I just woke up and all I can remember is fire. Flames roasting my flesh down to my very being. Down to the very essence that is me. I had been engulfed by the flames and had collapsed in sheer exhaustion of my injuries. I had been roasted alive until blackness enveloped me. The burning was by an Indian that wore a necklace of skulls around his neck. He was naked with red markings all over his body except he wore yellow shorts. He was bald and very skinny. He had spewed an avalanche of fire from his mouth.

Was I the victim of some sacrificial ritual? I don't remember. In India, there are murders done for the goddess Kali in order to satisfy her lust for killings. Was I simply a victim?

Or was I a murder victim? Maybe he was a hitman for my enemies? What enemies? I don't remember having any. Maybe he was a serial killer and I happened to be one of his senseless murders? But to burn me. Couldn't he have just shot me instead? But he burned me alive. That must mean that it was personal.

I can't move. At all. I only can see straight ahead of me. I can't move my eyeballs. The lighting of my surroundings is pretty dim. From my periphery vision, I could see one of my arms. It is bent at the elbow. My hand is in a fist. The fist is pointing up towards the sky or ceiling at a diagonal angle. I see my shoulder. It has red fabric on it. I feel that I'm wearing a shirt so the red fabric must mean that I'm wearing a red sleeveless shirt. I feel to be standing sideways with my head cocked to the side looking straight ahead. I feel to be standing in barefeet with my feet about a foot apart. My other arm feels to be bent at the elbow at a right angle with my forearm parallel with the floor.

From my periphery vision, I could see that I'm on a platform composed of wooden planks. I also see a wooden fence to my side made of the same wooden planks.

I wonder where I am. Am I at a hospital recovering from my burn injuries? How come I can't move? Did the burns render me immobilized? Or did the doctors immobilize me for medical reasons? Or maybe I'm not at hospital at all because I'm standing up. And the surroundings don't look like a hospital room at all.

"Krrch, krrch, krrch, krrch."

I hear crunching sounds. It snapped me out of my musings. It sounded like someone munching on potato chips. Whatever it is making those sounds is very near. I don't know where they came from.

Maybe those sounds are from an animal. Maybe I'm not at a hospital at all after all. I didn't think so because of the many giveaways such as my weird surroundings and the fact that I may be standing up. Maybe those sounds are from a hungry animal. Maybe a dog. Or maybe dogs. Maybe the Indian is using me as food for his ravenous canines. Maybe they are in wait to devour me.

Then an even more ominous thought penetrated me: maybe all of this time that I'm alone, he is preparing himself for torturing me in the very near future. Maybe the Indian has brought me back to his lair to do just that. Maybe he has some painful things in store for me. Maybe he's planning on experimenting on me. Maybe for his research. Or maybe the torture is just for his diabolical pleasure. I wonder what evil plans he has for me.

"Krrch, krrch, krrch, krrch."

There goes that noise again. Maybe the sound is coming from one of his torture machines, tools or instruments. Maybe he is just revving it up or testing out the equipment to make sure it works.

Then I hear a woman's voice: "Take out the trash, Joshua!"

The demented Indian lives with his mom? Am I in his basement? He speaks English? And his name is Joshua? What?

Then I hear a little boy whine, "But I'm playing Street Fighter 2, mom."

Then all of a sudden the lighting for my surroundings brightens up and I see a man appear about eight feet in front of me. He's barefoot. He is in a fighting stance and bouncing on the balls of his feet. He is standing sideways with his head cocked to the side facing me. He is wearing a red headband. He is wearing a white gi tied around the waist with a black karate belt. He has black hair. And I see a long red bar a few feet above his head with the word "Ryu" written underneath it.

Then all of a sudden I find myself in a similar stance, bouncing on the balls of my feet. I'm wearing a red gi. I have blond hair.

Then I hear a male voice say, "Round one, fight."

When he says the word "fight", the word "fight" is spelled out in front of me in colorful letters for a brief moment then disappears.

I then find that I could move forward and backwards. I then remember that I had been defeated by a fireball from an Indian named Dhalsim in my previous fight. That is where all of those memories about being burned came from.

"Krrch, krrch, krrch, krrch."

I heard the sound again.

Then I hear the woman's voice again: "I hear you eating Doritos up there. Don't leave any crumbs on the floor!"