Status: I'll try to upload chapters at least one every few days
Ditto
Reawakening
Darkness. A faint glow in the distance. Precarious footsteps. A rough voice muttering to itself,
“I am useless, I am useless, so useless…” The crying ceased. The light intensified, consumed all, and left a different voice;
“Aww, you are not useless.”
As the distant, blank images of sleep fell from my eyes, I was greeted by what looked like a hospital room. From the ceiling hung a yellow orb on a chain, which gave off light. Part of the room to my right had blue curtains partly hanging over it, revealing an empty bed inside. I looked to the bottom of my own bed to see the bearer of the soft voice – a small, blonde girl in thin blue robes.
“You… look peaceful when you sleep.” The girl bashfully smiled into her shoulder. I wondered who this girl was, and why she was here, not to mention where I was. My eyes glanced at her wrist, where a silver bracelet read the numbers “4-1-0-4”.
Her eyebrows rose expectantly, perhaps at my confused expression. Too right I was confused; I had woken up in a place that as far as I knew, I had never been before. A girl greeted my awakening whom I knew nothing of. Somehow, however, it all seemed distantly familiar. For now, I decided to go along with everything, until I could find out more. Something on a shelf behind the girl caught my eye; a small, rough looking book. As if reading my thoughts, she got up and left through the arched doorway on the right. Covers flew off me in my haste to jump out of bed and grab the book. Gold lettering adorned the front;
Subject no: 3-0-3-2
Subject? Is that me?
A metal bracelet on my wrist with the very same numbers engraved on to it answered my query. I opened the book to the most recently used page, which was headed with the date.
23/08/703
How old does that make me?
Childhood seemed an eternity ago, but was the only collection of memories available. Underneath was the following;
Ditto
Chair – stopped prematurely for unforeseen circumstances
The handwriting had changed from neat to a smaller, scrawled type at the bottom. I had no time to read on, however, as I could hear footsteps at the doorway and the door itself gusting an ever so slight noise into the room as it began to open. Before I knew it, I had put the book back and was back in bed.
After a few seconds passed without any more noise, I raised my head and checked the room. There was nothing unusual about it; all had looked as it did when the girl left. I got up from my bed, and decided to examine the other one in the room. On the cabinet next to the bed was another bound book entitled;
Subject number 4-1-0-4
The number rang a bell in my brain. Blurred images flicked through my hypnagogic mind of a blonde girl, a long walk, a floating grey mist. Upon the latest page was written, again, but a simple word.
Terminated.
She was dead!
Slowly, realization unclouded my mind. I remembered the night before; a friendly nurse, the chair, endless darkness. As images and facts reappeared in my mind, the door suddenly burst open. Startled, subconsciously aware that I was prying where I should not, I jumped back and tripped over my own leg. Falling to the floor, curtains crashed down on to me.
“Parius?” I heard someone whisper.
“Down here,” I sheepishly called back. A second later the curtains were pulled off me and I was met by a giggling young girl. Her face made something click in my mind - she was the one I met last night. It all came back to me in a flash, my belly rolling over in blissful realization.
“Hope” I smiled. She blushed.
“Yes, that would be me”, she stifled a grin, “but um, what are you doing down there?” she replied, concerned.
“Well I was… admiring the handiwork they put into these curtains.”
“They really are quite fantastic,” she chuckled, before switching to serious, “why are you still down there?” and helped me up out of the tangle of curtains and limbs. “So, how much do you remember?” she asked. “I know about the effects of their so-called ‘treatment’.” I told her how my memory went as far back as that morning and the day before was gradually coming back to me. Before that, I could only conjure up images of my childhood - I knew only my name, family, and friends when I was young. Nothing of my current situation, recent events, or the incident that placed me in the hospital, would enter my mind. There was nothing she could do.
“Well we should get out of here,” Hope finally said, looking sombre.
“Is it that easy?” I looked at her in disbelief. “How? Do you know the way out?”
