A/N: New things. Exciting. Scary! Not sure how consistently I'll be updating this. Feedback is always appreciated!

Bluebird

Beep...beep...beep…

The soft hum of nearby machinery filled his ears. There was something quite familiar about the drone, yet at the same time, new and sinister—something cold and mechanical. He felt as though he were waking from a daze, feeling his senses return. He felt a numbness in his limbs, a twitch in his face, and a sudden rush of adrenaline forcing him awake.

His eyes flew open. He found himself staring upwards at a gray ceiling sheltering an equally bleak room, a room that was brightened only by the midday sun poking in from beneath thick, achromatic curtains. The soft hum was changing; the pulse quicked its pace. His breathing grew heavier, and he let out an audible moan as he began to process his foreign surroundings; he was most certainly in a hospital room. He looked down to find himself hooked up to the machine beside his bedside, taunting him with its motorized sounds and haunting green spiked lines. He grimaced.

How long have I been asleep?

He glanced around the room hurriedly, trying to keep himself calm, but to not much avail.

The rest of the room was relatively bare. There was a shelf to his right that had acquired a couple of items—gifts that he had received at some point in time. There was a small vase of flowers that had withered just recently, a small, stuffed monkey embracing a heart, a half deflated balloon, and a couple of cards that had been left propped open. He yearned to approach the gifts.

He glanced around almost frantically, searching for an escape. What happened? Was I hurt? I think I would have remembered that…how-

His eyes fell upon a small remote beside the bed. Raising a shaky arm, he fumbled for it, and took it in both hands. One it were a couple of buttons that activated several functions of the room, but it was the bright red button with the white cross on it at the bottom that caught his eye. He pressed it. A moment later, a voice spoke out.

"Nursing station, how can I help you?"

The young man cleared his throat. How long had it been since he had used his voice?

"Hi, I, uh… I need a nurse. I'm not quite sure where I am." The sound of his own voice, huskier and much hoarser than he recalled it being, catching him off guard.

"Alright dear, room number?"

He paled. "Oh...I don't know. I'm sorry."

"No problem!" the voice chirped."Let's see here…"

The voice paused.

"Oh goodness."

He felt woozy.

"Are you room 176?" the voice asked, with a bit more edge than expected. "Hold on sir, I'll send someone right away. Stay put, please!"

With a soft click, the transmission had ended. What was happening? The tone of the nurse's voice did not resonate well within him. He could feel a wave of fatigue settling upon him, overtaking him as if he'd exhausted all mental and physical capabilities.

His thoughts were interrupted as the door to his room flew open. His eyes flew to the doorway, and he found a blonde woman standing there, glasses slightly askew, half smiling at him. Behind her, a smaller Asian woman in nurse attire.

"Arnold. Nice to finally meet you." the blonde woman said, almost breathlessly.

Arnold didn't respond. He suddenly felt woozy. He began to rub at his eyes. The use of the word 'Finally' caused some unease within him.

"I don't….where am…" he drifted off. Almost immediately, he could detect something different in his voice. There was some unfamiliar about it.

The two women entered the room completely. From behind them, various sounds drifted into the room; PA announcements, staff hurrying down hallways, the sounds of wheels along linoleum floors. The nurse then closed it, leaving the trio in the midst of a new, muffled silence.

"We should start from the beginning, I think," the woman offered, smiling at him. She approached the bedside, pulling a lone chair closer over to him. She took a seat, inching closer to his side. Arnold watched her, wide-eyed and unsure about whether or not he was still asleep.

"Arnold, my name is Dr. Henderson—this is Nurse Jenna." The nurse smiled and lowered her head politely. "We've been watching over you for quite some time now. We're at the Hillwood Medical Center. Do you remember how you got here?" she asked softly.

Arnold shook his head. Quite some time… the words repeated themselves in his head.

She nodded. "That's ok. We'll get it to it. Now, Arnold, I've been looking over you for the past five years. You've been in a comatose state the entire time."

The air grew heavy.

The words reverberated in his ears.

Five years…five years…FIVE YEARS.

Arnold shifted uncomfortably in his bed, strange, itch-like sensations overtaking him. He shook his head. "Five years? No…no there's gotta be some mistake, I-I can't have been in here for so long." He heard voices inside his mind, screaming at him. NO.

