Isaac Woodman
T2 2025 - I awoke, blinded by the bright beams of light that bore down all around me. I heard a gasp of shock and turned to see a shocked nurse by my side. I looked at the sterile surroundings, the room was evidently a hospital room, but why am I here? I raised my body forwards into a seated position and I bit down a scream of intense pain. I fell backwards onto my back, breathing in and out softly with my mouth. As my senses awoke, I could feel the coursing heat that slithered uncomfortably beneath my skin. I raised a hand, placing it against my forehead which felt warmer than it should reliably be.
"Where am I?" I asked the startled nurse who had dropped what she had been holding and rushed to grab me a plastic cup filled with cool water. I took it from her and gave it a long sip, relishing its coldness. I finished the drink in a few more long sips and the nurse took the empty cup from me, placing it on the side.
"I'm not allowed to say," the nurse responded and instead of feeling any significant thoughts of worry, I instead found myself letting out a sigh.
"They don't know what to do with us, do they?" I stated casually, causing the nurse to look at me with a perplexed expression. Looking around the room, I noticed the red light belonging to a CCTV camera.
"Umm, I-" The nurse began, unsure about my lackadaisical retort.
"Don't worry about it," I said with a smile, "I half expected it."
Minutes turned to hours as I waited for something to happen, or for someone to pay me a visit. The nurse had long since left, ordered to leave me alone. I tried to sleep numerous times, only finding the comforting darkness wrapping me for only a few minutes at a time, not long enough to feel rested. So instead, I took the time to think. Daedalus had to be wrong, there had to be another, suitable, answer. Then I turned my attention to the warmth within me, it was still there, feeling like a stream of lava within my veins and I theorised its importance. That woman confirmed my already believed theory about someone overlooking the Theatres, but who was she ? and who was that voice? Are they really on my side? The obvious answer came to me and even though I knew it was the safest option, I wasn't feeling ready to relive twenty years, for me to get betrayed and starting over again. But perhaps, that is what I should do. See what these choices lead to. The future has inexplicably been changed already, Hans is an obvious factor of that. Where is he ? Is he here ? or back in Germany? I looked upwards at the ceiling, staring blankly at the white tiles.
"Enjoying your stay?" The voice sounded familiar and I turned to the source, suppressing a genuinely happy smile. She doesn't know me yet, that thought alone soured my emotions.
"Service could be better," I joked, taking in the form of my old friend for the first time in a decade, at least from my point of view. She looked good, probably in her mid fifties at this point in time. Her age seemed to mould well into her suit and her grey hair gave her whole appearance a sense of authority.
"Well, I am very sorry about that, but you have already guessed that you are not here to enjoy yourself," she was her usual blunt self and I found that somewhat comforting.
"The camera was the first clue, not being able to leave was the second more obvious clue. Why am I here? Where is here?" I questioned, looking past Valerie's face at the wall behind her. I had my suspicions, but she would tell me sooner or later, that's just the kind of person she was.
"You are here to help us in return for us treating you," She sat in a plain white chair to my side and placed a news article on my lap. I picked it up, the searing heat beneath my skin causing me to wince as I moved. The headline wrote, One week after, England and America to join forces?
"Wait a week?" Valerie nodded in confirmation. "Where are the others?"
"Jacob and Sebastian are here, they are both going through their experiences and Jacob is also taking the time to do some training. That is really something else."
"What about the others?" I asked, hopeful.
"Only you and Jacob emerged from that place, Jacob had carried you out of there, and you have only just now awoken." I felt a hole open in my stomach, the pain as real as anything else, maybe the throbbing pain within was my price. I doubled over, wiping eyes that remained dry, numb to the pain at losing people.
"Why am I here?" I asked once more, looking the stoic woman in the eye, "a normal hospital would have looked over me, so there must be a different reason as to why you are keeping me here under a watchful eye." Valerie prodded the newspaper in my hands.
"We have set aside a conference with the Americans, we plan to share what we know and we want you, Jacob and Sebastian to be there. We've managed to find a few others who also fit our criteria who will also be coming to recount their experiences." She breathed out, as if conversing with her thoughts, then she looked at me, her expression becoming more grim, "We need you to be ready, we have reasons to suspect that the Americans might have a hidden agenda."
"When don't they?" I muttered beneath my breath and she looked at me with surprised eyes, "I mean, everyone has a hidden agenda, hell, our government is probably thinking the same thing as the Americans."
"And that is?"
"To take those with powers," I let the comment sit in the air for a time before I continued, "natural considering the current situation. But don't worry, we know what we are doing."
"Just remember to be polite with the American guests and we need to get you a suit," I looked down at my body, wrapped in a blue hospital gown.
"Ah, that might be best."
The tailor shop was barren, aside from Valerie and I, there was also one other in the shop, most presumably the shop owner or a regular member of staff. The suits within seemed cheap in comparison to the attire we wore when inside the VIP rooms in our sleep, but even though they seemed cheap, they were by no means poorly made. I wiped a hand over the various suit jackets, feeling the texture of each with difficulty as the burning pain ate away at my concentration. I grabbed a suit of black and took it to the changing room, and watched myself change. I touched my bare chest where the heat was most intense and saw an almost imperceptible glow beneath my skin. What are you? I thought to myself as I saw the glow slide upwards towards the top of my ribcage. I removed my hand from my bare skin and pulled on the outfit. I ran a hand through my hair, styling it somewhat. What am I to do now ? Guys, if you were here with me, what would you want me to do? I found myself closing my eyes as I thought of the past, my head resting against the coolness of the mirror. Should I keep raising Sebastian up as our saviour, or should I follow what Daedalus said? Please, I need to see you again. I pushed myself from the mirror with shaky arms and straightened the suit jacket.
"You okay in there?" Valerie asked and I instantly felt a wash of relief over me. They might be gone, but, I can keep them alive this time.
"Why didn't you turn back?" I jumped away from the mirror which no longer reflected me. Instead, the monstrous creature held the limp body of Jason and Levin in each of its arms, their voices leaking from their mouths in unison. It had its head cocked to the side, a wide grin showing off all too human teeth stained with blood. "Why didn't you save us?" The two men said again, their mouths letting out a tsunami of blood as they spoke. "You were meant to change things-"
"No, I couldn't do anything," I found myself whispering quietly in response.
"You could've started over, why didn't you?" The creature dropped the two bodies to the floor which had transformed into their older counterparts. I jumped backwards as the creature's solid black arm reached through the mirror with frightening speed, cold fingers wrapped around my throat as it pulled me towards itself, forcing me to look into its swirling eyes.
"Isaac!" A voice said and as I blinked, the apparition vanished, leaving Valerie struggling to dislodge my own hand from my throat. Guilt flooded my thoughts as I looked at her panicking, and collapsed to the ground, finally letting the deaths of my friends affect me.