Unwavering Light

Awake, Puzzle

Waking up was sort of like running into a brick wall. My sides felt like they had been hit with a hammer; my left temple had a pinching pain with every beat of my heart. Overseeing my pain was a dull, grinding headache. It took me a few seconds to figure out why I felt the way I did. Oh. Now I remembered. At best, I might be at home. At worst, I could be anywhere.

I collected my courage and opened my eyes. Nothing but searing white light. I closed them. I blinked a few times to get rid of the painful brightness. In a second, I realized that I couldn’t blink it away. I was just staring at a very bright lightbulb.  I pushed myself up, ignoring the headache, trying to get my bearings.

When I finally got around to seeing, I wished I hadn’t. It didn’t make any sense. This wasn’t the Strictura hospital that I knew. No, the gold motifs shined on the walls of the room, and the sheet was softer than any I’d ever felt. Long story short, I felt too good for breaking a few ribs. There were a different medical machines lined on the walls for disease scans, medicine dispensers, and the like. I knew from a manual I had borrowed from Mel’s mom that these were extremely advanced technologies. No publicly funded hospital could afford this, except for… I was in an Aureus hospital floor, and I was definitely not supposed to be here. As I stretched, my head spun a bit, but it felt good to move. 

I lifted up the edge of my hospital gown and saw a thin scar along my sides. They must have had to reset the bones. It ached, but I was too surprised by the scar’s quick healing to worry about it. I ran my hand just over my eye, where it had been bleeding, but nothing was there. If there was a scar, then I couldn’t feel it. 

I looked at my band, but the screen, usually filled with the time, was blank. I had no idea what I was supposed to do now, but I saw the shadow of two people behind the frosted glass set in the door. 

I wanted to go talk to them, for them to tell me why I was even here, but I immediately suppressed that. I had learned, when confused by anything, that the best thing to do was listen. Silence was an art, and over the years, I had more or less perfected it.

“—Is there a Strit in my hospital?” It was an angry female voice. I was obviously the Strit. And, as confirmed, unwelcome. Why were they keeping me here at all? I broke the rules. I did the wrong thing. I doubt this is what happened to that greasy Emic. I kept listening.

The second voice was a younger male voice. He sounded bored with current events. “—He wants him. Don’t know what…. Attacked an emic on the…” 

Then the woman: “…Limited to Aureus…. Can’t stay here.”

“The golden— band says he’s awake.”

“Joy.” Steps started towards the door, to check on me.

The handle turned and the two people, who had been talking outside the room, walked in. One was just as I imagined her, in a red doctor’s uniform, which her steel grey hair pulled into a tight knot. The other man was young, with brown hair and an orange assistant uniform carrying a digisheet, acting as a recording device. They both had the same expression of annoyance and disgust. I immediately felt out of place. I just wanted to go home.     

“Benjamin Hayes.” The assistant read off the screen, while the lead doctor’s eyes scrutinized my every feature. “Strictura, from Marrus, the Manufacturing district. Reports to Source thirty-seven. Male. Age seventeen, ten months. Curly brown hair, brown eyes, scars on left arm, midsection. Birthmark on back of neck. Do you confirm this information?”

I was a little startled. “Y-yes. I confirm.”

The man would not make eye contact with me. “It has been under special instruction that you are treated here, however, we cannot keep you here for long. You will need to leave as soon as possible. Are there any questions?” He made for the door.

“How long have I been here? Who brought me here? Why am I here?” The words came out fast, because if I didn’t ask them now, they’d never be answered. He sighed and turned around. 

“This is day three of your treatment.” Three days? What about my parents? What about Millie? “We are not allowed to disclose who has brought you here, but you may take a guess as to the status of this person. We do not make these kinds of exceptions except under very extraneous circumstances. As for your last question, no one can answer.” The man looked me in the eyes now. “No one can say why you didn’t die. Fate, luck, or otherwise. Is that all?”

I had so many other questions, but this man didn’t want to speak to me. All I said was, “Yes.”

“Well, there will be someone up in a few minutes to escort you to the front of the building. There is a new set of clothing provided on the chair. We are required to have you promise not to speak of this altercation again. Do you confirm?”

“Yes.” 

The man walked out of the room, leaving me with my thoughts. He was right. The person that could have had the authority to break such an ingrained idea would have to be more than just a golden. Could he? All I could remember was how he stood, arms crossed. I couldn’t even remember how he looked, except for that scar,  running from his hand, crawling over his arm and into his sleeve. It was something that was so different from the flawless others goldens I had ever seen before. A grey shirt, blue pants, and a pair of grey boots were on the yellow leather chair. I swung my legs over the side and stood up, stretching. 

My headache was close to gone, so I was able to get dressed and be ready before a stern-faced guard came to collect me. He was also in aureus red, and refused to get closer than a few feet of me.  He opened the door for me and ushered me out of the room. “Thank you.” There was no answer. We walked down a long white hallway with a gold stripe that ran down the center, just like the Source building, where Mel and I bought our lightbulbs with. We went off the golden track and went to the back of the building, to a service elevator. Down we went, and the door opened directly to the back of the hospital. 

The guard made for the door, but I called to him. “What am I supposed to do now?” He just shrugged. The doors closed and I was alone. The light grid above me was dim, so it was either early in the morning or later at night. There were few people milling about, mostly Emics, but a few Goldens walked in groups. 

I wasn’t that far from my house— just a block or two— but I purposely walked slowly. In three days, my family certainly wouldn’t be doing well, with the eighteen credits that were left on the desk. That would buy three bulbs. Maybe Mel’s family would have lent them some. Would they blame me? Millie wouldn’t, but my parents were too concerned with money to not be upset. What had my family done when I hadn’t came home? Just assumed I had left? Did they come to look for me? I could imagine my parents faces growing longer and longer as they slowly realized that maybe I would never come home. Mel had seen what happened. She would have told them. At this thought, I was walking down my street. I couldn’t delay the inevitable forever. 

Before I found my house, I walked by it twice. I kept passing it, because it had a bulb on the front porch that was lit up, brightly. I was very confused. There shouldn’t be anything there.  I walked up the steps, my boots thunking on the wooden steps. I opened  the door quietly, afraid to wake anyone up. There was Millie, sitting on top of the table, eating an orange, looking at a textbook under a brightly illuminated light. 

She didn’t look up for more than a second. “Good light. What took you so long?” Her bright red hair ruffled through her fingers as she carefully set down the orange but not the book.