Gemotions

A tremor of a headache pulsed behind Sarah’s eyes. The sterile white walls of the laboratory seemed to blur around her. She squinted at the monitor, the graphs and data a chaotic jumble. This was the third all-nighter this week, chasing a breakthrough that refused to materialize.

“Just need to run one more test,” she mumbled, her voice thick and slow, echoing around the room. Her shoulders slumped. The invention, a device to convert ambient energy into usable power, had been her life's work. The patent search had come back negative; someone else, a shadowy corporation, had already filed a similar claim.

She reached for the coffee pot, but her hand felt heavy and unwieldy. The caffeine offered only fleeting relief these days. She slumped over the computer and tried to concentrate, but the light was a painful assault on her senses. It was all a hopeless blur.