RESTRICTED ACCESS FILE 2

I sat in that parking lot for longer than I’d like to admit. A hundred questions weighed on my mind, yet answers never came. My mind was still in too much of a blur for me to make sense of anything. As I slowly came down from my adrenaline-induced state, I was gradually overcome with fatigue. Then, the pain.

I began removing the various needles and bandages from my body. While doing so, I discovered something that I hadn’t taken notice of before… a lanyard attached to my hospital gown. At last, some sort of identifier! Unfortunately, it offered no answers. Instead of a name either for myself or the facility I had just escaped from, there was simply an enigmatic string of characters: “WTP20451”. Being marked with a serial code only made me feel more like cattle to those cursed entities.

I was aimless. No name. No memories. My only lead was the very hell I had just escaped from, and I was not going back. Instead, I began to wander the streets. Perhaps my surroundings would spark some memories? Thankfully, they did… to some extent. Palm trees and street signs – these were definitely familiar sights. It didn’t take long to discover that I was in Florida. I… lived here. Somewhere.

The more I walked, the more I felt muscle memory take hold. I began following whatever faint memories I had of these streets, hoping that they might lead me home. Trekking across miles of stone cold concrete in nothing but a hospital gown was no easy feat – especially in my already weakened state. Fortunately, the promise of answers helped subdue my growing exhaustion.

At last, as the visions in my mind became more and more vivid, I finally arrived at my destination. A house – overgrown and abandoned. Though it was not in shambles, it was obvious that no one had been living there for quite some time.

I cautiously crept into the building, moving as silently as possible, wary of any animals or squatters that may have taken refuge within. Fortunately, there was no vermin – only piles of trash and garments scattered by pilferers. Was this truly my home? I certainly felt some strong attachment to this place… Had I perhaps been in a several year long coma? As all of these questions and more raced through my mind, exhaustion finally took hold. I fell into a deep sleep on what I assumed was once my bed – one from another life, now long forgotten.