Core Memory (Lolix)

Chapter Two

A sharp gasp was all it took to have a nurse rush to Felix's side, almost fighting him to keep him laying down after he had tried to sit up as soon as his eyes had opened. For some reason, his heart raced in his chest as he looked around the unfamiliar room. Where was he? Where was...? Where was...Who was he even looking for?

"Where am I?" He asked, his eyes immediately darting to the nurse beside him, "I-I don't remember coming here, how did I even get here?"

The nurse only shook her head as she fixed the pillow resting under his head, "You were found with severe head trauma, multiple damaged vertebrae, which, you are quite lucky your spinal cord remained unharmed, and to top it all off, a bit of blood loss. Two kids found you and brought you in. Even the doctor was impressed you weren't dead." She backed up a bit, leaning over to the desk close by and grabbing a clipboard, "Since you're up and already trying to kick, we have paperwork to get done."

"Paperwork...?" He muttered under his breath, thinking over the nurse's words. How did he manage to survive? He looked down at himself. There are a few tubes connected to him, one of the larger ones being in his wrist. The thin hospital blanket covered his legs, so he wouldn't be able to make any observations there. He brought a hand up to his head, feeling at the bandages now there. He could feel more bandages around his torso, as well as barely being able to make any movements involving his back.

"What's your name, sir?"

He looked over to the nurse, biting at the bottom of his lip as the cogs in his head worked their best to remember. "My name is...I..." He paused, a little lost in his thought process before he found the words to continue, "Isaac. My name is Isaac...Isaac Gates."

"Isaac Gates..." The nurse repeated back to him, her pen gliding away as she wrote. "Alright, Isaac, do you remember how you ended up like that?"

He tried to think about it, but it felt as though trying was bashing his head in. Instead, he shook his head as a response.

"Do you remember anything before your injury?"

"I'm...I'm thirty-four...I think." He leaned more comfortably back into the pillow, staring up at the ceiling, "I...Can't remember anything else from the top of my head."

"When you were brought in, you were wearing armor. Are you a part of the war that Chorus is currently in?" She then asked, glancing over to him as his brows furrowed at the question.

"I might have been...I don't know if I was a part of the current war, I...wasn't even aware of a current war going on, but now that you mention it...I remember fighting in some sort of war. Are we in Chorus?"

"We're below Chorus. We aren't a part of that war, so you don't have to worry about it."

Below Chorus? "So...Where are we?"

"We're in Chamber, sir."

She answered, writing more down onto the papers on the clipboard.

A small pout adorned his face, his fingers fiddling with the hospital blanket. So, there's a war going on, and now he's someplace below said war that isn't a part of it? How lucky of him to have gotten away from it.

"How long will I be here?" He then asked, turning his head back towards the nurse.

She set her clipboard back down, but instead of on her desk, she placed it on the bed-side table. "Well, we'd have to wait until you're able to walk on your own. As I said, you have multiple damaged vertebrae, so basic movement will be difficult for you. We'll be able to get you an exo-brace after a week of bed rest."

He sighed, shutting his eyes once more, "A week...Damn..."

"We'll have someone bring you something to eat, you've been out for quite a while." The nurse then told him, gathering her things as she made her way out the door, "Relax, for now, you've sure as hell earned it."