Chapter One
Someone was sitting by my bed when I awoke. A nurse, obviously. When she noticed I was awake, she held up one finger towards me and bustled out of the room. When she returned, she brought with her a tray of food, clearly intended for me, and a clipboard. I was ravenous and took the tray from her gratefully and began scarfing down the meat, which, judging by the cool temperature, had been waiting for me a while.
While I ate, the nurse picked up a pen and began to speak. 'What's your name, sweetie?' This question should have been easy, however it wasn't. I couldn't remember. I couldn't remember my name, how I wound up here in this hospital bed, where I was from, where my parents were- even who they were was a mystery to me. This panicked me.
The nurse saw my expression and began to stand slowly, as though she were about to send me back into limbo. I couldn't let that happen; she'd have to know something about me. I had to know that, and I couldn't find out while I was unconscious. I took a deep breath. 'I- I don't remember. I don't remember anything. Not my name, where I live, where my parents are... why aren't they here? Do they know I'm here? Are they coming? Who are they...?' The nurse didn't seem to know how to answer any of those questions, or where to start, so I asked one question; one she certainly could answer. 'How did I get here?'
The nurse, whose name I still did not know, began to talk. 'We found you in the old run-down church in Cloverfield. Two boys, fifteen and seventeen just so happened to be walking by at the time and heard screams, crashes and ran in to see what was going on. Why they would've been hanging around a place like that...' she shook her head in fond disapproval. 'Anyway, seeing what was going on, they tried to save you, I take it. One of the boys managed to call us before he got hurt. That boy was pronounced dead on arrival.' The nurse seemed upset by this, though she couldn't have known him. 'I feel so sorry for the one that's left. When he found out that boy was dead--'
I interrupted here. 'You mean... you mean he's here? In the hospital?' I could hardly contain my hope that seeing them might trigger some memory, however small, of what happened to me.
Once again, I swore that nurse was psychic. 'He won't provide you with a great deal of help. He hit his head pretty hard. The only thing he remembers is his brother's death.'
That thought haunted me all night. They were brothers. Only young. They tried to save me, a stranger. Why would they risk their own lives for me when they didn't even know me? Even I didn't know me. When sleep came, it was fitful and light. I had dreams of the accident, none of which I could remember, save for pain, horror and fear. I wondered if this other boy was dreaming the same way. There was only one way to find out.
The next morning when the nurse delivered me breakfast, she was wearing a name tag. Her name was Karen. I could see her clearly now, with the sunlight shining through the window. It seemed powerful and bright, as though I hadn't seen it in years. I asked her the question I'd been stewing over all night. 'When can I meet him? This saviour of mine? I need to thank him; if it weren't for him I mightn't have been here, he--'
Karen cut me off abruptly. 'You're in no shape to be leaving your room! Your head and...' she trailed off, eyeing me carefully. I wondered why, until I remembered the night before, when I'd arrived in the hospital I supposed, and discovered my leg was completely immobile. Being so wrapped up in the idea of someone else who'd witnessed what happened to me, I'd almost completely dismissed that idea until this very moment; now I was panicked again.
"Calm down, honey," the nurse said. "You'll be able to walk again; it's a severed artery. It will take time for it to heal, and you'll need therapy to learn how to walk again, but for the time being, you'll have to make do with a wheelchair. It will be ok."
There was no point in arguing. The only thing I'd get was knocked out. She said I would have a wheelchair... it dawned on me. She noticed the rapid change in my mood and gave me a wary look.
"I was thinking... maybe you could take me to him. In the wheelchair. You could push me to him. I wouldn't ask you to stay with me, but you could bring me back here after an hour, maybe? Please?"
Karen seemed amused by my suggestion. "You're determined to see this boy, aren't you?" I nodded. "Well, I don't know what the rest of the staff would think of it. His room is across the hall though, I suppose it couldn't hurt. But not today. Today you need to rest. Tomorrow, I will push you there and back, and you will not argue about the matter anymore. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," I grinned, saluting her. How I could be cheery after discovering I was legless I didn't understand, but I was determined to show Karen I was fine... other than the lack of memory of basic things in my life such as my name and my family, as well as the loss of two limbs, a couple of broken bones and a throbbing headache. Karen seemed to notice this, as she did everything else, so she gave me a couple of painkillers.
"Get some rest now; I'll bring you your food when it's time. You just focus on strengthening yourself. Alright?"
Karen ruffled my black curls and marched out and on to the next patient. I silently cheered. Tomorrow, I had a chance of remembering the past.
