My mind was set on fire. The utter agony of my brain being set ablaze was one I'd never felt before. Nor would I ever want to.I could feel the puddle of water near me, and out of desperation, I pursued it blindly in an attempt to put out the flame. To my dismay, the water fled as it watched me approach, spreading out upon my arrival, as if I was a deadly virus it couldn't be touched by.Chase had never been my favorite game, but the added condition of my flaming head only made the experience more miserable.It'd been what felt like a year that I'd been chasing after the puddle. During this time, I'd come more than just close several times. Sometimes it would only escape me by a meter, or a foot, occasionally even just an inch. And every time I came close, some kind of invisible force would push me back. Like a shot to the chest.These shots, to show just how lucky I was, greatly increased the agony in my head, essentially fanning the flames. The pain became so great, there were several instances in which I'd considered giving up, pleading and begging on my knees to whatever kind of sick entity was putting me through this for the torture to stop.But that was never a viable option. It was an inexplicable feeling, but something was speaking to me. Something was telling me that should I ever reach the water, I would laugh at my sad and cowardly self, which wasn't something I quite understood.But it was not a soothing voice guiding me to relief. The voice was very much like a stern commander, pushing me to it. As if, rolling over and dying was something I would heavily regret, but also something I could never do. I had to reach the water, and I had to continue living. Or my fate would be left in the hands of something or someone I did not want it in.⥁One thousand and ninety five days. It's been one thousand and ninety five days I've spent with a brain on fire inside my head. That's one thousand and ninety five days I've spent chasing a damned puddle of water. And finally, I've done it. The bastard of a puddle stands under my feet, unable to run.It's futile attempts to wrestle its way out from under me, almost bringing a smile to my face. But the awe I feel is far more overpowering than my joy. Three years I've spent in this dark abyss, my only company being the fleeing puddle.But a realization hit me at the same time, the realization that I have no idea what comes after.My mind had been so occupied on how to catch the puddle, that I'd never once stopped to truly think about the situation. About what was happening to me.Where am I? What is this? Was any of it real? Or is this all happening inside my head.But what scared me most was the question I'd been avoiding for far too long.Who am I?Every time I'd taken a break to stop and catch my breath, I'd try to remember my name, who I was, or even where I came from. But every time these questions popped up in my mind, the intensity of the flame would only increase, nearly as bad as how the flame reacted to me nearing the puddle.It was a horrifying thing, remembering only bits and pieces of what the world was like outside this abyss. When I'd dream of blue skies, green grass, animals, people, and all those kinds of things, those were my only moments of solace.The only times where the flames were only small flickers going off, acting like a comforting flame rather than a vortex of pain and agony. It was actually a bit funny now that I think about it.It let me dream of happiness, of freedom, but wouldn't allow me to obtain either of those.But now, now was my time. Pressed under my feet was my ticket out of the abyss, my ticket back to a normal life. It had to be.Taking several deep breaths, I leapt down on to my knees and pushed my head into the puddle.w…a…k…eWAKE UP!My body shot upright, instantly slamming into what felt like cold metal, sending me right back down.⥁"There was no need to forcefully wake him up. He was regaining consciousness on his own.""How was I supposed to know he was going to bang his head into the pod? Plus, he's been 'regaining consciousness' for the last three years. What if this time was just another slip-in, slip-out. I think both of you should be thanking me instead.""Just don't say anything stupid when he wakes up. Let me and Finch do all the talking.""One day when I'm out of this place and I become the most sought after Arimus in the Solis, I don't want to see you guys begging and pleading to get me back.""Whatever you say Cass."I nearly began to pray that I was still inside the abyss. The bickering of people around me was unbelievably annoying. All the sounds of beeping, walking, breathing, and just everything that was happening seemed to have their volumes maxed out. It felt like I had speakers inside my ears.I'd honestly prefer having my mind set on fire again.…No I wouldn't.After a few more minutes of my ears being violated, the world began to quiet down a bit as light began to filter through my eyelids. Opening my eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust , I began to look around.My body was laid flat on some kind of narrow bed, my hands cuffed to the railings of the bed. Three people stood around me. Two men on my right side, one holding a clear clipboard, the other a strange looking gun.From their attire, I was guessing that one was probably some form of doctor, and the other some kind of law enforcement officer. But the idea of a cop being one of the first people I see after waking up was a bit bewildering to me.And at the same time, their attire looked so foreign and strange, I could be completely wrong with my guesses.They looked normal enough, or more specifically, they looked human with strange looking implants on their left temples. However, their attires also seemed a bit futuristic from the ones I could remember. The doctor was wearing a matching green set, with blue stripes down the side. Over the set was a white coat, adorned with patches on the arm and blue screen on his forearm.The guard was wearing a full black set, with some kind of chest covering. In the middle of his chest was a full orange reactor. Similar patches on his arms and screen on his forearm. He had metal boots up to his knees, and a helmet hanging off his belt.His gun was the most bizarre part of it all, at least I was pretty sure it was a gun. It was long, bulky, and had a large opening. No mag was attached to it, and I could see a small screen where the sight of the gun should have been.Then I turned to look at the third person.The woman on my left looked more like what I was used to. She wore the same clothes as the doctor, but with no patches nor the screen. She did have a badge with writing that seemed almost alien and of course the same implant, but other than that, she seemed almost perfectly normal.She was also quite the attractive woman.The doctor turned to face