CHAPTER 1: Awaken.

　　The pain raged inside my head, and it was the first thing that greeted me. Every portion of my brain was being hammered down on by a large mallet. My head twisted and torqued about as my teeth grinded down on each other. My muscles surged to life and wanted to grab hold of my head. My natural instinct to try and ease the fucking pain my mind was being forced to endure. I tried to reach up with my hands, but I couldn`t.

　　I could barely feel the restraints clasped around my wrists for my mind`s agony was drowning over the other sensations my nerves attempted to convey to my brain`s neuro network. I could feel a crustiness covering my eyes but fought the sensation of keeping them clamped shut. An effort to see what restrained my hands and wrists, but pulling my eyelids open ever so slightly caused the pain to intensify and worsen.

　　I immediately shuttered them closed and regretted my attempt. My eyes were blinded by the brightest of lights, the result of which now caused my ears to ring and belch with a bellowing alarm sensation. The blaring sound of a fire alarm klaxon cried out with such ferocity that I felt my ear drums would burst at any moment. The pain radiated inward from my ears as if two metal probes forced themselves inside me.

　　The effect now amplified the torment my mind was suffering through. I could have sworn on every holy book in that moment that a man was standing on top of my head. He was relentlessly pounding a jack hammer deeper and further into the center of my brain.

　　In that moment, I was ready to accept defeat. I was ready to do whatever I had to if it meant I could stop the pain. The electrical charge of agony which surged over every inch of my being had won this fight. There was a slight burning sensation that I was able to just barely take notice of. It was then I felt its source was that of my throat and I realized I had been screaming out the entire time.

　　My muscles began to tense and contract, their strength to fight and resist whatever restrained them was now gone. My body trembled but in a frozen state as every nerve in my body told me it there was nothing left but this electrical shock to my system. The effect which added to my suffering felt like I was being tasered all over again. Though I couldn`t hear my voice out loud, the one which muttered out inside my mind captured it all. Please& just fucking make it stop!

　　It seemed like it was taking forever, but the noises I started to hear in muffled tones were slowly becoming clear. I was beginning to distinguish voices with other audible tones intermixed. I was so relieved to discover the pain I had felt when I awoke previously was now starting to recede slowly.

　　My brain felt as if it had finally taken a long exhale of relief. The sensation left the rest of my body finally feeling it could relax, the tension was gone. I could now take notice of what was going on around me, but in my exhausted state I kept my eyes closed shut.

　　Though there was some residual pain, it was of such small margins that I was able to block it out. My senses began to gain more of my mental attention. I could finally identify the beeping of what I was guessing was some medical analysis machines. The audible chirp sounded like my heart rate, but there were some other weird beeps intermixed that I had never heard before. The voices I could now hear nearby sounded distant and only spoke in mumbles too faint to make out what they were saying.

　　I started to mentally work my way down my body and noticed I could still feel that my arms were strapped down. Whatever I was lying down on prevented me from twisting and turning. I flexed and worked to fight the restraints placed upon me. But that was when I felt the gentle touch great me as I felt a hand softly land upon my right arm.

　　The touch of a warm hand cut through everything going on. It firmly yet gently brought my back against what I lie upon. A few audible beeps sounded but then I felt the apparatus I lay upon shift and lower more into what now felt like a bed. The beeps chimed and continued for a brief second. My teeth started to grind together, my body started to surge with a panic as I felt a painful sensation start to return internally.

　　It was in perfect timing that I then heard the female voice reassure me, "I`ve just given you another round of medications, it will hurt for only a minute before it kicks in& Stay lying down."

　　I didn`t resist, even though the tiny demon inside me urged me to. Instead, I did as she asked and let my body sink backward. I told myself to just breathe and remain as calm as possible.

　　I laid there and performed a couple more rounds of long drawn out breaths. My inhales and exhales being guided by the audible rhythm of the machinery beeps I could hear surrounding me. I still had not seen anything and that was irritating the hell out of me. All I had was my hearing and the sensation for feeling touch.

　　I felt the pressure lesson on my chest as what I assumed, was the woman`s hand that gently grazed off me. As it did the distinct thumping of footsteps walked away and left me with the belief that I was now being left all alone.

