I just wanted to write...
He awoke to the soft buzz of fluorescent lights looming over his head. The noise and the stark white light invaded his brain and immediately brought on a migraine. For some reason he couldn't move--he didn't really care why at this point. The dull throbbing of his head was making him nauseous and he felt like throwing up.
His throat was dry, too. What is going on?, he thought as his eyes tried to adjust. Those lights blinded him and he remained in a haze for what seemed like an eternity. He could make out a room--it was all white with a few stainless steel tables with drawers underneath. The thought of what they could be for or what was contained within the drawers was certainly not making life any easier. He took note of his own situation. It appeared that his ankles and wrists were strapped down to a medical exam table. He could tell he was naked, but he was covered with a single white sheet. His thoughts were soon interrupted.
"I know...I don't like these lights, either. I tried to get them changed but, darn it, I never really got around to it."
The voice scared him and he yelled "Who is that?!" Bad idea, he thought. Very bad idea.
"Whoa, whoa...settle down. You're fine. Chances are you have a honey of a headache, too, so if I were you, I'd cool it before you cause any further damage."
The voice sounded like a record that was on slow--it sounded bogged down, dragged, low. Had he been drugged? His blurred vision made out a silhouette of a person coming toward him. As the figure came closer, the voice became clearer and soon, a woman came into plain view.
A woman?, he thought. "What happened? Where am I?"
"Like I said," the woman purred as she sat down beside him, "you're fine, you're safe, you're in two very good hands and you have nothing to worry about whatsoever. How's that head of yours?"
"Um...I, uh...have a headache."
"I'm sure you do. Now open wide."
Reluctantly, he opened his mouth and she popped in two white pills. Whether they were painkillers or not, he couldn't be sure, but whatever he had just taken, he had also taken his chances right along with them. "That oughtta help." she said. "I don't want you to be in any more pain or discomfort than you deserve."
"Lady...I don't know what I'm doing here or what I did. I just wanna know why."
"Why what?," she said coyly. He could see in her eyes that there was a reason he was there and only she knew what it was.
He couldn't help it anymore. The tears started to flow. At this point, he didn't care that he wasn't being strong. He was so terrified by the room and the woman and the fact that he couldn't move his body that it overwhelmed him completely.
"Ohhh, you're not crying are you?" She laughed and sighed a gentle sigh. "I hate it when I see a grown man cry. Now answer my question--why what?"
Through tears, he managed to get out the one thought that had been plaguing him ever since he woke up in that sterile, terrifying room. "Why am I here?"
She straightened herself up and got off the table where she had been presiding over him ever since. "I'm surprised you don't already know." she said--her tone kept low and serious. "You apparently overdosed on X and you blacked out. We found you face down and naked in some bushes near where the party was. You're lucky we found you when we did. You almost didn't make it."
He couldn't believe it. He didn't even remember taking drugs that night. It had been six months since he even had a cigarette. Could it have been that bad? "So...I'm in a hospital?"
"Of course! Where did you think you were? A torture chamber? I told you everything was fine. There's nothing to worry about. The doctor will be in to see you shortly."
"Well...why am I strapped down?"
"Aftershock. You were having severe muscle spasms and the nurses couldn't examine you unless you settled down. Desperate times call for desperate measures, you know?"
He breathed a sigh of relief. Come to think of it, he was at a party the night before. He still couldn't remember taking any drugs, but if he was in the hospital, they would know more than he did.
There was a knock at the door.
"Oh! Looks like the doctor is here and I'm no longer needed. Good luck, hon."
"Um...thanks." he said. Who was that?, he thought. Most hospital staff doesn't talk like that.
He watched her walk toward the door and just as she was about to open it, she winked at him and smiled. She disappeared and he was alone in the white room again...alone with the gentle buzz of the annoying fluorescent lights.
The woman met another outside the door dressed in full surgical attire. "He's prepped, Jessie. Have fun. Just remember what I taught you and try to control the mess."
"Don't worry, Ma'am. I haven't forgotten."
The door shut and as the woman walked away, all she could hear was the roar of a chainsaw, the screams of an unsuspecting victim, and the dull buzz of those pesky fluorescent lights.
