Bliss in Darkness

Sudden Realizations

"Here's to the end of a shitty life." I said in a barely audible whisper to myself as I stood in the doorway of my former home. I stumbled into the darkness, taking deep breaths trying to focus on my decision.  I would forget the events of the past six years, hopefully returning my life to some degree of normality, while still retaining the ability to function in society. "Wouldn't want to forget everything and become a 19 year old infant would we?" I chuckled as I drank the thick syrup. I felt my knees become weak, my eyes become heavy. I hardly even felt myself hit the ground. The memories rushing out of me felt like a current of water cleansing me of all sin and evil. It felt wrong to give up my identity, but it was also relieving in a way. The small patches of grass tickled my shirtless body, the wind brought a cool sensation on a warm summer night. I was so relaxed I didn't notice my right fist unclenching, revealing a small note on the underside of my palm. Sleep came quickly that night.

I opened my eyes to a scene entirely different from the one I closed them to. Where my house once stood, there was now several large oak trees. At least I think they were oak. Rinsing your memory tends to leave you with little knowledge. Instead of grass and dirt, I was now laying in a shallow pool of mud. 'Did it rain last night?' I thought as I felt the cold water on my even colder body. Taking a quick look around and rising from my resting place, I leaned up against a nearby tree to contemplate my predicament. 'Wait... whats different. Do I live here? Why am I so cold' I thought as the last bit of my memory trickled from my head into oblivion. I then realized that I couldn't feel my hands or toes. It was then, for the first time in 14 hours I actually started remembering something.

"Hmm.. hypo-something... let's see... Ah! yes! Hypothermia!" I said as I was trying to jog my crippled memory. "Hypothermia. A condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as 35.0 °C (95.0 °F)."

'What the fuck was that?' I asked myself. The thought punched me in the face like a train. This wasn't simply remembering something. As far as I could tell, it wasn't normal. But I didn't have time to stand around and analyze my mind. I had to find out why I was in the middle of a forest.

I took a look around, trying to find something to trigger another memory when suddenly a white square caught my eye sticking out of the mud. It looked like a folded up piece of paper. I reached down to pick it up and heard a faint growl behind me. I jumped slightly and turned around to find the biggest wolf I had ever seen. At least it resembled a wolf. It was more like a tree that had turned into a wolf. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was made entirely of wood, and yet it moved and acted like a living being. Throwing caution to the wind, and realizing I was naked, I gripped the little white paper, covered my shame, and took off running into the strange wilderness.

Dodging trees, branches, rocks, and bushes, I danced through the forest with ease. It seemed odd, because the forest was thick and the wolves were having trouble catching up to me. 'Wait.. Isn't this forest home to these things? They have been running around in this forest for god knows how long and here I am flying through it all with ease' I thought smugly. 'Maybe I had been a pro athlete in my previous life. Or a hermit constantly on the run. Probably the latter.' I was so caught up in my thoughts that I lost focus on running, and stepped on a small sharp object.

Screaming out in pain, I fell forward.The look on my face must have been that of pure horror. I could not have tripped at a worse time. Laid out in front of me was a steep slope dotted with trees and ending in a sharp drop to a river below. As I was careening down the hill another thought was forced into my mind. 'Newtons First law: The velocity of a body remains constant unless the body is acted upon by an external force' Again, where was this information coming from? I had no clue. All I knew is that my body was going to stay in motion until I got acted upon by an outside force. That outside force took the form of a large tree, and it acted upon me like I had been sleeping with its wife. Once again, I felt my fist unclench, releasing my hold on the note within. I did not care however, as I was slipping into the dark void of sleep once again.

***

"What the fuck are you, Charlie? How could you do that to her?!"

"It was necessary to bring about the destruction of our enemies." Charlie said with an emotionless tone.

"That's too far. We agreed remember? No death of the innocent! That was the deal, you murderous fuck!"

"There was never a deal. This is MY power, MY life and it was MY decision to make. Besides, she was no innocent."

"No! Damn you to hell Charlie. I'm done. I quit. We are becoming the very thing we sought to destroy! Remember our family? Remember their screams?! Do you?"

"Yes. I do. But come tomorrow, I won't remember a thing."

***

"Oh god my head... My fucking head... what have I done this time." I spoke in between three painful gasps. My lungs were on fire and my head pounded incessantly, as if to remind me of the prior painful events. As I sat, writhing in pain, I remembered the strange dream I had. 'Were those voices... was that me? Am I Charlie? He seemed so angry... he asked me what I was. Am I not human?'

I pushed the thoughts from my mind and focused on my shattered bones and broken flesh. Lying in a pool of my own blood, I felt my chest only to find a series of strange thoughts invade my mind yet again. 'Three fractured ribs, broken femur, left shoulder shattered, slight concussion. Lungs punctured.' It was as if certain information was just suddenly available to me whenever I called upon it. I then knew that I was not a normal human being. 'Is this the power the man in my dream spoke to me of?' My thoughts were cut off suddenly by a growling sound behind me. 'Oh fuck not again...' I thought as I spun around to see five of the strange wooden wolf creatures slowly approaching me.

"Well. Looks like this is it." I whimpered as I came to terms with my demise. I noticed they were following a crimson trail of blood, presumably mine. I did something at that moment that I hadn't done in years. I cried. Here I was, in a strange forest with no hope for survival. It just wasn't fair. What if I had a family before I lost my mind? What if somebody depends on me? I cried to the heavens for help. I strained every muscle in my body just to try to crawl away from my attackers. But I failed. They were but a few feet from me. The tension was palpable as the creatures longed to fulfill their blood lust. One foot away now. I heard the creaking and cracking of their wooden frames descending upon me. Five inches. I could feel what must have been the alpha wolf sniffing in my ear, eager to satisfy it's hunger.

But fate had answered my prayers. 'Close your eyes. Focus. See into your enemy and use its spark to feed your dying flame.' I had no idea what that meant. But somehow I just did it. With my eyes closed, I saw into the soul of the wolf. It was base, primal. And delicious. I drained the life from all 5 wolves, and all the trees around me. I killed the grass, the bushes, the small rodents scurrying about and the birds flying above. My mind was soaring about the forest. It was as if I could see forever, echoing myself throughout the countless minds and presences within. I suddenly realized what I must be doing and got a hold of myself. There was a short pause and then I opened my eyes as if nothing happened. I had killed everything in a 30 foot radius around me. Even light itself seemed to avoid my presence.

"What in the hell did I just do?" I asked myself slowly and warily. The energy that I took from the life around me coursed through my veins and fueled my mind. My broken bones shifted into place and healed, and my tongue tasted blood.

"I don't know, but I enjoyed it." I answered.

Authors notes: Sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed. Its because I know how boring it is to read paragraphs and paragraphs of introduction, and for me it kills the mystery. I want my character to be mysterious, and find out about himself as time goes on, rather than just reveal everything all at once. Again, this is my first time so constructive criticism is always appreciated.