Drop... Drop... Drop... 

Red, everything is red. My own blood has stained the whole place. Droplets were hitting the ground every once in a while, slowly painting the floor in a deadly rhythm, a lethal melody.

Is it a countdown for the hero who will save me? For my death? I don't know. I don't even care anymore. The pain in my head won't let me think about it. I don't even want to think about it.

There's an oddly annoying high-pitched noise in both of my ears, already cloaked with my blood. I can hear my assailant laughing. I tried to say something, but the pain had taken my voice hostage. Even my thoughts are not mine anymore.

Drop... Drop... Drop...

My blood is slowly leaving me cold and hopeless. I'm tired. I am tied to a chair, waiting for something that might never happen; someone that might never come. Actually, I have no idea what I should be waiting for. Life? Death? Every scenario is fine by me. I've lost everything.

Everyone. I'm the only one left. That's not a life worth living. The shadows have taken over the whole room. An unbearable weight on the back of my head is forcing it to tilt, pointing down to the red pond flooding the area.

Drop... Drop... Drop...

The drops are in sync with my assailant's steps, walking in a circle around his prey, playing with his food. He was still mumbling something when he stopped his ritual dance in front of me. I don't have the energy to lift my head; All I can see is his bottom half.

Just kill me already. I lost. You won. A bloody baseball bat slid into my vision. There is blood, my blood, running down that bat. Falling on the ground. Drop... Drop... Drop...

"You know what time it is, don't you? Time for retribution."

✽✽✽

At the same time the last drop of tea hit the surface of the liquid, a young man woke up.

"Wha... whe...?"

Where am I? Was I asleep? What is this place? I was trying to look around when a horribly painful feeling pierced through my skull. What is happening? I was holding my burning head in my shaking hands when a voice brought me back from my confusion.

"Looks like you are finally awake, young man."

My eyes began to look around again, as if a natural function in me was trying to find as much information as possible for my own protection, for me to survive. Everything around me was white: the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the bed I was on, everything.

My eyes were trying to adapt to such a contrast from pitch black to a bright environment like this one. The pain is still there, it's just that my instinct is strong enough to let me calmly figure out what is going on. Before I realized it, a pair of legs showed up in my low-centered vision field.

"You should drink this. It will help you, son."

As my eyesight was going up, my whole body moved back on its own. With my shoulder against the bed frame, I saw an old man standing in front of me.

"Who are you?"

That's all my shaky voice could let out. If it was only for me, I could've stayed here for ages. However, my brain told my body to escape through the door, the door my eyes probably observed earlier but that I personally don't remember seeing. I jumped at the end of the bed and rushed to open it.

"Before asking me who I am, maybe you should ask it to yourself."

During a split second, I froze. That man... he's right. If it wasn't for the shock, I could've started laughing from the absurdity of the scene. Something so trivial, so obvious, so simple that nobody cares thinking about it. Who... am I?

"Something you should know about me, young man, is that I don't like to repeat myself."

Repeat himself? But he never talked to me until now. No, I just didn't notice what he had said before. When I turned myself to get a proper look at him, I noticed he was holding a cup towards me. I see now. Everything is slowly sinking in. That's what should help me.

Help, but how? Just thinking about it brought back the pain. I walked back towards him and drank the cup. Just like that. No doubt or anything, even though I have solely been acting on survival instinct since I woke up. Maybe a poison is running through my veins, on its way to slowly kill me as I am standing here, thinking. But-.. But the pain is fading out!

"So- So fast…"

"What did I tell you, son? It's good seeing you calming down a bit. And talking. I can't even imagine how confused you are right now. But if you could give your time to an old man like me, maybe I'll be able to ease your worries a little bit!"

Saying I was totally calm would be a lie. Everything was going so fast. Too fast. The pacing of my reflection process was getting out of hand. Questions were popping in my head, but the answers couldn't keep pace. So many things were not adding up: where am I, how did I get here, where does the pain come from, who is this old man, who am I!? Those thoughts were just running back and forth in my mind. The only thing I can do right now is listen to this old man's story.

