I awoke in the hospital with lacerations all down my arms; they were wrapped but as I stirred, the stiffness in my forearms was apparent and when I moved them around, I felt a throb from them in my ears. A nurse came to my bed and assured me everything would be fine. Nothing made any sense, and I became totally unmanageable, swinging my arms and legs out in wild directions. Terror overtook me and the healthcare professionals’ faces took on oblong qualities, swirling into gray clay with oval black eyes. I screamed and one of those things strapped my arms down. My mind swam and the dope took me.
My time in the hospital was confusing as they attempted to figure out my identity. They tried asking me, but I was at a loss. Anytime I tried to recollect anything from the previous days, it felt like firecrackers were going off in my mind. Blinding pain rattled from my teeth down to the pit of my stomach.
“You’ve lost an eye.” Said one of the doctors, shining a light into my one remaining eye, watching the pupil dilate.
“Shit, that’s rough,” said the nurse, stroking his furry cheek.
“Language.” Said the doctor.
“How’s that possible?” I blinked my one eye, looking around the beige room.
“Don’t know yet.” The doctor clicked the flashlight off. “How’ve you been feeling?”
“Sore.”
“That’s to be expected.” He looked at me over the clipboard. “How’s the appetite?”
“It’s returning.” I said.
“Good.” He flipped the pages. “And you’re sure you don’t remember anything?”
Firecrackers. I massaged my temples and grit my teeth. “No, sorry.”
“That’s alright. Your memory should return with time.”
“Can you figure out who I am?” I asked, reaching out to grab the doctor’s arm.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“We’ll try.” He sighed. “Just rest for now.” Beyond the doctor’s shoulder, the nurse offered a stiff smile.
They left me alone in the hospital room. Maury was on the TV. Some new man was screaming about how his baby mama was a ho fo’ sho’. I changed it to the weather.
I stirred my Jell-O cup with the plastic spoon then popped the remainder of the treat into my mouth, forcing it back and forth through my teeth before finally swallowing it. After being sure that no one was watching me, I toyed with the bandage around my head, lifting up the bit around where my left eye had once been. I shifted to catch my reflection in the clear vase near the plastic hospital bed. What met me there was a wide-open wet hole. I audibly recoiled from it.
Who am I?
Feverish dreams took me again. Visions of thin limbed beings with insect eyes, blinking from around the sides of their heads. They approached me. I was in a specimen jar. They tapped on the glass, pointing, and laughing with mini thin mouths.
What sort of fucked dream was that?
I was sweating. I was back in the hospital room. It was pitch black, so it took me a moment to realize I wasn’t still asleep. I blinked and flinched at visions of those alien creatures. Was I going mad? I grabbed the frame of the bed, gripping it tight, like I was afraid I’d be pulled straight up through the ceiling.
I blinked and they were back for the briefest of moments.
Taking my forefinger and thumb, I pressed my right eye open wide. The hospital gown clung to my chest. Was I sweating? Everything was so floaty and disorienting. I threw my head over the side of the bed and up-chucked orange Jell-O with bile. It hit the floor wet. I fell back to the bed and put my hand to my chest. Flashes of light buzzed around in front of my face. I bit my tongue and finally closed my right eye.
I was in the specimen jar again. There were two creatures there, laughing at me. One of them disappeared while the other waited patiently. Just beyond them stood a solid metal wall with portholes to infinite space. The thing returned with a flat reflective rectangle and held it up so that I could see it through the murky glass of my jar.
There I was. Nothing more than a veiny eyeball with a bit of optic nerve trailing out the back. “What are you?” I asked, knowing full well they were millions of miles away.
One of the thin creatures cocked its bulbous shining head to the side as though it had heard my question. Then a moist lipless grin spread across its face and it put up its hands, jumping at me. I flinched and threw myself off the bed, hitting the hard tile floor with all of my weight on an elbow. I groaned but was sure to keep my right eye open.
I see them all the time. At least with half of my eyes.
They dance in front of my specimen jar and speak to me in a language I’m not sure how I know. They’re coming back, they tell me. I tremble as I write this. I can see a blue orb, my planet, through one of the portholes of their alien craft.