　　The ringing that was in my ears had now almost subsided. To my surprise the pain that was raging in my head was now practically gone. Thank fucking god& I thought as I let out a long deep breath.

　　It didn`t take much longer as the pain was now practically being erased with a much quicker pace. I was now able to start going through the motions of trying to feel everything I could without pain preventing the attempt. The methodical effort to work and ensure I could feel my fingertips, then wiggled my toes, pitched, tilted, and turned my ankles and feet.

　　I worked as best as I could to try and mentally connect with all my different body parts. I finally decided to try out my vision, though I was afraid of the repercussions from my previous attempt. To my surprise, however, my vision struggled to engage. All my other body parts responded right away to my efforts, but my vision and eyesight certainly required a far greater effort. As if it was resisting my attempts and didn`t want to give in right away.

　　It had to have been another minute later, mentally working through multiple efforts, that my eyes finally began to blink rapidly. The blinding white light pierced my eyes and I cringed. My eyes had to be super sensitive now, as they automatically locked down the hatches and refused to open. The pain I had initially felt, instantly reappeared in the backs of my eyes and I grimaced in pain.

　　I then heard the electric motor engage as the bed underneath me began to tilt upwards and lifted me into a reclined seated position. Footsteps reappeared and approached me as I heard the individual come close to me. The soft and gentle touch I had previously felt, seemed to return as I the distinct sensation of a hand landed back on my arm at the same location it had previously. It was a fleeting second that the hand gently comforted me and then departed.

　　"Give me a second." A soft voice spoke to me.

　　The individual`s skin brushed against mine as I heard the undoing of what sounded like latches or buckles, perhaps even both. My right arm had the tension contract and then receded from it. It was only a few more seconds that the mysterious hand lifted my arm and guided it across my lap, resting it on top of my legs.

　　"Now to the other side." The female voice said softly.

　　I could sense her walking around behind me, quickly arriving on my left side and performing the same action as before. She then moved down to my feet and ankles. The sensation of freedom and movement rushed over me. I couldn`t help myself and started to readjust my limbs and position.

　　"I need you to take it easy for a few minutes for me, okay?" the soft voice asked of me.

　　"Sure, thing darling," I replied.

　　I wasn`t thinking of doing anything extreme. It surprised me that I was able to respond at all. As soon as I finished my statement, the cracked and dried sensation clenched around my vocal cords. My throat was drier than the Nevada desert. I licked my lips and found them to be chapped. The thirst for water was the next desire which quickly became my top priority. I had a huge desire to down a whole gallon jug, right there on the spot. I just needed to get my hands around one first.

　　"Can I have some water?" I asked.

　　"Of course, hun! I`m so sorry, I should have thought about that." The heart warming voice replied.

　　Fuck did I love to hear her voice. I couldn`t remember the last time I had someone talk to me with such a gentle tone. The kind that enters your ears and reassures you that everything will be okay. A graceful calm that erases all your fears and wraps you in warmth. The same way a mother does when you`re a tiny tyke running into her room and wanting safety from the terrifying monster you believed was under your bed.

　　"Can you open your eyes for me?" She asked.

　　"It hurts& really bad." I replied. I felt really embarrassed to admit it and say it out loud. I had this internal belief that I needed to be a rough and tumble grunt. A guy who grew up not afraid of a long day`s work, getting his hands dirty, and doing the shit that normal people refused to do. I don`t know what it was, but that voice of hers and the soft touch reassured me it was okay to be vulnerable with her.

　　"I understand, but I need you to try, okay?" She continued.

　　I paused and didn`t answer, but then I felt her hand softly plant itself again on my right arm. As it did, my defensive walls crumbled down. "Alright& but just for you."

　　I heard her let out a soft breath and felt I could hear her smile appear on her face, even though I couldn`t see it. I still hesitated for a few seconds but then readied myself to fight through the pain as I worked to lift my eyelids. I don`t know how something so small could feel as if they weighed a ton of bricks, but they did.

　　The light blinded me, and what little vision I did have was nothing but an opaque blur. Nothing appeared in focus. The light stung my eyes and they burned with intensity. The pain started to surge back into my mind, and I began let out some grunts as I worked to fight through it.

