That day Inspector Sommers arrived earlier at the station to get some work done before anyone called with an emergency. Years of endless traffic jams in Gardenia's avenues had turned him into a morning person. After all, what kind of boss was a man who wasn't at the office well before his subordinates?
Sommers parked his old Opel Astra in the garage, fairly surprised to see there were other early birds at six forty-five in a Saturday. Perhaps they listened to him more than he suspected.
His ego had just started to rise spectacularly when someone pushed him violently against his own car.
The aggressor was a tall and broad-shouldered young man dressed completely in torn black clothes. His dark hair was messy and dirty and his grey eyes glistened with madness. However, he seemed vaguely familiar.
"Inspector Timothy Sommers. Plaque number 25458. Why the hell am I looking for you? Why I have this in my arm?"
Sommers checked said arm and his eyes widened comically. The man had tattooed the figures there. The skin was terribly bruised, purplish like a sun setting.
"Get off me. I don't know what you're talking about".
The stranger frowned but didn't release the neck of the Inspector's white shirt. He looked like a caged wild animal.
"Why am I looking for you?" He screamed. Sommer stood there, trying to put some distance in between and examining the shocked face of his aggressor.
Another car braked suddenly, startling them both. Eric, Sommers' second in command, stepped out of his car holding a gun.
"Set him free! Now!"
The man in black didn't even flinch.
"I'm going to shoot if you don't do as I say!"
Sommers kept on diving among his memories. They have met before, he was sure.
"Put down the gun" He ordered "I know him".
When Eric laid down his arm, the Inspector saw how the tension drained from his aggressor. His gaze was not so full of madness anymore.
"Help me, please" he begged, barely able to stand on his feet.
"We have to take him to the infirmary, Eric. He needs a doctor".
Luckily, Doctor Hawkins had also been early. Forever quiet and discreet, she did not ask any questions when Sommers and Eric brought her the awkward beaten man in black. She told them to lay him carefully on the pallet to start the check-up.
She had seen plenty of similar cases. It wasn't unusual for someone to arrive at the Police Station after a brawl, no matter if it was severely bruised or simply dead. She patiently sewed up his wounds with several stitches while the other policemen paced the examination room anxiously.
All in all, they remained in a comfortable silence until the patient felt ready to offer some information.
"Right now my life is like a book full of blank spaces. No memories left, just a single line" His voice was hoarse from the previous screaming, but it did not falter.
"A line?" the Doctor was not amused "Could you tell me what it says?"
"I woke up a few hours ago in the middle of nowhere, Doctor. I can tell you nothing because I don't remember anything".
She nodded, deciding not to press on the issue. Sometimes it was better to let the patients take their time, even when they were so mysterious that she couldn't wait to hear their stories.
"Look here, please" she asked, examining his eyes with a small torch. The man lost control again, his pupils shrinking until they were two tiny black spots lost in a grey sea.
"Images. I see images now"
"What do you see? Is it a memory?"
"I don't know. There are bright lights, people screaming, a closed door…"
Doctor Hawkins wrote something down and checked his file again. Her suspicions were confirmed.
"The analysis reveals high contents of drug in his blood. I'm afraid it is scopolamine".
Eric was the first to react.
"Isn't it the drug that destroys a person's will? It has become very popular around night clubs to commit crimes"
"Exactly. Also known as Hyoscine hydrobromide, this substance is a tropane alkaloid drug with muscarinic antagonist effects. It is a medication used in the treatment of motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomiting, though an overdose could be extremely dangerous. The patient dose was so high that, under normal circumstances, he should be dead".
"Did I try to kill myself, then?"
The man was even more shocked when Hawkins shook her head.
"Judging by the hematomae around the needle marks, they drugged you against your will. Since the wound is right over the brachial veins, you probably cut your own arm to extract the substance from your blood. I believe that you used something sharp to draw Sommers' plaque number in case you managed to stay alive".
A second wave of silence fell upon the room. There was something about the facts the Doctor had just worked out that seemed surreal. Indeed, the man sitting in the infirmary was strange enough to fit in a comic book or a horror film.
The three of them were so deep in thought that nearly jumped when the patient spoke again, his anguish cutting the air like a knife.
"Listen to me, Inspector Sommers. I am sure that something is about to happen. I can't tell you what it is, but we are running out of time. I don't even know who the hell I am, but something horrible is going to happen soon". A second after he sounded surprisingly hopeful "Do you know me, don't you? You know my name".
Sommers was not able to hold that sad gaze.
"I'm sorry, lad. I cannot tell you what you want".
"But you said we have met before. How can you not know my name, Inspector?"
"It's a long story that I will tell you later" Sommers answered "Now you should rest and calm yourself".
There was a knock on the glass door. A young woman was waiting on the other side, asking for permission.
"Come in, Flora!" The Inspector called. The brunette mumbled an apology to her father, who did not waste a second to start barking orders.
"I need a television in the interrogation room now, Eric. Tell them it's an emergency".
"Yes, Sir!"
But the man in black had only eyes for their new companion. Flora stood there, measuring him as if they were alone in the infirmary. His face did not sound familiar, but, for unknown reasons, she could not stop paying attention to him.
"Flora, you have to get me some files. Take all the tapes labeled H".
Before updating, I must tell you that, even though there are a few more chapters, the story is written in short scenes. I know the plot seems a little bit weird, but your doubts will be solved later, so don't worry. And remember to leave a review with your requests and opinions!