“Just trust me… first we need to go to the room with our equipment and clothes. Where everyone’s things go once taken,” Hope explained.
Taken?
I guessed it would all be explained in due time.
“I will explain it all in due time,” Hope echoed my thoughts. I was right. For now, I would have to merely grin and bear it.
“So, where is this equipment store?” I asked, still apprehensive as to what this place was.
“I will show you, come on,” she demanded.
“Now?” I asked, taken aback by the interruption of my mental preparation.
“Yes, now, let us go,” and with that she took my hand and lead me out of the room. “Stay calm, look nonchalant,” she whispered to me as we walked, “I am just your nurse, taking you to a different ward, nothing out of the ordinary… got it?” I got it. I just wished I stopped sweating in anxiety. Hopefully, no-one would notice.
Several turns and corners through the corridors later. No suspicious looks from anyone, of which I was glad. The only problem was that we had been walking around for so long, I wondered if Hope had lost her way. A few minutes later, she pulled me into an empty room.
“I will have to leave you for a while,” she declared. “I will not be gone for long, and will meet you at the equipment store.”
“Where are you going?” I had to ask. “Do not make me go on by myself!”
“Keep quiet,” she pleaded, looking nervously to the door. “You will be fine. Just turn right when you go out of this room. Keep going until you see a large yellow circle above a huge door.”
“When will that be?”
“About 300 paces or so.”
“And the circle is green?”
“Yellow.”
“Yellow?”
“Yellow”.
“Got it.”
“Sure?”
“Sure. So… will that be it?”
“No. Ignore it. Turn left and then right at the next crossroads after that.”
“Then what?”
“Then, keep going. It will be a long corridor. At the end is a great staircase. Climb them to level 92. There’s only one way to go after that. Follow it.” I stared back at Hope, trying hard to remember the directions.
“Right, circle, left, right, corridor, stairs, 92,” I uttered. “Is that right?” Hope nodded, smiling. I felt more confident.
“Now, I really must go!” she exclaimed, and left through the doorway. It was only then, at the worst possible time, that I realized she never told me where she was going.
“I am useless, I am useless, so useless…” The crying ceased. The light intensified, consumed all, and left a different voice;
“Aww, you are not useless.”
As the distant, blank images of sleep fell from my eyes, I was greeted by what looked like a hospital room. From the ceiling hung a yellow orb on a chain, which gave off light. Part of the room to my right had blue curtains partly hanging over it, revealing an empty bed inside. I looked to the bottom of my own bed to see the bearer of the soft voice – a small, blonde girl in thin blue robes.
“You… look peaceful when you sleep.” The girl bashfully smiled into her shoulder. I wondered who this girl was, and why she was here, not to mention where I was. My eyes glanced at her wrist, where a silver bracelet read the numbers “4-1-0-4”.
Her eyebrows rose expectantly, perhaps at my confused expression. Too right I was confused; I had woken up in a place that as far as I knew, I had never been before. A girl greeted my awakening whom I knew nothing of. Somehow, however, it all seemed distantly familiar. For now, I decided to go along with everything, until I could find out more. Something on a shelf behind the girl caught my eye; a small, rough looking book. As if reading my thoughts, she got up and left through the arched doorway on the right. Covers flew off me in my haste to jump out of bed and grab the book. Gold lettering adorned the front;
Subject no: 3-0-3-2
Subject? Is that me?
A metal bracelet on my wrist with the very same numbers engraved on to it answered my query. I opened the book to the most recently used page, which was headed with the date.
23/08/703
How old does that make me?
Childhood seemed an eternity ago, but was the only collection of memories available. Underneath was the following;
Ditto
Chair – stopped prematurely for unforeseen circumstances
The handwriting had changed from neat to a smaller, scrawled type at the bottom. I had no time to read on, however, as I could hear footsteps at the doorway and the door itself gusting an ever so slight noise into the room as it began to open. Before I knew it, I had put the book back and was back in bed.