"Let me introduce myself. Here, everyone calls me Doc. I work as a scientist in this place. I was taking care of you while you were in bed. Now, I know that a youth such as yourself has a lot of energy to spare, so why don't we continue our little talk while going for a walk, for a change of pace? I am certain that if you are willing to listen to a long story from an old soul like mine, it'll come in handy. I'll try to cut it short. But before I go on with my monologue, you should have many thoughts bouncing in your head right now, right?"

"What is going on with my brain, my memories? I... I don't remember anything. Why can't I remember who I am?"

"I have been a man of science for as long as I can remember. I mostly focused my research on the human body. You see, the human brain is what separates us from any other living creature to have ever existed. Its complexity is on a whole other level compared to any other organ in our organism. The more I studied it, the less I came to understand it. Cliché for a scientist to say this, isn't it son? But it is true. As for your memory, things are still too cloudy to even come up with a theory. As you can see, you still remember how to breathe, to walk, and more than that, to talk and understand a language you probably don't even remember learning. But, it seems every souvenir you had of your life's past events has disappeared. I wish I could explain to you how to solve your memory loss, but the only thing I can do is explain how you lost it."

✽✽✽

We were walking around, in long white halls. It was filled with rooms, filled with things I didn't know anything about. Well, that I don't remember at least. The old man was waving his hands while talking, which were sticking out a little bit of his long-sleeved ivory jacket. His small glasses and the few amounts of grey hairs he had left were emphasizing his old face. He was still talking about his story. My mind was too occupied to listen to him carefully. I was only able to pick small pieces here and there. 

He talked about a very old theory some were trying to put under the spotlight but were rapidly exposed and laughed at. It was about some sort of Underworld, a place hidden in the ground, when we, humans, were still on the Surface. I have no idea what that Surface is, though. The Hollow Earth Theory or something like that, I think. Nobody believed them. They were tagged as outcasts. Some unknown creatures were supposed to be crippling there, hidden right under their feet. People were said to be massacred by those organisms as soon as they tried to go deeper into the tunnels that were already existing. That's when Doc stopped walking. I slightly turned to my left to see why he abruptly stopped.

"And people were calling them madmen."

His finger was asking me to look to my right. As soon as my eyes made contact with the thick glass covering the whole wall, my brain shut down. My legs instinctively followed the same path. I fell on my knees when I saw that thing. A "thing" probably isn't something to call this. A monster or a demon is probably more appropriate. The sight I had of this enormous, hideous creature, made my skin crawl.

Its size was outstandingly bigger than mine. Every muscle was defined by dark red streams of weird fluid running all over its body. It was all deformed. My eyes were slowly sinking in its black eyes, even darker than its whole body. No, it's not just black, it's empty. It feels like there is just nothing in his eye sockets. It's an opening to a bottomless trap in which none could escape.

"To follow the actual theory, those monsters are now called the Hollows…"

✽✽✽

I don't remember walking back to that room, but I'm here sitting on the same bed as before. What is this, what is all of this? I just woke up, with no memories to latch on to and I'm supposed to live trapped underground with monsters like that? You have to be kidding me. Who could be willing to do that? But wait… Why should I believe him? Why should I believe in the story he recited to me?

That creature was real, there is no denying that, but why should I just trust him right away? He could manipulate me, craft me at his heart's content. I'm the best subject for that. Speaking of which, he still hasn't returned yet. He said he needed to go bring something. I can't help but think there is something that is not adding up. It's just not making any sense. What does all of this have to do with my memory loss?

"Sorry for leaving you here waiting, young man. I needed to bring you this."

He's now holding something that looks like a bracelet. I took it and looked at him, waiting for some clues. He told me to put it around my wrist. He said that now that I wear it, it will send him my health status.

"You will now be able to have some privacy without an old man like me following you everywhere to make sure you are alright. I will now call somebody to help yo-"

"I still don't know... What happened to me?"

