A soft noise shook me awake, bringing me back into the reality of a white spacious room. The ceiling fan above continued its slow perpetual movements. A feeling of nausea hit, accompanied with ringing in my eardrums. As I sat up unsteadily, a small black book fell off my body, thudding onto the floor. I surveyed my surroundings to get my bearings. There was an untidy red couch by my right, with some clothes strewn all over it. In front of me, a wall-hung television with an antique coffee table below. On it sat a portrait of my mother and I, and a small orange bag beside it.
While washing up, I slowly remembered where I currently was. A motel room that I had booked in the past for a stay-cation, a district away from home. I searched around for my phone before recalling I did not have one anymore.
“Right… It’s broken.”
I inspected the bite mark on my right hand. Even though it was a fresh bite from the previous day, the wounds had miraculously recovered. All that remained were signs of black stained vessels permeating through my skin. There was no pain, nor any sign of the stain spreading further beyond the bite area. Just to be on the safe side, I applied some antiseptic and bandaged the area before donning on a fresh set of clothing.
My wallet still had some balance to last a few days but I had no clear destination in mind.
“You there?”
Silence. It was like I was trying to speak with someone but I did not know who.
Not wanting to idle any further, I turned on the television in the room before picking up the book and flipping through its contents. The book contained entries dating up to a month back, starting originally as a rumor I had read off urban legend sites to reduce the likelihood of dementia in future. Out of paranoia about the cyber invasion, I decided that keeping it in a small black book would be for the best. Whether it was sheer luck or coincidence, I needed every single detail in this book to get out of whatever mess I was in.
27/12/2020 1100
-Rita had asked me out today, we are getting that famous Korean army stew for lunch. She’s free for the whole day, so maybe I can have her teach me how to cook baked rice tonight? We could head to the mart to shop for groceries and then we can surprise Mom, can’t wait to see the expressions on both of their faces today.
I paused after reading the first line. Things had not gone as planned.
“I don’t think I can do this anymore Jerry.”
“I’m very tired. Tired of this relationship. I don’t think I’m capable of handling you. You are unique, but maybe too much for me.”
“I’m sorry Jerry. Why don’t we just, stay as friends.”
I pondered again, wondering what went wrong with our relationship that led to such an end. Every moment after that point ended up being extremely awkward. The meal tasted bad and there was just, too much pain for me to continue. My sadness and pain was heavily emulated in the next line right below.
27/12/2020 1345
-It’s over. Haha, back to single-hood for me.
Maybe I should have known that things were falling apart. Yet, I could not bear to let her go. 3 years into this roller coaster ride and I should have seen this coming. I scribbled her name onto another piece of paper, wondering if I should at least warn her of the probable danger she might be in, only to strike through it a while later. “It’s better that way. Sorry Rita.”
27/12/2020 1830
-Note to self: don’t pat any dogs you see on the streets, especially ones that are your favorite c
This entry had been badly scribbled onto the bottom of the page, ending abruptly. Someone or something must have interrupted me in the midst of the writing. “Aw man. This must be the end of what I have.” I flipped the page over, ready to start a new entry. Except the next page was filled, completely in my own handwriting. “Strange, I don’t recall writing this.” I return to this line, closing my eyes to focus on the events associated with it.
“Really Jerry, a dog on the streets. I thought you were out with Rita today?”
“How about some stew, I bet that will cheer you up.”
I looked back at my bandaged hand, realizing that it started with that little culprit. It was a small midnight black pooch, laying by the pavement of the road back. In my self-indulged sadness and heartbreak I had been attracted by its cuteness and temptation to pat its head. Its whine caught me off-guard as the tiny mongrel bit into my right hand before fleeing the scene. Thinking of the searing pain that assaulted me brought back some tingling sensation, leading me to massage the bitten area.
My afternoon had been well-spent in the sterile halls of the nearest hospital I could find, leaving me with a shot, some bandages, cream and a hefty hospital bill to foot. I tried asking for painkillers for a broken heart, only to be reprimanded by Mom, who had rushed from work to pick me up.
