Kill the Lights-Chapter 1.4

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….Beep- Beep- Beep-

There was a sound rhythmically coming from a distance. And somewhere there was a sound of air pumping. No….. It sounds like it’s coming from very close distance….

Mason couldn’t move and was thinking what these sounds were while he was half asleep. I think I heard this somewhere, but I can’t remember. No, I can’t think because my brain is echoing. It sounded similar to the heart monitor and respirator in hospitals, but there is no way. Because I’m definitely dead.

I didn’t think I would miraculously survive and came to the hospital at all. It was my back of my head where I got shot. I could tell that my left part of forehead flew away even though I didn’t see it. Of course the world is big, so there are probably some people survive the gun shot from their head, but he wasn’t that people. The one who shot him was Aaron in the middle of the enemy’s territory. It’s hard to survive even if you get shot in the hospital, but the place where he got shot was middle of the desert in the bunker. 120 km (74.6 miles) away from any hospital. And there was one fake doctor who fainted. It was obvious for Mason to die. It’s an obvious thing but…..

Between the sounds of the machine, there were voices. I don’t think it’s only one person.

“-------“

“…….so embarrassing, seriously… I can even show my face.”

There was an annoyed voice close by. It sounded like disturbed radio frequency.

“Did you guys see the newspaper yesterday? The media was talking bad things how Hollywood’s worst scapegrace flirted to America’s sanctuary. They said he doesn’t know his place.”

“It is true. This guys is a dirty rag and obsolete.”

After hearing their sharp tongues, a woman laughed. There was a sound of someone sitting on a chair.

“And suicide? Does he actually thing somebody’s gonna sympathize him?”

“What are you talking about? He’s so stupid that he can’t even kill himself well. Don’t you see he’s still breathing?”

It’s probably because he was too high not a suicide. A heart attack isn’t even a suicide said the woman thinking he was pathetic.

“Liz was always like this. Singing like he’s screaming and whenever he goes out on a talk show, he always shuts his mouth, and when it opens, he always says something stupid. –And all he did was acting, but he can’t even act. And because he’s so stupid, he can’t even memorize the lines…. Only thing good about him was his face, but now because of drugs, he looks normal now he’s just a common junkie. But he was doing well making troubles like any other stars. So here I thought he was gonna leave all of his fortune and die from a heart attack…”

“Ahh.”

“I know.”

Everyone agreed after hearing this woman’s honest words. For a while people were sighing and didn’t talk. Everyone was looking at each other, and one guy started to talk.

“–Liz won't wake up right?”

Everyone got mad at him.

“No way! Dr. Joe already said it’s a miracle that he’s alive right now. If the heart stops for five minutes, the brain stops functioning. This guy is very very stubborn.”

There is no way he’ll wake up. –One woman said it baldy, and everyone agreed with her. But one woman said it nervously.

“But, but what if…. he really wakes up?”

I need to renew to house interior, but if Liz doesn’t die, that means I need to do it with my own money. –Her thoughtless words made everyone nervous.

“….”

Mason tried to open his heavy eyes. What are they saying? Hearing the sound of heart monitor and respirator is already confusing enough. I don’t think they are the voice of the angels. It wasn’t really devil either because it was too snob to be either of them. I’m so confused.

I’m definitely dead, but what are these secular stories? Do people die and always fall in this kind of world? Mason frowned and tried to open his eyes. He couldn’t move a muscle like he was in a scissor locked. Well, I’m already dead, so it’s obvious that I can’t move. But something felt uncomfortable, and if I try to move little bit, I think I can move.

“…..I think I’ll be little sad. If Liz disappears, I can’t sell any of his articles for my pocket money..-“

“Who would buy his article? He did so many things that even if we give them his sex video, it’s probably not even worth $500”

“Sorry, Liz”

We’ll definitely use your fortune in good use. Her voice didn’t sound sorry at all. Her voice was right next to his head. Mason breathed deeply and tried to move his finger. While his focus was at his finger to move,…

“….!”

Someone’s hand approached to his face and landed on his oxygen mask. Carefully the mask that was providing the oxygen got removed. Cold air hit his face. Small breath came out and finger that had all of his strength started to move, and the body that felt heavy like a rock started to loosen up. There was a small light coming in between his eye lids.

“…..”

White ceiling and people standing around the bed. Beep- Beep- slow and stable heart monitor sound and respirator sound.

….So it was a hospital?

Mason blankly stared at the ceiling and looked around. It was full of realistic scene. What the, am I…. still alive? Why am I alive? He slowly blinked his eyes. It was dark for a second and the bright world was definitely a reality.

“Why isn’t this turning off? Doesn’t he supposed to die making beeeeep- sound?”

It comes out like that in dramas. The woman who was smiling looked at Mason holding his mask. Is this machine broken? said the woman and she looked down and saw Mason blankly staring at the ceiling. At first she startled and screamed.

“Ah!”

“Uh, uh?” “Oh my, oh my, oh my!” There were sounds of people’s surprised tone. Mason blink to adjust his blurry eyes. When he got used to the light, slowly the world got clearer.

Little cold atmosphere hospital room. Everyone looking at this place with surprised look.

“Oh, my god, Liz…?”

Liz? Mason frowned at what they are calling him and rise up. It was little dizzy and stiff, but it wasn’t bad enough that he couldn’t move. Mason blinked and stared at people looking at him and carefully touched his forehead. There was no hole. There wasn’t even a bandage wrapped around.

Am I really alive? Mason was blinking while looking around the room. The outside of the window on the right a breeze and warm sun light were coming it. It didn’t look like the world after dead at all.

“Oh, oh my…. are, are, are you, okay?”

