Status: In Progress
The Strange Familiar
Chapter One – Wine Red
She woke up to the sound of pouring rain and the steady beep of the heart monitor. One was decidedly more soothing than the other and it certainly wasn't the latter. Her icy-blue gaze calmly took in her bland surroundings, noting that despite the heavy downpour the long, faded blue curtains had been pulled back from the window allowing her to glimpse the world beyond her hospital room.
It was dark, perhaps well past midnight, yet ferocious forks of lightning streaked across the sky momentarily bringing light to the chaos. The rain slammed heavily against the windowpane from the viciousness of the wild winds. She could feel the heavy, low bass of the thunder shake the very foundation of the building and pass straight through her. It was perhaps the greatest storm of the century and yet, she wasn’t the least bit afraid of its untamable rage.
Something unexplainable kept her calm when she should have been anxious at the very least. She felt as though she should greet its fury like an old friend, rather than a stranger. Each deep roll of thunder, each blinding strike of lightning, the howling of the wind and the stinging rain was a symphony meant just for her. It was as if all the extreme feats of nature were saying in one strong voice ‘welcome back’. That shouldn’t have been comforting, but for her it was.
Eventually, her gaze drifted from the outside world to survey her surroundings. The room she was in was rather bland as far as decorations went and very cramped. She would not be able to have many visitors, if there was anyone at all. There was only a small, beat up looking closet in the closest corner, a half-cracked door that lead to an even smaller bathroom and a tacky faded blue hued chair in the farthest corner near the window.
She blinked slowly, before her gaze narrowed in on the sole piece of furniture in the room, her attention seemingly drawn to it. At first she was confused as to why the ugly chair needed such deep scrutiny. There was nothing remarkable about it, and yet some deep feeling told her that it wasn’t right. Something was off about it. She studied it for several more moments, before she found what was bothering her about it.
There was a distinct imprint and wrinkles left on the otherwise smooth surface. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise and her heartbeat sped up in excitement. Someone had been in that chair very recently, she realized without actually knowing just how she knew this as a fact. To leave such an indent they had to have been there for quite a while and it could not have been long since they had to have departed.
Perhaps it was someone who knew her, someone who would have answers to all of her questions. Maybe she wasn’t alone after all. But, where was this person now and more importantly, when were they going to come back? Would it be tonight or tomorrow, perhaps? She hoped that whoever this mystery person was would return sooner rather than later. She didn't want to be alone with the stranger that was herself anymore.
Minutes passed in relative silence before she realized that her right hand was cold and not beneath the thin off-white blanket that covered the rest of her body. Just flexing her fingers seemed to take much more effort than it should have. It was when she tried to move her arm under the sheet and had far too much trouble than was necessary that she realized just how utterly weak her body was. It was as if she had been inactive for quite a long while and her muscles had gone lax from the lack of use.
Had she truly been lying in the hospital bed that long? And more importantly, what had been the cause behind such a long period of hospitalization? The more her thoughts lingered on all the unanswered questions the more palpable her rising panic became. The heart monitor's pace began to quicken and the sound became next to piercing in the quiet room.
Over the annoying dirge she was able to make out the sound of multiple hurried footfalls and a jumble of raised worried voices just seconds before the door was violently thrown open and her room was swarmed by all too familiar white coated people. No! Her mind screamed and warm tears began to spill down her cheeks as they drew ever nearer to her pathetic helpless form. She didn't want those people to touch her ever again.
A ragged, desperate scream of "Don't touch me!" tore from her raw throat just as their gloved hands brushed against her skin.
"What the fuck is going on?" A harsh, commanding voice cut through the chaos in a near roar and it was as if time suddenly decided to stand still. All motions stopped, including hers. She could only stare wide-eyed at the tall, dark clothed man standing in the doorway staring everyone in the room down with furious and clearly annoyed wine red irises rimmed with intimidating dark scars.
This person... somehow she knew this person. The frightening aura accompanied by a low almost hoarse voice that demanded nothing less than total subservience was somehow familiar enough to obliterate all of her panic in an instant.
It was dark, perhaps well past midnight, yet ferocious forks of lightning streaked across the sky momentarily bringing light to the chaos. The rain slammed heavily against the windowpane from the viciousness of the wild winds. She could feel the heavy, low bass of the thunder shake the very foundation of the building and pass straight through her. It was perhaps the greatest storm of the century and yet, she wasn’t the least bit afraid of its untamable rage.
Something unexplainable kept her calm when she should have been anxious at the very least. She felt as though she should greet its fury like an old friend, rather than a stranger. Each deep roll of thunder, each blinding strike of lightning, the howling of the wind and the stinging rain was a symphony meant just for her. It was as if all the extreme feats of nature were saying in one strong voice ‘welcome back’. That shouldn’t have been comforting, but for her it was.
Eventually, her gaze drifted from the outside world to survey her surroundings. The room she was in was rather bland as far as decorations went and very cramped. She would not be able to have many visitors, if there was anyone at all. There was only a small, beat up looking closet in the closest corner, a half-cracked door that lead to an even smaller bathroom and a tacky faded blue hued chair in the farthest corner near the window.
She blinked slowly, before her gaze narrowed in on the sole piece of furniture in the room, her attention seemingly drawn to it. At first she was confused as to why the ugly chair needed such deep scrutiny. There was nothing remarkable about it, and yet some deep feeling told her that it wasn’t right. Something was off about it. She studied it for several more moments, before she found what was bothering her about it.
There was a distinct imprint and wrinkles left on the otherwise smooth surface. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise and her heartbeat sped up in excitement. Someone had been in that chair very recently, she realized without actually knowing just how she knew this as a fact. To leave such an indent they had to have been there for quite a while and it could not have been long since they had to have departed.
Perhaps it was someone who knew her, someone who would have answers to all of her questions. Maybe she wasn’t alone after all. But, where was this person now and more importantly, when were they going to come back? Would it be tonight or tomorrow, perhaps? She hoped that whoever this mystery person was would return sooner rather than later. She didn't want to be alone with the stranger that was herself anymore.
Minutes passed in relative silence before she realized that her right hand was cold and not beneath the thin off-white blanket that covered the rest of her body. Just flexing her fingers seemed to take much more effort than it should have. It was when she tried to move her arm under the sheet and had far too much trouble than was necessary that she realized just how utterly weak her body was. It was as if she had been inactive for quite a long while and her muscles had gone lax from the lack of use.
Had she truly been lying in the hospital bed that long? And more importantly, what had been the cause behind such a long period of hospitalization? The more her thoughts lingered on all the unanswered questions the more palpable her rising panic became. The heart monitor's pace began to quicken and the sound became next to piercing in the quiet room.
Over the annoying dirge she was able to make out the sound of multiple hurried footfalls and a jumble of raised worried voices just seconds before the door was violently thrown open and her room was swarmed by all too familiar white coated people. No! Her mind screamed and warm tears began to spill down her cheeks as they drew ever nearer to her pathetic helpless form. She didn't want those people to touch her ever again.
A ragged, desperate scream of "Don't touch me!" tore from her raw throat just as their gloved hands brushed against her skin.
"What the fuck is going on?" A harsh, commanding voice cut through the chaos in a near roar and it was as if time suddenly decided to stand still. All motions stopped, including hers. She could only stare wide-eyed at the tall, dark clothed man standing in the doorway staring everyone in the room down with furious and clearly annoyed wine red irises rimmed with intimidating dark scars.
This person... somehow she knew this person. The frightening aura accompanied by a low almost hoarse voice that demanded nothing less than total subservience was somehow familiar enough to obliterate all of her panic in an instant.