"Well, from the inspections and X-rays…"
"Y-Yes! Sounds good…"
The mysterious puffball could faintly see or hear what the two others were talking about. Was it about him? Had they done something to his body? With an aching head, it was hard to think straight at all. Fortunately for him, the darkness that blurred his vision finally cleared away, allowing him to see where he was.
A room. Not a small one or a big one. Very few home décor, flowers on a table, a window allowing sunshine to enter, picture frames of old paintings, and a bathroom in the distance. He noticed the thing he was sitting on was a bed, and interesting, comfortable bed. He stretched before he stood up, but was instantly nudged down, forcing him to lie back down under the covers.
The nurse who had apparently watched him let out a soft chuckle. "I see you're itching to get out of here, but we need to make sure there's nothing wrong with you first, dear." She grabbed a tray and sat it down on his lap.
"Here's you're breakfast! You slept for a long time, so we kept it nice and warm for you in the oven, dear!" She bowed before exiting the room, obviously having other tasks to take care of.
The puffball stared at the food, his mouth watering. It had been ages since he had ate some decent food. Plus, he did not have to search for it as it was given to him literally on a silver platter. In a few quick bites and gulps, the food was already gone including the glass of orange juice.
With the nurse gone and a silent room, the boy had already grew bored, channel surfing. The questions that constantly gnawed his brain would not cease to leave him alone. He desperately wanted answers, or even hints! Something to help figure out what his nightmare was about.
Then, he started to remember…the dream he had last night. He wasted no time in dropping the remote to concentrate, closing his eyes. And just like that, bits of the dream slowly came together in his mind.
Instead of dark, threatening city, the environment his dream took place was rather nice. Lush, green grass covered the last of the bare ground with patches of flowers swaying in the wind. Trees whose branches were once bare now had big, green leaves dotted all over. The sun was out, shining brighter than ever with no clouds in the sky.
The puffball sat on a blanket, one with white and red lines. He breathed in crisp, clean air, enjoying the peace and quiet. Well, at least it was until…
I-I can't believe you managed to do something like that!
Soft chuckling could be heard in the distance. It was rather deep sounding. The boy stared at the two other puffballs sitting behind him. He hadn't even acknowledged their presence!
How else would I be at fooling people if I didn't? I wouldn't be so shocked if I were you.
The latter stomped a foot out in anger, pointing directly at the puffball who received a nightmare. The boy shivered, fear crawling around inside of him. Was he the source of the argument? But why argue? It was a beautiful day!
What do you think about this-
His dream was cut short by the sound of a door opening and two puffballs chitter-chatting. This caused bubbles of anger to fill up the puffball's chest.
Why'd they have to come in now! He almost said my name! Now, I can't remember the dream at all!
The doctor and nurse stared at the puff, sympathy in their eyes. It was like they knew he was upset about something.
"Sorry if we broke your thoughts, kiddo…"
Hell yeah you did.
"But we're only here to say that you're free to go. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you. No cuts, no bruises, no wounds. You're absolutely fine!"
Ah, but you have no idea what goes happens in the brain, fish-brain.
He only nodded, proceeding to stand up once more until…
"But!" He interrupted. "We must call your parents first. Then we'll be out of your hair!"
P-Parents…?
If he had any, he surely didn't remember them.
What do I say? I don't even know who my parents are!
The doctor tilted his head, clearly puzzled. "Is there something wrong?"
The boy hesitated before slowly nodding.
"I-I don't know who my parents are…I can't r-remember." He stuttered.
"I don't remember anything…or how I even got here! B-But…"
He stood up once more, his eyes locked onto the door. However, the doctor grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving.
"Wait! You can't just go! We need to find someone who will take care of you!"
The boy shook his head. "Just lemme go! I can take care of myself!"
The doctor refused to listen, causing the puff to bite his arm. What sharp fangs he had.
The doctor instantly let go, letting a screech escape his mouth. The nurse ran up to his side, examining his arm after glaring at the boy they supposedly 'helped'.
He continued to run, moving swiftly past all the other nurse and doctors. He never looked back; that would only slow him down. His doctor wasn't about to let him go so easily. He called out, saying 'Stop that boy!'
The puffball was very far now, in an empty hallway. He needed to be cool. If he wanted to escape this place that seemed like a prison, he needed to not give himself away.
First things first…where am I? A map would be helpful right now.
He glanced left and right, pacing himself in case the doctors were coming. The hallway seemed endless, sleeping patients could be heard from their rooms. He silently ran through the hallway only to stop. Left or right?
