Vance Valion

Loud earsplitting screams yanked his mind, he could feel himself being tossed violently around. As if he were nothing but a rag doll, something metal smashed into him, squinting his eyes he saw flashing colors rolling all around him. Red, green, and blue rolling with his tumbling skeleton. Suddenly everything stopped, he heard gasping and felt a feeling of great icy coldness sinking into his body, eye’s closing the darkness turned into two dark tunnels with an endless blackness at the end and before he could make out the odd shapes speckling towards him he was out.1

Slowly peeling his eyes open he tried to blink away the crusty tears that had dried there as he slept. His legs ached, and his knees throbbed. Trying to lift his arm he winced. A dim light seemed to sting his eyes from a little ways away. Finally the room smashed into focus. Stinging white walls, a well washed white tiled floor. The only explanation of this tacky decoration of flower’s and a TV jutting out of the wall was simple. He was in a hospital, in a hospital room, in a hospital bed, with no recollection of ever getting there. In fact he couldn’t remember much at all. To in shock to think he listened and studied his surroundings. The only sound of the room was a light beeping sound in the background, turning his head as much as he dared he winced seeing a small screen beside him showing how his heart danced in his sore chest. Slowly he turned his eyes down to himself. Nothing was casted as far as he could tell, he saw no blood but he felt tight bandages all over his body. Hearing squeaking steps advancing towards him his eyes darted to a sudden light shining behind a thick curtain. Feet appeared, and the curtain was gently yanked back. The figure looked like a man, but its face was disfigured by shadows, and hard to tell. 2

“Ah, he’s awake. That’s great,” a large voice boomed over the entire room. How a man with such a large voice was the one assigned to check on the patient who could barely register himself, much less an annoying headache creating thunder clap, he had no clue. “So I guess I’ll quick go over the basics,” the man said stepping over to the wall to switch on a glaring light above his patients head. A middle aged man’s lined face appeared suddenly out of nowhere. A soft smile across his chubby cheeks made him seem like a nice enough man. “How are you feeling?”3

“Not so great, what happened to me,” surprised at his own scratchy voice he coughed. 4

“Don’t worry it’s normal after being in a coma for three days to have a little rough edge on the voice.”5

“Three days?”6

“Three days indeed, you came in here barley alive on a stretcher don’t you remember?”7

“I don’t, not a thing.” The doctor furrowed his brow.8

“What’s your name son?” Starring back at the doctor blankly, a panicked look suddenly covered his face.9

“I don’t know. I have no idea. John? No, Ben? Oh my god how could I forget my own name?” 10

“It’s alright son, your names Vance Holliston. Can you remember anything? Age or where you live? Any siblings, parents, or friends you can recall?” The doctor sat down at the foot of Vance’s bed.11

“Not a thing, I can’t remember how old I am, all I can remember is this… loud noise like a bomb, and rolling colors,” Vance whispered hoarsely. His shoulders shook with a violent shutter. 12

“Calm down son, it’ll be alright. We haven’t located your parents Mr. and Mrs. Holliston, or your brother Jecht. Your friend Edward came into the hospital just when you did, unfortunately he didn’t make it, he died in the night two days ago. He had a concussion on his skull. Now doctors aren’t sure what happened to you, a lot of them say I shouldn’t tell you anything. I know I’m telling you too much, but you need to know. They said it was a car accident but your injuries seem so different then Edwards. His were bruises all around his body all of his bones were broken into tiny pieces but no puncture wounds. Yours on the other hand were deep gashing cuts and scrapes with no broken bones. Edward wasn’t aware enough, to tell us anything unfortunately.” The doctor shook his head gloomily. “I just… don’t understand it, at all. The man who called the police said he didn’t hear anything, or see anything. He just was walking when he bumped into your car, and found you and your friend inside. I’m sorry I’ve just been wanting to talk to you all week, hoping you’d wake up.”13

“My car and my friend?”14

“I know. I know it’s a lot to take in, and I’m sorry I’m pushing it all onto you. But I’ve seen weird things happen around this hospital, or I should say more this city,” the doctor said, his voice getting lower, quieter, and his eyes beginning to wonder around the room as if searching for a hidden camera. 15

“Listen doc, I would love to help you sort this all out, I’m in shock at the moment, I feel really light headed. I think I should just, maybe you know, get some sleep?” The doctor froze, as if he hadn’t heard what Vance had said, then straitening up quickly he cleared his throat.16

“Ahem, yes I’m sorry, that’s what you need rest, and time. Goodnight Vance,” the doctor smiled weakly as he stood, flipping off the light above Vance’s bed he walked towards the door, swishing the curtain behind him he closed the door quietly. Sighing Vance set his head back on his pillow, honestly he had slept for long enough, so sleep was the last thing on his mind. He wanted to figure out who he was, he wanted to know now! He was Vance, but he couldn’t put his thoughts around his name, his mind was blank. Besides the scrolled out thoughts the doctor had managed to shout in his ears, and the loud noise, and rolling colors. Car crash? That would explain the rolling colors if the car had flipped upside down, the loud noise could be collision? The screaming, well that could be his own as well as his best friend Edwards. Shuttering he continued to think over what he knew.17

