New Structure

An arch split the walls in front of her, covering the road that leads into the city. She takes one step gingerly under and looks up at its interconnecting underside before quickly rushing through to the other side. The river follows her, flowing alongside the road and in amongst the buildings and so she stays beside it, walking aimlessly through the empty corridors between structures.

These went on for what seemed like hours before finally opening up into a wide square with the huge structure dominating its centre. She gapes before running toward it, hands outstretched, looking to grab hold, enter it somehow.

She collides with a piece that looks different to the rest, brown and cut straight down the middle, and she tumbles inside. She starts to smile but soon stops. It feels different, it doesn’t feel like anything, she can’t feel the walls in her, closing her and holding her. Something grabs her shoulder and so she screams, as loud as she can and whatever touched her jerks away.

She looks up to things looking at her, five twitching stumps of different sizes all tied to the same blobby middle. She screams again and they get further away. She stops screaming and they get a little closer. She screams again and they get further away. She stops screaming and they –

She feels the floor on her face and some thick liquid in her mouth that tastes like a door handle. Then whatever pushed her down yanks her to her feet and drags her further into the silent structure. She tries to scream again but her mouth won’t move and so she watches instead, waiting.