I can't see anything…I can't feel anything…where am I?

Two voices, both familiar, permeated the darkness.

"…you've ruined everything. This project we've been working on, the details we've pored over for months means nothing now. I can't believe your selfishness."

"This is not about being selfish. This is about doing the right thing."

"Heh…if it was about the "doing the right thing" you wouldn't have chosen this path to begin with."

"You know I never had a choice."

"Oh, you had a choice—but, like always, you had to get involved much more than was needed. You're stupid and selfish and I'm going to make sure they know this is all on you."

"That's fine. I want no part of it anymore."

"That's not up to you. They will decide what you will do and you're not going to get your way this time. I'll see to that."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Augh!" I felt a sharp pain stinging in my arm. My eyes fluttered open and I felt another wave of pain. Janet was standing before me, a syringe in her hand.

"Oh, you're awake."

Lisha. The car. All I could remember were the bright lights, the car spinning out of my control. I tried to sit up but I was held down by restraints. It was then I noticed my bed had been replaced with a gurney. "What the hell's going on?"

"Just relax, dear. Dr. Taylor will be in shortly to discuss things with you."

"I don't want to talk to Dr. Taylor. I want you to talk to me."

Janet forced a smile. "Okay. What would you like to talk about?"

"Li—Dr. Lusk. Where is she?"

"I suspect she's in her office."

"She's okay?"

"I don't know why she wouldn't be."

"But, the car wreck. She was unconscious just before we crashed."

Janet looked at me pitifully. "I think you're confused, dear. You'd better talk to Dr. Taylor."

"What do you mean confused? There was a car coming straight at us. I swerved out of the way but I lost consciousness."

She shook her head, her forced smile fading. "There wasn't any car wreck, dear. You've been here the whole time." I was becoming angry. I could feel my pulse rising, the force of my beating heart sending pain through my chest. "Just calm down. I'll tell Dr. Taylor you're awake and he'll be in to explain everything in just a moment."

"Sure," I said irritably. I couldn't understand it. The pain I felt in my body couldn't have come from anything else. Why were they trying to pretend it hadn't happened? Maybe Janet was confused—it was the only answer.

Taylor came in a few minutes later and sat in a chair beside the hospital gurney I'd been strapped to. "Hello, Norman. How are you feeling?"

"Fan-fucking-tastic. Now quit with the bullshit and tell me what's going on."

Taylor smiled insincerely. "There's no need for hostility, Norman."

I took a breath and said, "I would like to know why I'm being treated like an insane person, please."

"You've been restrained because you've been suffering from a series of seizures."

"Why am I in so much pain, then?"

"You fell down some stairs yesterday when you started seizing. You weren't hurt but some soreness is to be expected."

"So you're going to tell me I wasn't in a car wreck yesterday."

"Hallucinations are common with epileptic seizures. However, I can assure you that you were not actually in a car wreck yesterday."

I laughed, unbelieving. "Okay, prove it. Janet said Dr. Lusk was in her office. Let me see her. She was with me—she'll be bruised up too."

"Very well."

Taylor walked over to the phone and dialed a couple of numbers. "Dr. Lusk, can you come to Mr. Jayden's room, please?" He hung up the phone and then sat back in his chair, saying nothing until Lisha arrived.

She entered the room, taking her place by Taylor at my bedside. She showed no signs of being in a car wreck recently—no bruises, no cuts, no stiffness. "I'm glad to see you've awoken, Norman," she said somewhat robotically.

Taylor whispered quietly, although not inaudibly to Lisha, saying, "Mr. Jayden is somewhat disoriented. He seems to think he was in a car wreck yesterday evening and that you were also involved."

She looked to me, her silvery eyes duller than usual. "How can I help you, Norman?"

"The wreck. You remember! That guy outside the coffee shop. We got in the car to come back to the center and somebody was chasing us."

She shook her head, much like Janet, that look of pity in her eyes. "Norman, sometimes the hallucinations seizure sufferers experience are very vivid. They can seem like reality…"

"Your car. Show me your car. If it wasn't real then it won't be wrecked."

She looked back at Taylor and he nodded. Together they wheeled my bed over to the window. "It's parked there in the lot beneath your window," she said.

I strained my eyes, looking at the rows of cars parked beneath me. I saw it, the black Volvo, parked in the center row, gleaming in perfect condition. My heart sank, disbelief clouding my mind. "I don't understand."

"It's okay. This kind of thing happens. We can discuss it further in our session, if you'd like."

After they wheeled my bed back into its original position, Taylor turned to Lisha, and said, "If you'll excuse us, I need to talk to Norman alone for a moment."

Lisha nodded. It looked like there were tears in her eyes. "Sure," she said dully, and she left the room.

Once she was gone, Taylor said, "Look, Norman, we warned in the beginning of your treatment here that there may be permanent damages to your brain and heart. It appeared at first that you were recovering but these recent seizures may be pointing to some backsliding in your progress."

I blinked back tears. "I'm not crazy. You're plotting something. You've got everybody working for you, even Alisha."

He snickered a little. "I'm not saying you're crazy, Norman. I'm just saying you're brain damaged. Think whatever you like." He left the room, the door slamming behind him.

"I'm not insane…" I whispered to myself. There were some things I couldn't make sense of, like the repaired car and Lisha's uninjured appearance, but I knew there had to be some explanation. She couldn't admit to me that she was there, Taylor had her under his control now. Without her, I was alone on figuring this one out. Whatever the case, I was going to have to figure it out fast. With the way things were going, I wouldn't be around much longer if I didn't.

As Janet reentered the room carrying another syringe, I lay back on the uncomfortable gurney, awaiting the chemical coma I was undoubtedly about to receive.