A Darker Disguise - Episode I

Engines were roaring. Time was seeping in and out. The colors of red & blue soared my blurry eyes. My body hurt in every place. Is this my body? Wait, who am I? Where am I? What had happened? I woke up, being unable to move. I was lying facedown on a grainy road. No, my WHOLE body was on a grainy road. As I got up with all the strength left in my body, blood sprung out my head and saliva oozed out my mouth. Something terrible had happened. I know that's for sure. I was surrounded by police officers and camera flashes. "THE MAN IS UP! I repeat, THE MAN IS UP!", bawled one of the officers.

I checked myself- I was wearing a maroon suit with a black poly shirt underneath. It was a stylish suit, I'll tell you that. Too bad it had been completely tarnished. I searched my pants frantically. A search for some clue of sorts, and finally found my purse. Inside, I first saw a picture of a family- a man, along with a beautiful woman by his side, who must've been his wife, with two kids standing on either side. Next to it, was a card that said a name- Steven  Richards. Wait, isn't that my name? That's my name. I AM Steve Richards. I now remember. I had met with an accident. I came out of a business lounge last night. Is it still the same night? One answer paves way for more questions. An officer came running towards me, asking me if I was okay, which I sure wasn't. But in all politeness, I replied that I was feeling alright. He insisted on getting me properly treated and took me to the ambulance that was parked near the scene. "What happened?" "Sir, don't you remember anything?", asked the officer. "I know my name is Steven Richards and I was going home from work, after making a quick stop at a fast-food joint. But I don't remember getting into an accident of any sort. Did I drive into another vehicle? Is anyone else hurt or injured?" "That's alright sir. Temporary loss of memory is a completely normal side effect. My name is Sam and I'm a first responder. You had been in an accident, yes. But it was just you, sir. No one else. There wasn't any other vehicle/person involved. This was actually a bizzare incident. You might have noticed the heavy downpour last night. A thunder struck your car and directly hit you. The strange thing about it is, your car is in perfectly working condition. It just looks darker on the top part and your seat was destroyed, but it still works nevertheless. But the crazier part is, you still are able to walk and talk. A thunder of that magnitude would surely reduce anyone to ashes. But here you are, just being perfectly normal. Just a little loss of blood as you can see. We'll have the doctors definitely run some tests to make sure there has been no permanent damages to your body. But as of now, as perplexing and unusual as it may sound, you are good, sir." I was not able to react that. Words were forming in my mind, but didn't quite reach my mouth. For a man who is supposed to be able to talk as normally as possible  after being subject to this unreal phenomenon, I sure as hell was not even able to frame sentences properly. "My family... my wife...need to...Need to talk to them..." "Don't you worry sir! We have already informed your wife. She's on her way right now. We are taking you immediately to the hospital, sir." That got me a little relief. "Thank you Officer, but I'd like to wait till my wife arrives." "Well sir.. um.. I think it would be in your best interest to take you to the hospital as soon as possible. Even if the wounds aren't physically visible, there may have been internal bleeding or clotting that we wouldn't know of." He was definitely right. But the last thing I want is for my wife to be left alone, surrounded by doctors and officers before seeing me. And I really want to see her now more than ever. "I insist on waiting for her. I'm grateful for your concern officer, but I'd very much appreciate it if you understand me wanting to see my wife right away." Officer Sam politely nodded and then signaled the paramedics to come and clean up my cuts. I was quickly given medical care on the cuts and bruises I had on my left temple. I closed my eyes and started trying to remember what had happened last night. I saw grainy images, filled with visual noise and nothing more. I focused harder and when I was about to give up, I saw a flicker of an image. A skull. A small skull, the size of a newborn's head, though it seemed to completely resemble that of a full grown human. The orbits in the skull, where the eyes would've once been, were filled with a gooey substance- dark like blood yet sticky like sludge. I swiftly opened my eyes and gave a jerk, which was rather annoying to the paramedic tending to my wound. Another quick memory flashed as I opened my eyes. I had been driving my car recklessly until I saw the skull illuminated by the headlights. The accident had occurred because I pressed the brake so hard so fast to bring my car to a halt, before hitting the skull. I didn't want to hit the skull because, I heard a screeching noise from it, as though it were alive. But my car was not able to control the speed before time and hit the skull right ahead. But the skull never moved an inch. It was the car that was sent spinning to the other side. The lightning never came from up above. It was from those dark hollow holes of the skull. As the paramedic was closing up the stitches with cotton, I pushed and made way to the part of the road where the skull would've been. It was right there, untouched and unscathed. The officer that first spoke with me came running towards me. "Sir, I advise you to sit in the ambulance and take little rest until we drive you to the hospital." "Here's the skull that my car hit. The lighting came from within that. You need to log that as evidence", I babbled, with all of my infinite wisdom. "But I don't see any skull here, sir. That's just the road." "I mean, it's right here!" Officer Sam stood directly over the skull now. "I'm not seeing any skull here sir. This might be a result of mild concussions that you maybe suffering from, sir. I suggest you to allow me to escort you back to the ambulance." I just stood there, wondering about what to reply back. "No I'm good. I'll get there myself. You're probably right officer." Once officer Sam left, I bent down and took the skull. As I observed it, the skull shrank further to the size of a totem. I kept it in my pocket and walked towards the ambulance. As I walked back, the sirens echoed at a distance, with the first light of dawn haunting the drizzly roads. The calm dark skies contrasted with the neon lights of the city in front of me. I heard a soft voice trembling and calling out my name. I looked in the direction of the voice and set by eyes on a beautiful tender woman with a ponytail, being extra jittery and looking for her man. That was my Lita. "STEVE?! Where is he, officer?" I waved slowly at my wife and she ran frantically to me. I strained a little and chuckled at her. "Hey babe. I'm sorry I couldn't make it home last night." "Oh you stupid man! I'm glad you're even alive now, Steven. The minute I got a call from officer Sam, I swiftly ran to the car and drove here right away. And before you ask, I haven't told the kids yet. I haven't woken them up. We can talk to them later once we get you checked in the hospital." After saying that, Lita hugged me tightly and held me close. It felt so warm. And after a strange night, it was nice to have someone remind you why you ought to live- for their love. Officer Sam approached our ambulance and asked, "Sir, shall we take you to hospital?" Even before I uttered any word, Lita was quick to react. "Yes officer! Let us drive straight to the hospital." I knew was running away from something that was quickly gaining ground behind me and from within me, chewing up my insides and indoctrinating my mind with noxious thoughts. My mind was cluttered, my heart heavy. It felt as if a hundred voices were yearning to be freed from my singular mind, wanting to be heard disparately from one another. I knew this much for sure. Something had happened. Something is happening. ...