What is this?

?

I feel?

How do you feel?

I feel?

Tell me.

I don?t know.

You?re safe.

Who are you?

In time.

What does that mean?

It?s time to go.

Breath filled his lungs and he coughed with the sudden pressure of it in his chest. He tried to sit up but couldn?t. The light above his head was blinding and he clenched his eyes shut to keep it out. Through his eyelids he could see shapes dancing in the light. Shadows of men and women towering above him, speaking in quick, hushed voices. He listened but couldn?t make out the words. It was all coming to him through a dull roar, like ocean waves crashing down. He tried to sit again but he still couldn?t. He felt pain, sharp and cold lancing through his body and he screamed but couldn?t tell over the roar if there was any sound coming out.

The light went away and he fell back into the cool, comforting blackness.

Not yet, Nishimura Hayato.

Who are you?

Get up.

Who?

Get up!

?He?s awake!?

The voice echoed like a loudspeaker inside his skull and rocked his head from one side to the other. He grimaced and a white light flashed through his mind. A hand came up to press over his eyes. A hand. His hand. His fingers spread wide and he dared to open an eye and look through them at the people gathered around. The light was still too bright and hurt his eyes but he could make out the face of an old man wearing a surgical cap looming above him.


?Good morning, Mr. Hayato,? said the man. ?How do you feel??

Nishimura sat up quickly and fell right back down with a grimace and a strangled cry of pain.

?Not so fast, Mr. Hayato. Take it easy.?

?Where am I??

?St. Luke?s International Hospital,? the man said. ?I?m Dr. Martin, your surgeon. You were touch and go there for a minute, Mr. Hayato, but I?m happy to see that you?re pulling through.?

The doctor patted Nishimura?s shoulder and gave him a warm smile. ?But I must insist that you get some rest. You?ve been put under considerable strain and you?ll need time to recover. I?ll come check in on you again in a few hours.?

The doctor turned and ushered the other members of the hospital staff out of the room and closed the door behind them, not even giving Nishimura time to get a word in. He was soon alone in a small, windowless room and struggled to sit up again.

Like before, the world went cold and black and he slipped away from reality.

You?re back.

I?m back.

Do you feel different?

No. Why, should I?

In time.

What have I done?

The room was dark. He could feel the walls closing in around him. It was hot. Beads of sweat crawled down his forehead and trickled down his spine. He felt for the wall behind him, his hand was slippery and he fell back to lean against it, his breath heavy in his chest. The air was thick with humidity and something else. A cloying scent. Coppery.

I can?t see.

Because you do not want to, Nishimura. Open your eye.

He pressed over his right eye with a palm wet with something thick and warm. No, no, no, no.

No!

It is who you are now.

The blackness washed away, chased by the sudden eruption of bright, white light. Nishimura leaned against a wall opposite a door. Standing in the threshold was a silhouetted figure. He held a flashlight and cast it about the room. Nishimura heard the figure gasp in surprise--no, shock and disgust. He sank down to the floor and buried his face into his knees and held his eyes tightly shut, forcing out the voice and the words. He did not want to see what was sprawled out on the floor between him and the door.

?Nishimura-san?? the silhoutted figure called out to him. He recognized the voice and grit his teeth against it.

?Go away, Tanaka.?

?Nishimura-san...what happened? Did you??

Run, Nishimura. They will not trust you after this.

I have nowhere to go.

He knows. He will tell the others. Even if you killed him they would learn the truth. You can?t hide this. Run.

He was startled out of his thoughts when Tanaka?s hand came to rest on his shoulder. He looked up at the man in surprise to see that he was crouching down in front of him. He still couldn?t make out the features of his face in the dark, and the flashlight was pointed away. He saw past the man. The doorway was empty and a pale light filtered into the otherwise dark room. Just at the edge where it met dark he saw the small stain of red that he knew could be traced back to...Yamada. Yamada lay face down on the floor of the small room. The couch had been tipped back and he lay just behind it, his torso torn wide and his entrails removed. Nishimura couldn?t remember what happened, but he still knew that it was his doing. He had been so, so hungry.

?Tanaka?? Nishimura began.

?Yes, Nishimura-san??

Tanaka gasped again. The sound was mixed with pain. Nishimura felt the man?s blood trickle down his arm where he had shoved a hand into his stomach. He was surprised at the ease with which such an act came to him. He had felt no resistance from the man?s body.

?Go away, Tanaka.?