me, noticing my eyes had opened. A smile began to form on his face."Well, would you look at that? One thousand and ninety six days later, and you seem to be in tip top shape." He spoke slowly as he helped me sit up in bed. He uncuffed my hands as he spoke.Looking around the room now, I felt even more lost. The whole room had inventions and machines that looked like they'd been gifted to humans by some distant galactic aliens. All the tubes, screens, wires, and glass made the room look like a virtual simulation.Clearly my shock didn't go unnoticed, but it seemed that there was a bit of a misunderstanding."Don't worry, we fully understand. It's been a long time since you went under, you're probably wondering what happened, right?" The bald doctor asked.I tried to shake my head, but my body wouldn't respond."Well unfortunately, son," He paused, "that's something we're a bit unsure of on our part as well. I've only just taken over as your caretaker a year ago, and your file was lost much before that. In the system, we've wrote that you experienced some form of head trauma, but now that you're awake, we have a few procedures that may help you remember what happened so we can help you recover accordingly." He smiled.Clearly the man was trying to be reassuring and calming, but something about his smile made my spine shiver. It was a tad bit disappointing to find out that I couldn't get an immediate answer, but the hope that came with the promise of helping me get my memories back instantly killed that disappointment.I immediately tried to speak, I really did. But my vocal chords felt like they had been super glued together. So instead, I grabbed my throat and then touched my four fingers to my thumb repeatedly, trying to show that I couldn't speak."Ah, yes, sorry. Coma patient." He paused to think, then turned to the woman. "Cassia, bring the saline."She gave an eye roll before pulling a small, clear plastic bottle out of a nearby drawer and handed it over to the doctor. Before I could even react, the bottle cap was taken off and the bottle shoved down my throat. A cool liquid flowed out, but the taste was so disgusting my body had a very physical reaction.As soon as the bottle had been removed from my mouth, the saline, and then some, ended up everywhere, but mostly on the doctor's shoes."What the hell was that!" I roared.It wasn't until all the liquid had been coughed out did I realize what just happened. My voice had come back. The disgusting liquid had somehow brought my voice back.Strangely enough, hearing the words come out of me felt weird, as if they had come from someone else and not me."That," The doctor started, looking down at his shoes, "was a saline solution used specifically for people such as yourself, who's vocal chords have atrophied from disuse. Now I don't think you want me to explain how it works, nor do I want to tell you."His smile had disappeared just as quick as it came, not that much blame could be placed on him for it. The smell had just begun to hit my nose, and I thanked God none of it was on me. The only person that seemed to be enjoying herself was the woman, who was currently stifling a very contagious laugh."I think it'd be better to just let you rest for a little bit." The man turned, holding his hand up to the guard who had tried to protest his decision. "Rest, then questions." He turned one more time. "Cassia, finish up here, then head down to find Damon. I haven't seen him all day."She shook her head, and we both watched as the two left the room.We sat in silence for a few moments as she watched something on the screen on her arm. Finally, she pulled up a chair next to me, handed me a clear bottle. I took it once she confirmed it was just water. Then she began to pull several tubes and needles out of my body."So, where are you from, sir pukes-a-lot?" She chuckled.I looked at her for a moment before thinking of an answer. Finally, I decided to just go with what I knew."No clue, can't remember a thing. You're the doctor, don't you guys have files for these kinds of things?" I knew the male doctor said mine was lost, but there was no way they only had one."Doctor?" She responded, confused and fully ignoring the rest of my words."Sorry, nurse? Or whatever else there is in hospitals nowadays." I rubbed my forehead, trying to think.Saying the two words… they did sound strange leaving my mouth. As if I were making them up on the spot. For lack of better words, they didn't feel natural."What's a nurse?" She stared at me, wide eyed.Now I was confused. Was she acting dumb, or did she really make it this far in life without knowing what people who work in hospitals are called? But of course, a lingering feeling inside me indicated something was up."You know, like uh, medical assistants. They do the things doctors are too busy to do." I was pretty sure that was the right answer. The memories were a bit fuzzy, so it was possible I was just mixing up two things. That could also be the reason behind the strangeness attached to the words."Yeah, still no clue what you're talking about." She paused. "Are you from the south? Heard they still use some Old Tongues down there." She stopped what she was doing and watched me attentively. As if I had finally piqued her interest."Well first off, I've no idea who or where I am, nor where I'm from. There's almost nothing in here." I tapped the side of my head, a bit baffled that she forgot. "Secondly, what is an old tongue? We're both speaking English." That was the name of the language. It had to be. All the words sounded the same. Sure, some were unfamiliar, but nobody's vocabulary was perfect.The confusion brought back the pain in my head, only this time, no fire was ignited.Thankfully."English is an Old Tongue, people just don't call it English anymore." She finished pulling everything out, then as she stood up, her expression turned sour. "And if you're going to act like an ass with the whole memory loss thing, at least try and be funny." Rolling her eyes one last time, she left the room.At this point, the thought that maybe I'd simply gone insane grew to seem like a real possibility. Obviously, there wasn't much information for me to go off of, but the basic societal, and a little bit of intellectual stuff, was still retained inside my head.I remembered what doctors and nurses were, what languages were spoken in the world, and which one I was speaking. The, whatever they were, said I'd been out for three years, so all the technology and other improvements made sense. But there was no way in hell that three years was enough time for the world to change that much.Languages don't die off in three years. Vocabularies, dialects, all of that, they can't be changed just like that.There had to be something else going on."Just what the hell happened while I was out?" I mumbled to myself.