Freak of Nature

Prologue

A loud beep startled Kaitlyn awake. Feeling drowsy, her eyes fluttered open. Where was she? As panic began to rise throughout her body, it was quickly suppressed and suddenly she felt calm. Euphoric almost. As if nothing could bother her. It was a nice feeling. Her cortisol and serotonin levels were now at their optimum levels.

     Someone was coming down the hallway. 

Before the door swung open she heard the muffled sound of footsteps approaching. Tilting her head to the side, she looked up and saw a young man with dark brown, wavy hair and clear blue eyes walk through the door. He looked familiar but she wasn't sure why. Something about the man made her heart feel like it was expanding inside of her. 

"Kaitlyn, you're awake."

Kaitlyn? Who was Kaitlyn? Her name was Kaitlyn? Why didn't that resonate within her? The name sounded foreign. Wrong. 

She pushed herself up to sitting and looked around the white sterile room. It was large and a television hung on the wall. What was she doing in a hospital? There were electrodes attached to the side of her head and an IV was stuck in her hand. Seven different machines were hooked up to her. Monitoring her biorhythms. 

"Where am I?"

The young man sat down on a rolling chair and pulled it closer to her bed side.  She could smell his aftershave, it was made of amber, clary sage and sea weed. Why did she know this? "You were in an accident." 

Kaitlyn stared blankly back at the stranger. "An accident?"

"You don't recall anything?"

She shook her head no. Strangely, she felt no pain. Nothing. An odd thought crossed her mind. Blank was how she felt.

As she reached forward to grab the water off the tray her sleeve pulled up. She nearly screamed when she saw the teal stripe running up her arm, but somehow she managed to control herself. Once again the sense of calm washed over her. Maybe this was all a dream. 

Her hand didn't even shake as she grabbed the water. She took a sip, but didn't utter a word about what she'd seen. Why wasn't this man surprised? He didn't find it strange, the fact that her arms had plastic imbedded in  them? Was it something to do with the accident? Why couldn't she recall anything about her past? If she tried to concentrate she was met with a mental brick wall. There was nothing there other than useless facts. 

"Who are you?"

The side of his lip quirked up. "Lucas, I've been watching over you while you recovered."

Recovered. How long had she been there? "We've met before?"

A strange look crossed his face. "You don't recall meeting me prior to this?"

"No." Of course she didn't recall or she wouldn't have asked his name. 

"Maybe that's a good thing," he muttered under his breath.

She had to get out of there. This was all too bizarre. "Can I go home now?" 

He sat up straighter. "Home? Do you know where your home is?"

Resting her head against the pillow she searched her mind for any glimpse of where she came from but there was nothing. 

"Do I have amnesia?" she asked, her voice stilted. As if she was just learning to talk. The sound annoyed her for some reason. 

He ignored her question. "So you don't recall anything at all?"

Frustrated she shook her head. "Nothing."