When he awoke, he found himself in a white room. At first he thought that it had come back, that the light had returned to him, and then his vision cleared to a sharper resolution, revealing sterile, static white walls closed in around him. Immediately, he realized where he was, and soon after, sadly, he realized what had happened.
He was lying in bed, wrapped in white bed sheets and wearing a white hospital gown. There seemed to be no escaping the white, as if every other color had been sucked from the room, drained of its blood. He found it strangely comforting.
A nurse was bent over the side of his bed, tugging and adjusting a wide bandage wrapped several times around his wrist. Her eyes flicked up casually, meeting his, and she smiled sweetly.
"Glad to see you're awake."
He felt the need to reply but found himself unable. His mind was working, but his lips wouldn't respond--not right away, at least. It was a horrible feeling of helplessness that lasted only a few seconds. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths until he was sure once again that he--and only he--was in complete control.
"Thanks," he said, at last.
"I've got to check on a few other patients, but if you need anything, I'm just a call away. Okay?"
"Okay."
"And you're brother should be getting back in a few minutes. He said he had to step out for a bit."
"My brother?"
At first, he thought it was a mistake. He was still drowsy and almost definitely not in his ideal mental state, but he was completely certain that he didn't have a brother. He'd always wanted one, though. He began to wonder if he'd awoken into another dream. He wasn't seeing anything out of the ordinary, and the last waking memory he had was of being overwhelmed by the visions that swelled up around him. Maybe this was the vision, fully realized, as if he'd been sucked into another world or dimension, some place where he did, in fact, have a brother he never knew.
"What about him, dear?"
He chose his next word carefully, knowing there was no use in arguing against something of which he could not be completely sure. He awoke to find himself in a hospital bed after what he could only hope to describe as a mental breakdown, and he had no desire to enter any sort of confrontation until he could be positive of what was happening. Besides, at that moment, he very much wanted to meet his supposed brother, if only to pretend for a few moments that he was not alone.
"Nothing."
The nurse smiled, revealing tiny, worn lines around her eyes, and quickly left the room, leaving him alone in bed, with only his thoughts to keep him company. That was the whole problem in the first place, he thought to himself.
He wondered where the police were. He had no identification, of course, but he thought that by now, someone surely would have put all the pieces together. There was still a boy from North Carolina missing, and his guardians would have had plenty of time to attain a statement from the bank revealing that he'd purchased a bus ticket to Los Angeles. There should have been posters, flyers, electronic notices to the bus line staff informing them of a possible runaway. Someone found him and brought him here, so the authorities were obviously aware of what had happened and where. If there was to be no real escape from his life, then he should have been caught by now.
He was lying in bed, wrapped in white bed sheets and wearing a white hospital gown. There seemed to be no escaping the white, as if every other color had been sucked from the room, drained of its blood. He found it strangely comforting.
A nurse was bent over the side of his bed, tugging and adjusting a wide bandage wrapped several times around his wrist. Her eyes flicked up casually, meeting his, and she smiled sweetly.
"Glad to see you're awake."
He felt the need to reply but found himself unable. His mind was working, but his lips wouldn't respond--not right away, at least. It was a horrible feeling of helplessness that lasted only a few seconds. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths until he was sure once again that he--and only he--was in complete control.
"Thanks," he said, at last.
"I've got to check on a few other patients, but if you need anything, I'm just a call away. Okay?"
"Okay."
"And you're brother should be getting back in a few minutes. He said he had to step out for a bit."
"My brother?"
At first, he thought it was a mistake. He was still drowsy and almost definitely not in his ideal mental state, but he was completely certain that he didn't have a brother. He'd always wanted one, though. He began to wonder if he'd awoken into another dream. He wasn't seeing anything out of the ordinary, and the last waking memory he had was of being overwhelmed by the visions that swelled up around him. Maybe this was the vision, fully realized, as if he'd been sucked into another world or dimension, some place where he did, in fact, have a brother he never knew.
"What about him, dear?"
He chose his next word carefully, knowing there was no use in arguing against something of which he could not be completely sure. He awoke to find himself in a hospital bed after what he could only hope to describe as a mental breakdown, and he had no desire to enter any sort of confrontation until he could be positive of what was happening. Besides, at that moment, he very much wanted to meet his supposed brother, if only to pretend for a few moments that he was not alone.
"Nothing."
The nurse smiled, revealing tiny, worn lines around her eyes, and quickly left the room, leaving him alone in bed, with only his thoughts to keep him company. That was the whole problem in the first place, he thought to himself.
He wondered where the police were. He had no identification, of course, but he thought that by now, someone surely would have put all the pieces together. There was still a boy from North Carolina missing, and his guardians would have had plenty of time to attain a statement from the bank revealing that he'd purchased a bus ticket to Los Angeles. There should have been posters, flyers, electronic notices to the bus line staff informing them of a possible runaway. Someone found him and brought him here, so the authorities were obviously aware of what had happened and where. If there was to be no real escape from his life, then he should have been caught by now.
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