Alone (4 page)

***

I awoke for the second time in as many hours as I felt the creaking presence of someone sitting down upon the edge of my bed. I was lying with my front side against the wall with my back turned towards the open doorway and the brunette woman's bed so I just assumed right away that she had awoken feeling scared and alone and wanted to cuddle up. I turned slowly over onto my opposite side to face her sitting on the bed next to me and boy did I get a shock when I was confronted by a medium build, middle aged man with cold, piercing grey eyes, a greyish black beard and moustache and greyish black hair. I hardly had time to collect what little and confusing thoughts I had left as I jerked upright, completely startled.

'Who the hell are you? Where did you come from?'

The bearded man continued to stare at me with those cold and piercing grey eyes like he was deliberately delaying his answer. He then gently put his finger to his lips and finally spoke out in a very well spoken tone of voice.

'Shush.' He said ever so quietly. 'You'll wake up sleeping beauty over there.'

I glanced over at the brunette woman who was still fast asleep on the opposite bed, but now with her front side facing towards me and with her back turned against the wall rather than away from it just like it had been when she first went to sleep. I looked back at the bearded man again.

'Who the hell are you?' I said in an angry whisper, lowering my tone. The man let out a sly grin like he was toying with me before replying.

'I'm Ian.' He said still grinning.

Immediately my thoughts filled with the blonde woman and how she had called me Ian or had she just whispered a name to me, someone else's name.

'Where did you come from?' I said asking the next question that sprung to my mind. Maybe he came from one of those other sealed pods. Maybe he came up from that laddered hole or maybe he even came in from the blackness outside. Perhaps he might even be able to tell me something about myself.

'...I came in from the corridor out there.' Replied the man with another playful smile.

'But before that... before the corridor. Did you come from outside, from the blackness?' I said desperately.

The man chuckled out at that, but still did not answer. 'Do you know what I'm doing here? Or how the hell I got here? Where is here?' I continued with a sudden barrage of questions that just came to me in my frustration, but the man didn't reply and only let out another smug little smile and playful chuckle which annoyed the hell out of me even more. I took a deep breath and tried to compose my growing anger, giving the man a chance to finish his laughter.

'Do you know who I am? Or who she is?' I said more calmly and clearer.

'Why you are just full of a hundred and one damn little questions now aren't you?' Said the man finally.

'Please tell me something if you can... anything! Who am I... Please?' I said hopeful and dejected at the same time. The man just glared at me once more with those cold eyes. He wasn't smiling now and I couldn't tell if this was a good or bad thing.

'Well...' The man finally said. '...I'm fairly certain that my name is Ian... And your name, young man, is David.' He paused and turned his attention towards the sleeping brunette. I wanted to speak so much. David, my name is David... but I also didn't want to interrupt him. I wanted to hear what else he had to say since he was so reluctant to give out information. He continued to leer over at the woman, staring at her for uncomfortably longer than I had ever dared. 'And the sleeping little vixen over there...' He continued. '...Why her name is the lovely Anna.'

'Anna... David.' I said almost under my breath. I then glanced back up at the bearded man who now called himself Ian. 'So do you know what I'm doing here? Or what is this place all bout?'

Ian finally broke his lingering stare away from Anna, turning back to meet my own gaze once more as I prepared myself for his answer which I desperately wanted to hear so bad.

'She's a fine looking lass that one isn't she?' Said Ian completely ignoring my question. I went along with it though and turned my attention back to face the woman, Anna.

'But who is she? And why are we both here? Please tell me.' I asked getting even more desperate for answers.

'I told you already she's Anna and she... well she's just here...! Here because you awoke her from a long, deep and dark sleep. One that she was never even meant to awaken from. A sleep you both weren't meant to awaken from.'

'This is just crazy.' I said out of complete frustration. 'Don't you have anything useful to say. At least tell me who you are? What you're doing here?'

