Who am I? Well, in all honesty, I don't know. In the doctors' file for me, which has been destroyed, it says my name is Alexis Worth. I am twenty years old. I have blonde hair and blue eyes. I speak German fluently, though I don't remember learning it. I don't remember most of my life, actually. My earliest memory is of the hospital, and that was only six months ago. A young handsome doctor came into the room and introduced himself as Johnathan Pike.
"Well, Alexis," he said, pulling clipboard from the rack on the bed He had a Liverpool accent. "It seems you took a nasty fall. You've got a colossal bump on your head and I wouldn't be surprised if you had partial or even total memory loss."
"Excuse me, but are you talking to me?" I asked. I had no idea what my name was so I couldn't be sure. Although the memory-loss thing gave me a hunch. "The memory-loss thing... it's total. And I'm the only one in the room, so I guess it has to be me." Ug, I thought. I'm rambling. Dr. Pike smiled.
"Yes. Your name is Alexis Worth. You were discovered wandering the streets of Manhattan covered in blood, so the police picked you up. Since nobody claimed you, they turned you over to us."
"And who is 'us'?"
"We are an experimental medical group. We hope to find a cure for amnesia-- total memory-loss. But I'm not your main doctor. I just check up on you now and again. As soon as you're stable enough to fly, we'll transport you to our main facility in Maine, where you'll meet Dr. Krauss, who will take over your case."
"Oh. When will that be?"
"A few days. You didn't loose that much blood when you fell, or knocked your head, or whatever it was that gave you that bump, so we didn't need to give you a transfusion. But we want to do a few equilibrium and balance tests, and also a vertigo test. Then we'll keep an eye on your vitals. As soon as the results from your tests get back, we'll put you on one of our planes and send you off."
The tests didn't take that long. Nothing was wrong with me, save the amnesia. My vitals were normal. Three days after meeting Dr. Pike, I boarded the hospital's private plane, which was not as luxurious as I thought it would be, and headed for Maine. Whenever I asked where exactly we were going, the general response was "Oh, you'll love it!" which didn't mean anything to me. We landed in a small airport in Bangor, Maine at around noon. Dr. Pike offered to buy me anything I wanted, which was a relief after the so-called hospital "food." I ordered a small pizza with extra pepperoni, which I had been craving for quite some time. I found it amazing that I knew what foods or music I liked but hadn't the faintest idea of my identity.
The drive from Bangor to the small town of Pinecrest was long and boring. Dr. Pike listened and sang along with old Beatles tunes. I looked out the window as signs of civilization grew increasingly fewer and the wilderness towered above me. "Ug," I complained. "Nobody told me there would be so much... nature." Dr. Pike laughed and went back to singing "Dear Prudence." I listened to him sing. His voice wasn't half-bad. I drifted off to sleep during "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." I dreamed:
I was walking through the Maine woods in a red jogging suit and a backpack. Every now and again, I would stop, take a red notebook out of the backpack, and take down notes about the wildlife. About half an hour into my walk, the path was blocked by an enormous spider web. I excitedly looked around for it's builder when I saw it. An enormous red spider, the size of a large cottage, was weaving its web high above me. There were many things stuck in its trap: several insects, birds, and even tree-dwelling mammals, like squirrels and raccoons. I was fascinated. I took out my notebook, moving slowly so as not to attract the spider's attention. I wrote "Large scarlet arachnid. No visible distinct markings." As I put my notebook away, the spider crawled down its web towards me. I saw a black hour-glass on its back. I realized that it had the color pattern of a black widow, only reversed. I noted this in my book and took a camera out of my bag. I snapped a photo and tried to leave, but my leg was covered in spider-silk. The spider had trapped me. The silk soon covered my entire lower body, then my entire body, save my head. As the spider's spinnerets readied themselves for a final shot of webbing, I saw a man-figure coming to my rescue. It attacked the spider with a similar web substance and came over to free me. "Don't be afraid Alexis. Alexis? Alexis?
"Alexis!" Dr. Pike said firmly, shaking me awake. "Alexis, we're here."
"At the other hospital?" I asked groggily, peeking out the window. I saw a hospital-like building outside, but something was off. It took me a moment to figure out what: It was the only building within sight in any direction. "Why is there a hospital in the middle of nowhere?" I asked, looking at the doctor I had come to befriend.
"It's a private hospital. Owned and operated by Dr. Krauss. He only accepts the most severe cases, and only one at a time. That way, he can dedicate all of his time to finding a treatment, and maybe even a cure."
"For amnesia?"
"For anything."
We got out of the car. A middle-age man, who I assumed was Dr. Krauss, stood at the door to greet us.
"Hello, Alexis," he said in heavily accented English. "We have been waiting for you."
"Guten tag, Herr Krauss," I said in German, surprising everyone, even myself. I quickly switched to English. "Thank you for taking me in. Apparently, I have considerable amounts of money stockpiled away somewhere, so I will gladly pay--"
"Nien.This is a non-profit hospital. The only money I accept is donations. And I do not let patients donate until four years after their treatment. Standard procedure."