Chapter Two [when he wakes up] 18

At some point, wanting it or not, he had let his mind wander, and had fallen asleep. A shallow sleep in which he rolled around a lot. Moving, tossing, and turning as much as his pained body would allow him. It was a soft breathing that in the end woke him. Eyes popping open quickly he looked around him, total darkness besides a thin slice of light coming in from the door behind a curtain made Vance fear the dark. Not exactly the dark itself, but what was in it, what the soft breathing was coming from. Slowly sitting up uncomfortably, he noticed nothing was attached to him, no wires or tubes like they had been just hours ago. In fact, checking the time 12:06 it had been four hours exactly. 19

Slowly swinging his legs cautiously out of bed, he wasn’t going to sit around in this pitch black room any longer then he had to. Surprised at the numb feeling he seemed to feel towards the cuts in his legs he shivered. Pulling up his hospital gown he gapped, the bandages as well as all of the cuts were gone. Wanting answers, and wanting away from the odd sounds he walked cautiously to the curtain. Pulling it gently back, he saw a closed door to his right, and a closed door in front of him. Opening the door to his right, he searched the side of the tiled wall to find a switch, flipping on the light he registered it as his bathroom. A tiny bathroom, but it was the only bathroom he could remember ever starring at. Turning back to the other door, he swung it gently open. The hallway wasn’t as brightly lit as the light had shown. A dark dreary hallway came into view. It looked like it was strait out of a horror movie. One of those hospital thrillers, with green tinted lights flickering on an off. With odd stains on the wall’s surrounding him. 20

Suddenly a cold breeze flew by and Vance found himself shivering. Pulling his robe he had found in his bathroom around his body he rubbed his arms. To afraid to call out, he continued to slowly advance down the hallway. Peering into hospital rooms as he went, they all seemed to have closed doors, pulled curtains, or empty beds. He could see no nurse’s, hear no conversations, no televisions, not even a single old man snoring. Glancing around under his long black hair flipped over his eyes he began to feel the cold tile under his bare feet. Coming to a corner he slid against the wall, peaking around the corner he gapped. A nurse stood bending over patient gurgling noises came flying back towards him. A gasp escaped his throat as he noticed the patient on the stretcher twitching violently; suddenly the nurse looked up and turned quickly. Her face pale, with blood and chunks of flesh smeared over her lips and chin, slipping onto her uniform. 21

“Oh god,” Vance whispered, screaming as the nurse bolted towards him. Turning he fled down the hallway saving his breath he tried not to scream, turning a corner quickly, he raced into an open room and shut the door quietly, hoping he’d tricked the nurse. Locking the door behind him he leaned his back against the door and huffed. 22

“Who’s there?” Vance froze. A quiet voice had came from behind the faded green curtain. “Well, who is it?” Slowly Vance tip toed to the curtain, peeling it back a bit he saw a man laying on his bed, a small light in his hand glowing on a book, the curtain had covered this small light from Vance’s view. 23

“I’m Vance, a patient sir.”24

“Running from the doctors hmm?” 25

“No sir, I just woke up, and well I walked into the hallway,” Vance stuttered breathing hard.26

"Boy unless something tragic has happened I would ask you to please calm down," the man sighed.27

"Sir, I don't know who I am, where I'm from, or what my favorite color ever was. All I know is I just walked by a nurse chewing down on a patient!" Vance shook violently.28

"Son, please I'm old don’t make up such fairy tales," the man asked quietly putting his book down.29

"Please sir! Do you need proof?"30

"Well I suppose I can walk, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were right and the government was behind it. I know they've been doing funny things for years," he spat shaking his hand in the air as if damning the government. Slowly he stepped out of his bed, the man's frail body wobbled quite quickly over to the boy. "Shall i grab my robe? Is it cold?"31

"Cold?" Vance gapped, this man was quite a lunatic it seemed. So calm in the face of an evaluation! "Sure, yes grab it but quickly." The old man slipped into his bathroom, and back out with his robe tightly secured. Giving Vance a stern look he walked briskly to the door.32

"Now let's see what kind of nightmare we've seem to have fallen into." The old man quietly unlocked the door, and swung it slowly open, peaking his balding gray head out of the room he looked both ways and then brought himself fully back into the room. Starring at the boy for a moment he nodded his head to the doorway. Vance caught his breath, slowly he walked towards the door and advanced his head into the hallway, looking to the left, nothing. Looking to the right, he gasped. "Hush boy!" The old man snapped quickly he closed the door in front of them and set himself against it. "So what did you see?"33

"You looked! You saw!" The old man shook his head sadly.34

"They eyes are going. Now what exactly did you see sonny!"35

"I, I, I saw a crowd of people, blood dripping off them everywhere, they seemed to be walking down the hallway the opposite way of us."36