The subtle smile he had since I woke up abruptly went away. He is now wearing a whole new expression. He has a serious look on his face.

"I didn't want to bother you with that so soon. I was thinking about giving you some time, but it looks like you have waited long enough. A tragic incident occurred to you, and... to your family... A Hollow broke out of nowhere and wreaked havoc. A lot of residences were destroyed under its wrath. Everyone, including your parents and your younger sister, died at that moment. Except, of course, you; my team and I were able to save you. I'm truly sorry that you had to go through such events."

Oh, I now see the link to his story. But... but why? Why wasn't I shocked? Wasn't I supposed to cry? To feel sad? Angry? I had no such reaction. In fact, why would I? I don't know anything about them, or about myself. Am I supposed to seek vengeance? Should I try to avenge them? How? How could this even be possible? I feel like I should, but I really don't care. Even if I did care, how am I supposed to face those creatures? I can't even stand up in front of them. But... but wait. I went through this already: is he telling the truth?

"I'm sure you could spare some time alone, taking the time to digest all that has happened. A nurse will take care of you. She will show you your room, where you will be able to relax. Oh, there she is!"

A young woman was now standing at the door, gently smiling at me. I stood out of the bed and started walking in her direction. We were about to leave the room when the old man said something with his serious tone again.

"I know what you are thinking, son. You have all the rights to believe or not everything I just told you. But I will say this: you have no memory, nothing to start from. Lie or not, to me, that is still a starting point. It's not like you have anything else to start off from."

He was right. That's what I was thinking about. But what is the point of starting on a broken path? Why would I want to restart building my life from a lie? The woman snapped me out of it by inviting me to follow her.

✽✽✽

I'm lying down in what I assume could become my bed from now on. The whole room is immaculate, there is no way someone even used this place before me. It has the same feeling as everything I have seen before now. It's all clean, all white, all perfect. Too perfect. I'm on my back looking for cracks in the ceiling, trying to fill those in my mind. That's all I could do right now. My thoughts are moving too fast, they can't stay in place. I can't contain them. I had to let the flow of my reflection out.

"How should I have reacted? What was I supposed to do? What should I do from now? It's weird, I don't feel necessarily sad or mad. I don't feel anything actually, that's the worst part. Not knowing isn't the biggest issue here. It's to ignore what the real me would've done. Was I a shy guy? Energetic? Dumb? What would I have done if… I was… Me?"

My self-investigation was abruptly stopped by a haunting image. That face, that hideous face. I don't even need to stand close to it. It's threatening me from the inside. That creature looked dangerous, way too dangerous to imagine how much. But it doesn't look like it is its greatest feat.

It has a curse. Just a look, an unfortunate brief glaze at it and you're done. You now have to wield a horrible weight on your mind, a weight that crushes your spirit, your courage to be strong, to fight this unconquerable evil: absolute despair.

How can they sleep knowing those are lurking freely next to them, waiting to destroy everything standing in their way? Thinking about it won't help.

I should be looking for any clue that can revive a spark in my brain. Anything that can convince me to continue. If nothing seemed to refresh anything related to my life before, why would I stay? Why would I choose to stay here? Who would?

Living here without knowing even a single thing from my past self or my deceased family, living here with those demons, those bombs ready to blow everything up out of nowhere. Is that even living? I thought about it briefly earlier, but maybe it really is the answer. Maybe I should, maybe I need to… just… die… 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Where am I? Oh... I see. I fell asleep in my room. That's a good thing, isn't it? I remembered. At least I now know I can remember things. The ceiling is just as pure as before, if not even cleaner. I was getting out of bed when I realized my room possessed a mirror.

Oh right, I don't even know what I look like. But for some reason, it didn't occur to me that it was something I needed to know. I didn't have time for such interrogations. With only a few steps, I was already able to stand in front of my reflection.

