As I slowly opened my eyes, the bright fluorescence of the overhead lights felt stark against the dull, sterile walls. My body was heavy, almost like I was anchored to the bed, and I could hear the rhythmic beeping of a machine nearby. When I turned my head towards it, it looked like a heart monitor.
The memories of what had happened were hazy, like a dream quickly slipping away. I recalled flashes of sensation—there was the pain of the headache that got worse, then the overwhelming shock of my body convulsing, followed by utter darkness. Now, I was in a sterile-looking hospital room, and I could see the faces of nurses moving in and out.
I tried to sit up but was met with a wave of dizziness. A nurse noticed and came over, gently touching my shoulder.
"It's okay, just take it slow," she reassured me. I could see a doctor on the other side of the room, flipping through papers on a clipboard chart, and I felt a blend of worry and confusion—what had happened to me?
They started asking me simple questions about my name and the date. I struggled to piece together my thoughts, fighting through the fog. I wanted to reassure them, to say I was fine, but the words felt just out of reach. The nurse offered me some water, and I felt more normal with each sip. The weight in my stomach eased my nausea.
I could hear snippets of conversation around me, the remnants of concern from people who must have been informed, and I heard Rosemary's name mentioned. She'd be here soon, and that thought brought a mix of both comfort and anxiety. My mind raced with questions—was this just a one-time occurrence? What did it mean for the future?
As I settled back into the bed, my environment slowly shifted from panic to more focused care. Each moment that passed brought some clarity, and I knew I was in the right place for help and answers. Though I was grateful to simply be awake, I wondered what had brought on what had happened. I think it was a seizure of some kind, but I couldn't be sure. I still couldn't remember much, but the day's events from yesterday eventually came in clearly.
When I could finally speak, I relayed them to the older-looking doctor, who had introduced herself as Kaylee. She'd given me some very strict instructions to stay in bed until she had all the lab results back, jabbing a finger at me with each word. I nodded sheepishly; I knew better than to question a doctor like her. Something told me if I didn't stay in the bed, she'd find a way to strap me to it.
A nurse entered to announce Rosemary and Damon's arrival. Kaylee nearly looked ready to strangle them as they walked in, but she remained silent, lurking in the background with her clipboard in hand. Rosemary sat by the right-hand side of the bed, and Damon stood behind her.
"How are you feeling now? The staff notified me as soon as you started to wake up." She moved to get comfortable, leaning back into the chair before crossing one leg over the other.
I sat up a bit straighter in bed, taking the opportunity to ask my own question, "I feel drained; what happened when I passed out yesterday?"
She was quiet momentarily, before answering, "We're not sure, yet. Kaylee here has been very busy working to get a medical history on you, but we couldn't find anything. You don't exist in any of our, or any of our nearby states, records. It's nearly like you don't exist at all. Though that's to be expected, you have no identification on you at all. Nor would you have an idea of them or what they would be, I'm sure." She motioned a hand at Kaylee, who handed over her clipboard. I watched Rosemary's eyes skim the boards' contents, flipping through the papers and making small humming noises on each page.
"If I was someone who's missing, or if I was kidnapped or something, I'm sure someone would know, right? Someone would be looking for me?" I couldn't help but ask, but a nagging thought in my mind said, no they wouldn't, who would bother?
"Of course they would. I already had Damon pull a record of all the people who had been listed or reported as missing for the past three years, and he's been going through them. There are... A lot. Most of them are around your age as of late, but we haven't found anyone matching your exact description yet. We'll let you know as soon as we become aware of any more information." She pushed herself up out of her chair, looking down at me for a moment before turning to leave the room.
"Is- Is there a chance I'll have more of these episodes from yesterday?" Rosemary glanced at Kaylee, expecting an answer. The former hummed for a moment, looking back at the chart in hand.
"I would say yes. Several of the tests we ran said that you were prone to them, and have had them several times before, including a couple while you were unconscious in our care." I coughed once, looking at Kaylee in surprise, but she cut me off before I could reply. "With your permission, I'd like to run more tests to see if they're caused by the questions you were asked as a result of trauma, or if it's just something genetic." I nodded at that, content to be answered.
"Yes, yes that's fine. I'll do whatever is required I just... I just want answers. Everything is still so foggy from before and it's worse now after that episode. It feels like the more I try and remember from before, the more these things will happen. Is that weird?" Rosemary shared a look with Kaylee, and both women shook their heads.
"No. You're not the only one to mention that or exhibit these symptoms, but you are the first to have them this bad." Kaylee answered first, Rosemary nodded to her words before giving her statement, her voice even and every word measured carefully.
"So far we've found at least twenty survivors that have been dropped off like you were. All of them were women, ages eighteen to twenty-five, besides you. I'm unsure if it's the same in our neighboring states or compounds, but you're the only male who's been dropped off this way. That we've found, at least." Rosemary paused, before dropping back into her chair. "It's always the same. Always to the same clearing, with no fanfare, or vehicle drop-offs. No cars, vans, helicopters or planes. One second they're not there and then they just appear. They're also always asleep, in some sort of vegetative state. Most of them don't wake for months after we've found them. You're the only one that's been different. You were dropped off during the day, and awake from what Damon told me."
I shook my head at that, "No, I woke up there during the day. In a clearing of some kind, but when I walked around I ran into what he said you guys call the Shade. He said I'm the only one that, that can see it?" Everyone went silent, not even a breath could be heard.
"Tell me everything," Rosemary commanded.