The Pandora Index (Older work)

Awake

Daniel Walker

I stared out my hospital window absentmindedly. The fall sky was an emotionless shade of grey. Below it, New Detroit was as busy as ever, the masses of people and androids walking on the sidewalks looked like swarms of insects from my room. In the horizon, I could make out the looming figure of the Monolith of Old Detroit. The fifty-meter high, twenty-meter wide, circular pillar was created as a memorial to the disaster that leveled Old Detroit.

Twelve years ago a terrorist group managed to get their hands on a prototype non-nuclear earthquake bomb. The bomb reduced Old Detroit and everything around it to rubble and dust, including the millions of people who lived there. The nearby city of Reedton -which was untouched by the bomb- was renamed New Detroit.

A knock at my door drew me out of my daydreams.

I woke up alone in this hospital room a week ago, there was no one waiting for me to wake up again. Only two nurses and a therapy android named 'Sally,' had helped me through a few days of physical therapy. They said that they were shocked that I had healed so quickly. There was still no word of relatives coming, not that I'd remember them anyway. Amnesia tends to have that effect.

Now this woman with light brown hair had entered my room. She looked to be in her early-twenties, she was wearing a light grey business suit. She was looking professional and authoritative, while her partner was looking professional and authoritative in a different way. He was a large intimidating man wearing what appeared to be thick, black, riot armor, and had bandages wrapped around his face, leaving only the left eye exposed.

"Hello, my name's Madison." the woman said with a red lipped smile as she took a seat next to my hospital bed. The man just quietly leaned against a wall.

"Can you tell me your name?" She asked thoughtfully.

I thought for a moment. What was my name? I didn't know. I shook my head, "They told me it was Daniel." I said, panic starting to rise in my voice. "Daniel, Walker. Who are you? You're not relatives are you?"

"Not quite, we work with the Pandora Institution-so did you, you were injured while trying to apprehend a convict." Madison said as she handed me a file.

I began studying the pages intently. It was my profile. It read; "Name: Walker, Daniel. Age: Twenty-three. Eye Color: Green. Height: 6'2" Identity-Code: 835806. Date of birth 9/30/2015..."

"Are you alright?" Madison asked, "You look worried."

"Oh, it's nothing, I just noticed that I turned twenty-four the other day." I explained, "What exactly is the Pandora Institution?"

"Pandora is a detention center for the criminally insane who require special care." Madison replied shaking me from a sad thought.

"I worked in a nuthouse?" I asked, a bit surprised that I had worked at such a place.

The man leaning against the wall uttered what sounded like an unimpressed sigh and shot me a chilling glare. He had a strange, disturbing atmosphere around him. His single bloodshot eye didn't look the least bit normal either, it was dark orange, and the skin around it was pale and cracked.

Madison let out a small cough. The man ripped his eye off of me, looked at Madison, and let out a low grumble.

Madison sighed, a small frown had appeared on her face, "Sorry about that, were going to have to skip any more formalities, we need you to tell us anything you can remember about the breakout."

I didn't know what to say, I really didn't remember anything."I'm sorry, breakout?" I stuttered, "I can't... I don't..."

She let out another sigh and quickly stuck her head out the door and asked the nurse,"Is he good enough to move?"