She sighed and chuckled to herself. "I really should get those lights changed..."
His throat was dry, too. What is going on?, he thought as his eyes tried to adjust. Those lights blinded him and he remained in a haze for what seemed like an eternity. He could make out a room--it was all white with a few stainless steel tables with drawers underneath. The thought of what they could be for or what was contained within the drawers was certainly not making life any easier. He took note of his own situation. It appeared that his ankles and wrists were strapped down to a medical exam table. He could tell he was naked, but he was covered with a single white sheet. His thoughts were soon interrupted.
"I know...I don't like these lights, either. I tried to get them changed but, darn it, I never really got around to it."
The voice scared him and he yelled "Who is that?!" Bad idea, he thought. Very bad idea.
"Whoa, whoa...settle down. You're fine. Chances are you have a honey of a headache, too, so if I were you, I'd cool it before you cause any further damage."
The voice sounded like a record that was on slow--it sounded bogged down, dragged, low. Had he been drugged? His blurred vision made out a silhouette of a person coming toward him. As the figure came closer, the voice became clearer and soon, a woman came into plain view.
A woman?, he thought. "What happened? Where am I?"
"Like I said," the woman purred as she sat down beside him, "you're fine, you're safe, you're in two very good hands and you have nothing to worry about whatsoever. How's that head of yours?"
"Um...I, uh...have a headache."
"I'm sure you do. Now open wide."
Reluctantly, he opened his mouth and she popped in two white pills. Whether they were painkillers or not, he couldn't be sure, but whatever he had just taken, he had also taken his chances right along with them. "That oughtta help." she said. "I don't want you to be in any more pain or discomfort than you deserve."
"Lady...I don't know what I'm doing here or what I did. I just wanna know why."
"Why what?," she said coyly. He could see in her eyes that there was a reason he was there and only she knew what it was.
He couldn't help it anymore. The tears started to flow. At this point, he didn't care that he wasn't being strong. He was so terrified by the room and the woman and the fact that he couldn't move his body that it overwhelmed him completely.
"Ohhh, you're not crying are you?" She laughed and sighed a gentle sigh. "I hate it when I see a grown man cry. Now answer my question--why what?"
Through tears, he managed to get out the one thought that had been plaguing him ever since he woke up in that sterile, terrifying room. "Why am I here?"
She straightened herself up and got off the table where she had been presiding over him ever since. "I'm surprised you don't already know." she said--her tone kept low and serious. "You apparently overdosed on X and you blacked out. We found you face down and naked in some bushes near where the party was. You're lucky we found you when we did. You almost didn't make it."
He couldn't believe it. He didn't even remember taking drugs that night. It had been six months since he even had a cigarette. Could it have been that bad? "So...I'm in a hospital?"
"Of course! Where did you think you were? A torture chamber? I told you everything was fine. There's nothing to worry about. The doctor will be in to see you shortly."
"Well...why am I strapped down?"
"Aftershock. You were having severe muscle spasms and the nurses couldn't examine you unless you settled down. Desperate times call for desperate measures, you know?"
He breathed a sigh of relief. Come to think of it, he was at a party the night before. He still couldn't remember taking any drugs, but if he was in the hospital, they would know more than he did.
There was a knock at the door.
"Oh! Looks like the doctor is here and I'm no longer needed. Good luck, hon."
"Um...thanks." he said. Who was that?, he thought. Most hospital staff doesn't talk like that.
He watched her walk toward the door and just as she was about to open it, she winked at him and smiled. She disappeared and he was alone in the white room again...alone with the gentle buzz of the annoying fluorescent lights.
The woman met another outside the door dressed in full surgical attire. "He's prepped, Jessie. Have fun. Just remember what I taught you and try to control the mess."
"Don't worry, Ma'am. I haven't forgotten."
The door shut and as the woman walked away, all she could hear was the roar of a chainsaw, the screams of an unsuspecting victim, and the dull buzz of those pesky fluorescent lights.
She sighed and chuckled to herself. "I really should get those lights changed..."