State of Confusion

Chapter 2

- Christian -

A thick layer of darkness buried him below the surface. His vocal chords vibrated with silence while his limbs remained immobile and worn down as he tried to ignite the nerves in his body.

Nothing. What the fuck? Christian cursed inwardly.

Comparable to those final moments between being asleep and awake, he felt trapped. Unable to fully render reality, but enough to know he was alive and willing to break the barrier that kept him subdued. That was easier said than done though as he struggled to punch and kick his way through the unforeseeable force that denied his request. All he wanted was to wake up. It shouldn't be this hard.

Why did his body protest?

As he fought tooth and nail for his freedom, the cruel reality of his condition weighed in. Not only was he immobile and worn down, but he was hurt, bruised, and battered. He knew that much, but why? No logical explanation could be concluded just yet as to what caused him to feel like a semi-truck had hit and run him over repeatedly. However, it only encouraged him to fight his way to the surface harder, even if the obstacles of pain stood in his way. He was close. He could sense it, but something distracted him as he felt how heavy his eyelids were.

A disembodied voice spoke somewhere in the distance. Harsh, bitter, and laced with sadness, the feminine tone rattled inside his head. The familiarity of the sound that formed words into sentences balanced on a fine line. He could not quite grasp who it belonged to, but somewhere in the jumbled mess of his brain, he knew he could match it to a name: Ana.

Clarity ceased to enlighten him when he needed it the most, yet an ounce of it somehow had seeped through with the connection he made. It angered him to be so lost in the dark about everything else. How in the world was he able to put a name and voice together, but unable to comprehend a single fucking thing that mattered?

The confusion only boiled his simmering rage which caused a shock to his nerves. His motor skills had rested for too long and were ready to wake from its slumber just like the rest of him. He longed for this moment, even though he had no recollection as to why. Unlike the random girl's name, his predicament had been left a mystery. All he could conclude from his current condition was indeed something horrible had happened to him.

Her words continued to graze the realm that waited for him as he pushed against the layer that held him back. The tension she carried could be felt and he wanted nothing more than to erase it from his personal space. It suffocated him as the weight of her speech filled him with knowledge and emotions he could not mimic. Who was this girl? And why was she spilling her soul to him? He proceeded to listen mindlessly, but her words and phrases only absorbed into the pockets of his brain like a sponge for later review. He didn't have time to reciprocate. He had to act, and so he did.

Rising from beneath the surface, he did so slowly and surely as the light at the end of the tunnel that was consciousness became within reach. Tiny puffs of oxygen filled his lungs while his mobility hindered. He cursed for only him to hear as he was ready to end his struggle and welcome life back to his body and soul. He wanted this. He needed this. His departure from this world had been too long and as much as he feared for what life would be like upon his arrival, he knew he had to take the risk.

And then, by some miracle, it happened. The barrier had vanished and he felt the sensation of life consume him. The girl who rattled off her thoughts out loud presumed a lighter mood but remained focused on her message at hand. Something about what she said, even though he wasn't entirely sure of what she spoke of guided him. It eased him up from the depths of the darkness to the bright light that lied just beyond his closed eyes. His senses came alive and he felt the soft skin of a feminine hand in his. Did it belong to her? His mind raced with the reveal of who this tragic person was. The one who sat by his side and proclaimed her feelings like an unforeseeable storm. However, they were on the verge of disconnect as her tiny hand slipped from his. What happened next, he could not justify.