Happy Pills - The Story of Kevin Free

Slipping

A/N: I did not create the character Diego. I got permission from the character's creator ( @videntefernandez on tumblr) to use him in this story. I did make a few changes to the character, but that's simply my interpretation.

   Kevin wakes, as if from a dream, in what appears to be a bedroom. The room is warm, and well-lit, and the sheer difference between this room and the last one he remembers, the room with the centipedes, is enough to make him shudder. He slowly sits up, becoming aware of a dull throbbing in the back of his skull.
   Where am I?
   The details are fuzzy. Every memory, everything before the centipede room, feels distant and faded, as if they are not real memories anymore, and maybe never were. They are fragmented, empty, and distorted.
   That thought disturbs him greatly. If I can't trust my own memories, then... what can I trust?
   A shiver runs down Kevin's spine as unwanted memories of the room with the centipedes cross his mind over and over. He sighs quietly, staring at the blank ceiling, only half daring to wonder what would come next. The more he tries to remember, the more the memories evade him, but one thing is very clear to him.
   This is not where I belong.
   Slowly, ignoring the dull pain in his head, Kevin sits up and looks around. The room he's in is empty, except for the bed he's lying on. It's small, and has no windows. There's one door, with no doorknob on it. Kevin assumes it opens from the outside.
   "Where the hell am I?" He wonders out loud. "What happened?"
   His last memory is of being at the radio station, hearing something outside. He does not remember what he saw outside, or what happened between that and the room with the centipedes. All he knows is he feels something is very, very wrong here.
   Before he can linger too long on that thought, he hears a low beeping noise, and then the door of his room opens. The man outside steps into the doorway, and Kevin has to bite his tongue. The sight of the stranger sets off alarm bells in his head.
   I know him! How do I know him? I don't remember... Again, Kevin tried to grasp for his clouded memories, and again, they evade him frustratingly.
   The stranger is wearing a black suit with a gold coloured tie. On the suit jacket, there is a familiar looking symbol. An orange-yellow triangle.
   Where have I seen that before? Kevin wonders. The memory evades him, until he catches sight of the same emblem, in the same spot, on the loose-fitting beige clothes he is currently wearing.
   These aren't my clothes.
   The man in the suit smiles, but it's false and Kevin knows it. It's a cruel smile, and one that doesn't reach his eyes. Kevin can't help but think that if it weren't for the ice in those eyes, the man in the suit might have been somewhat attractive.
   "Hello," the man says in a voice that reminds Kevin of the scales of a snake. Deceptively smooth, and hiding poison.
   Scales... Centipedes... He suppresses a shiver of fear.
   Kevin takes a moment to find his voice. "Hello... who are you?"
   "My name is Diego Kerr, but you will address me as 'sir'."
   "Right... okay... um, where exactly am I? Why can't I remember anything?"
   "You're at Strexcorp headquarters."
   Kevin waited to see if Diego would answer his second question, and it rapidly became clear that he would not. So, Kevin asked again. "What happened to my memory?"
   Diego seemed mildly annoyed by the question. "Re-education."
   Kevin remembered what re-education was, a way of keeping the people of Desert Bluffs loyal to their government and secret police. He knew he had been re-educated many times before, but he couldn't shake the feeling that what he'd been given was not a normal re-education, nor did it have anything to do with the town he barely remembered. He figured he was better off not saying that out loud.
   "You may not remember it, but you work for Strexcorp," Diego told him, though it sounded more like an order than an explanation. "You're our radio host."
   Radio host! Kevin couldn't help but smile at that. Finally, something that feels right!
   Prodding at the back of his mind, there was a vague memory of having been a radio host before.
   When? Where?
   Unfortunately, Kevin's memories had become quite like quicksilver. If he was idle, they would remain where they had been left, but as soon as he actively tried to grasp them, they seemed to disappear. Still, he was comforted by the idea that he at least had a few fragments to hold on to.
   "Do I have to stay in this room?" Kevin asked.
   "Yes, when you're not in the radio station. However, if you behave and do what you're supposed to, you might be given the same privileges as everyone else here."
   What an odd way to put it,Kevin thought. Whatever I did to deserve that re-education must have been pretty bad.
   "That's fair," Kevin said, feeling as though this man was important, and that he should stay on his good side. He wasn't sure where this intuition came from, but he trusted it. "I'll do my best, sir."
   Diego's expression became less cold, and more amused. "Excellent. I expect nothing less."
Kevin nods quietly.
   "You can go back to working at the radio station tomorrow. In the meantime, it's necessary for you to see exactly who and what you're working for. Someone will be by shortly to take you for training. Do not resist."
   Diego left without another word, without further explanation, and the door locked with an audible click. Kevin felt a chill go down his spine. Why had that sounded so ominous? Why did this place feel so wrong?
   Why do I get the feeling that I don't want to know?
   Something in the middle of his forehead burned.