Remember Me

Chapter One: Dreams

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Horns honking, people shouting, and a deafening ringing filled Ben's ears as he slowly came to. His eyes would slowly open to a bright, blinding light only to close them again. He knew something was very wrong, but at that very moment in time, he couldn't remember. He couldn't comprehend what just happened. As more sounds became clearer in his ears, a pounding sensation in his head was known. Ben groaned loudly as his hands shot up to his head to try to ease the pain. Through the blinding light of the sun, he kept his eyes opened long enough for his vision to become clear.

Cars.

There were two other cars in front of him.

A light blue SUV had hit both his car and the red sedan in front of him. He looked to see an older gentleman, yelling at the woman who was driving the red sedan. She was cowering away from him as he yelled, inflicting the blame all on her.

"You could have killed me!" His carried as others began running to the rescue. There were people breaking up the confrontation between the man and the woman and people rushing to Ben's side. A clutter of voices had been asking if he was okay or if he was hurt. He could say the words in his mind, but he couldn't quite get them out. He tried to replay the accident in his head as people were rushing to call 911, but he couldn't remember. All he remembered was saying goodbye to his mom that morning. Ben panicked as he thought of his mother. She would lose her mind if she wasn't notified immediately. He even had to admit, at eighteen years old, he need his mother now more than ever.

"Somebody call my mom!" He croaked out before losing consciousness.

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Lisa rushed to the hospital to find her son in an open room, dressed in a hospital gown laying in bed. She sighed a quick sigh of relief as she entered the room. She gently placed a hand on Ben's head and gave him a small, gentle kiss on the forehead. He didn't object as he and his mother both knew, he needed it.

"Mrs. Braeden." The doctor greeted from the doorway. Lisa turned to face him and gave him a weak smile.

"Doctor, is he okay?" She questioned.

"Well, we suspect a minor skull fracture." Lisa noticed she had been holding her breath.

"A skull fracture?" She asked as she slowly released her it. Her body trembled as she thought of the words "skull" and "fracture". She didn't think about anything else.

"A minor one." The doctor repeated. "Minor skull fractures are usually nothing to worry about. We just need to keep an eye on him for about 48 hours and if nothing pops up or arises, he will be okay to go home."

Lisa looked at Ben and he gave her a weak smile. "What the hell happened?" She asked, grabbing at his hand. The panic and the worry slowly faded away, but there was still just enough to make her voice shake and her eyes fill with tears.

"I don't know. All I remember is people shouting and panicking and then I blacked out." Ben recalled.

"Is that normal?" Lisa asked the doctor, looking at him again.

"It is completely normal. Especially after a car accident."

"Is there anything else wrong? Any broken bones or internal bleeding?"

The doctor chuckled lightly. "Mrs. Braeden, we have looked your son over several times. Nothing else seems to be wrong other than a few bruises here and there."

"And the minor skull fracture." Lisa added. The doctor gave her a small nod.

"Mrs. Braeden, your son is very lucky to be alive. He's lucky the accident wasn't any worse."

Lisa gave the doctor a final nod as he gave her small, reassuring pat on the shoulder. Once he exited the room, leaving Lisa and Ben alone, she pulled a chair up to him and held onto his head, giving whatever comfort he may have needed.

That night, Ben slept soundly in the bed while Lisa dozed off in the chair next to it. As Ben dreamt, he could see flashes of his life. Flashes of their old house, his friends, his 9th birthday party with the bouncy house, he noticed every one of his friends and a few of his mom's friends except for one in particular.

A man in a leather coat with short, spiked hair had been standing next to him at one point. He had seen numerous flashes of him and another man, although he was taller with longer hair. Ben stirred in his sleep as the flashes of the same man burned in his brain. The final flash was that same man burning a woman alive right before his eyes.

Ben sat up in bed quickly, gasping for air. He looked to his mom, who was still asleep as she wiggled in the chair, trying to get comfortable. He drew in a deep breath and tried to relax as he snuggled into the bed. It was all too strange. He had never seen the man in his life before, but somehow he was there at his birthday party in front of his eyes. Who was this man? Why did he burn an innocent woman alive? Was his mother keeping something from him?

He wrestled with his thoughts for another hour before finally letting sleep take him.