A woman asked stuttering. You're right. Am I alive? Mason tried to ask back but stopped. He saw skinny pale hands. For a second, he thought they were someone else’s hands, but they were hands that are properly attached to his arms.

“Uh….”

What’s wrong with my hands? Mason blankly stared at his hands. The shape of his hands and palms were all new to him. He was 6 feet tall mercenary. He was an orphan and grew up in a slum. There were no harsh things he didn’t do. When he grew up, he became a mercenary and everyday under the hot sun, he shoved, shot, fought, and more. He never rested his hands. His hands and palms were full of calluses, small scratches, and he skin was dark tanned. But right now his hands that are attached to his arms are very new. This hands had blue vessels underneath the pale skin and had long fingers instead.

“……..”

Mason nervously looked somewhere else. The silhouette of his legs that was showing on the blanket looked very thin compared to his. He got nervous, and his heart was beating like crazy.

“…Liz? I’m asking if you’re alright!”

This middle aged woman was screaming at him and a pixilated middle aged man coughed loudly and went out the room. Young man said, “I’ll, I’ll call the doctor.” And ran outside. Mason was just blankly staring at his hands and was looking at the woman who looked mad.

“What, what are you looking at?”

“….who’s Liz?”

Little dry voice came out. It was dry, but the voice sound was very light. It was strange, but he tried to think it’s because he just woke up. It's all in his head that his hands looked strange and, his arms and legs looked way skinnier than before. It’s all because he never paid attention before and now because he suddenly realized that’s why it looks weird. –Mason tried to avoid this reality, and the woman looked little surprised that Mason asked her that question. But soon she frowned.

“Okay. Sorry for calling you Liz, Haley. You don’t have to be rude. We know we disowned each other. Even so I ran all the way here because I was worried that you were gonna die…. You are insolent as always. I shouldn’t have come.”

She roughly took her purse from the table and said it. Haley? Worry? Disowned? Mason frowned from hearing all these words he didn’t recognized, and the woman was mad and went out. The door slammed loudly and there was a young woman behind that woman. She was looking around nervously and smiled at Mason.

“She got used to your nickname. You were pretty close with her when you were a child. Aunt Anna and you.”

“….I was close with that woman?”

After Mason asking that, she awkwardly smiled and said, “You, you don’t seem to feel good today. You look healthy, so I’ll be going.” And ran out the door like she was running away. There was no time to stop her to ask what was going on.

“………”

Mason was left alone in the hospital room. He stared at the door for a while and stared at his hands again. This thin hand looked like it never did any work. He slowly got off from the bed. There were many wires attach to his chest, hands, and everywhere. He put them off one by one but later got annoyed with them and took everything off at once. Somehow he felt edgy. With his wobbly legs, he stopped at the front of the restroom door.

He turned the door knob and took a deep breath. He doesn’t know why, but he felt nervous. There will be a mirror right when I open the door and, as usual, there will be a nonchalant face like my usual self. He slightly swallowed his dry mouth and turned the knob and opened the door. And he froze right away.

“!!”

Right across from me, the face that the mirror reflect wasn’t my face. In the mirror, instead of little fierce looking normal face and normal black hair and tall man, there was a pale young man with platinum blonde hair who’s about to faint any minute.

What is this? Mason swallowed his dry mouth. What is this. What happened? Who is that? Mason stared at the mirror like he was nailed there. He took a step back right then the door opened, and a doctor and nurses hurried in the room. The guy who said he’s gonna called the doctor didn’t come back, but I guess he actually told them.

“Oh my, Mr. Lusk! You can’t get up like that!”

You took out all the needles! Two nurses said it with little annoyed voice. They pressed his arm where blood was dripping down with a cold alcohol cotton. They glimpsed at him, and he looked he was high little bit. Mason looked at the nurses treating back of his hand and looked at the doctor who was looking through the chart.

“Are you awake little bit? Do you know what happened? You came to this hospital because of heart attack last night. And your heart stopped for few minutes. I don’t know how you are still alive, and why you were walking around blood dripping all over the place. You don’t go to church right?”

He’s not the type that will have a miracle. –The doctor said like he was insulting him, Mason sweated cold sweat. Heart attack?

“I came here because of the heart attack? Not a gun shot?”

“….-Haley. It’s pretty serious if you can’t tell the difference between the reality and hallucination. I’m pretty sure you know that.”

The doctor was looking at Mason like he was the worst junkie he ever saw. Mason turned and saw the mirror again. In the mirror, there was the blonde man trembling. Are my eyes crazy? I tried blinking few times, but that man was still standing there staring at here. I was stupidly blinking because I didn’t know what was going on.

“Haley? What are you doing? Go back to your bed.”

“-Who’s Haley?”

Mason stuttered and asked

“Is that man Liz, Ha, Haley?”

Mason pointed at the mirror that was reflecting himself. That made the doctor and the nurse looked at him with surprise and whispered something to themselves. What is he doing? What’s wrong with him? Isn’t it because of the drug? Maybe he’s embarrassed that he survived when he thought he was dead. –He touched his face hearing some of the things they were talking about. The man in the mirror moved exactly the same. He blinked, and the pretty man in the mirror blinked his eyes at the same time as he did. He saw the man in the mirror moving his lips, and he touched the lips and felt dried lips and small trembling.

“…-Is that, me?”

His voice was hoarse. That, that strange man in the mirror is me? I’m that man named Haley? Mason asked with fear in his face. The doctor and the nurses stopped and looked at him and themselves.

“What are you talking about Haley?”

The doctor asked with surprise. Mason looked at the mirror once more. The mirror was still reflecting the platinum blonde young man.

“Haley? –Are you okay?”

“……”

No. No, I’m not okay…. What is happening? Who is that? No, who am I? There were many thing in his head, but Mason couldn’t say anything. His neck was getting cold due to cold sweat.