FIVE

There was a flash of light and distant noises. My head felt like someone was taking an ice pick and pouring heavy chipping on my skull.

I decided that death couldn't be this painful, so I was probably not dead or this was what hell was supposed to feel like. My eyes were pried open, and a light came flashing again.

This was followed by a groan, like a bear cub. 'was that me?'

I managed to flutter my eyes open without anyone's help. Inches away from my face, someone was holding a pen-sized flashlight. I couldn't focus enough to see him, but I could definitely smell him. Light scent of woodberry and some chemicals I remember enduring the mixing process once I snuck into the chemistry laboratory during practicals that were meant for students offering science courses.

The ceiling was swimming. I thought I was going to vomit, and I had to let my eyelids drop to stop the spinning. Slowly, the muffled sounds became words.

"What's your name, sweetheart." Asked the man with the flashlight. His voice was raspy, and I could smell the caffeine off his breath.

"None of your business," I managed, my voice bouncing like a rock against the walls of my skull.

"Call her a sweetheart one fuckin time and you'll see your brains on that wall." An unfamiliar voice threatened in the background.

I wanted to look up, to see who it was. But my head was on fire. The man with the pen touch grew mute immediately. I tried to get up again, but barely managed to get my head off the pillow before it fell back with a thump.

"Whoa there, swe..." he paused. "Not so fast." He finally said, looking back sharply before turning back to me. "You've got a pretty big bump on your head," said the man.

That would explain the blinding pain I was feeling. "You're scared of calling me sweetheart again." I chuckled, beside myself with amusement even with the awful pain, my mouth would rarely shut up.

"That's not your name, I believe." He answered, instead.

I nodded. "Can you give me a name to work with?"

"U, letter U." I answered.

"That's great Miss letter U."

'What the hell is Miss letter U'. I thought. I wanted to tell him it wasn't what I meant but I was in too much pain to argue with him on his use of words.

"She's probably got a mild concussion," the man assessed. "Just make sure she gets plenty of rest and wake her up every few hours overnight. Give me a call if she gets any worse."

"She looks like she's in pain. Can she take anything." The unfamiliar voice asked again.

I forced my eyes open. There was a lovely gentleman in a black jean and white Tee and he was standing at the foot of the bed. I recognized his clothes from before I found myself on this bed.

He had come into the room I was held in and I requested for a pen which he offered me and motioned that I followed him. We were way across the corridor when I lost sight of him.

Then I followed the voices echoing at the other part of the corridor which led me to a slightly open door. I saw Hollis, he was standing with his back toward me.

In a flash, he pulled the trigger of a gun and a body came crashing on the floor. When my eyes came to refocus, the man on the floor was not moving. Blood splattered the floor and three other men that were with Hollis had spun round.

They looked at me with complete surprise on their faces.

Without realizing it, I had been screaming and I was still screaming and shaking and I couldn't stop or move any other part of my body like my legs, to run away from them. The door was now very much open from my hands pushing it in.

Hollis turned around and our eyes met again, and his face turned pale while he rubbed his forehead tirelessly. Then I blacked out. I must have fallen or fainted or something, I can't remember any other thing.

I watched the young gentleman step closer to me. He looked stressed and tired.

"Not for the next twelve hours. But I'll leave you something for tomorrow," replied the man with a pen touch, like he was in a hurry. The doctor's calm voice did match his appearance, he looked like he had just crawled out of a very clean and well equipped laundry home.

"Thanks, Doc." The young man furtively glanced in my direction and turned to a man who was standing behind him, in a soldier-like stance.

With a nod from the young man, the man standing behind him dug into his pocket and pulled out a wad of rolled-up bills.

Not missing a beat, the Doctor grabbed the cash and rushed out of the room without taking one more look at his patient. So much for bedside manners.

The man standing behind the gentleman followed the doctor out the door, shooting me a frosty glare on his way out.

I ran my fingers through my hair, hitting a bump at the crown of my head. "Ouch," I said in a whisper.

But the man heard me and glanced back. As soon as our eyes met, he flashed me a reassuring smile.

"I'm Maxine." I tried to read his face, but his expression was blank. "Get some rest, my brother will come see you soon, he's taking care of a few things." He told me as he too walked out, closing the door behind him.

I lay there, circling my fingers around my temples and trying hard to remember what happened. The last thing I remembered was Hollis's empty stare after I had watched him kill an innocent man in cold blood.

I tried hard to forget this. I was still alive, but everything else was a blur, including where I was and how I had gotten there. I struggled to sit up and flip my legs over the edge of the bed. My eyelids were heavy. All I wanted to do was sleep.

My feet hit the cool wooden floors. and I suddenly noticed that I didn't have my sneakers on anymore. Slightly panicked, I looked to see if anything else was missing, or different. I didn't know what I was expecting to find, but whatever it was, I didn't find it.

Except for the stains on my knees, the rubber band that was missing from my hair, and the immense throbbing against my skull, everything else on my body was the way I had last left it.