　　Her grip on my arm tightened down on me and encouraged, "Fight through it! You must keep them open!"

　　I didn`t give up but kept blinking in rapid succession, doing my damn best to focus. I twisted my head and slightly shifted it from side to side. The entire motion was one that I had hoped would help jostle something internally. Forcing my old noggin to work correctly. But& it didn`t. Come to think of it& I don`t think that technique has ever helped or been effective, but it sure was that natural movement my body wanted to make in that moment.

　　As my head worked and strained all around, I watched her left hand reach up and gently cup the back of my neck. "Relax& let your eyesight return at its own pace."

　　God damn& if someone could fall in love with a voice, I would be a prime contender. After a few more tries of just mentally telling myself to keep fighting to see better, there was progress. My vision started to sharpen up. The room started to come into clear view as my eyes faded things in and out of focus at a snails pace.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

　　I looked over and saw her gorgeous face with crystal blue eyes empathetically gazing back at me. Her facial features left me with the impression that she had some Asian descent in her family ethnicity. A few sparkled freckles dotted across her cheeks and the most incredible smile ever. Holy shit& I`m done for boys, I said internally once I took in her beauty.

　　I gazed deep into the heart of her blue eyes and I was beginning to become lost in the vast ocean of their depths. She had silky smooth black hair that was tied back in a ponytail. A tiny gold neckless was draped across her neck and down just above her chest. I told myself to not look down and was sure I was giving her the creepiest look in return, but I was captivated. I swore we were having a moment. A moment I didn`t want to end and was happy to be-

　　The noise and movement of the door at the end of the room caught my attention. I naturally broke away from my medical attendant`s gaze as I quickly analyzed what was happening.

　　"Thank god you`re awake!"

　　The man kept walking towards me as his pudgy shape of an unfit frame swayed and shifted as he strode forward. A trimmed beard on his face with a thick brown head of frazzled hair. He had a semi-wrinkled shirt which left the impression that whoever he was, certainly had either a rough day, week, month or even year for that matter. In his right hand was what appeared to be a cell phone. His attention was focused on the device more than on me. His thumbs tapped away on the screen as he continued to walk closer.

　　Another woman walked into the room, directly behind him. She was clutching onto a digital pad-styled device and held it in front of her chest. An e-pen in her hand that she rocked back and forth while aggressively chewing on what looked to be gum. She was wearing a black skirt that rested slightly above her knees. The loud clunking of her shiny black high heels made me guess she might have been the person I had heard earlier when I initially started to awaken. She had a black business suit on with a royal blue collared shirt underneath it. A gold necklace and large gold earrings finished off her look as she kept her dark brown hair tied up and in a bun.

　　As I looked at her standing behind the man, I was guessing that whatever the device was, had all my medical measurements and other information displayed on the screen. I could see she was taking notes on the digital display as her hand with the e-pen started to scribble across its` surface. She wasn`t good at composing her facial expressions, to which her body language had been speaking a mile a minute as I looked upon her.

　　I took one quick glance over to my nameless nurse who still had her beautiful smile on her face. She shot a look back at me as she let go of her grip on my arm. Her hands came to rest in front of her in a professional folded manner.

　　The rollie pollie of a man standing before me turned his attention back to me. "Do you know where you are Trevor?"

　　I looked about the high polished and spotlessly clean room. Practically everything colored in a high gloss white. "No&"

　　"Do you know what day it is?"

　　"The day before tomorrow?" I said as I tilted my head.

　　My nurse let out a slight snort and giggle, but Mr. McFluffy belly didn`t find it very amusing.

　　"Do you know our names?" He glared at me.

　　"Nope."

　　"What is the last thing you remember?" His patience seemed to be running short at this point.

　　The question though, had me pausing for a moment. I could feel the confused expression come over my face, and my eyes dashed back and forth as I searched vigorously to try and remember. Fuck me! I& I don`t know! A discouraged expression on my face and a long-drawn-out breath later, I looked him dead in the eyes as my gaze shifted back toward him. "I can`t remember anything&"

　　"FUCK!" The man yelled as he snapped around in a quick turn and immediately began punching away on his cell phone. He instant reaction left me guessing that there was a multitude of unknown people who were waiting for this moment and I had let them all down. The woman who was standing next to him began to scribble away on her digital pad device.

