I heard the shot. I felt nothing. I slowly opened up my eyes, relaxed my face from the grimace that had taken over it. The smell of gunpowder lingered in the air as I shook my head and once again became aware of my surroundings. There was a man standing in front of me, he wasn’t very tall, he had a small frame, a bit scrawny even, he wore black jeans and a faded zip up sweatshirt, in his hand he held a gun at his side, but what really confused me was the look he gave me; his mouth hanging open, his eyes wide. He was shocked.

    “That’s not possible.” He gaped, “you should be dead.”

I glanced down at my body, it looked mostly fine, I was wearing jeans that were severely ripped and caked in dirt and my shirt was ripped to the point of rags, my feet were so covered in grime I almost mistook them for shoes. There were a few cuts and bruises on the visible skin, my fists were bloody and bruised but that was all. I felt something drip down the side of my face and wiped it away, the back of my hand was coated in blood. I guess I had some kind of cut there too but the adrenaline coursing through my body made me numb to it. I lifted my hands to look at my fists again, but instead of seeing the bruises I thought I would, I realized there was a gun tightly held in my left hand. My gaze shot back up to the man in front of me as he seemed to have the same apprehension as I. He flung his arm up lifting his gun to me. My reflexes were quicker though, my gun was already raised. I pointed at the man and fired. The bullet hit him right in the center of his forehead. He flew against the wall of the shed and then slid to the ground, motionless. I fell to my knees, dropping the weapon.

I didn’t know who he was or why he thought I should be dead. Why he seemed so determined to kill me. In fact, I didn’t know much of anything. I had no idea who I was, where I was, what time or year it was. Nothing. I racked my brain searching for any shred of information that would give me even a slight indication of what was going on or why, something I could cling to. Still nothing. My head was empty. Though my old were gone, new thoughts were beginning to occur to me. Who ever this man was, his job was clearly to make sure I was no longer walking or breathing, I couldn’t stay here. Someone might have heard the gun go off, it was only a matter of time before other people would be after me. Would there even be other people after me?  Where could I go? I didn’t even know where here was.

Suddenly aware of my surroundings I looked around, it seemed like I was in some type of shed. There was a shackle with large chain links on my right foot but it wasn’t connected to anything. In fact the entire chain looked as if it had taken a beating. There were dusty, wooden shelves on the corrugated tin walls with nothing on them. The floor was mostly bare too except for the man and some rather large rocks in the corner. There was a wooden door at the far end of the shed near the man, the latch was undone and the door was cracked open. Evidently this man was not expecting to run into any problems with me. I rose back to my feet. Picking up the gun again, I unclipped the magazine, there were still bullets inside. I didn’t know how I knew to do that but It seemed like second nature to me. How did I even get a gun? A useless question, no one could answer it but I was still curious. I tucked it into the waistband of my jeans.

I moved towards the pile of a man and rolled him over. His body still warm, blood forming a pool beneath him. His lifeless eyes stared back at mine, mouth still gaping open, it looked as if the surprised look I initially saw him with would be worn on his face forever. I unzipped his jacket-- Wait. What am I doing? I just killed a man? A real, alive, human being?  I know he would have killed me if I hadn’t done it but the finality of it hit me. This man may have had a family. His children would never hear his voice, his wife would never hold him, never again. He was gone. Whether he went to heaven, or hell, or his soul just disintegrated into nothingness, his body was no longer him. I backed away from the corpse, grabbing his gun as well I decided to leave the room. Pushing open the wooden door and casting one last look at the man on the floor. I didn’t even know his name.

It’s been about an hour or two now. The shed was in the middle of nowhere. I mean nowhere. I didn’t even know what direction to walk when I shut the door behind me. Trees grew as tall as buildings, the slight light that made its way through the thick foliage guided me to wherever I’d end up. It didn’t matter much about direction anyway though, I had taken off sprinting around the back side of the shed the second I had my bearings. The adrenaline I had initially felt was beginning to wear thin and I was losing my will to run. My pace first dropping to a jog, then a fast walk, and finally to what I was currently doing, trudging on to find some kind of road or trail, maybe even a house? I wasn’t sure. I was just moving in a direction.

It was getting dark now, the light from the trees was growing fainter. My surroundings were getting harder to see. The trees loomed in the dusk and the birds singing began to turn to crickets and frogs. My body was screaming at me, I could feel everything now. Every cut, scrape, bruise, everything that had been silenced earlier now unleashed. My feet howling. My stomach was concaving. My head felt like it was about to split open. I needed a break. Refusing to give in to its demands, I pushed on. Continuing to wish for something man made, something more than these trees.

As if answering my thoughts a light flicked on in the distance. Blotted out by branches but still very visible. A friendly, warm, yellow light. I hesitated for a moment reminding myself the people controlling the light may be hostile, but after little convincing, I decided the light was my best chance. It was the first thing other than tree trunks I had seen in hours.

The closer to the light I got, the brighter it became and the higher my hopes soared. Whoever had turned the light on would help me, I knew they would. They had to? I had no choice, the most I could do was hope. It was so bright now. I was almost at the source, so close. I began quickening my pace, trying to reach the light even faster. My body still aching, I trudged on. I could hear voices, muffled and incoherent but voices nonetheless. I slowed down now as I realized I was reaching the edge of the trees. The light was coming from the side of a large brick house. It was so bright it lit up the entire clearing.

“When’s daddy coming home?”

“Any minute now sweetie, can you help mommy carry this plate?” A rather young woman and a small girl were standing on the porch of the house. It looked like they had just finished their dinner and were heading inside to wait for ‘daddy.’

