I don’t know who I am, or even how I got here. This dusty, dilapidated and abandoned diner is just as unfamiliar as my name. I wonder if anyone would be able to help me identify myself?

I look around and see the front door to the establishment, hanging open by the lower hinge alone. I lift myself from the stool and counter that I am seated at, and start for the door.

I take two steps and fall flat on my face, dust ripples out from where I land. ‘Huh, you forget how to walk too?’ I think to myself.

“Well, I may have had a concussion or I might have been out drinking, so there is a chance I’m going to have issues walking” I say to the voice in my head.

“I’m going to guess concussion or maybe I’m insane, I mean I’m having a conversation with myself for god’s sake!” ‘Meh, don’t worry about it, at least you have someone to talk to.’

“Yeah, well I would rather talk to another person than the voice in my head.”

‘I’m afraid I have to ask but, do you see anyone else around?’

“Well, now that you, or I mention it…I really am losing my mind-you’re right though, we’ve been walking for a couple minutes now and I haven’t seen one person. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any wildlife either.”

‘Erie huh? Well, I guess you probably don’t mind having me here then do you?’ “….yeah, it does help to make it seem less…lonely, in a psychotic kind of way. I wonder what happened here.” ‘If you were to ask me, I’d say this looks very post nuke-ish. Yep, definitely post nuke-ish.’

“Post…nuke-ish? I’ll ignore the fact that your made up word sounds ridiculous, but I think you’re correct.

From the way the buildin-”

‘hey, shut up!’

“Who do you think you are to tell me to-“

‘no, really. Shut. Up.’

. . . . .

“What do you he-“

‘Shhh….’

. . . . .

‘Ok, I think IT is gone.’

“It? What it?!” ‘Seriously, if you don’t quite the fuck down right now…I will end us.’

…

“Ok, sorry. What it are you referring to? I would like to know so that it doesn’t take me off guard.”

‘Honestly I don’t know, I’m just in your mind remember? I only saw it from the corner of your eye while you were blabbering on about some nonsense thing. It was a large shadowy figure in the entrance way to that hotel across the road.’

“Well then, I guess we should check it out, might be another person. Right?”

‘Hell no! I said it was large, like big, you dumb-dumb. I’m talking like grizzly bear big, but with glowing red eyes!’

“Glowing red eyes? Are you sure?”

‘Ok, to be honest, I did make that part up, but it might as well have had glowing red eyes. I’m just saying, I really really REALLY think we should go back down the other way or turn at the intersection up ahead. Please.’

“I was starting to think you were the type that would never say sorry, well….fine. We will take a right at the intersection, but if we see anything that even remotely looks juman I say we investigate, fair?”

‘Fair.’

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

“Hey, do you think we should find some food, or maybe water?”

‘I mean, I don’t need it, I’m feeling pretty good now actually. Probably because that monster is a few blocks away. So, I guess if your hungry we could-

.

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“Wha-…. Where am I?”

“Welcome back Mr. Conners. You’ve been in a coma for about a week now. You’re lucky you know. One of our scouts just happened to be making a final run in the area when she saw you slumped against that building.”

“She? Runner? Wait….my name is Conners? How do you know that?”

“Your driver’s license, either you look a lot like the man in the photo or he looks like you….or..and I’d guess it’s this answer, it is you.”

“Wha-what’s my first name?”

“I don’t know, that part was faded away, as if it had been rubbed away. It looks as if you..or whoever, had started rubbing away the last name as well.”

“Is it still 2067?”

. . .

“Uh, the year is 2025, I think you need to rest for a while.”

…”but…how? That’s impossible! I graduated in 2060, there’s no way! Unless……..it worked!”