Jon Heath - Whatever.

I wake up to my right foot itching. I rub it on the sheet. The last thing I remember was the crash. Maria and I were riding our rented scooter through the Carpathian Mountains. Nearing dusk, we decided to head back down towards the villa. As we weaved our way downward, we were blinded by headlights coming around the bend. It was a narrow road, and the oncoming vehicle was enormous. I immediately ran out of asphalt, losing control. I think I remember telling my Maria to hold on. Even more foggy was the blurred sight of the two men dressed in blue helping me into the back of a white van. I lay in a mundane hospital bed with some redundant political crap airing on the television in a language I can't make out. Gray daylight seeps through the curtains of my window, providing the only light in the room other than the TV. I can feel the cool liquid entering my left arm, granting me the serenity to pass the time.   This must be the feeling that fuels a new addiction . Every new dro...

The first thing I acknowledge is pain. My ribs feel as if they've sustained a terrible impact, and the back of my head is throbbing. When I open my eyes, I notice the sky is full of smoke. People are screaming, and there are birds circling in the sky. Blood has pooled in my beard. Gathering my senses, I realize there is a battle going on, and I have no recollection of anything leading up to this moment. To my right, there is a floating white orb of light. There's something soothing about it. I feel as if I've lived this reality before. As I lift myself up to a sitting position, I quickly pan around looking for what to do first. Grabbing for my sword and shield, I wince in pain when I move my arm. Out of nowhere, a vial with a red liquid floats out from seemingly nowhere, and as if I don't have control of my own body, my hand reaches out for it, and I drink it. The taste, if only for a split second, takes me to a beautiful beach. I instantly feel better, and jump to my...

Just when you thought it was safe to go exploring. You were methodical in your preparations. You made sure to account for everything. Not one single root could trip up your outing. These next two days would be serenity, unlike the work week we all endure and then dread again. This weekend, you are bliss internalized. Not many people have the voraciousness to take a camera and survival bag into the woods to cleanse the pallet of the bustling world, yet here you are sitting in a small clearing in the woods of West Virginia. Google Earth verified you were alone for miles around, and though scary, you feel alive for the first time in years. Gathering sticks for your first fire, as night starts to settle in, you hear what sounds like a whirring. You’re not sure any living thing produces this noise, although you are but a novice adventurer. It’s probably just water or something . Knowing your thoughts were lies, you put it out of your head. At this point, you have the perfect arrang...

It’s cold. My eyelids are heavy as I try to adjust to the dark. Even before the room comes into focus, I know I don’t remember ending up here. I don’t actually recall much of anything. I try to open my mouth. Roof and tongue are sticky, like two pieces of paper with roll on glue between them. It hasn’t been used in a while.  Where am I ? Finally, I’m able to focus and have a look around. The walls have vertical-striped wallpaper, and there are little statues on shelves.  Cherubs, maybe.  There are no windows, which seems strange for what appears to be a bedroom. Also, no lights in the ceiling fan; they seem to have been removed. The bedside table lamp is my only savior from complete darkness. I struggle to make a sound. Coming out as a mixture of moan and grunt, the noise surprisingly doesn’t sound familiar either. Seconds later, the door opens, and an older woman enters. She looks about sixty, and the smile on her face genuinely happy, though I don’t know who she is...