Fragmentation

My eyes slowly open and as the light floods them, they quickly shut and the sensation of pain bubbles to the surface. It feels as though my eyes are burning and I gasp in response to the pain. I try once more, slower this time. Allowing only bits of light in. This process helps, but as my eyes fully open, everything I see is blurred. I can, however, make out figures moving around where I am and the faint found of something dripping enters my ears as I notice it. The dripping isn't the only thing I can hear. Faint sounds of what very well could be classical music is heard not too far from me. Wherever I am, they have some class it seems. My eyes begin to clear up as soon as one of the figures moves over to me. A woman wearing what seems to be a nurse's outfit fiddles with a stand. As I look closer, it appears she is actually fiddling with an IV bag placed on the stand. My eyes run down her form to notice her blonde hair and her curvaceousness, a veritable bombshell. I turn my head to see the other nurse. She, as a foil, is a bit more weighty, but not overtly so. A short brunette with deep bags under her eyes. Pulling all nighters seems to be in her nature. She seems to be fiddling with a radio, the source of the classical music I'm currently hearing. A click and suddenly a news broadcast replaces the music.

"The death toll breaches the hundreds of thousands mark as the military begins their movement on the Capital after numerous bombing runs on our forces in the nights prior. Civilians and soldiers alike join hands in death in an event that has rocked the very foundation of our world. This event, known simply as-"

Before the anchor says this name, the nurse switches the radio off entirely. The look on her face says most of what she is feeling. Downcast eyes and a frown that cannot be brought back to a smile. I look once more to the bombshell, it appears as though she hadn't heard the broadcast, or maybe she chooses to not hear it as she hums with a very bright smile on her face. I try to get one of their attentions, but the only thing to come is a broken gasp. The blonde does not take much notice, but the brunette looks over and approaches me. She looks very wary, like maybe I had done this before, but I hadn't show any other response. She looks deep into my open eyes and brings her hand to her mouth as her own eyes begin to grow in surprise.

"Miri... Miri! He's awake! Stay here with him while I find Doctor Hoston" She calls to her coworker, the blonde one, supposedly named Miri. She looks over to me with confused eyes and approaches me herself. Her blue eyes meet mine as they gaze into each other. She nods a few times and makes her way around me and to the table on the side of my bed. She grabs a glass of water and lifts it up to my mouth. The cool liquid splashes into my mouth, the dryness being submerged as it drains and relieves my throat. She removes the glass as I begin to choke a bit on the water. "Slow down there. We don't need you dying on us after you just woke up." Miri says very playfully with a smile. As I am about to respond, the brunette returns through the door with the Doctor in tow. I look him over, a thin man with small glasses covering his equally small eyes which burn into me as he himself looks me over.

"So it is true." He says in a very calm and meticulous voice. "You have come to. The land of the living has missed you for some time. Do you... remember what happened to you? Why you're here?"

My brain racks itself in an attempt to answer his questions, but the only thing to surface is continual darkness. "I... don't" I manage to stammer out. He nods once, knowing I wouldn't be able to answer such difficult questions. "I apologize for those questions. I should have started with something easier. How about your name? Do you remember that?" He replies. Amidst the darkness something came to mind. A name began to surface and I blurted it out without a second thought. "Abel. That's... that's my name." "Very good, Abel. Do you remember when you were born? Where you were born?" He asks and my brain once again sifts through the darkness to come up with answers. "2397... I'm... from Mars." Another nod as he claps his hands together. "We are making progress. That is very good. Every little step will help us get to the top of the staircase." He moves to bring his hand behind me, motioning for one of the nurses to help him and they comply as I am sat up. "Now, can you answer the questions I asked earlier?" He asks. My brain shakes and the next thing I know, I'm being taken to a place that sounds vaguely familiar. The sounds of gunfire fill my ears. The sounds of machines join in. On a final layer, screaming from other people add onto my memories. Suddenly, it is all cut off as something robs me of my hearing, and then nothing. I reply with a shake of my head. "I heard gunfire... a firefight?" At the sound of this the doctor nods again and pats me on my back. "Yes! A firefight. You are a soldier. You fight for our liberty and our freedom." The Doctor moves once more to the front of the bed and his joyous cries for me being able to remember certain things is replaced by a more sullen tone. "Now... The reason you're in here is because there was an explosion." One of the nurses brings a board to the doctor's side and the other brings a file. He begins taking what looks to be X-Rays of a human body out of the folder and placing them on the board. "You were found along with many of your comrades. Most of them had perished, but you survived. You were still breathing, miraculously. Look here." He says pointing to the first x-ray. A human body with multiple pieces of shrapnel lodged throughout his body. "This is you before the operation and this is after." He points to the picture next to the first. The same body, with much of the shrapnel removed. "You were lucky that most of the shrapnel had been small enough for us to remove it from your body. However, we couldn't get some of the pieces from your skull. This is why we are surprised you woke up." He brings his hands to his pockets.