　　I turned back to my nurse, "Did I do something wrong?"

　　My beautiful nurse was about to answer when she was cut off by Mr. "I`ll have three cheeseburgers, a large fry, and a large diet coke". "YES! Yes, you did& you did a lot wrong Trevor!" His anger had reached a point where spit had flung out in front of him as he chastised me.

　　Now I was really confused. I wake up in some bright, highly polished white room that looks like it was built for some stupid sci-fi movie. My brain felt like it was practically imploding on itself in pain and agony. I`m greeted by a nurse who could easily be on the cover of a magazine. Two strangers abruptly arrive asking a multitude of questions to which I don`t have any answers to. But of course, I am somehow the bad guy in this situation.

　　"I`m sorry, but who exactly are you and what exactly is it that I allegedly did?" I asked in retort.

　　The man instantly stopped as if I had hit him with a damn lightning bolt. He stood there frozen for about three full seconds, blinking, and breathing as he slowly looked up from his phone and peered directly at me. His gaze and facial expressions told me he was furious with me. But there was something in his eyes that looked curious towards want to discover what was going on with me. At least from a medical evaluation standpoint.

　　"Don`t fuck with me, Trevor!" He lifted his finger and pointed it at me with a wave of emphasis. The same way an angry parent does to you when they question how truthful you`re being with them.

　　I lifted my hands up defensively, "Look pal, I don`t know who you are, nor do I know what I`ve done, but clearly you have more answers to these questions than I do. So how about you do the explaining and tell me what exactly I did and how I got here."

　　The guy turned and looked at the woman standing next to him. I must have hit the wrong nerve. His mouth was slightly open as he looked to be dealing with his own shock to his system now. The demeanor which began to take form told me he had to reboot his mind to comprehend everything now happening.

　　He finally found his words after a pause, "I have to go make some phone calls& I just&" He tilted his head and looked at me with an intense smug expression, "See if you can figure it out and I`ll be back after I try to inform the exec board."

　　He turned and began walking out of the room; I tried to stop him and get some answers. "Hey wait a minute!"

　　He shook his head and waved his finger above his head. He didn`t even turn to look at me as he called over his shoulder. "Not now Trevor! Not now!"

　　The glass doors at the end of the room opened in a quiet and smooth motion. The whole sci-fi vibe was still in full effect as I began to really look around the room and take it all in. The entire place was spotless and whoever they had in charge of the cleaning, certainly did a stand-up job.

　　I narrowed in on the woman with the digital pad. She was shaking her head slightly and rolled her eyes after the big guy left. As I looked at her more, she didn`t look half bad. "And who exactly are you?" I finally asked while she kept staring at the digital pad. The audible tapping of the e-pen continued against the screen. She didn`t respond at first, but with a pondering look, she adjusted her expressions as whatever information she was reviewing had captivated her attention.

　　"The name is Samantha, Trevor& Samantha Thornbeck and you`ve certainly outdone yourself this time." She said while her eyes flared open with a cocky tilt of her head.

　　It was now my time to roll my eyes. My darling nurse had brought me a paper cup filled with water. She had to practically keep refilling it non-stop as I guzzled it down relentlessly. I finally took a brief pause from doing water shots. "Is that a fact?" I asked, but returned towards quenching my thirst; only this time with small sips.

　　Samantha`s eyebrows shot straight up as she looked to the side but then dashed a quick glance over towards me for a split second. "Oh& it is!" She brought a large sarcastic smile on her face. The same smile a southern person does when they follow it up with a "Bless your heart," comment. "We had to send quite the cleanup crew to fix your mess. We almost couldn`t extract you out in time to save you. But here we are and, yay& aren`t we so lucky." The disdain in her voice was so thick it could compete with the humidity on an Alabama summer day.

　　"Save me? Cleanup crew? & what the hell are you talking about?" I reached my left hand up and cupped the back of my neck, massaging it as I tried to exhale the confusion out of me.