What is this place? It's like a huge maze!
He continued looking back forth until the sound of footsteps could be heard. Loud footsteps. Angry mumbling.
"Look! There he is!"
The puff stared back in shock, deciding to run down the left path. What a bad choice he made. A dead end was what awaited him. He clutched his stomach, heart racing. Turning around, he could see the two doctors and nurse glaring at him.
"You're not getting off so easy with what you did, kid. In fact, I think it's time we examined the fangs of yours."
The doctor who seemed nice and friendly was suddenly bloodthirsty. How could he escape? With a wall behind him and a bunch of threatening puffballs in front, he was pretty much centered. He continued backing up until his back made contact with the wall and a lever.
What's a…wait! A fire alarm? Yes, I need a fire, and whatever an alarm is!
Without hesitating he pulled the lever, causing loud sirens to wake up patients and attract the other nurses and doctors' attention. The little sprinklers drenched the group in water, allowing the puff to slide past them. The water was quite helpful, allowing him to slide all the way down while the group behind kept slipping and sliding.
A front desk and two doors that led to the outside world could be seen. His heart pumped excitedly, blood roaring in his ears.
Yes! The exit! I can get out of here!
He wasted no time in trying to open the doors, but unfortunately for him, he pulled the fire alarm. The doors refused to budge, causing his heart to sink.
N-No! Don't do this! Open, open, open!
He was forced to stop when two hands made contact with his shoulder. A lady, waiting to pick up her son, stared at him, sympathetic.
"What are you doing, hun? You can't leave when there's a fire!"
He quickly explained what happened to the woman, hoping he could trust her. He needed to get out of here. That was all he wanted. And luckily for him, the woman nodded opening up her purse.
"The alarms will stop ringing in a moment when people realize there's nothing going on. I need to get my son, but you can hide in here until we leave. Sound good?"
Yes! Someone who will finally help me!
He nodded before climbing into her bag. She zipped it up, glancing around to make sure no one else had noticed. Luckily for them, they were the only ones out in the lobby.
The alarms eventually died down, causing the sprinklers to turn off. The hallways were soaked, all the rooms empty. The other doctors and nurses had waited outside with the patients. They were told it was a huge misunderstanding and everyone then calmed down returning to their rooms.
"Mrs. Scott? Please come up."
The lady patter her purse before walking up to the desk. The puff in her purse did not hear it. He grew drowsy, eventually falling asleep. Another dream.
The puffball found himself in a house, on a couch. Next to him was another puffball. However, he could not tell what he looked like for his appearance was blurred. Strangely enough though, this puff looked strangely familiar in a way.
Have I seen this person before?
The puffball tucked his nubs under himself, sighing.
Why did I do that? Now they're both gone…it's all my fault! Why couldn't I be a-a better father?!
His eyes lit up at the word father.
C-Could that be my dad? Am I one of the missing people he's talking about!?
The boy ran up to the latter, trying to catch his attention. But alas, a dream is a dream, sometimes not letting the other people hear or see you.
"H-Hey! Can't you hear me?"
The other puffball only answered with sobs and sniffles. He seemed distraught.
"P-Please! I need help! I need answers!"
Soon, the depressed puffball faded away, disappearing like dust in the wind. The puffball sighed, putting a nub through his hair, wincing when it hit a snag. The room went dark. Fear struck the boy as he feared the nightmare would be returning. It did not, fortunately.
Instead he found himself floating, waves of water coming together to form a large, blue crystal. At the very tip, a distinctive figure could be seen. The boy rested his feet onto the crystal before running up to the mysterious figure.
"H-Hey! You up there!" He called out. "C-Can you help me! Please!"
The figure looked down at him chuckling. When the boy finally caught up, the latter jumped back down, laughing. The puff stared at him, confused.
"P-Please…I really need help…"
The other puff sighed, tipping his cap. "Only if you can catch me!"
The boy leaped down towards the latter, only landing onto the crystal. The latter laughed, shaking his head.
"It won't be that easy!"
The boy glared, running over to the latter once more. The latter jumped to the very tip of the crystal again, leaping off into the empty space around them.
"N-No! Wait!"
The boy ran as fast as he could, holding onto the other's nub tightly.
"Please…don't go! I desperately need answers!"
The other figure turned, biting his hand. The puff instantly let go, expecting to see blood, but instead, saw strange blow crystals. The other figure had disappeared into the dark space below, leaving the boy to stare at his crystalized hand.
How am I supposed to find out who I am when the answers keep floating away from me?