Remember Me

1

My head was pounding.

Why did my head hurt?

My tongue felt like it had hairs on it and my throat felt blocked by something.

Was I sick?

I tried to open my eyes. They wouldn't open.

I tried to move my fingers. I didn't feel anything.

I tried to cry for help but no sound came out.

What was going on? Why was I trapped in my own body? My own head.

A sound broke through. A man's voice. He was saying my voice but it was muffled and hard to hear.

"Sterling..."

"Sterling..."

I tried to respond but nothing came out. My voice was trapped, my lips dry and still. Why couldn't I talk to him?

"Sterling..."

Bright light entered my right eye. Then my left. I felt a soft movement on my cheek and I tried turning my head toward it. It felt like cement.

"Relax, Sterling. We're not going to hurt you." The voice was clear now. The fog was gone and I could hear his voice. It was rough and deep and not pleasant to hear.

There was a rustling sound coming from where the man's voice had. It sounded like paper or cloth. It wasn't very scratchy.

"Open your eyes, Sterling."

I followed his instructions and opened my eyes. The ceiling above was white and bright and it hurt my eyes. I tried to turn my head to see the man but it still wouldn't move.

But then he came into view and leaned over me. He had a thin layer of stubble on his chin and short cut hair. He was wearing a dark suit jacket with a deep blue tie. There was a badge on his shirt pocket but I couldn't make out what it said. He started to reach for my face and I squeezed my eyes shut.

Something plastic escaped my mouth and my chest rose and fell deeply and slowly. When I opened my eyes, there was a white tube laid on the cart to the left of me, where all the other utensils were.

"Sit up." He said softly.

I did as he said, having no trouble moving my body. I was no longer trapped and stuck in place.

He ran his fingers up my arm and I shivered, looking down to watch the movement. I was transfixed, unable to look away.

"Do you like that?"

I nodded slowly, like the effort was so great it took all my focus and concentration.

"I'm going to take you to your room now, Sterling. It's just upstairs."

I lifted my head and met his gaze. It didn't last long. He turned and went to the door where a wheelchair was sitting behind. He pushed it over to me and helped me into it, his hands gentle on me.

I saw his badge again as he helped me out of the bed. The name said Parker.

The trip to my room was quick. We went past a set of large stairs that lead to an open hallway. The ceiling was high and I couldn't stop staring at it. We took the elevator, of course, which had dark blue walls and a tiled floor.

The second floor was much like the first. There were gray doors with no windows lining the hallway. He stopped us in front of a door with the number 307 on the plaque beside it. He didn't use a key but a credit card type card. The door beeped before opening.

In the room already was a girl and a boy. The girl had a book in her lap and looked up when the door opened. The boy was sitting on a bed that was pressed against a wall with a window. His arms were wrapped around his knees and he had his head turned away from us, only showing his closely-shaved head. There was a blue cast on his right arm. On the wall to the right was a third bed, freshly made, with a stack of folded clothes no it.

"This will be your room." Parker said, looking down at me. "Blair, Nicoli, this is Sterling."

The girl, Blair, waved at me. Nicoli didn't say a word.

He patted my arm. "Go get some rest. I will be back to check on you later."

I nodded and walked to the bed. The blanket was soft as I sat down.

Parker shut the door behind him and I felt more awareness come to me. Like a switch was flipped. I felt different. Things weren't as fuzzy or muted.

Maybe that was just the IV wearing off.

I laid down on the bed, pulling my knees close to my chest. The room was plain. It had a connecting kitchen and bathroom, both on either side of Blair's bed. The bathroom light was on, showing a plain room with nothing fancy, but I couldn't see into the kitchen.

"What is this place?" I asked. My voice came out softer than I expected, like I hadn't used it in a long time.

Blair set her book down beside her and started signing. Was she deaf? Mute? I wasn't sure what she was trying to tell me and, quite honestly, it made my head hurt.

"She can't read sign language, B." Nicoli mumbled, not lifting his head or looking at us.

Blair's shoulders hunched, almost like she was sighing, and she gave me an apologetic look before going back to her book.

I figured Nicoli wouldn't fill in a give me any answers so I turned onto my other side, facing the boring, light yellow wall. Some sleep would do me good. Just like Parker said.