Clean

Chapter I: Hippocampus

Sebastian opened his eyes to a bright white light. He immediately shut them, hesitantly taking a breath. Am I dead...? he thought, slowly opening them again.

The ceiling was white. He moved his hand and found something that must've been a blanket. So he was on a bed. Slowly he regained the feeling in his entire body and winced at the pain in his side, the pain in his shoulder, the pain in his head, the pain... Well, the pain everywhere.

He sat up and looked around, wincing again. It was obviously a hospital room. He deflated at the realization that he was, in fact, alive.

"You might want to lie back down," a deep voice said from his right. He turned a little and saw a beefy man with no hair at all on his head but a handlebar moustache. He was holding a rather large syringe, a slight smirk on his face.

Doing what the man suggested, Sebastian lied back down and blinked a few times. "Am I in a hospital?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

The man tilted his head. "Technically, no. This might hurt a bit." He poked the needle into Sebastian's arm, releasing an orange liquid into his bloodstream.

"Who are you?" Sebastian asked, not wincing at the shot. He'd had several, and had experienced much worse pain than a little poke in the skin.

"Dr. Lovelady."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows, sitting up slightly. "Is that really your name?"

"Yes. Don't laugh or I'll make you hurt worse than you did in that alley," the doctor said, turning away briefly. "Drink this." He held out a small cup. Sebastian downed it in one gulp, nose screwing up at the bitter taste.

"How long have I been out?" he asked, coughing slightly. No blood. That was good, but he was still pained.

"About a week, but not completely. So far you've woken up five times, and every time we've had the same conversation. You'll probably forget this and black out in a few minutes." His voice was annoyingly monotonous.

"..Oh. Well..." He frowned. "Hey, can I have a cigarette?" He was itching for a smoke and just now realised it.

Lovelady lifted his head from his clipboard. "That's a new question. You're in a hospital, what do you think the answer is?"

"But you said thisisn't technically a hospital," Sebastian pointed out, smirking weakly.

The doctor laughed a little. "I guess you're right. But that wouldn't really help you right now."

Sebastian frowned again. "So how am I doing? Health-wise. Last time I checked there was a gaping hole in my side. Guess you got that fixed up?"

Lovelady chuckled. "I like you. Yes, we fixed up your side. It still has stitches and it'll leave a scar, but you've got plenty of those so I assume you won't mind," he said, looking at the scar on Sebastian's right cheekbone and the one across his right eye.

Luckily when he had earned that one his eye wasn't damaged too much. He'd had to wear an eye patch for a while, but that only made him look even more badass than usual.

"I think of my scars as trophies," Sebastian said. He then asked the question that had been nagging at him. "Who was the man that.." He tilted his head, trying to find the right words. "That saved me?"

Dr. Lovelady looked at him for a second. "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you anything."

Sebastian knitted his eyebrows. That made him annoyed. "What? Why not? I have every right to know!"

"And he had every right to let you die in that alley."

The bedridden man was quiet for a minute. "I guess I should respect his privacy..."