looking at her up close, Charlotte could see she was once a much more beautiful girl. She had a small nose and wide pretty eyes. Her mouth was long and perfectly formed. Behind the paleness was a hidden beauty. She rubbed what was once probably a bed of lush black hair that matched her thick eyelashes. No doubt they shaved her head for this tormenting procedure.
“What in God’s name have they done to you?”
Charlotte got on her feet and struggled to help the girl up. She was a tall one.
“Avalon,” whispered Serena again, her green eyes visible now. They were indeed beautiful.
“You’ll tell me all about Avalon once we get out of here. Come now, on your feet. Up!”
“Avalon is where the sand dances in the wind. Pure soil and midnight sunsets. The stars rejoice when the Sons of Avalon march upon the Elysium Fields.”
“Sounds like a vacation. Work with me, dear.”
Charlotte tugged at her arm, but Serena pulled away and was able to lift herself on her own. She swayed side to side in an intoxicated hypnosis. She was no doubt filled with numerous sedatives and drugs. For the first time, Serena looked straight at her, tilted her head and said, “You have kind eyes.”
She stepped back, as if stepping onto an invisible moving platform, and lifted her arms out beside her. Charlotte just watched, entranced by her mystery. She moved her little hands around beside her, feeling the air, swatting it as if there was an invisible fog at her sides. Charlotte’s mouth dropped as she witnessed Serena’s irises turn into gleaming silver that spread across her entire eyeballs. With arms pointing out beside her, Serena rolled her head back as her silver eyes glistened against the blue light of the chamber.
“Time to go now,” she said.
The air grew into an arctic cold and Serena vanished into the blue air, leaving behind her a trail of visible energy that instantly faded into oblivion. Charlotte remained motionless in the chamber, watching the vacant air where seconds before, Serena stood.
“This job just got a lot more interesting.”