"But--"
"No. Come inside, Alexis. I will show you our facilities."
They took me on a tour of the hospital and I saw several doctors and techs and nurses, but no other patients. I wondered why but kept my mouth shut. They took me to my room to let me rest.
"Through that door," Dr. Krauss said, pointing at a beautiful hand-carved mahogany door. "Are the rest of your quarters: Bathroom, television room-- we have satellite TV--, mini gym... There is no reason for you to leave your room. Your meals will be brought to you and there are snacks in the pantry. It would be best if you stay here unless I or another doctor sends for you."
"And why is that?"
"So that you do not get in the way. Or hurt," He added quickly, almost as an afterthought. Then he took a bottle of red pills out of the pocket of his lab coat. They looked like M&Ms. "Here. Take one of these every morning."
"What are they?"
"Iron pills. One of your blood tests shows that you are slightly anemic. These will help."
I paced my bedroom again. I tried to watch TV but could find noting on. I discovered a computer in the corner of the living room and found that it had internet. I surfed the web for awhile before shutting the computer off and going back into the bedroom.
"You okay, Alexis?" Dr. Pike asked, entering the room. "Sorry, I should have knocked first."
"Cabin fever. I hate being cooped up like this. I guess I'm used to having my own free reign. Not that I remember that. Why can't I move about as I please? I'll stay out of rooms. I just want to be allowed in the hallways. Or corridors or whatever."
"I'll talk to Dr. Krauss about it."
"But you didn't answer my question."
"Because this is Dr. Krauss' facility and he feels it would be unsafe for you to be allowed to wander around." Alexis sighed. "I know, Alexis. It's frustrating. But I can't do anything about it. Except visit."
"Visit?"
"Yeah. I've been transferred. I'm not going back to New York."
"Is that okay with you?"
"I requested it. I'm concerned about you. I'm not on your case, but I am allowed access to your file and I'll stop in to help when Dr. Krauss needs me."
I was trapped in Dr. Krauss' facilities for almost two months, with them doing strange experiments on me. They took blood, transfused blood, gave me new pills, and performed test after countless test. I saw Dr. Pike about once every week. He looked more and more worried every time I saw him. Finally, I worked up my courage and asked him what was wrong.
"I'm just worried about you, Alexis," he said. "These pills and transfusions-- I just don't see how they are supposed to help with your amnesia. And they may have adverse effects. They haven't been tested before-- ever."
"I know, John," he had insisted that I call him John. "I knew when I signed that paper." I was referring to that document that stated I understood the risks of untested experimental medications. I figured that since I didn't remember who I was, and nobody had claimed me in New York, it didn't really matter what happened to me. "As for the amnesia-- know one knows what could cure it, right? Any chemical reaction could trigger--"
"But that doesn't explain the transfusions, Alexis."
Dr. Krauss came in later that day and I projected Dr. Pike's worries. "You have nothing to worry about, Fraulien." He pulled a vial of scarlet liquid from his cart and stuck a syringe into it. He drew some of the liquid into the syringe and pulled the needle out of the vial.
"Vas es das, doktor?" I asked nervously. I had never been given a shot before.
"A new treatment. A nurse will come every day with your meals and administer a dose."
"What's in it?"
"A serum made from several different spider venoms and other chemicals."
"Venom? Isn't that kind of... dangerous?"
"It will not kill you; we injected an animal subject with this serum several months ago and they are perfectly fine."
"Okay..." I said. I was still uncertain, but I was no doctor. The serum burned for a few moments and I could literally feel it coursing through my veins. But if it helped them to find a way to cure amnesia, or anything else, I didn't care.
A week later, John came into my room while I was watching TV.
"Now I am really worried," he said, sitting on the sofa next to me.
"How come?" I asked, pulling a handful of chips from my bag of Lays. "Crisp?" I offered him the bag.
"No thank you. I'm no longer authorized to access your file. In fact, I'm being sent back to New York next Monday."
"Oh."
"I don't even know what this new treatment is."
"A new serum. A shot."
"Don't tell me! Do you know how much trouble we could both get in?" He paused, as if considering. "Do you know what's in it?"
"Spider venom. And some chemicals. I don't know what."
"And how long have you been taking it?"
"Eight and a half days at three doses a day. One with each meal."
"Wait up tonight, okay? And get your things ready."
He left before I could ask why.
"Alexis? Alexis? Alexis wake up!" John shook me awake that night. "I told you yo wait up for me! Did you at least get your things together?"
"Yeeeeaaaah..." I moaned. "I tried to wait up, but once it got to be half past two, I couldn't keep my eyes open."
John shoved a folder at me. "This has plane tickets back to New York, a credit card and a check book all in our name. I put you on the account a week ago, just in case. Get an apartment. And a job. And it has your file in it. Let's go!"
"You stole this?"
"When you read it, you'll see why."
An hour later, I was on an airplane to New York with a cell phone provided by John and my belongings.
Well, there it is. The first chapter of my own superhero saga. Just to warn you, Alexis won't meet Peter Parker until the chapter after next. I think.