Dreams were passing by one after another. Just like the seasons.
There was the bitter breath of cigarette smoke on my lips.
"I fell asleep again," I thought, but as soon as I opened my eyes, I felt my cheeks aching.
My eyes got caught on the lightbulb on the low ceiling, emitting a terrible light.
I wanted to move my hands.
My freedom hit the hardness on my wrists and turned into dust. The rattle of chains was heard. The metal's ice-cold chill was felt. My fingers almost touched each other.
I turned my head slightly to the left. Because my right arm felt as if it were paralyzed.
"Where am I?" I asked, my voice was so thin that my vocal cords had deserted me.
The light flickered and trembled like a shivering human being.
At that moment, I heard "tap tap" sounds. The sound of someone typing on a keyboard.
My hands, my feet, and my entire body were tied to a bed.
The moment I realized I couldn't move, I stopped. My throat was parched. There was no point in struggling in vain.
"Are you awake?"
As soon as the voice reached my ears, my insides froze.
"Where am I?" I said groggily. I wasn't among the Walls. I rewound the latest events, but I couldn't establish any connection with the situation I was in now.
Footsteps came from the area that resembled a partition to my left.
It was a man wearing a doctor's coat. He had thin grey hair. He carried a cold-blooded expression in his eyes. His steps were like the traces a murderer leaves silently.
"It was time to remove the chip in your brain," he spoke harshly.
A rustle followed.
"W-what?"
"The chip in your neck," the doctor said calmly. First time I had seen someone so cruel yet so quick to offer an explanation. I mean, at least... In movies, murderers wouldn't explain things to victims, or attackers to fugitives. You'd get kidnapped and that would be it. They wouldn't tell you why they kidnapped you, or what you had missed in life.
"I had to take it out."
It had been a long time since I had forgotten the existence of the chip in my neck.
"Why... why did you even put it in there in the first place?" My wrists rubbed against the metal. The top of my forehead itched, but since I couldn't scratch it, I squeezed my eyes shut.
The man in the doctor's coat moved to the side of the shelf-table and began typing something on the keyboard again. Soon after, he left something on the table. I continued to look to the left.
"Doctor Fevzi Kibar. I am taking this record by the order of Mr. J. This is the Core, the Infirmary. Answer my question, what is your name?"
I looked at the doctor blankly and answered.
"Aysal Çetin."
It was as if there were a game here and I was trying to keep up with it. I was confused.
"Well, Ms. Aysal," said the doctor. He took a deep breath. "How do you feel?"
His gaze struck me.
He pulled up his chair, sat down, and lit the cigarette he took from his pocket.
"Deprived of freedom and kidnapped, obviously."
"Do you know why you are here?"
I thought. "You said it was to remove the chip..."
"Of course I said that," the doctor said informally. "But do you, more specifically, know why you are here?"
Ah! If only I knew. If only I knew why I was in this damn place, this stupid place where the smoke clogged my lungs!
"Why am I not among the Walls?" I asked. "Why did you take me out of there?"
The doctor looked towards the screen.
There was a short, searing silence.
"You have moved to an upper stage."
Suddenly, my nerves snapped. My lips... involuntarily curled to the side. I burst into laughter.
I could only realize what was happening a few seconds later.
"Is this a damn company that pays its employees minimum wage and promotes them to a higher rank with a few extra pennies?" The feeling of tension on my lips was more dominant now; I tried to relieve the dryness in my throat by licking them. The doctor moved.
"There is no longer a pattern of surrender in your brain." The doctor's lips were no different. There was a pleased expression on his face. "You are no longer a prey; how does that feel?"
"I don't understand you, you damn soul!" I said.
"These will not be recorded as crimes against you," the doctor smirked. "But talking is more attractive than swearing. Especially talking about the past." The doctor stood up. The sound of his footsteps echoed on the floor for a while.
I laughed a bit more, breathless in my bed. "Funny."
When the doctor leaned towards me, I saw a sharp contour on his face. He smiled before his lips turned into a single line.
"It's funny that you killed your husband, or..."
He looked with disgust while my heart pounded in my ears. "Should I say the Four Faces?"