I lay here... staring up at the doctor, wondering how he knew that I was... dead. Not that is really matters at this point.
“How do you know? Who are you?” I ask timidly. He shook his head and turned over to a nearby table. Picking up various instruments and inspecting them.
“Boy... I have been around for so long, so many names have befell my being. It is quite hard to pinpoint which one exactly is... the most accurate at this current juncture. The Scourge, The Third Horseman, The Bird Faced One, The Plague Doctor, The Physician King, 12, Mack the Knife, Red Death, Tengu... Pick.” it spoke with such coldness. It turned to me, and I could tell it was smiling under the mask.
“...” I hesitated, “I guess the better question is, what are you?” the Doctor clapped and pointed at me.
“There you go... What am I? As you have guessed... not human... or else not anymore. Gave up that right a long time ago. So now what am I? Or better yet, what are you? Who are you?”
“I don't know...” I confessed, staring down at me stomach. Taking the cloth off, I saw it... a deep wound in my stomach. “I... I died didn't I?” I turned to the Doctor, who stepped closer to examine the wound.
“Unfortunately, yes... You are dead... Kind of.” he told me, cleaning the wound.
“How can I be kind of dead?” I asked the unusual doctor.
“Sir... You have been thrown into a world that has been ever present since the dawn of thought. The magical, if you will. And you died... how? Who knows, someone might, someone might not. But the thing is, you are in this now. You aren't dead because Death herself tried to bring you back, and when that happens... The person isn't alive again, but undead.”
“Hahaha no, no. Not a zombie. Zombies are brought back to serve a specific purpose and it is their sole reason for being. You are undead, not quite living, not quite dead. Still conscious but... different. You are not your old self, not that you can remember him.”
“How do you know all this?” I finally asked him as he started to stitch me back up.
“Are you an Atheist?” he boldly asked.
“Uhm... I don't really know,” I hadn't even thought about it...
“Well don't be, they are stupid and don't know what they are talking about. Gods exist, though not the one you see in the old testament and the Qur’an. Older, more fierce gods, that feed on fear itself. With forces of their own, with powers beyond imagination that rule from their domains outside of our reality,” he finished patching me up and looked at me.
“You are in it now, boy... You are a part of this game of gods. Welcome,” he turned and washed himself off. I sat up and stared at my wound. It made sense in a weird way... I didn't feel right, like I am not all here. Who am I?
“Heh... You will find out... can't expect all the answers right now, do you?”
“It would be extremely helpful... but... two more?”
“Why help me? And where are they taking me?” desperation filled my face, as the Doctor turned to look at me.
“Death tried to save you for a reason... me and her are friends, so I will try to keep you well. As for where they are taking you? Heh... You will find out,” then he vanished into the darkness... leaving me alone.
Damn... this is all too much to handle... this can't be real, then why does it feel so real? What he said can't be true, though, do I really have a choice in believing him or not? I need proof. Though, I am certain he was right... everything feels so weird, other worldly, even.
I get up and search around, finding a light switch. Flicking it on, the room illuminates. It is a small doctor's office. There is a desk in the corner where the doctor vanished, a table with a sink next to it, and a lamp over the bed.
I make my way over to it, looking over the papers on top of it. Pain shoots through my stomach, looking down, I see the wounds... healed? A scar is there now where there was once my fatal wound.
A letter caught my eye and I grabbed it, inspecting it.
Over it was a stamp saying Classified by BASE, send along for further review.
