Memories
Memories
Mark was lost. It was that simple and he knew it. He had awakened in a white-walled room with nothing in it but a table, a chair, and a glass of water. The water was half empty and he stared at it trying to remember how he had arrived at this location. Nothing came to mind. He was calm about his situation, believing that he had simply forgotten what he had done. It was a constant occurrence these days for Mark as he would often spend the days drinking and smoking. Mark was seventeen and he had a simple life. He would go to school, learn, then come home and drink and smoke all his pain away. Pain. Suddenly, his arm burned with a flaming sensation. He looked down to find his arm charred. His arm was severely burned and his calm expression suddenly changed as his eyes bulged wide.
“My God!!!” Mark yelled it out, shrieking at the top of his lungs. That’s when he found he was tired, incredibly tired. He was having trouble breathing and speaking, but to his surprise he found it was easy for him to stand. “Looks like ya finally woke up.” The voice came from the side of the room, where Mark found a small slit in the wall and eyes staring back at him. “Where am I?” The words left Mark’s mouth before he even thought about them. “Aww, what’s wrong? Little Timmy missing his mommy.” The person’s tone was very mocking, but Mark held no feelings of animosity. He remained stoic and responded “No. I just want to know where I am.” The person responded instantly with a parody of his words “No. I just want to know where I am.” The person was laughing and Mark, uncaring, simply walked to the chair and sat down. “Hey, you, what’s ya name?” Mark remained silent. “Are you mad?” the person’s tone was questioning, but it held no feelings of remorse. Mark, still careless, answered with a solemn “No.” The person laughed and responded “Well, that’s good. Wouldn’t want to piss ya off.”
Mark ignored the person and stared at the white door in front of him. He noticed how it blended in with the walls and the marble, white floors. “Those doors don’t open from the inside do they?” The person responded back “Do ya see any handles?” Mark was silent. “Hey, let me ask ya, what ya in here for?” Mark didn’t know how to answer that question. He didn’t remember a thing, and when he tried thinking about it, nothing would come to mind. He responded “Don’t know.” The person laughed and responded “So, you’re one o’ those kinds of crazy.” Mark’s gaze quickly shifted to the person’s eyes as the accusation was made. To his surprise he found that the eyes were extremely feminine. “Guess ya just noticed I’m a girl. It’s not uncommon in here. Ya gonna get stuck in here for a long time, and they figure ya might as well have some ‘therapeutic’ company around. Whatever the hell that means.”
Mark was confused and it was clearly shown on his face as the girl then responded “The name’s Crystal. Like a special kind of drug, but don’t worry I’m not an addict or anything, just tried it once. Man, it was quite the drug...” Mark grew uncomfortable and interrupted with “Can we not talk about that.” Mark smoked, but he never smoked with anyone, and he surely didn’t talk about it with others. “Hey, didn’t you yell something earlier what was that about? I thought it was cause o’ the fact that you were stuck in here, but...” She droned off as she recognized the dumbfounded look on Mark’s face as he stared at his arm. Mark was clearly surprised and without further thought he cried out “What the f...” He didn’t get to finish as the words “Don’t” quickly cut him off. “Cursing in here is” She changed her tone to sound like an old man “a dissipation of the edifying experience that is this therapy. It is an indefatigable equivocation of the human language, that the most naive people use. You’re not naive are you?” She finished the question with a laugh, but to Mark it was a serious question. Was Mark naive? In fact, Mark didn’t know anything about himself except for his name and his habit of drinking and smoking. Why was that?
“Your water is what made you hallucinate.” Crystal’s words cut through Mark’s thoughts like a knife through paper. “They drug the water. It’s happened to me a couple of times. The drug makes you forget everything.” Her tone saddened “Well, almost everything.” Mark could see the pain in Crystal’s eyes fade away as she quickly regained her composure. “but that’s just all part of their plan. You see we’re in therapy cause our parents didn’t like how we are. So, they sent us here to get brainwashed into some different lifestyle, but I’m not gonna fall for that. You can’t either, ya here?” Her enthusiasm made Mark smile. “I honestly can’t remember who I was before.” Crystal was quick to respond “It’s not about who you were before. You are who you are, memories don’t define you.” BZZ!!!