　　She brought the pad down to her side and I could see her cheek bulge as she pressed her tongue against it. She shifted her weight to one side and popped her hip out as she brought her other hand up and tapped her finger against her chin as she glared at me. "You really don`t remember coming on board with us?"

　　"Who exactly is& us?"

　　"Scalpel" She dashed a quick look toward my nurse.

　　"Woah, woah, woah! Why do you need a scalpel, suddenly." My hands shot out in front of me in a defensive posture. I could feel my eyes widen, the alarm bells sounding inside my head. I tried to prepare myself for what Samantha might try to do next until I watched her react to my interpretation.

　　She shook her head and brought her hand up to grab her face as she sighed heavily and shifted again. "No Trevor! You dumb fucking meathead! That`s the name of our agency! Scalpel!" Her voice snapped at me with a tone of heated criticism.

　　"Ohh& that makes more sense." My heart eased. The audible chirps from the medical monitoring devices began to slow as my vitals continued to calm back down.

　　My comforting nurse interjected, "He did just come out of a coma; it will take some time before his memory starts to come back, if at all& You might want to try to be a little more patient with him."

　　The interruption that attempted to save me did not land well with Ms. Business Bitch. Her mouth opened, and for a second, I thought I was about to watch a Jerry Springer episode unfold right in front of my face. The thought started to turn me on, but I would have much rather changed one or two of those variables around to make the experience more climatic rather than destructive.

　　Samantha briefly looked down at her tablet device before bringing it up and holding it snuggly against her chest as she made this playful yet sinister expression. "Arabella& have we done Test 37 yet?"

　　I looked over to see this sad appearance immediately come over Arabella`s face as she shook her head. What is Test 37? I mentally thought, but there was nothing there for me to recall. I looked at my nurse who I now discovered was named Arabella. Her face told me she was conflicted and her eyes looked away as Samantha continued.

　　"Well& it`s on the checklist. Do you wanna do the honors or me?" Samantha asked her.

　　She didn`t hesitate to respond, "I`d rather not&" The smile long gone from her face at this point.

　　"Fine with me." Samantha responded.

　　My attention was still drawn to Arabella. My heart feeling empathy towards her as I couldn`t quiet figure out why she was now going through this change of emotional pain. I heard Samantha`s shows clacking on the floor as she approached. But was completely taken by surprise, for I didn`t expect the small petite frame to rock me across the left side of my head with an open-handed slap. She put some serious weight behind it and poured all of her pent-up frustrations into it.

　　My head lunged over to my right side, as I cried out, "Jesus Christ!" I noticed that out of the corner of my vision, Arabella had brought her hands up slightly. She had bitten down on her lip as she cowered slightly back with a reaction.

　　Samantha was still taking the lead in the situation. "Well! Remember anything yet?"

　　I reached up and grabbed my head. My shoulders turned inwards as I reared to my right defensively. My head was throbbing from the firm impact. The sensation left me feeling she had a lot of practice with that slap. "No! & but, what the fuck lady?"

　　"What about your vision?" Samantha asked as she still slightly leaned towards me as if she wanted to follow up her slap with another.

　　I started slowly lowering my defenses from the initial impact. "What does my vision have to do with anything?"

　　"Hmm& I was pretty sure Test 37 would restart the neurochip." Samantha said as her fake nails tapped on the digital pad screen.

　　"What are you talking about? What neurochip?" I was so confused and still was not getting any answers. I didn`t know how exactly I had arrived at this specific point in time, or what my current location was. All I knew was that my fuse was starting to get really fucking short, and my hands were rated E for everyone. I would happily fight my way out of this situation if I had to.

　　"Has anyone notified Brian that B2 is awake?" Samantha asked Arabella.

　　"No, I don`t think they have." She said in a sympathetic tone as she looked over towards me.

　　Samantha looked straight up at the ceiling and let out a long breath, without saying another word she turned and walked out of the room. It would have been nice if she could have at least answered my questions, but that seemed to be too much to ask for. Samantha departed without another word, the glass doors to the room slid open and then shut as soon as she left.

　　What the fuck have we gotten ourselves into Trevor?