Short black hair, brown eyes, average facial traits. My intuition is telling me that I am in better shape than the average. My muscles are firm and defined. I'm strengthening and flexing every muscle I can to see how strong I seem to be. I certainly trained before. Just… who is this guy? Well, I'll just put on the clothes that the nurse gave me, it will probably be more effective to go look around.

✽✽✽

The whole hall is filled with doors that look just like mine. There's a different symbol on each, probably to know which is yours. Mine is made of vertical straight lines separated by a circular shape. The room just before mine is a vertical line followed by circular signs. I thought they had some sort of logic but, the more I walked, the more the symbols seemed complicated to me; I couldn't see any pattern I could decipher. The rooms are probably the same as mine. They must be used for injured people.

At the end of the corridor, an open space is crossed by other halls. The hall on the left looks different than the others, so maybe I'll just go there and see what is ahead. I was heading towards the entrance of the corridor when I surprisingly noticed that the walls that were now surrounding me were a little bit dusty. Nothing was immaculate anymore. The further I was getting in my errand, the dirtier it was getting. 

The crystal clear lighting also became yellowish and fuzzy in some places. The numerous amount of windows that were covering most of the walls before are now replaced by hard bricks. Maybe there's nothing ahead. I have no idea where this leads to. I'll find out soon; the door at the end of this creepy tunnel is standing not far away in my vision. What could be located on the other side? There was no way I could've ever guessed what was yet to be discovered. 

✽✽✽

All white has vanished, giving place to a dark horizon. Maybe this is the actual Underground Doc was talking about. I'm now stuck between walls of rocks and dirt, lit up by a ridiculously small number of torches and lanterns. My vision quickly drops into obscurity as soon as my eyesight stretches too far from a light source.

I am trembling. If I don't move, it won't be long until my feet dig a hole just from the vibrations. What gives me that feeling? Is it because of it? Yes, it must be. More of them are there, lurking in silence. They have to be. But why?

Stop! I said I needed to move, but not that way! I need to get back inside! Why am I moving forward, deeper in this jail, marching toward my death row? My body wants to know; it needs to know what is hiding ahead. I'm starting to learn something about myself. I'm filled with a dangerous amount of curiosity. 

This happened earlier. My body, my brain, they're acting on their own. It's like it knows more than me. But why does it want to go there!? My legs have already started to move. Why am I still shaking? There is no trace of those Hollows here. Still, its face is growing clearer in my mind. My thoughts nearly made me miss what was now appearing in front of me. 

An… habitation…? Why? Who? No, it has to be empty. Nobody sane enough would be willing to live here with a threat this big crawling around. I came closer just to make sure. I looked through a hole to take a peek inside.

No way, it's impossible that there's someone in there. The house seems abandoned; the weird mixture of rocks, dirt and wood is desperately holding this creation together. I'm slightly closing my eyelids to focus my eyesight inside the pile of organized junk.

Why does it look like some light is trying to escape from there? Why would a lamp be left lit there if nobody is inside? I'm now looking at a similar building on the other side. Here too? It's so faded. 

I... I saw something move! No… no, I'm imagining things. I thought I saw a silhouette, but it's probably just my brain creating images… right? It has to be a hallucination. I'm now looking straight ahead. I don't want to let my brain play tricks with my mind again. Plus, I don't like looking around. If a Hollow was to come out of nowhere and behead me with its claws, I'd prefer not to see it coming. It would be easier that way.

*Ting!*

The images weren't enough for you? Now you are making me hear sounds?

*Ting!…Ting!…Ting!...*

"You've got to be kidding me."

Another shelter is standing there. Bigger this time. Some smoke is rising up, slowly, until it hits the ceiling of this cavern. Somebody. There is somebody here, for real this time. I'm getting closer, a shy step after another.

*Ting!...Ting!*

He's making that noise. He seems to be hitting something. Yes, he's hammering something. I'm drawing closer to him. His bald head allowed me to quickly notice his dark skin and the sweat reaching out to the collar of his white tank top. 

