"Alarum"

Alarm. Confusion. Disruption. Alarm. Panic. Slap. Crash. Pain. Unconscious.
Alarm. Strains to break the seal of her eyes. Slits. Stale smell. Opens eyes. A bright light. Alarm. Confusion. Dizziness sets in. Limbs limp. Dead weight. Disoriented. Is she lying on a trampoline? Alarm. Confusion. No leverage. Heaves herself up. Heavy limbs. Laying like Cleopatra. Heavy life. Alarm. Queen. Leader of armies. Lover. Timeless. Ageless. Classic. Powerful. Influential. Dead. Fiction. Dream. Alarm.
Crash. Pain. Broken? Looks for exit. Rolls off of trampoline. On her knees. Head bent low. Submissive. Queen. Submissive queen. Paradox. Fiction? Dream? Head spins. Maintain consciousness. Swirling darkness. Body sways. Sea legs. No solid ground. No perspective. No point of reference. A struggle. Defiant queen. Loses focus. Call for help. Throat closed. Dry. Fused shut. Defiant body defies queen. No strength.
Glimmer of gold. Hand grasps bulbous metal. This time defies body. Pulls herself to standing. Alarm. Twist. Free. Exit queen. Darkness. Stumbles. Hands along a flat cool surface. Flat everywhere. Inside a cold rectangle. Forwards or backwards. Forwards. Alarm. Find a way out. More bulbous metal. Grabs metal. Pulls. Alarm fades. Good enough.
A cold cube. A porcelain palace. Fit for a queen. A royal palace? Dark. Feels her way along the smooth, flat surface. No slave girls. Alarm faint in the distance. Dead end. Panic. Alarm. Water above. Cleansing. Relaxing. Loosens the crust. Eyes wider. Calms her panic. Cools her fever. Water everywhere. Alarm still sounds. Moisture about her. Weighs down her eyelashes. Cooling. Storm. Swirling. Swaying. Sea legs. Water everywhere. Smells clean. Heat lingers. Head heavy with water. Sigh. Relax. Calm. Nurturing warmth. Refreshingly cool. Blink. Alarm. Cold dark cube.
Slippery now. Genuflect again. Dizzy. Feels around. Cotton. Soft. Fragrant. Warmth. Sore body. Soft skin. Fresh scent. Genuflect. Submissive queen. Submissive. Queen? Crawls. Flash of gold. Bulbous metal. Pull. Flat surface. Bulbous metal. Familiar. Been here before. Whisper of air across her skin. Chilled. Shiver. Cotton. Dry. Bends. Reaches. Shrouds her royal body in robes. Alarm. Warmth covers her head. A crown? Alarm. Aloof. Dizzy. Knees give in. Familiar. Trampoline. Unconscious. Begin again.
Intrusion. Pain. Lion on her lap. Lion? Dog? One head not three. Creature. Attack. Devouring queen. Panic. Alarm. Ears ring. Rolling. Writhing in pain. Fangs. Battle. Wrestle. A guard? Struggle. Exit? Break free. Run. Grasp metal. Slam.
Flat surface again. Inside cold rectangle. Stumbles. Nothing to grasp. Pain. Cut lip. Feels a lip. Close to edge. Close call. No guard. Shut in cube with the trampoline. Genuflect. Standing. Descends. Down. Into darkness. Foggy. Blurred vision. Hell? Slow. Gradated. Down. Down. Down. An eternity. A tickle on her neck. Panic. Chill. Wet hair. Relief. Descends. Sound. Twist. Creak. Movement above. Creature watches her. Frightened. Stalks her. Shaky. Slip. Trip. Grabs cylinder. Crash. Genuflect. Regroups. Breath. Descends. Bottom. Flat. A rumble. Fear. Where from? The creature? Where? Panic. What? Rumble. Why? Her body quivers. Rumble. Help. Pain. Desperate to exit.
Smell. Sweet. Fresh. Relief. Follows scent. Hands on the flat surface. Inside cold rectangle. Only forwards or backwards. Stronger. Sweeter. Lighter. End. A cavern. Luminous. Spacious. Echo. Something brushes by her. She braces herself. Hand on flat surface. It’s hot. Pain. Body quivers. Holds injured limb. Something cold now on her hand. A figure stands there. Ice. Others rush around her. Servants? The figure holds out a vessel. Warm. Fragrant. Reaches with her good hand. Sip. Swallow. Mmmm. Body relaxes. Nurturing warmth. Lay like Cleopatra. Heavy limbs. Calm. Pampered. Free. Splendour.
A bell. Alarm? Pandemonium. Figures scrambling. Shades? A rumble. Body quivers. Pain. Heat everywhere. Rumble. Clink. Hot rectangles thrust onto a disc. Sweet. A figure thrusts the disc at her. Body reacts. Mmmm. Rush. Adrenaline. Tingle through body. Vision hazy again. Alarm. Panic. Figures circling. Waving up high. Alarm stops. Time. Disc is gone. Clank into a metal basin. Figures now run. Swirling sight. Hazy cavern. Adrenaline. Panic. Pandemonium. Figure thrusts a sac at her. Heavy. Awkward. She slings the sac over her body. Possessions? All she will save. Exodus. Alarms ringing. Time. Dizzy. Closes eyes. Zones out. Opens. Alone. Figures gone. Slam. Panic. Exit. Forwards or backwards. Darkness. Light ahead. Hands along the flat surface. Glint of light. Bulbous metal. Twist. Escape. Overwhelming light. Blinded. Feels a lip. Stumbles. Broken lip. Eyes closed. Head hurting. Crisp air on her sweating body. Free. Sound of sirens. Loud whirring and whizzing. Chaos. Pandemonium. Confusion. Too many directions. Forwards. Eyes. Slits. Too much light. Chaos. Noise. Pandemonium. Things rush by her. Can’t see what they are. Shades? She follows in their wake. Eyes adjusting to the light. Smell. Fresh.
Light. Yellow. Red. Green. Figures move. Forwards. Follow like sheep. Exit? Escape? Where? Lost. Unsure. Cold. Blind. Stumbles. Concrete. Grass. Concrete. Figures. Crowds. Commotion. Why? Zone out. Keeps walking. Time lapse. Crash. Figure brushes by her. Startled. Lifts head. Looks up. Limestone. Cube. In? Metal. Pulls. Enters.
Flat surface again. Inside cold cavern. Stumbles. No guard. Ascends. Into light. Chemical smell. Blurred vision. Too bright. Slow. Slippery. Gradated. Up. Up. Up. An eternity. Sore legs. A tickle on her neck. Panic. Relax. Just hair. Chill. Wet hair. Relief. Ascends. Sound. Twist. Creak. Movement above. Creature? No. Figure. Relax. Regroups. Breath. Ascends. Top. Flat. Noise. Fear. Where from? The creature? Where? Panic. What? No. Why? Her body quivers. Relax. Figures. Friendly. Safe. Forwards or backwards. Forwards.
Another cavern. Fluorescent. Too much light. Injured retinas. Press eyes closed. Keep out light. Feels a lip. Stumbles. Metal. Chair. Falls down. Seated. Throne? Queen? No. Chair. Metal. Plastic. Student. Opens eyes. Slits. Light. Light. Light. Figure. Authority. Queen? Yes. Speaks. “Getting back to Shklovsky’s and Jakobsen’s concepts of literature…”. Confusion. Disruption. Heavy limbs. Blurred vision. Heavy head. Chill. Panic. Reality. Escape. Zone out. Alarum.