Dr. Henderson smiled softly at him. "I'm afraid it's the truth, Arnold. But we are so lucky to have you here with us. To be honest, we weren't sure if you were ever going to wake up."

Arnold felt shivers run up and down his back. "W-what happened? How did I end up here?" Dr. Henderson eyed him carefully, peering at him over her thinly framed glasses.

"Perhaps we should wait a little while before talking. You might benefit from a bit of rest."

"I've been resting for five years now," Arnold retorted bitterly. "I'd like to know the truth."

Henderson blinked slowly and then nodded. "Very well, then." She scooted her chair a bit closer, folding her legs when she found an adequate position. Nurse Jenna remained at the edge of the bed. Arnold noticed a bottle of some sort of medication sitting upon the clipboard that she was pressing to her chest.

"Now Arnold, five years ago, you were involved in a very serious car crash. A couple of weeks before the Christmas holiday, you and a friend ran into a bit of trouble with some ice on the road and the vehicle skidded off. I believe it was a hydrant that was hit, but a local stoop also had a lot of damage done to it. You endured the bulk of the injuries. Your friend spent a lot of time in the hospital, but was released after several weeks. Physically speaking, your injuries would have kept you here for only a bit longer than that, but with the coma…"

The word caused his breath to catch in his throat. He felt as though he was choking. Five years. Gone. It was as if he had never existed. He had just skipped ahead five whole years of his life. He felt the familiar wave of nausea duplicate itself.

"Who was the friend?" he asked weakly.

"A very nice guy—tall hair, dark skinned. Gerald, I believe? He visits once in awhile. He's going to be so thrilled to hear that you're awake."

The sound of the boy's name caused a wave of relief. Hearing Gerald's name again was like eating a wonderful meal after hours without food. Gerald, who had been his best friend since childhood, still cared. Gerald, who had been treated and cured, had resumed his normal life almost immediately in comparison.

"That's awesome to hear. I… I'd really like to see him. Do you know when he comes around?"

Henderson thought for a moment. "Not exactly. It's quite sporadic. You get quite a number of visitors around her, you know." Arnold felt his heart lighten a tad. "I do?" Henderson smiled at was middle-aged woman, although still beautiful and quite thin. She had a very maternal aura about her.

Nurse Jenna piped up for the first time since entering the room.

"Yes. In fact, those flowers over there—" she gestured to a small, but charming bouquet-"were brought in just last week."

"Who are they from? Do you know?"

"Your grandfather, actually."

Almost immediately, Arnold felt his eyes well up with tears, unaware of the fear lying dormant beneath the confusion and disbelief; his grandfather was still alive. He'd get to see him again.

"You're quite popular in the community, you know. So many different guests over the past couple of years—friends, teachers, roommates—I'd say you were a pretty popular guy."

Arnold looked away from her, focusing on the gray curtains still darkening the room.

"Would you like to open these up? Might make the room feel a little fresher," Henderson offered. Arnold nodded. Henderson rose from her seat and made her way over to the opposite end of the room, heels clacking with each step. She reached upwards and slowly inched the curtains away. Arnold felt somewhat nervous. Nervous at seeing the sun again? Yeah, that's smart.

She opened them very slowly, and Arnold squinted in anticipation. The sight that greeted him was everything he had expected. The hospital was located downtown, and he could see overpasses winding beyond other buildings. The day was very bright, overcast skies glaring down upon the city. Henderson smiled, peering out of the window. "It looks like it's starting to snow again." she observed.

The brightness from the world outside was overwhelming. Arnold was not sure about his emotional state. He was thrilled, terrified, homesick, and excited all at once. He was bitter—seething, almost—at the idea of losing so much precious time. But, being the optimistic person that he was, he couldn't help but feel bit comforted, knowing he could maybe, just maybe, find a way to resume a normal life. The triad remained that for a few more moments, both of their eyes fixated at the world outside. It was only when Dr. Henderson turned her head towards the young blonde man that his vision came back into focus.

"Quite exciting, isn't it?" she asked.

Arnold felt uneasiness rise up in him again. His breathing began to grow heavier. He mumbled something, and found his eyelids growing heavy. He heard Dr. Henderson and Nurse Jenna calling out his name, before an unsettling darkness overtook him again.