Why would a man like him ever want to be alone here? Sure, he's bigger than me. His muscles have been hardened from all the manual labour he has done in his life; it's easy to see. He's way stronger than I am.

But he still has no chance against those demons. As soon as I stopped behind him to think about what he was doing here by himself, a silhouette made its appearance in the door frame. He wasn't alone.

"Daddy?"

I'm still asleep. That's it: I'm dreaming, right? A being that frail, that inoffensive, couldn't be out here. She should be inside, where I was. Behind the walls. The man stopped hammering. He lifted his head, before turning it in my direction.

"What is it, sweetheart? Wha-"

That man was showing a big smile before his eyes landed on my figure. His surprise didn't last long before anger took over his whole face, his entire body. His rough dark hands were showing off a brighter color around his knuckles, steadily tightening up his grip around that big sledgehammer.

The sight I just experienced had nothing to do with the sight I had in front of that glass. That Hollow was frightening, nobody could possibly deny that. But it doesn't compare to what is in front of me right now. Even though I'm a long way from being scared like I was back then, there is way more hatred coming at me. Every muscle on him was tense, ready to attack me. No, ready to kill me.

"I already told ya people to stay away fro-"

As I was slowly backing off, his ferocious approach abruptly stopped after only a few steps. His eyes, which were focusing on my clothes, were now directly looking into mine. The scared face I made from this near-death experience probably cleared the fog of pure hatred in his mind, allowing him to mumble something.

"Wha- Who are you?!"

✽✽✽

"Not gonna lie kid, this is fucked up!"

I told him everything I knew, everything I was able to let out in words. We were sitting at a table inside his house. The house was surprisingly well-made. Nothing near the room I slept in, but it was somewhat organized. The furniture was old and dirty, and some pillars were holding up the roof. A couple of iron plates were reinforcing the structure in some places. Well, that makes sense since he told me he was a blacksmith.

"And now ya tryin' to figure out something out of this mess? It's true that ya might remember somethin' by searching around. Hmmm, if what ya said is true kid, the people that might know somethin' are them people from the Foundation."

"The Foundation?"

What is that about? Every time I was focusing on the conversation, my thought process was distracted. That young girl is hiding behind another, older than her, holding a teddy bear, thinking I can't see her. They are probably sisters. They look the same, only age differs them. But I can't get over it. That little girl. What is something like that doing out here? 

She's the complete opposite of the Hollow I saw: weak, fragile, tiny, pure. Such innocence. I was staring at her with my creepy eyes when the silhouette of her sister swiped in front of her, blocking my vision, protecting her from me and bringing me back into the conversation.

"They are the only people I can think of."

Oh yeah right, the Foundation.

"What is that?"

"It's a group that was created to fight them Hollows. Just an encounter with them nightmares looking-ass was all it took for them to understand they were a huge threat. I ain't fuckin' around kid, them things are dangerous. The Foundation is a highly structured association, startin' with the dirt and mud soldiers to the clean-boots generals. They are the people responsible for keepin' those fuckers away. They were probably on the scene when ya and yo family were attacked. And yeah, I didn't really apologize correctly, I didn't mean to scare ya like that outside, it's just that…I...umm...Sorry."

"No it's okay, forget it. More importantly, where can I find that Foundation?"

"Now, I know I just told ya about that, but ya shouldn't mess with them. Ya should stay away from those weirdos! I only talked to ya about them because I felt I owed ya an answer kid, that's all."

He was probably able to see in my face that I wouldn't listen to his advice, because he quickly began to start talking again after releasing a small sigh.

"Ok, my bad. I guess I should take responsibility for my dumb habit of talkin' too much. Damn it. Tomorrow, at the Lab, the place ya came from, there will be a big fuss. A huge flow of people will be walkin' around. If ya want to find answers, follow them. But, from a man to another, stay in bed. Really. Ya don't want to swim in that kind of shit. You'll start drownin' in it before ya even realize it."