“In the Dark"
White light streams into the darkness. It beckons me toward it, promising the joys of life. My body rebels against my every step. My feet hit the ground, sending pain up my throbbing weak legs. To shrink back into the dark would be so easy. I could stop. Yet, my mind pushes me forward. My eyes concentrate on the light ahead of me. The light of hope.
Murmurs of words bubble from my throat. My mouth tries to form the simplest of words such as, hi. I mumble it over and over. Time freezes. The sound of a distant hello echoes through the expanse of light. I am positive no other living thing could exist here. Hesitant I whisper, “Where are you?” Up until now, I didn’t even try to make sense of the vacant white space around me. I squint my eyes to take a better look. Faintly a curtain and monitors are visible. Only the outlines of the objects gave away their presence.
“Can you hear me?” the mysterious voice rumbles in my ears. The voice of a woman, her tone sweet and angelic sounds so near to me. The sense of smell comes to me. Cheap lily perfume wafts into my nose. Her face, so beautiful and perfect, strays in my imagination.
“Mmmm... Your voice is so beautiful.” The words surprise me. They sound so real, as if I could touch them. My mouth could feel the motions of my lips and tongue. I reach my hand in front of me and play with my fingertips. Touching each one.
“You’re moving, that’s a good sign.” She states; but now I can feel hands adjusting my position. My mind tells me that I’m lying down. The need to see better surges through me. I force my eyes open. At first they falter, now I can see a woman staring at me, her face full of concern. Like gems, her sapphire eyes look into mine, in search for answers. Thoughts try to make sense but it’s no use, my mind is already mush.
Hours later I wake up, sudden bright light pours into my eyes, leaving a massive headache behind. A silent groan escapes from my thin pale lips. Agonizing pain from my head makes it nearly impossible to understand what the woman is trying to tell me. Her lips keep moving, urging me to reply. Worry appears in her eyes. In haste, she shoves two whopping pills down my throat. She dims the lights attempting to sooth my raging headache. Slowly the pain starts to recede.
From her scrubs I conclude that the woman must be a nurse and that currently I am lying in a hospital bed. “Wha- What happened? What am I doing here? What day is it? I am so confused.” I demand, pulling myself upright too fast. Suddenly the room around me spins in circles, knocking me into unconsciousness.
Doctors poke and probe my body, checking my heart and taking my blood pressure. One of them standing closest to me notices my staring. Taking one blue latex glove off after the other, he looks over at me seriously, saying, “Josh, you have been in a coma for ten years.” He admits this as if it’s no big deal! His glassy eyes and composed face give no trace of warmth or understanding.
“What happened to me?” My voice falters as I try to not let myself lose control. Ten years. My daughter would be twenty now. “Where is my family? I want to see them now!” I yell. They better tell me everything... immediately.
“Calm down, we have already contacted your family. They are on their way to see you as we speak.” He tells me softly. “As for what happened to you, well Josh, we have no damn clue. We checked everything from your bone marrow to the food that you ate the very day you became ill and then some. Now listen closely, walking again will be difficult for you. Anything actually, will fatigue your body. Physical therapy and surgery can cure that, hopefully.”
I look like a fool. My own drool began to slowly drip from my shocked face. Slowly, I swipe my arm across my face grimacing, leaving nothing but a blank stare. The doctor gave me too much information all at once to handle. Nothing makes sense. All I once knew in life is gone, lost forever, never to be had again. Nothing will ever be the same. I think back to the darkness that I stayed in for so long. If I stayed there longer, would I be dead right now? I am a man, and men should be tough but I am an epic failure.
Clearing his throat, the doctor anxiously searches for the right words to break the awkward silence he had created. “Well clearly we gave you enough information to think about. Maybe even too much. Try to relax as you await your family’s arrival. Trust me, everything will be alright.” Confident he said what needed to be said, he pats me unsurely on the arm, then hastily exits my room, leaving me here alone to ponder my future. As I lay here, I try to fit the puzzle pieces together. So I am or was a coma patient, waiting to see his family for the first time in ten years. Since when do people drop onto the ground going into a coma for no apparent reason? How can the doctors not know what is wrong with me? Frustrated, I attempt to lift up my arm to hit my bedside but I can barely move my fingertips. I guess this means that I am stuck in this hospital bed... For now.
Cautiously peering through the cracked open door, I see an older version of my little girl. Her silky black hair hangs over her shoulders. I almost forgot about her bright green eyes. She was always so beautiful. Noticing my smile, she hurries over to me, tenderly wrapping me in a bear hug. Forgotten emotions such as love and security rush through me. Affectionately I tell her, “I love you honey bunny, where is your mother?” The sadness appearing on her face tells me the answer, my body tenses as I dreadfully wait for her to continue.