'I told you... I'm Ian... and like you and that delicious little creature over there... I'm just here.' Ian smiled out that annoying little sly, coy smile of his before getting up off the edge of my bed to make his way over towards the sleeping Anna, crouching softly down beside her. I didn't know what to make of this, but it felt wrong and uncomfortable.

'What the hell are you doing?' I said raising my tone.

'She's a pretty girl this one no? A little vixen as you say.' Said Ian leering over her pale and pretty face. 'What a beauty.' He then lifted his hand over and down towards Anna's ankles and ever so gently began running his finger tips all the way up and along the bottom of Anna's naked legs, from her ankles, calves and knees all the way up towards her mid thighs, stopping at the rim of her white gown. I felt a rage building inside me like no other. This was wrong! What Ian was doing to Anna without her permission was wrong. I didn't know too many things right now, but I knew that you couldn't touch people in that way without their say so.

'Stop that.' I finally blurted out. Ian though kept his hand firmly upon Anna's thigh, like he just knew the feelings of rage I was feeling deep down inside me right now and wanted them to erupt. Without words he was playfully taunting me.

'Legs so soft... Just like silk.'

'Stop touching her.'

'This is how a woman longs to be touched David.' Continued Ian. 'A light touch brushing softly against her silky smooth skin... like a delicate little feather.'

'I said stop touching her like that.' I blurted out louder and with more conviction as I sat upright, right on the edge of my bed. But still Ian kept on rubbing his hand gently along her thighs, up and down, up and down. He then turned to face me as he continued stroking.

'Tell me you haven't thought about these glorious silky smooth thighs and legs wrapped tightly around your naked body David, grasping you with a vice like grip of passion, as the rest of her naked body rubs against your skin.'

'No... I haven't. Why the hell are you saying this?'

Suddenly Anna stirred in her sleep but did not awaken. Ian never flinched though, not one bit and kept his hand firmly upon her thigh.

'You know David... I think she likes you.'

'What are you talking about?'

'Look at the way she's turned her body towards you as she sleeps, away from the wall now... to face you David. I'll tell you this for nothing my boy, the subconscious mind never lies. She likes you.'

I let out a deep sigh and held my head in frustration before lying back down upon the bed again and facing up towards the ceiling. Why was this strange man talking this way. It was too much for me. These new conflicting feelings and emotions triggering off inside my head all at the same time. I felt dizzy and tired and then another urge for water and food began aching throughout my entire body again to add more logs to my unstable emotional fire.

'This is just too much.' I sighed out. But suddenly Ian was standing over me. How did he get to me so fast it was startling. I never even heard him move from Anna's bedside.

'Come.' He said boldly. He then reached out his hand.

'You must be thirsty and hungry?' Without words I reached out and took Ian's firm hand. He had a strong grip as he helped pull me up to my feet with a scary ease. In a blurry daze I let him lead me out of the bedroom, along the next two corridors and finally into the kitchen area.

Ian left me in the middle of the kitchen while he approached the left side of the first row of cupboards and I watched curiously as he gave a gentle double little tap to a small flat panel on the side of the cupboard. Suddenly all of the cupboard doors unlocked inside the kitchen and opened a few inches, springing to life. Ian double tapped the panel again and they all closed over, locking automatically. It looked so simple yet so mind boggling.

'Now you try.' Said Ian grinning.

'I'm sure I pressed and pushed at everything, all around those cupboards last time and nothing happened.'

'Ah! But did you double tap?' Said Ian smugly as I gave out a confused stare.

'Come on then.' He continued beckoning me over towards the small thin panel on the side of the first cupboard. I approached and just like I'd watched Ian do before me, I double tapped the cupboard panel. All the cupboards unlocked and opened once more and a feeling of great pride and accomplishment washed over me. I had learned something new. So if I couldn't get any of my old memories back then I would just have to make new ones.

Ian grinned out and beckoned me over to look inside one of the cupboards. When he opened it fully I could feel the coolness inside. It was some kind of cooling cupboard and it was full to the brim of many different liquid packages.

