If you close your eyes,
Does it almost seem like nothing's changes at all,
If you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like you've been here before?
~ Bastille Pompeii
I awoke with a groan. My whole body ached, from head to toe. I opened my eyes, but instantly snapped them shut when I saw the bright light surrounding me. I carefully opened my eyes again. I was lying in a bed. I was in a room with completely gray walls. There were various medical instrument on a tray next to a bunch of fancy looking equipment. Only then did I realize that I was in a hospital.
I tried to sit up, but immediately regretted it. My head was throbbing. My vision was swimming, and I realized I needed to rest. I slowly let sleep take me into a trance.
When I woke up, my head felt a little better. I sat up. Why am I here? I thought. I couldn't remember doing anything to hurt myself. I tried to remember what I was doing before I came here. However, there was only one problem. I couldn't remember a thing! I couldn't remember where I was from, or even my name.
Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on the door. I shrank back into my bed, but whoever knocked entered anyway.
In walked a doctor (I assumed), in a crisp white lab coat. She was wearing green scrubs underneath the coat, showing off a stethoscope. I shuddered.
She turned my way.
"Well I can see you've waken up," she said with priss.
"Yeah," I croak.
There's an awkward silence as she types something into the computer.
"Who are you?" I asked.
She spins around in her swivel chair, with mocking smile on her face.
"I'm a doctor, in case you haven't noticed," she said.
"Do you have a name?" I asked, surprising myself with the sass in my voice.
"Shouldn't you be asking yourself the same question?" She quickly responded.
"You didn't answer my question," I said. How did she know that I couldn't remember anything?
She sighed. "I'm Dr. Hikes."
"Where am I, Dr. Hikes?" I asked.
"You ask to many questions. But if you must know, you're in the United Sanction Rehab Facility of Recovering Patients. Does that answer your question?" She snapped.
I nodded my head, and she turned back around in her chair. I eyed her suspiciously for what seemed like hours, until I finally gave into the urges to satisfy my curiosity.
"What happened?" I asked. "I mean, what sent me to this hospital?"
"Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to answer that question. It's classified information."
"Why is it classified?" I asked.
"Because only the higher ups are allowed to know," she replied.
"What if a higher up wants to tell me?" I tried.
She glared at me through the top of her glasses. "If you ask one more question, I swear, I'll sedate you."
That was enough to shut me up. I watched her write something into a tablet in her hand. She stood up. She walked towards the door.
"Wait!" I cried. "You're leaving me?"
"Yes," Dr Hikes said, exasperated. "There's food in the pantry."
She nods toward a gray cabinet on the other side of the room. "I'm locking the door," she said, and with that, she turned on her heel and closed the door.
Suddenly I panicked. I got up, though my head nearly burst. I jiggled the door nob. True to her word, Dr. Hikes had locked it. Grasping my head, I plop down in the swivel chair she was using. Suddenly, I realize how hungry I am. I open the cabinet, finding bags of nuts, granola bars, carrots, a bowl of fruit, and some bottled water. I sighed. Why couldn't they have good ol' normal food here? I take out a chocolate chip granola bar, and a bottled water. I eagerly chomped down on the bar. When I was done, I turned my attention to a more important mission: finding out what happened to me, and why it was 'classified information'. I turned toward Dr. Hike's computer. It was asleep, so I pressed a few key. Then a lock screen popped up
I typed in some passwords as guesses. drhikes? hikes? usarehab? hikesusarehab? rehabcenter? They were all wrong. And I got locked out of the computer. I sighed. There was no way I was going to figure anything out about my situation without her consent. So, I had nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs and count the number of tiles on the ceiling. There were no clocks in the room, and since my sense of time was out of whack, I had no idea what day or time it was.
After a few hours (I think), a sharp knock came at the door again, and it opened. This time, Dr. Hikes was accompanied by two men. The shorter one was probably shorter than me. He had a bald head, and was wearing khaki pants and a dark blue polo shirt. The other on was much taller. He was wearing an obvious toupee, and had a goatee. He was also wearing a crisp suit with a carnation in the pocket.
"These men are here too see you," Dr. Hike said.
I stood, because I wasn't sure what to do. Should I stand out of respect? Should I even respect these men? Who were they?
"You may leave," the taller man gestures at Dr. Hike.
"Ok. I'll be conference room 4 if you need me," she nodded and walked off, leaving m with two strange men.
"Hallo," said the shorter man, with a thick British accent.
I did my best fake smile. "Hello," I said, doing a little curtsy in my hospital gown.
Mr. Shorty laughed. "She has charm. She'll be just perfect." Mr. Shorty playfully punches Mr. Tall, who glared at the shorter man. I take it Mr. Tall was the serious type.
"Be perfect for what?" I asked tentatively.
"We'll get onto that later," Mr. Tall said. "Anyways, I'm Mr. Carter, Mr. Kinely's assistant."
I just stared at him, and I think he realized I didn't know who he was talking about.
"The Governor," he said. I quickly nod. He's the most important man in the country's assistant?
Mr. Shorty steps forward to shake my hand. "I'm Buzz," he said.
Mr. Carter let out an exasperated sigh. "He's Mr. Roads, Chief of Scientific Research."
"A pleasure to meet you," I said, wondering why two very important men were holding me hostage in a hospital.
"And, your name, Miss Clark, I believe is Racheal." Mr. Carter said. My eyes opened wide. He knew my name? Did he know me before I came here? My name is Racheal Clark? Wow.
YOU ARE READING
Puppet Without Strings
Science Fiction14 year old Rachel Clark wakes up in an unfamiliar place, only to find that she can't remember who she is or how she got there. She is greeted by a shrill doctor who tells her that she was a daughter of a rebel leader. She is sent away to live wit...