"Abel, you have been asleep for ten years."

The words hit me like a freight train and my reaction makes not only the nurses, but the doctor himself tense up in fear. They rush me, trying to hold me down as I begin to violently shake. My hearing begins to die off so I can't make out what the doctor says next, but going on the actions that are taken, I assume he called for a sleeping agent to be deployed within my body. As Miri complies, I feel the sting of a needle pierce my skin. Soon, my seizing begins to lessen and exhaustion takes me. My eyes close and I fall into a deep sleep.

"Hostiles approaching from twelve o clock! Form up and bring them to their knees! I hear someone from far off call out. At his order, I comply and bring myself to the location indicated. I reload my armor piercing rifle and look through the scope. What greets me are multiple hulking masses of metal and infantry running underfoot. I call back to my commander. "Multiple targets confirmed! What are your orders?" "Open fire!" The commander calls back and my eyes return to the wave of enemies. I take aim, and fire with my comrades. As soon as I do, I see one of the masses fire a missile directly towards us. We scramble and then... darkness.

I shoot up from my bed with a scream and look around. The nurses look at me with concerned looks in their eyes and Doctor Hosten comes around the corner. I presume from looking after another patient. He, too, looks at me with concerned eyes and his voice breaks the awkward silence that had formed after my outburst. "Abel, are you alright? Did you have a nightmare? Please, calm down. It is going to be alright." I notice my erratic breathing and try to normalize it before I reply, "I think it was a... memory. What caused me to enter my coma. Doctor? I heard on the radio about the bombing runs. About the march on the capital. Is that all going on in the war?" He replies with a nod as his eyes look downcast. "Many of us have died fighting in this war. Officially, it ended yesterday. Everything is alright." His eyes fixate on me once again. "You have no war to go back to, Abel. Congratulations." These vague answers do little for me, but it is obvious by the way he is looking that he must be sad for all of the lives that had been taken. I overlap my hands over my lap and nod. "It's all going to be alright..." I say and I repeat as I close my eyes. "It's all going to be alright... alright... alright... alrightalrightalrightalrightalrightalright."

Someone shakes me awake, my eyes shoot open to see Doctor Hosten. "Abel, we are going to need you to walk. This might seem sudden, but it is something that I must ask of you. I will tell you more about your condition on our way to our destination." My head tilts to the side as a response and I make a movement to get out of bed, he moves to help me. Allowing me to prop myself up against him. "Very good. Just take your time." My feet hit the cold tiles under my bed, sending a shiver up my spine. I take my first step, and nearly fall as a result of the amount of time I had been asleep. "Steady, Abel. We must move." He says very hurriedly. I take another step and another. Like a toddler learning to walk, my legs feel like gelatin as the wobble, trying to support my weight. "We have done what we could to preserve your body the way it was before you entered the coma, but with the shrapnel, we were worried you would not be able to." Soon, we reach the door to my room and I look out into the pristine and sterile looking hall. I am severely impressed by how well the place looks, in fact, a bit too impressed. I also notice how clear the hall is. No nurses are around, nor any patients. I look back to the doctor. "It is... a quiet night. To my own surprise as well." He says with a pause. We press onward towards the destination the good doctor has in mind. We end up going down a flight of stairs, at this point he wanted me to try going on my own. I succeed and we continue on. Eventually, somewhere past the check in area, he begins telling me more about my situation. "The shrapnel. We managed to get most of it out, but some pieces are still lodged into your brain. We were unable to get them out because of their location. We did not want to risk hemorrhaging. As a result, there are things that may not be... real. Your perception of reality, at times, may seem off. Do not worry, we are working to make your life a bit better." I am taken aback by this admittance and the only thing that I can say is. "I'm not sure how I should respond, but can you answer a question for me? Where are we going?" He replies quickly. "Someplace nice." He follows it with a shove. "Move it."