Her voice trembles as she tells me nothing but the awful truth, “Mom has moved on Dad.” she sniffs continuing, “She tried so hard for so long to stay but ten years is a while to be alone. We both love you so much. You understand right? Dad?” Averting her intense gaze, I quickly turn away, dabbing at my moistening eyes.
Yes, anger at my wife swelled through me but I know yelling at Kendra isn’t fair. None of this is her fault. My eyes shift from fury to pity for my poor daughter. I left her at the age of ten. All alone. I wonder if someone has replaced me. She was without her father for too long.
Swinging open the door, the nurse breaks the intensity in the atmosphere. Blushing, she hurriedly says “Kendra, hun, visiting hours are over,” shifting her gaze towards me, she adds “and it’s time for you to have your first physical therapy session.” With that, she hurries Kendra out of the door.
Before my nerves settle down, the door knob clicks once more, introducing my physical therapist. She has her blond long hair loosely tied back in a ponytail, her black eyeliner enhancing her stunning blue eyes. This girl is hot. No lie. In my head I was expecting some old man with a white beard trying to make me do exercises. She opens her cherry blossom lips, “Well Mr. Longsley, I see from the expression on your face that you are quite happy despite your recent events.” Her perfect lips stop, leaving them partially open.
The whole time she talked to me or made me move this leg or that finger, my mind drifted to her perfect body. All of my man radars kept firing off. Being a man is so rough. Despite my feelings towards her, I succeed to keep my male mouth shut.
My room turns dark as the day turns to an end. Exhaustion makes normal tasks ten times harder. Just trying to blink is a pain. My energy seeps out of me, giving me no choice but to fall asleep. A minute later my head falls back. Only the sound of my quiet breathing remains in the room.
A cool breeze sweeps through my hospital room. Chilly, I reach for my blanket but find someone restraining my arm, holding me back. The feel of rough grizzly hands against my own skin wakes me. A million thoughts fly through my head. Only the vague outline of a muscular figure is all I can see in the dark. “Who are you?” My voice is small and frightened.
“Be quiet.” Those were the only words I needed to hear to shut my trap. His husky voice immediately gave me the impression that whatever this guy does, he is highly ranked. The question is though what he wants from me. The burly man grabs me my shirt collar and yanks me out of bed. Moments later I find myself being shoved down the hallway. Every muscle in my body screamed for me to stop. Moving my legs is so painful. Right when I am about to screech in pain, the agony in my legs lessens. The man pushes me through the entrance doors of the hospital fully exposing him in the moonlight. The sight of his face makes me yelp in fear. A long frightening scar runs down the middle of his forehead down to his chin. This man means business. What is going on?
Before I have time to think about my means of escape, I find myself in the back of a car. The strange man sits in the front seat driving us away... Far away. I figure that now is a good time as any to ask questions. “What do you want from me?” The man stays in his same cold stance. For what seemed like hours we stayed like that, silent.
“You are a military weapon XO15. You were darted with a tranquilizer gun that emitted a DNA changing serum into your bloodstream. It mutated your DNA that made you smarter, faster, and stronger. The sudden change put too much pressure on your body so you went into black out mode. For a while there, we thought you weren’t going to pull through, but obviously the serum is kicking in just fine.” Giving me a humph, he slightly looks down at my legs. It took me awhile but I realized what he meant by the serum kicking in. Right now I should be immobilized lying in my hospital bed, not sitting in the back of a car talking to a strange man who kidnapped me in the middle of the night on a Tuesday. Muscle literally magically appeared over night.
This has to be a joke... it has to be. “You took my life away... everything... everyone I ever knew and loved, you stole from me!” Angry, I pound my fist onto the leather seat, something that was impossible for me to do only a few hours ago. He will pay for what he did, for all the pain my family suffered through. For what I suffered through.
“Oh shut up. You have no choice. We only had one dart, one batch of serum, and guess where it is? It is inside of YOUR veins. If you truly love your family you will help us otherwise you can kiss this world good bye. Josh, we need you. America needs you… Earth needs you...Unfortunately we only have a year to make you into a cold hearted killer to defeat the invaders.”
“You... are... crazy.” How can he expect me to trust a single word out of his retched mouth?
“Soon enough you will feel the proof inside of you. Your strength will grow.”
Everything else he said I never heard. I blocked out everything he said to me that night. Maybe he is right. Maybe I am the “superhero”. The one destined to save mankind. Maybe man deserves to die. Why should I save a dying planet? What if I have to stand for Earth and fight? Fight to the death. Do I have it in me to kill innocent living things? If not, do I have in me not to? Innocent lives are at stake. Kendra’s life is at stake.
Just sitting here I can feel my body changing, becoming stronger, and embracing the sudden DNA changes taking place inside of my body. Soon I will be a superhuman, designed to destroy anything in Earth’s path. I don’t need any more explanation... I can feel the proof in my own body.
I will save Earth.
I will have my revenge.