“Wait, where is she?”
The memory had stopped there. Was she in the next room? We would normally share the same room together, so it was strange that I had a room only to myself.
The morning news show interrupted my thoughts.
Good morning folks, we bring you the morning news on Channel 9.
Police are calling for more witnesses for the traffic accident that happened yesterday on St. Luke’s Highway at 6:45pm. 4 people have been found dead. Current eyewitness accounts mention of screaming and gunfire heard after the collision. Police are in the midst of searching for this individual seen fleeing the scene, believing him to be a dangerous suspect related to this incident. If you have any information, please do not hesitate to contact your local authorities.
The image shown on the broadcast was a figure that looked like me, dressed in my usual custom-made Shelker black T-shirt. Any individual who knew me would clearly recognize me from that image. What happened? I wrecked my brains, before glancing back at my journal. There were more entries after, maybe I could get my answers there.
27/12/2020 1900
-They have arrived and showed no mercy. I could not save her. They shot her instead of me. I cannot forgive them for what they have done. So I had to kill them all.
27/12/2020 2000
-More showed up at home. I took what mattered. Money, tools, maps, the photo portrait which I thought was important, some clothes that changed my looks and some pens. They are relentless. I have killed two more. I don’t like this, but I have no choice.
27/12/2020 2130
-Rita had been calling me throughout the night, but I can’t answer. If I do, they will go after her. Sorry Rita. I’m breaking all communications now. I am exhausted from running for over an hour now.
27/12/2020 2300
-Safe. Losing the phone helped. Checked for any other trackers, nothing. Drew out as much cash as I could, got a room. Sandwiches will do for dinner. Hope the sleep will recover the wounds.
Reading through the entries gave me an urge to retch. I rushed to the bowl, hanging my head above. A few spits and a hint of acidity filled my mouth. There was a lot to take in, and tears just flowed down my cheeks. There was no way the entries were true, yet a sinking gut feeling told me this was not the case. As I washed the tears and spit off, I stared at the reflection.
Can you remember now?
The voice caused me to topple back, crashing into the bathtub and almost uttering a cursed word.
Come on, I just fixed that.
The shock left me a little disorientated, before the images flashed in my mind. The accident, the shootings, the anger that I bore as I tortured the unfortunate pair who tried to ambush me in my home. I look back at the reflection, staring straight into my own eyes.
“You startled me!”
Really, that’s how you greet people in the morning? The “me” in the mirror shrugged back. Can’t help that my host is this forgetful about the things I have done to save him.
I could slowly recall the events from the day before clearly. Those people have been sent to kill me for whatever that currently resided within me. “Sorry. Anyway, thanks for writing in the book. Helped jogged the memory, not the best advisable thing to wake up to unfortunately.”
I did what I could. The damage to your brain was only fully repaired when you tried to recall the memories.
“You could have altered it all to make it better you know?”
And what would be the point of that. Better you know what happened and handle the truth now than knowing about it in dire situations. Besides, the book is my prove to our bargain at the hospital.
I emptied the contents of my bag onto the bed. Other than the items “I” had packed, there were a few walkie talkies, dog tags and a manifest, belonging to the notable pharmaceutical company of the state, Gorto. These were what some of the men carried. If I wanted answers, I had to pay Gorto a visit myself.
I have come to realise something unusual about you. Why aren’t you afraid of them?
“Considering what they have done to me yesterday,” I strapped a loaded pistol to my pouch before covering myself with a black hoodie, “I think they deserve everything that is coming their way.” I held up the family portrait before looking back at my reflection in the dresser mirror. “Besides, I’m not going to wait around hiding like a game to be hunted.”
Written by: Fica
Author’s Notes:
Small challenge series that I started with a couple friends of mine. Might have exceeded the word count by a lottle. 😦
You can find the other pieces at the end of the post.
Challenge 1: Modern Day Fiction, Journal of someone having the worst day of their life, 1500-1600 words
Other related works:
Patrol by bleachedddd: (https://www.wattpad.com/1084118526-patrol)
BREAKOUT 