The Click Click Click of the Metronome

758 Words2 Pages

For the past five years, perhaps longer, the only things I hear are my own raspy breaths and a constant, monotonous, clicking noise. That, and the walls of my box, are enough to drive anyone past the brink of sanity. For me, it already has. I live in a box. Twenty feet high, twenty feet long, twenty feet wide. A perfect cube. The floor, ceiling, and walls are covered with one long, continuous mirror, replicating itself and every one of my miniscule movements. Not only that, but it seems like I am suspended in space: The mirrors reflect the other mirrors, which reflect other mirrors, creating an endless cycle and infinite passageways that always have a solid door. I can never escape; I have tried to every day for the past five years. In my cube, there is one light source, located in an upper corner. This puts off an amber glow in my entire room, ricocheting off the mirrors. Who knew one could be so tired of gold? Directly underneath the light sits my bed. It is only a thin mattress with white linens covering it. Next to that is a hole that I have been using as a toilet. My life consists of the same repetition day after day, week after week, month after month. I wake up, eat, try to escape, eat, try to escape, then listen to the subtle click-click-click until I fall asleep. A movement catches my eye, which isn’t rare considering I can see myself and my environment from every possible angle. It’s breakfast, consisting of a chunk of stale bread and a cup of water. I devour it quickly. Click-click-click. You may think that after half a decade of hearing the same sound you would learn to tune it out. No. It only makes the flame of desire to find the source more prominent. Click-click-click. Today, I feel frantic. Some da... ... middle of paper ... ... teeth towards the man's eyes. Everything went black. Then it went silent. +++ Two people in lab coats stand over a computer monitor. Occasionally, they bend down to write notes on their observations. On the screen, there is a box. Its only inhabitant for the past five years has been a middle-aged man. Now, he flails around hopelessly, swinging at air. Tears stream down his face. According to the clock on the monitor, this goes on for two hours. Finally, he stops moving, and seems to stare intently at the camera. He gives off a bloodcurdling shriek, cut off abruptly seconds later. The heart monitor beeps twice, and lets out a consistent whine. A straight line is displayed on the screen. The observers look at each other, raise their eyebrows, and begin writing. When they’ve finished, the older one looks at the younger and speaks. “Bring in the next subject.”

More about The Click Click Click of the Metronome

Open Document