The Plane

different from the one she had been looking for.

“Is this it?”

“You found it. Yeah.”

“You sure it's the same puzzle?”

“Yes.”

Cold didn't ask how she knew this – it wasn't important. All that mattered were their chances for survival. With a sigh, she started walking in a new circle around the light.

Minutes passed without disturbance. Cold didn't want to distract her, so she didn't say a word, but she couldn't keep her own thoughts from moving ahead. Everything she knew – her entire life – was less than half an hour old. If she had existed before that point, then all memories had been taken from her. But her mind was not one of an infant. She possessed extensive knowledge of a language that she couldn't name, understanding of concepts whose source was unknown to her, and a familiarity with a body of which she knew nothing. Whatever her world was, it was not natural. Something, or someone, must have designed her current state of being.

A drop of liquid hit her front limb, and she realized that she was crying. Squeezing her eyes tight for just a moment, Cold broke through the sorrow that clouded her mind, only to continue in her fruitless journey around the accurst shade of light.

More minutes passed, and Cold judged the likeliness of having fully circled