The noise stopped Mark’s thoughts before he could even think about what Crystal had said. The sound of rushing wind could be heard in Crystal’s room, and Crystal backed away from what Mark assumed was her door. A person had walked into the room. All Mark could see was the person’s black pants from where he was sitting. “Crystal Powers, we have orders to remove you from this area. I will escort you to the Director.” Crystal was furious, Mark could tell in her tone. “Screw you!!! I’m not going anywhere. I’m doing exactly what ya guys want me ta do, and thats talk. So, leave me the hell alone.” The person simply walked closer to Crystal, and Mark, slightly worried, knelt on his knees to see what was going on. He now could see that the person was a man in a suit, but he still couldn’t see the man’s face as the slit wasn’t big enough. “Get off of me! Stop touching me” Her cries turned more frantic as if she realised that she might be forcibly taken away. “Stop! Let go! Please, Please leave me alone!” Her screams turned to sobs “Please...Please” She was fighting back still, but the man could care less, as he continued to grab her in an attempt to pull her out of the room.
“Leave her the hell alone! Don’t you think she’s had enough?” The man simply yelled across “Shut up! This isn’t any of your business.” BZZ!!! The sound rang out again, but this time it was Mark’s door that opened. Another man in a suit walked in and stated “Don’t worry I’m not here to assault you. The Director said that if you drink the rest of your water you won’t have to move anywhere.” The man then proceeded to drop a white pill into the water. The water turned into a milky white, then faded back to it’s clear form. Mark walked up to the table and picked up the glass. Crystal’s screams still echoed through to his room. He looked at the man in front of him, and realized what he had to do.
He quickly smashed the glass on top of the man’s head. He fell to the ground limp and lifeless. Mark walked out of the room and entered Crystal’s. The man was still wrestling with the sobbing Crystal. Mark brought his fist into the side of the man’s head. The man hit the wall hard and immediately raised his hands to fight back. Mark threw a punch, but to his dismay it was blocked. The man returned with a punch straight to the face. Mark stumbled back, and as he did this the man brought out an injection from his pocket. Mark quickly rushed him and took the man’s hand and guided it into the man’s body. Within seconds the man was as limp and lifeless as Mark’s previous opponent.
“You ok.” Mark was out of breath and Crystal was just getting over her fit of tears. “Yeah...but we need to get out of here. Now!” They both stood up and left the room, running aimlessly through the hallways. All the while, hearing footsteps behind them. They turned the corner and found a door labeled EXIT. “Convenient” laughed Crystal. The relieving thought of escape had made both Mark and Crystal bubbly with laughter. “After you.” Mark replied. Crystal pushed at the door and found to her dismay that it was locked. “HALT!” A click was heard and then Crystal cried out. Mark turned and found an injection stuck inside her back. The other men had caught up and they raised their weapons at Mark. “That won’t be necessary.” The voice came from directly behind the guards. The guards moved out of the way and let an old man walk through. Mark noticed the door behind him and noticed the label which read “THE DIRECTOR”.
The old man limped on a cane, and in his one outstretched hand he held a glass of water. “You have three simple options ahead of you, so listen well.” The old man pushed the glass into Mark’s hand. “You can run, in which case my men will shoot you, you can just let my men shoot you now, or” the old man pointed to the glass “you can drink the water. Do whatever you think is easiest.” Mark turned to Crystal for guidance, but found that she was incapacitated on the ground. Mark turned back to the old man. “What makes you think I’ll drink this willingly?” The old man simply smiled and replied “Why, you drank it the other five times I offered you, and you knew what the consequences were.” Mark was silent. He didn’t remember it, but then again how could he have. He stared down at the water, then drank it. He left half of the water remaining in the glass. “You always leave it with half it’s contents.” stated the Director. “half empty” replied Mark. “Does it really matter if it’s half empty or half full?” The old man had asked Mark, expectant for an answer. Mark shook his head and responded “No, I guess not. Either way half of it is missing.”, and with that he fell to the ground exhausted. The old man was smiling “You always say that.”
Mark woke up in bed next to a girl he had never met. They were snuggled close together, and somehow he felt happy next to her. He couldn’t remember how he got there, or why the girl was with him, but somehow it all felt...right. The girl slowly woke up and smiled when she noticed me eying her. “I guess I might have stayed the night on accident. I’ll get ready for school in the bathroom. She leaned in and quickly stole a kiss from Mark’s lips, and it gave Mark this warm feeling inside. She then quickly bounced out of bed and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Mark didn’t understand what was going on, but he liked it. Loved it in fact. Somehow he felt as if this was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and all he did was wake up. He stood up and opened the drawer to his right. He didn’t know why he did it, but something in his head said “open it”. To Mark’s surprise there was a note that read “Mark don’t fall for it. It’s a trap and they want you to change, but don’t. It’s too late for me, I think I’m gonna crack tomorrow, but you can still fight it. You have to remember me. -Crystal” BZZ!!! The sound was the vibration from a phone sitting on top of the same drawer. Mark picked up and heard an old man say “Throw it out in the trash and you’ll continue to live this happy life.” Then he hung up. Mark looked at the note, then stood up and made his way to the trash can next to the drawer. “I am who I am.” he said this while ripping the note in his hands. Then he proceeded to throw it out. “My memories don’t define me.”