'Take a clear one.' Said Ian. 'It's water and the dark ones are food.' I quickly took one out and desperately tried to open the bizarrely sealed package with a soft white bottle neck head at one end. Ian watched amused as I struggled to open the water package.

'Put the head into your mouth and pull it off with your teeth.' Said Ian. So I inserted the small plastic head of the package into my mouth and pulled on the head.

'Harder.' Said Ian, and with much more ferocious force I pulled the head off, squirting water all over myself. The cool water in my mouth felt so good that I didn't care one bit for the spilt water all over my face neck and chest. I then sucked out the remaining water from the package, before greedily grabbing another one from the cooling cupboard, ripping off the plastic head with my teeth and quickly draining it. Ian suddenly burst out laughing at my primitive and animal like antics.

'You are a thirsty boy aren't you?'

Suddenly, from outside the corridor, a sleepy looking Anna walked wearily through the kitchen doorway taking me by surprise.

'What are you doing?' She said with an expression that was neither joyful nor sad. I just smiled wildly back at her while gulping down the remainder of my water.

'We have water... and food.' I blurted out in between mouthfuls and swallows. Anna's eyes widened with delight and she looked so damn pretty now smiling away happily for the first time since I'd met her.

'You opened the cupboards?' Said Anna in utter joy as she rushed over towards me. 'Let me have some? Please, let me have some?' She playfully begged and pleaded out like a young child, and as I pulled the half empty water package from my mouth to give to her I didn't feel it strange just yet that she had completely ignored our new arrival behind me and was more concerned with getting some water inside her.

'Squirt her.' Said Ian suddenly from behind me.

'What?' I replied a little confused.

'Squirt her with the water. Everywhere! It will be fun. It's what the old, playful David would do.'

For a split second I looked at Anna, her eyes were closed and her jaws were wide open as she waited for me to put some water into her mouth, but instead of squirting it into her mouth I squeezed the package with all my strength, squirting the water all over Anna's face, mouth, nose, neck, eyes and hair and all over her night gown too. Anna giddily squealed and playfully screamed out like an overly excited little girl as the cool water washed all over her beautiful pale skin and upper body. She was enjoying it. She really was enjoying it.

'It's so cold and wet. Give me more... I want more.'

I quickly pulled out another water package from the cupboard, tore it open and squirted it hard into Anna's mouth before squirting the rest over Anna's hair. She continued to scream out playfully before running over and grabbing her own water package from the cooling cupboard. She was a little unsure at first about how to open it, but I motioned her to put the plastic head into her mouth and tear it off. She did, then started squirting me with the water. It felt good! What we were doing felt so good and everything about our unusual and grim situation was forgotten for a few fun and playful moments. I squirted her back again and she ducked out of the way before squirting more water back at me. I laughed out for the first time since I could even remember, then finally I shouted out giddily.

'This is Ian by the way.' Anna looked greatly confused though as I turned around to face Ian standing at the cupboards behind me, who was now just a casual observer of our playful antics together. But to my shock and dismay Ian was gone... What the hell?

'What's that? Who? You're Ian.' Said Anna still smiling.

I started to glance anxiously all around the kitchen and dining area.

'No... Ian was just...' I said in a daze. Just then Anna slyly squirted me with her water package once again and right in the face too making me really annoyed.

'Anna, stop it!' I shouted out angrily. 'There was someone just...'

'You started it.' Replied Anna playfully. She then squirted me once more and giggled out. I couldn't believe her cheekiness, and where the hell was Ian?

'Anna, stop it, please!' I said with more anger. Anna paused for a second and gave me a bewildered look.

'Who's... Anna?' She said.

'You're Anna.' I replied still trying desperately to find any sign of Ian.

'Oh... So how do you know I'm Anna?'

'Because... I just know all right.' I said sighing out annoyed and frustrated. 'You're Anna and I'm David. I just know.'

'So... Who is Ian?' Replied Anna looking even more confused than ever. I remained silent myself for a few seconds, not quite sure how to answer that one.

'I... I'm not sure just yet, all right. Look, just grab some food okay. Take one of the dark ones.'