sound of steel

The first thing I noticed was the splitting headache I had.

It was all I could do to lie there until the pain went away. It felt like forever before I was able to start thinking coherently again.

I tried to get myself into a crawling position at the very least, but the pain struck down that idea very quickly.

'What happened? The last thing I remember... The exam?'

Another wave of agony cascaded over me.

'Yes, the exam. I... passed?'

I heard a massive crash that sent me into a new world of pain. It was a good thing that I was already on the floor cause the pain would have sent me there regardless.

I could hear people talking in a strange language as I spasmed.

Two people were talking to one another loudly. One of them must have said a joke cause I heard laughter followed by the clanging from various pieces of metal.

With no other choice but to lie there and play dead, I waited.

As the pain lessened, I was able to hear the familiar scribble of a pencil and the turning of paper. The periodical sound of metal interrupting their musings.

They seemed to be going around the room, cataloging something.

The process continued for some time and my head started to clear again.

They started to get louder, no. They're coming closer.

It wasn't until I heard the sound of a metal door swinging open next to me that I realized.

'It's me.'

A surge of fear enveloped my body as I tried to play dead. Giant hands turned me over this way and that.

They pulled at my limbs, moving them this way and that. My wings received a similar treatment with the addition of a viscous liquid being spread over them. They measured my hair and prodded the inside of my mouth with various tools. They also took several samples.

The most nerve-racking part; however, was my eyes. The people went and with their giant clumsy hands, used some tweezers to hold my eyelids open as they shone a light.

I tried to remember what I learned in class, but the pain was killing me. Especially with a giant light shining in my darkness adjusted eyes.

They eventually put me back down and shut the door. I still can't figure out if I fooled them, or they just didn't care.

I heard them move from door to door before eventually hearing the giant sound from earlier. It was probably just a door of a different material.

I counted to three-hundred before gingerly sitting up. I had to open my eyes slowly so that they had a chance to adjust.

Opening my eyes for the first time with clarity, I finally saw where I was.

I saw a colossal room filled with hundreds of cages just like mine.