I wake up in a room by myself. White walls, floors, lights, even white daylight through a caged window as well. I get out of bed and notice I'm wearing white hospital scrubs. The view from the window is no help in figuring out where I am, It's up high. The glass looks a couple of inches thick with embedded wire mesh. Nothing in here indicates where I might be. It looks like an older building, but well maintained.
Head feels like someone pulled my wisdom teeth through it. What the hell am I doing here? Where the fuck am I. I wonder why Reasha and Kapelion brought me here and why they knocked me out to do it. Are they still here?
I have no idea how much time passes or how long I've been here. The light outside doesn't seem to change. It's deafening quiet until a buzzing sound followed by a click as the door unlocks and opens. A nurse comes in wheeling a cart with trays of food on it. The smell of it makes me realize how hungry I am.
"How are we doing today Mr. Confers?"
"Where the hell am I?"
"I'm not allowed to answer any questions you ask. How do you feel?"
"Other than a migraine fine I guess."
"Why am I here?"
"Again, I'm not at liberty to ans....."
"Yeah, yeah. I get it."
"I brought you something to eat. Are you hungry?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"That's good. Is there anything I can bring you? A magazine perhaps?"
"A newspaper perhaps?"
"Sorry, off-limits."
"I'm fine."
"I'll leave you to your meal."
"Why do I feel like I'm in a mental hospital?"
Smiling she leaves. The door clicks.
I think for a moment the food might be poisoned, but what's the point? I'm totally at their mercy. If they wanted to drug or kill me they would simply do it. I might as well eat.
The food is good, especially since it's been so long since I ate.
I figure a couple of hours pass with no more disturbances. I pace the room looking for a possible escape then lay back down. Contemplating my situation, I fall back to sleep.
~~~~~
I awaken to the sound of thunder and rain pelting the window. It's pitch dark except for the brief lightning flashes. It's late at night and either somebody has turned off the lights or the power is out.
There's something different in here, something that wasn't here before. I can feel it even though it's dark. My heart beats faster and senses stretch out like a spiders legs in its web checking for vibrations.
It's hard to hear over the storm. Eyes focus more and I spot the disturbance. There's somebody in here with me sitting in the chair across from me. Just watching me.
"How are you doing Sev Confers?" his voice older, sure of itself.
"I'm doing fine a guess. Why are you watching me in the dark?"
"Good. Just observing you." Turning a single lamp on "You've been asleep for quite sometime until yesterday. A nasty blow to your head you have there."
"Yeah, I don't know why it was given to me."
"Reasha can be very impulsive, and lusty. I think she knocked you out because she couldn't control her desire for you, saving you from Kapelion doing much worse to get you here.
"Are you the trainer?"
"Yes. People here call me Dr. Rivin but you may call me by my "Kind" name Vishernn."
Are you the only one here? I couldn't pick anything up on the nurse."
"No. There's another here but the rest are human. Too many of us in one location causes problems with the humans. Their emotions run amok."
"Why here?"
"It's the perfect place to find our people. They don't fit in with society and either think they are losing their minds, checking themselves in, or do something stupid and get brought here. Jonder an orderly and I watch over this facility."
"When does my training start?"
"We need to get you accustomed to seeing us without sexual stimulation. What confounds me is you're a tracker and it should be easier for you. When did you first become aware you weren't human?"
"I've always felt out-of-place but I didn't become aware of it until about a year and a half ago."
"What was the catalyst?"
"It started with dreams, not just any dreams but very realistic ones."
"Anything strange about these dreams other than their realism?"
"Just their frequency. I kept having one particular one over again."
"Can you describe it for me?"
"I'm running through a field of tall dead grass chasing pray. It's dark, but I can see. The most memorable thing was my sense of smell. I don't remember ever smelling anything in my dreams before that, but it was incredible. I'm also running in a pact and we're all monsters, but I don't see any of them until the end of the dream and then I wake up."
"Without seeing what you're hunting?"
"I never see it, but I think it was a human female."
"Not an uncommon dream for an awaking tracker."
He asks me several more questions over the following hour and we talk in-depth over my experiences and feelings."
"Alright it's time we get to work on your awareness and sight. Do you remember the nurse that came in earlier?"
"Yes, the ice queen."
"She is going to help you to see without stimulation."
"Isn't she human. How's she going to help?"
"I'll guide you through it."
"Alright."
He pulls a small device from his pocket and speaks into it "Nurse Janice I need your assistance."
A minute or two later the nurse walks in cold as ever. "How may I help you Dr. Rivin?"
"I need your opinion if you don't mind. Could you please examine Mr. Confers for me?"
"Yes sir." She goes through the motions that most doctors and nurses do with most examinations.
"I need you to disrobe Mr. Confers." Vishernn says.
The nurse gives him an awkward look. I'm sure it's because he's not leaving the room.