“He’s always gone, why does he have to travel mommy?” The little girl was dancing around her mother, she had taken the plate from her and held it on top of her head, trying to balance it.

“It’s his job, baby. He would stay here with us every second of every day if he could” The mother was carrying a dish in one hand and trying to heard her daughter inside the house with the other. A few dishes remained on a little wooden table so I knew one of them would be back out to get them soon. Hopefully the mother.

I removed myself from the shadows and began moving towards the house. The floodlight didn’t allow for much obscurity so I was completely visible to whoever would come for the water glasses. Nearing the stairs that led up to the porch, I heard them. Footsteps. Not dancing ones though, they sounded like heavy, thumping footsteps. Steps with a purpose.

“Hello!” The footsteps stopped. “Please! I need help!” The footsteps started again, gently though, the source of the footsteps seemed unsure of what to make of my hollering. “I’ve been badly hurt, I don’t have any memory. Someone was holding me in a shed, I escaped— Please, I’m so tired.”

A face appeared from around the corner of the doorframe. Her long brown hair swept across her face, hiding most of her facial features. She analyzed me, taking in my tattered clothing, bloody fists, before allowing her eyes to land at my face.

“What happened to you!” She gasped, “Your face! How is that possible?”

“I’m sorry to frighten you miss, I’m afraid I have no memory of who I am or how I got like this… May I have a drink of water?” I had dropped to my knees, I felt faint. The last bit of energy I had was severely diminished.

“Stay here.” The woman cast a fearful glance toward me. The world went black.

I woke up in a brightly lit room, lying on a small bed. My shirt had been taken off, my jeans replaced with sweatpants. My skin looked rather clean too, my feet no longer wore shoes of Earth, my fists had been bandaged. Reaching up to touch my head I felt a bandage there as well. To my left a small nightstand held a glass of water and a plate of crackers. I grabbed the water and downed it with a single gulp, next I descended upon the crackers. They were gone in a matter of seconds. I was so focused on the food, I didn’t hear anyone walk in.

“So you have no memory?” I froze, this wasn’t the woman’s voice. This voice was deep, booming. It vibrated around the room and charged it with an unsettling feeling. I whipped around to face him.

“No sir,” I avoided his gaze, he was easily a foot taller than me. Not covered in muscle, but still bulky enough to be intimidating. “I found myself chained up in a shed and escaped, I just kept moving until I found myself here.”

“No memory.” He muttered to himself, “Absolutely none.”

I didn’t respond to him, I just looked down at my feet. I had placed them on the floor next to the bed as I ate. The shackle on my ankle felt like it had been tightened since the man had come into the room. After another few moments the man sighed and left the room. I heard his footsteps recede and then thump on the floor beneath me. I scrambled out of bed and stretched out on the floor, pressing my ear against the wood I strained to hear any noise that might slip through the cracks. Finally, I heard his thundering voice.”

“Nothing.”

“I know.” A small voice replied, it was the woman’s voice.

“That’s inconvenient.”

“It is.”

“Do we tell him?”

Silence. I didn’t know if there was a response or if the man just didn’t have an answer. Tell me what? Did they know who I was?

“What about Bradley?” The woman spoke again.

“Haven’t seen him.”

Bradley. That name. It was so… Familiar. I knew that name, I don’t know why or how but I knew I did. My head began aching again, I gasped, It felt like it was splitting in two. My vision went black.

I saw him. The man from earlier, he was pointing a gun at me.

“Bradley please.” I was standing with my back against the wall, my hands balled into fists at my sides. “Please, I know this isn’t who you are. We’re brothers. I love you, just put the gun down. Come on, unchain me. We can move past this.”

“It’s too late. What's done is done.” He looked at me one last time and squeezed the trigger.

I gasped, laying on the floor heaving. Bradley. That was the man I killed. He was my brother? What had I done? Why did he have me locked up in a shed? He shot me? How was I alive? The people downstairs clearly knew who I was and who my brother was. My brother wanted me dead, did they? I mean, if they wanted me dead, I assumed they would have killed me already. Suddenly it dawned on me, the guns. They changed my clothes and both of the weapons were gone, if they did decide to kill me then I didn’t know what would happen. Bullets seemed to have little effect…

Footsteps again, two sets, growing louder. Coming towards me. The door swung open to reveal the man and woman, they looked at me cowering on the floor.

“No idea?” The man asked yet again. I shook my head. He groaned, reaching in to the back pocket of his jeans he pulled out a small, rectangular piece of glass and held it out to me. “Look.”

I took it from him, for a moment it was clear and nothing happened. Then colors began shifting, forming patterns, each image weaving through another. It was beautiful, these visuals pulled me in and tore me apart. It was agonizing and euphoric. Suddenly, the glass was ripped away from me and I the room was spinning. Images, whirling through my mind, faces, names, events.

“Now?” He asked.

“I remember.”

He sighed in relief. “Thank God. Your brother had taken over in your absence, I’m sure he will be ecstatic to find that you’ve made your way back, my Lord.”

I fixed him with a cool, calculators gaze. Tetan seemed genuinely happy to have me back, his wife, Francine grinning broadly beside him.

“I hope the wounds heal to your satisfaction, my Lord. We had to use some new methods this time. Headshots are hard to come back from.” She looked at me for a response, I nodded.

“Shall we summon your brother? We’ll call for a grand feast tonight, the followers will be thrilled to have their leader back.

“Call the feast. Bradley is dead—for good. I have news from the other side.”