Matthew

Mr. Amnesia

Once we reached the emergency room I was rushed inside pretty quickly, which made sense, being covered in blood and all. I now sat in a hospital gown, glaring at my ruined clothes that were seated on the table near the door. They had hooked me up to all sorts of machines and bandaged up my wounds, which I could hardly feel at the moment. The stitched scratches on my sides had reopened despite the previous decent handiwork, and I had a new gash down my right thigh. A few deep scrapes on my jaw and neck, which they used those weird, tiny bandages to patch up, and for others, a special glue.

The woman who brought me in sat beside my things, her fingers flying across the screen of her phone as she texted someone. I audibly sighed, and she looked up at me.

"So, you ready to explain what exactly happened?"

"I already told you, I don't remember. Now can I please call the people I need to?"

She sat up, stressing over her hair before turning to the door. "Look, I need to go get my daughter, then we can figure out what to do with you. Please just wait here, okay?"

I stared at her, annoyed. Guess I'd have to find my own phone. My literal phone was gone, I had checked frantically earlier. I was even more angered by the fact I'd have to redo all my games and their high scores if I ever got a new one. One does not get to level 300 on candy crush that easily.

"Fine." I let my head fall back and hit my pillow, staring at the white tiled ceiling. It smelt like someone had spilt bleach everywhere and hadn't bothered to mop it up. I listened as she shuffled around looking for her keys, and then I heard the door click as she left. I sat up again, fast, and began pulling out the needles and patches they had hooked up to me. I spun around to put my feet on the floor, becoming suddenly dizzy and nauseous as the pain finally registered along with the shock of cold tile on my bare feet. I had to shake it off and get out of here.

I sat there for a while longer, trying to catch my breath and encourage myself to keep moving on. With legs that felt like jelly, I walked to my clothes and managed to pull on my jeans and shoes. My shoes were the least bloody of my things, and my jeans a close second, save for the thigh and bottoms of them being encrusted in the dried stuff. The socks were unsalvageable. I took the jacket, too, as it was cold outside and it was dark enough that the bloodstains weren't that noticeable. My sweater was ripped to shreds, so I wouldn't be wearing it, but I just grabbed it and brought it with me anyway, tucking what was left of it into my jacket. Curse me for being sentimental.

I then readied myself by the door, wondering how I'd get past all of the nurses and doctors roaming the halls of the hospital like this. But I kept telling myself, I had to get to a phone, so I had no choice. I slowly cracked open the door, peering out into the hall before closing it swiftly behind me, pulling my jacket around me to attempt to hide the hospital gown I still wore.

Turns out the hallway I was in wasn't that active, so slipping out of my room unnoticed wasn't a problem. I carefully let it shut behind me, letting my gaze wander. I watched as a few nurses bustled around, walking from room to room. A woman sat outside one, flowers clutched in her hands. The lights were insanely bright, and everything was either a pristine white, or a pale color close to turquoise. The rooms were lined up behind and in front of me, some of them with darkness underneath their doors, others with a similar light to the fluorescent ones on the ceiling.

A sudden dizzying feeling overtook me, and I lurched, quickly grabbing onto the handle of my door. I didn't understand. What was happening to me? A nurse passing by stopped beside me, pressing the towels he held to his chest as he squinted at me. "What are you doing?"

I panicked, which easily was able to override my dizziness. "Just getting some water. I'm fine." I unlatched my hand from the door handle, quickly brushing past him. He seemed confused, but continued on anyway.