Experiment | Alcina Dimitrescu

You wake up slowly, like your body is dragging itself back from somewhere far away.

The first thing you notice is the cold.

It seeps into your skin, into your bones, the kind of cold that doesn’t belong in a normal place. Your fingers twitch against the floor and the texture makes your stomach turn. Too smooth. Too perfect. Artificial.

You open your eyes.

White.

Black.

Nothing else.

The space around you stretches into narrow corridors and low tunnels, all sharp angles and boxed shapes, like something meant to be crawled through. It reminds you of a children’s playpen, but stripped of everything comforting. No color, no softness, no warmth. Just an endless, suffocating maze.

Your breath catches.

You don’t remember how you got here.

Your heart starts beating faster as you push yourself up onto your elbows, head spinning slightly. You look around, trying to find anything familiar, anything that makes sense.

There’s nothing.

Then you turn your head.

And your breath stops completely.

There’s someone lying next to you.

A woman.

A very tall woman.

Even on the ground, she looks… wrong. Too long, too elegant, like her body was never meant to fit into a space like this. Her skin is pale, unnaturally so, almost blending into the stark white around her. Her black hair is messy, strands falling across her face, but you can tell it used to be styled with care.

And she’s completely naked.

Your face heats up instantly and you look away, then back again because you can’t not look. It doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense.

Then you notice the marks.

Red lipstick stains, scattered across one of her arms. Messy, overlapping, like someone kept pressing kisses into her skin over and over again for no clear reason.

“What the hell…” you whisper.

She moves.

A small shift at first, then a deeper breath as her chest rises. Your body tenses immediately, unsure if you should back away or stay still.

Her eyes open.

Dark, sharp, aware far too quickly.

For a moment, she just looks at you.

Then she sits up slowly, completely unbothered by her state, carrying herself with a kind of quiet authority that doesn’t belong in a place like this.

“You’re new,” she says, voice low and smooth.

You blink. “New? What do you mean new? Where are we?”

She studies you, then glances around like she’s already seen this all before.

“My name is Alcina,” she says. “And this… is not the first time I have woken up here.”

A chill runs through you. “You’re joking.”

“I am not.”

You push yourself up fully now, panic starting to settle in your chest. “Okay, then explain. Because I don’t remember anything and I’m not staying here.”

Alcina’s gaze softens slightly, but there’s something tired behind it.

“I lose consciousness,” she says. “And when I wake, I am always here. At the beginning. And there is always someone else.”

Your stomach drops. “Someone like me.”

“Yes.”

“And you remember all of them?”

A pause.

“…I do.”

The way she says it makes your skin crawl.

“But after some time,” she continues quietly, “something happens. I do not remember what comes after.”

You swallow hard. “Then we leave before that happens.”

She looks at you again, like she’s measuring something.

“…We can try.”

The corridors force you down quickly, the space narrowing until you have no choice but to crawl. Your hands press against the cold surface as you follow behind her, trying not to think about how trapped you feel.

Alcina moves ahead of you with surprising ease, like she already knows how to navigate this place.

“It’s different,” she murmurs.

“What is?”

“The layout. It changes.”

Of course it does. Your chest tightens.

You keep moving anyway.

Turn after turn, the maze stretches on endlessly. The air feels still, heavy. Every sound you make echoes just enough to remind you how alone you are.

“Do you feel anything?” you ask quietly. “Like something’s wrong?”

“Not yet,” she replies.

Not yet. The words stick with you. Then she stops. Your stomach twists.

You believe her.

And that might be the worst part.

Because whatever this place is, whatever is happening to her

it’s going to happen again.You almost bump into her.

“Alcina?”

No answer.

Her shoulders tense.

Then they jerk.

A small tremor runs through her body, then another, stronger this time. Her hands press harder into the floor like she’s trying to hold herself together.

“…No,” she whispers.

Your pulse spikes. “What’s happening?”

“Run,” she says, her voice strained.

“What?”

“Run and hide,” she snaps, something breaking through her calm. “Do not let me find you.”

Your blood runs cold.

“Alcina, what are you talking about?”

Her body spasms suddenly, a sharp, unnatural movement that makes you flinch back.

Then she goes still.

For one second, everything is silent. Then she lifts her head. Her eyes lock onto you. And they are completely wrong.

Wide. Empty. Hungry.

A sound rips from her throat, something between a shriek and a growl, and your body reacts before your mind does.

You run.

Your hands slam against the floor as you scramble forward, crawling as fast as you can through the narrow corridors. Your breathing turns ragged instantly, panic clawing its way up your throat.

Behind you, something moves.

Fast.

Too fast.

You hear it.

The scrape of limbs against the floor, the echo of something large forcing itself through the maze with terrifying speed.

A distorted scream follows you, high and unhinged, bouncing off the walls so you can’t tell where it’s coming from.

You don’t look back.

You can’t.

You take a sharp turn, then another, your hands slipping slightly as you push yourself faster. Your knees burn but you don’t stop.

Hide.

You need to hide.

You spot a small opening to the side, barely big enough, and throw yourself into it, pressing your body flat against the cold surface. You clamp a hand over your mouth, trying to quiet your breathing.

Silence.

For a moment, there is nothing.

Then you hear it.

Slow movement.

Closer.

A soft dragging sound, like fingertips brushing along the walls.

Your heart pounds so loudly you’re sure it will give you away.

Please don’t see me.

The sound stops right outside.

You squeeze your eyes shut.

A breath.

Then suddenly a hand shoots into the space.

Cold fingers wrap around your ankle.

You scream.

Your body jerks as you’re dragged out, nails scraping uselessly against the floor as you try to hold on to anything.

“Please, stop, please!” you cry, your voice breaking.

You’re pulled into the open.

And she’s there.

Towering over you, her face twisted into something feral. Her lips are parted, saliva slipping down her chin, her eyes darting wildly like she can’t focus but somehow sees everything at once.

You try to pull away but her grip tightens.

“Don’t,” you beg, tears spilling over. “Please don’t hurt me.”

She leans closer.

And then suddenly her body goes completely limp.

Her grip loosens.

And she collapses.

Right on top of you.

The weight knocks the air out of your lungs and you freeze, too shocked to even move. Her body is still, heavy, her skin cold against yours.

Time stretches.

You don’t know how long you lay there, too scared to push her off, too scared to breathe too loudly.

Then,

Alcina stirs. A soft groan escapes her lips as she slowly lifts her head, blinking like she’s just waking up.

“…What…” she murmurs, disoriented.

Her eyes focus. And land on her. Confusion floods her features.

“…Why are you crying?” Alcina asks quietly.

Her breath shatters.

“You.” she chokes out, voice trembling violently. “You tried to, you—”

Her hands shake uncontrollably as she tries to push herself back, away from her.

Alcina’s expression shifts, fear creeping in.

“…What happened?” she asks.

Your stomach twists. You believe her.

And that might be the worst part. Because whatever this place is, whatever is happening to her

it’s going to happen again.