After a few seconds passed without any more noise, I raised my head and checked the room. There was nothing unusual about it; all had looked as it did when the girl left. I got up from my bed, and decided to examine the other one in the room. On the cabinet next to the bed was another bound book entitled;
Subject number 4-1-0-4
The number rang a bell in my brain. Blurred images flicked through my hypnagogic mind of a blonde girl, a long walk, a floating grey mist. Upon the latest page was written, again, but a simple word.
Terminated.
She was dead!
Slowly, realization unclouded my mind. I remembered the night before; a friendly nurse, the chair, endless darkness. As images and facts reappeared in my mind, the door suddenly burst open. Startled, subconsciously aware that I was prying where I should not, I jumped back and tripped over my own leg. Falling to the floor, curtains crashed down on to me.
“Parius?” I heard someone whisper.
“Down here,” I sheepishly called back. A second later the curtains were pulled off me and I was met by a giggling young girl. Her face made something click in my mind - she was the one I met last night. It all came back to me in a flash, my belly rolling over in blissful realization.
“Hope” I smiled. She blushed.
“Yes, that would be me”, she stifled a grin, “but um, what are you doing down there?” she replied, concerned.
“Well I was… admiring the handiwork they put into these curtains.”
“They really are quite fantastic,” she chuckled, before switching to serious, “why are you still down there?” and helped me up out of the tangle of curtains and limbs. “So, how much do you remember?” she asked. “I know about the effects of their so-called ‘treatment’.” I told her how my memory went as far back as that morning and the day before was gradually coming back to me. Before that, I could only conjure up images of my childhood - I knew only my name, family, and friends when I was young. Nothing of my current situation, recent events, or the incident that placed me in the hospital, would enter my mind. There was nothing she could do.
“Well we should get out of here,” Hope finally said, looking sombre.
“Is it that easy?” I looked at her in disbelief. “How? Do you know the way out?”
“Just trust me… first we need to go to the room with our equipment and clothes. Where everyone’s things go once taken,” Hope explained.
Taken?
I guessed it would all be explained in due time.
“I will explain it all in due time,” Hope echoed my thoughts. I was right. For now, I would have to merely grin and bear it.
“So, where is this equipment store?” I asked, still apprehensive as to what this place was.
“I will show you, come on,” she demanded.
“Now?” I asked, taken aback by the interruption of my mental preparation.
“Yes, now, let us go,” and with that she took my hand and lead me out of the room. “Stay calm, look nonchalant,” she whispered to me as we walked, “I am just your nurse, taking you to a different ward, nothing out of the ordinary… got it?” I got it. I just wished I stopped sweating in anxiety. Hopefully, no-one would notice.
Several turns and corners through the corridors later. No suspicious looks from anyone, of which I was glad. The only problem was that we had been walking around for so long, I wondered if Hope had lost her way. A few minutes later, she pulled me into an empty room.
“I will have to leave you for a while,” she declared. “I will not be gone for long, and will meet you at the equipment store.”
“Where are you going?” I had to ask. “Do not make me go on by myself!”
“Keep quiet,” she pleaded, looking nervously to the door. “You will be fine. Just turn right when you go out of this room. Keep going until you see a large yellow circle above a huge door.”
“When will that be?”
“About 300 paces or so.”
“And the circle is green?”
“Yellow.”
“Yellow?”
“Yellow”.
“Got it.”
“Sure?”
“Sure. So… will that be it?”
“No. Ignore it. Turn left and then right at the next crossroads after that.”
“Then what?”
“Then, keep going. It will be a long corridor. At the end is a great staircase. Climb them to level 92. There’s only one way to go after that. Follow it.” I stared back at Hope, trying hard to remember the directions.
“Right, circle, left, right, corridor, stairs, 92,” I uttered. “Is that right?” Hope nodded, smiling. I felt more confident.
“Now, I really must go!” she exclaimed, and left through the doorway. It was only then, at the worst possible time, that I realized she never told me where she was going.