I look back to him with a very confused and offended look on my face. "Stop pushing, Doc. We'll get there when we get there. Don't rush me." He stops and when he opens his mouth, the voice he had prior. One of grace, compassion and a slight cheeriness is replaced with a loud, brutish voice. A voice he feels as though he had heard at one point in his life, "Don't rush me? Soldier! Do you realize the situation we're in!? Move it!" This voice scares me for a second and catches me off guard as hints of mechanical crackling could be heard after each word. As I look on at this figure, something happens. The only way to describe it is a quick rush of static on an old television. This static overcomes my vision and as my vision is brought back to normal, the doctor is nowhere to be seen. I look around quickly to see no one at all around me. Come to think of it, there was no one in the halls as I made my way down. A sharp pain forces itself into my head and I drop to my knees. This pain is so great and as my hands slam to my head to try to end it, a ringing begins. I begin to call out with pain in my voice. I feel my voice grow louder and louder with each passing second and I soon pass out once again.

I feel myself falling and as soon as I do. I try my hardest to find something to latch onto. However, there is nothing around me but darkness. This feeling of falling is soon stopped as my feet feel as though they have something under them. I take a cautious step forward and once satisfied that the dark ground underneath would not swallow me whole, I continue my trek. This would soon come to an end as someone approaches me. A man with broad shoulders who stands at about my eye level which is about six feet. His hair is near indistinguishable from the darkness around us both, but the slight movements he makes are enough to move the mop upon his head. He is dressed in what appears to be military garb, contrasting heavily with my own hospital gown. I bring my hand up to him and he mirrors my movements. As they touch, my eyes shoot open and are greeted with the sight of the brunette headed nurse.

"Abel? Are you awake? Abel?" She says in a concerned voice. I blink my eyes in response and she breathes a sigh of relief. "I found you in the middle of the hallway passed out. What happened?" I shrug and reply. "I... believe I was sleepwalking. Though, you don't usually remember that sort of stuff, do you? I'm unsure." I give a deep sigh as I bring my hands to my eyes to wipe the sleep from them. "I apologize for making you worry." She moves to sit me up and I comply. When I am fully sat up, Doctor Hosten comes from the door at the opposite end of the room. "Abel, what in god's name were you doing out there? How in god's name did you even get out?" His voice echoes through the room with a tone of anger and slight surprise. "I... like I told her. I don't know. You helped me, but I suppose you didn't and then.. all I remember is the pain. Then I fell asleep." Doctor Hosten crosses his arms and nods as I tell the story and follows it up. "You are not mentally stable. This is due to the shrapnel in your brain that we were not able to retrieve. At least you proved that you are capable of walking."

I tilt my head slightly and respond to the first part of the Doctor's reaction. "Yes, you told me that already Doctor." My head and my body begin to feel heavy, as if someone is pressing their fingers against my temples and if a large weight is being placed upon my chest. I bring my own fingers to my temples to check their status. Of course, nothing is there. It's just my imagination I think to myself. I'll get some rest. That'll make everything feel better. and with that, my eyes close before hearing if the doctor has a proper response for me. I move my body back down under the blankets and drift off.

A scream breaks me from my slumber and my eyes open. I try to move my body, but it feels the same as when I had drifted off. So I lay in my bed, motionless. Wondering if the scream I had heard was real, or just a figment of my broken imagination. This does not take long to figure out for me as what sounds like a gunshot followed by another scream intrudes on the interlude of silence I had just a moment before. I watch the doorway, wondering if whatever it was would cross it and to my dismay, something did cross. What appears to be three heavily armed men pass the door with a second group of three behind them entering in. They check the room of the bodies around me and then one finally begins to check my bed. His gun's light flashes into my face and the bright light forces me to cringe and close my eyes.

"We've got a live one, Delta Four. Proceed with secondary objective?" The armed intruder calls out. "Roger, Delta Two. Proceed." With confirmation of his orders received, D2 aims his rifle right at my head. I can see the faint movements of his finger passed the shining light. However, something distracts him. Another scream, but this one is not like the others I had just heard. This scream is more mechanical and at this new noise, the light shining upon my face disappears as the sounds of boots hitting the floor rush out to try to find it. I nervously swallow the saliva that had built up and turn my head to see if the room was clear and it was. The weight that had prevented me from moving seems to release its invisible grasp on me and I try to sit myself up. Once sat upright, I move my body off of the bed. My legs had supported me alone for a short amount of time, but now it appears as though they are going to need to take me to a safer place.

What was going on? Was this reality? I'm unsure. Thousands of questions swarm my brain, but I try to push them all aside for my survival.