“My God!!!” Mark yelled it out, shrieking at the top of his lungs. That’s when he found he was tired, incredibly tired. He was having trouble breathing and speaking, but to his surprise he found it was easy for him to stand. “Looks like ya finally woke up.” The voice came from the side of the room, where Mark found a small slit in the wall and eyes staring back at him. “Where am I?” The words left Mark’s mouth before he even thought about them. “Aww, what’s wrong? Little Timmy missing his mommy.” The person’s tone was very mocking, but Mark held no feelings of animosity. He remained stoic and responded “No. I just want to know where I am.” The person responded instantly with a parody of his words “No. I just want to know where I am.” The person was laughing and Mark, uncaring, simply walked to the chair and sat down. “Hey, you, what’s ya name?” Mark remained silent. “Are you mad?” the person’s tone was questioning, but it held no feelings of remorse. Mark, still careless, answered with a solemn “No.” The person laughed and responded “Well, that’s good. Wouldn’t want to piss ya off.”
Mark ignored the person and stared at the white door in front of him. He noticed how it blended in with the walls and the marble, white floors. “Those doors don’t open from the inside do they?” The person responded back “Do ya see any handles?” Mark was silent. “Hey, let me ask ya, what ya in here for?” Mark didn’t know how to answer that question. He didn’t remember a thing, and when he tried thinking about it, nothing would come to mind. He responded “Don’t know.” The person laughed and responded “So, you’re one o’ those kinds of crazy.” Mark’s gaze quickly shifted to the person’s eyes as the accusation was made. To his surprise he found that the eyes were extremely feminine. “Guess ya just noticed I’m a girl. It’s not uncommon in here. Ya gonna get stuck in here for a long time, and they figure ya might as well have some ‘therapeutic’ company around. Whatever the hell that means.”
Mark was confused and it was clearly shown on his face as the girl then responded “The name’s Crystal. Like a special kind of drug, but don’t worry I’m not an addict or anything, just tried it once. Man, it was quite the drug...” Mark grew uncomfortable and interrupted with “Can we not talk about that.” Mark smoked, but he never smoked with anyone, and he surely didn’t talk about it with others. “Hey, didn’t you yell something earlier what was that about? I thought it was cause o’ the fact that you were stuck in here, but...” She droned off as she recognized the dumbfounded look on Mark’s face as he stared at his arm. Mark was clearly surprised and without further thought he cried out “What the f...” He didn’t get to finish as the words “Don’t” quickly cut him off. “Cursing in here is” She changed her tone to sound like an old man “a dissipation of the edifying experience that is this therapy. It is an indefatigable equivocation of the human language, that the most naive people use. You’re not naive are you?” She finished the question with a laugh, but to Mark it was a serious question. Was Mark naive? In fact, Mark didn’t know anything about himself except for his name and his habit of drinking and smoking. Why was that?
“Your water is what made you hallucinate.” Crystal’s words cut through Mark’s thoughts like a knife through paper. “They drug the water. It’s happened to me a couple of times. The drug makes you forget everything.” Her tone saddened “Well, almost everything.” Mark could see the pain in Crystal’s eyes fade away as she quickly regained her composure. “but that’s just all part of their plan. You see we’re in therapy cause our parents didn’t like how we are. So, they sent us here to get brainwashed into some different lifestyle, but I’m not gonna fall for that. You can’t either, ya here?” Her enthusiasm made Mark smile. “I honestly can’t remember who I was before.” Crystal was quick to respond “It’s not about who you were before. You are who you are, memories don’t define you.” BZZ!!!
The noise stopped Mark’s thoughts before he could even think about what Crystal had said. The sound of rushing wind could be heard in Crystal’s room, and Crystal backed away from what Mark assumed was her door. A person had walked into the room. All Mark could see was the person’s black pants from where he was sitting. “Crystal Powers, we have orders to remove you from this area. I will escort you to the Director.” Crystal was furious, Mark could tell in her tone. “Screw you!!! I’m not going anywhere. I’m doing exactly what ya guys want me ta do, and thats talk. So, leave me the hell alone.” The person simply walked closer to Crystal, and Mark, slightly worried, knelt on his knees to see what was going on. He now could see that the person was a man in a suit, but he still couldn’t see the man’s face as the slit wasn’t big enough. “Get off of me! Stop touching me” Her cries turned more frantic as if she realised that she might be forcibly taken away. “Stop! Let go! Please, Please leave me alone!” Her screams turned to sobs “Please...Please” She was fighting back still, but the man could care less, as he continued to grab her in an attempt to pull her out of the room.
