Chapter 02

I open my eyes and see bright lights. They burn into my mind and cause a great deal of pain. I am not sure where I am. I try to sit up but I can't get up. I sink back down into the darkness of oblivion.

I am awake again.

I briefly open my eyes but the pain is still there. Without opening my eyes I examine my surroundings. The light overhead makes a small droning sound but beyond that I only hear my own steady breathing. I reach out my hands and find that I am in a very small room. I can almost reach both of the walls from where I lay on the floor. I open my eyes again and take a quick look around. This is a an odd room indeed. I can not figure out what kind of room I am in, the doors to the room are quite a distance to either side.

I take a look at myself. It looks like I am in pretty good shape for someone who can not remember his name, life, or how he got to be naked in a strange room. I notice a smell which is kind of arousing.

Next to me on the floor there is a uniform neatly folded in a plastic bag.

The rest of the room is empty.

So why is a naked man left in a odd room with a freshly cleaned uniform?

There is a strong smell of cleaner, and the floor is very clean. Next to me on the floor is a uniform. It appears to be the uniform of an fireman. I take a look at the uniform. There is a lot of medals on the uniform, it looks like military issue.

A memory strikes me. This is my uniform, but I haven't been in this uniform since I left Fort Wayne, but that was a long time ago.

I tear the plastic off the uniform. It appears to be in good shape. While I put on the uniform I notice that I have a recent head wound. It is not bleeding but it is very fresh. I don't seem to have any other cuts.

Bending over to pull on the uniform pants I notice a massive bruise on the left side of my back. What would have caused that? I stretch to check my range of movement. It doesn't seem to be limiting my movement but it does cause a twinge if I have to bend or reach. I button up the uniform and read read the name off the name tag. Boatman. This is my uniform so my name must be Boatman.

I take a long look around the room. This almost looks like a hallway. The far door has a bloody hand print running the length of the door. Is is the only thing that is not white on any of the walls.

I walk over to the door with the bloody smear on it. I look at my hands. I didn't make the marks, or if I did I cleaned my hands really well afterwards. The blood is still sightly wet so it must have happened only a short time ago. There is something about the hand print that strikes me as out of place but I can not place what it might be.

Other than the hand print the door has a few scratches along the edges. Like someone was trying to grasp the side of the door but was not able to manage to grip it. Who ever made those scratches was desperate to get out of this room.

I take another look at my hands. No way I made the scratches either.

I check the door, it is locked from this side. I try the knob. As I turn it the lock clicks open. I lock the door again and rethink my situation.

I am in a long strange room, with one of my old military uniforms. Someone was recently in the room and tried to force their way past a door they could have easily unlocked. Someone else left a long bloody smear on the same door.

I walk to the other door. It is closed but not locked. There is no marks on this door and no blood either. I look back at the other door. It is like someone was marking their territory with that bloody print.

I sit back down on the floor and consider my options. The pain behind my eyes is getting better but it is still painful to look at anything too bright. There is nothing else I can think of to do so I decide to find out where I am.

The pounding in my temples is starting to subside but the pain and pressure is still pretty intense. The lights are no longer painfully bright. So I have confidence that I will recover in due time. All my training comes in handy though. I can hear my internal clock counting out the minutes to me. Don't stay in one place. Do not rest in an uncertain location. I know I will not start feeling better until I have discovered where I am and why I am here.

I open the unlocked door and I find myself in a large room. Based on the color scheme and construction I can now say for certain I am in a hospital. I am immediately struck by the smell. It is a cross between sweat and musk. Maybe someone is marking their territory. Across from the door is a huge mirror. The mirror is at least four meters across and almost two meters high. In the center of the room is a large bed. It is an adjustable bed similar to a regular hospital bed but with straps and attachments that look like they would hold someone to the bed in various positions. The bed sheets are sweat soaked and a considerable blood stain covers the upper portion of the bed.

Walking across the room to the bed the door closes with a loud and audible click. My footsteps are loud and dull on the polished floor. The room has a clean and military feel to it. How long has it been since I was in a military institution.

Next to the bed is a long and narrow tray table. Two dozen tools a lined up on the table. Some I recognize but there are others that are a complete mystery. Looking over the tools arrayed on the table I start to get a tight uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. It looks like the last person in the bed grasped for something on the table and covered the parts of the table and some of the tools with blood and gore. There is some blood spray on the floor ceiling and wall that clearly originated from the bed.

The bed and the table evoke vague memories from my past. I can not identify the source of these memories through the fog in my mind. I have a stark fear that I have been in a room like this before. I have a sudden and urgent need to leave this room. Looking back at the bed my memory flickers to life but I still can't identify the event. All that I can do is shake my head and tell myself it can't be true but what might have happened in my past.

I can't see anything else in the room of any significance. I am more than a little uncomfortable staying in the room.

My own dull footsteps beat a cadence to exit. On the back of the door there is a symbol drawn in blood. It looks like a bio-hazard symbol. Why would anyone draw a bio-hazard symbol in blood? I drop to one knee to examine the marks. The strokes are deliberate and it is quite clear someone is trying to send a message.

I open the door and step back into the hallway. It is past time for me to leave.

I walk back down the hallway and move through the other door. I have a distinct feeling I have walked this hallway before.

On the other side of the door is a much smaller room. Across from the door is a small seating area. In the seating area is a door marked washroom. The seating area is immaculately clean. The seating area has a couple of vending machines. The machine has M&Ms, my favorite. I step up to the machine wishing I had some change. The deja vu feeling gets even stronger. The glass is cracked exactly where I remember it... I have been here before.

To the right of the waiting area is a large metal strapped door. To the left is a hallway that must lead to the elevator.

I figure it is time to get as far form here as possible. Headache or not I jog down the hallway to the elevators. Next to the elevator is a large orange thirteen. Thirteenth floor. Next to the elevator is another bloody hand print. There is no call button to get the elevator though. Looking overtop the elevator doors at the lights indicating the floor the elevator is on.

As if on cue the elevator starts to rise. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Each light is accompanied by a clear and loud bell. I look at the lights and my jaw drops. There is no thirteen. The lights stop at twelve. I head back to the seating area as the elevator hits the tenth floor.

I hear the elevator doors opening as the washroom door closes behind me.