“Leave her the hell alone! Don’t you think she’s had enough?” The man simply yelled across “Shut up! This isn’t any of your business.” BZZ!!! The sound rang out again, but this time it was Mark’s door that opened. Another man in a suit walked in and stated “Don’t worry I’m not here to assault you. The Director said that if you drink the rest of your water you won’t have to move anywhere.” The man then proceeded to drop a white pill into the water. The water turned into a milky white, then faded back to it’s clear form. Mark walked up to the table and picked up the glass. Crystal’s screams still echoed through to his room. He looked at the man in front of him, and realized what he had to do.
He quickly smashed the glass on top of the man’s head. He fell to the ground limp and lifeless. Mark walked out of the room and entered Crystal’s. The man was still wrestling with the sobbing Crystal. Mark brought his fist into the side of the man’s head. The man hit the wall hard and immediately raised his hands to fight back. Mark threw a punch, but to his dismay it was blocked. The man returned with a punch straight to the face. Mark stumbled back, and as he did this the man brought out an injection from his pocket. Mark quickly rushed him and took the man’s hand and guided it into the man’s body. Within seconds the man was as limp and lifeless as Mark’s previous opponent.
“You ok.” Mark was out of breath and Crystal was just getting over her fit of tears. “Yeah...but we need to get out of here. Now!” They both stood up and left the room, running aimlessly through the hallways. All the while, hearing footsteps behind them. They turned the corner and found a door labeled EXIT. “Convenient” laughed Crystal. The relieving thought of escape had made both Mark and Crystal bubbly with laughter. “After you.” Mark replied. Crystal pushed at the door and found to her dismay that it was locked. “HALT!” A click was heard and then Crystal cried out. Mark turned and found an injection stuck inside her back. The other men had caught up and they raised their weapons at Mark. “That won’t be necessary.” The voice came from directly behind the guards. The guards moved out of the way and let an old man walk through. Mark noticed the door behind him and noticed the label which read “THE DIRECTOR”.
The old man limped on a cane, and in his one outstretched hand he held a glass of water. “You have three simple options ahead of you, so listen well.” The old man pushed the glass into Mark’s hand. “You can run, in which case my men will shoot you, you can just let my men shoot you now, or” the old man pointed to the glass “you can drink the water. Do whatever you think is easiest.” Mark turned to Crystal for guidance, but found that she was incapacitated on the ground. Mark turned back to the old man. “What makes you think I’ll drink this willingly?” The old man simply smiled and replied “Why, you drank it the other five times I offered you, and you knew what the consequences were.” Mark was silent. He didn’t remember it, but then again how could he have. He stared down at the water, then drank it. He left half of the water remaining in the glass. “You always leave it with half it’s contents.” stated the Director. “half empty” replied Mark. “Does it really matter if it’s half empty or half full?” The old man had asked Mark, expectant for an answer. Mark shook his head and responded “No, I guess not. Either way half of it is missing.”, and with that he fell to the ground exhausted. The old man was smiling “You always say that.”
Mark woke up in bed next to a girl he had never met. They were snuggled close together, and somehow he felt happy next to her. He couldn’t remember how he got there, or why the girl was with him, but somehow it all felt...right. The girl slowly woke up and smiled when she noticed me eying her. “I guess I might have stayed the night on accident. I’ll get ready for school in the bathroom. She leaned in and quickly stole a kiss from Mark’s lips, and it gave Mark this warm feeling inside. She then quickly bounced out of bed and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Mark didn’t understand what was going on, but he liked it. Loved it in fact. Somehow he felt as if this was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and all he did was wake up. He stood up and opened the drawer to his right. He didn’t know why he did it, but something in his head said “open it”. To Mark’s surprise there was a note that read “Mark don’t fall for it. It’s a trap and they want you to change, but don’t. It’s too late for me, I think I’m gonna crack tomorrow, but you can still fight it. You have to remember me. -Crystal” BZZ!!! The sound was the vibration from a phone sitting on top of the same drawer. Mark picked up and heard an old man say “Throw it out in the trash and you’ll continue to live this happy life.” Then he hung up. Mark looked at the note, then stood up and made his way to the trash can next to the drawer. “I am who I am.” he said this while ripping the note in his hands. Then he proceeded to throw it out. “My memories don’t define me.”