Chapter II: Chuck
1185 Words
I woke again.
But I wasn't where I left off. There was no Master Revenant clutching against my torso. There was no sight of the run-down supermarket. Instead, I was sitting up comfy on a soft master bed; I was in a quaint room. The sunlight rays pierced through the window, and for the first time in years, I heard the birds chirping.
Where am I?
I took another good look at the room, making incredibly sure I wasn't just hallucinating all this. I reached out for the lamp on the tableside and touched it. It was real. This is all real.
And then it caught my eye.
It was the metal white band on the Master Revenant. It was on my wrist!
Thoughts were flooding my mind. Did pulling the band off the Revenant do all this? Is this an era where the age of the Cleansing had finally passed? Or is this all merely a replay of the years before the Cleansing even began? If it was the latter, I'd be devastated. I couldn't even begin to imagine having to go through all that chaos again.
The sound of a flushing toilet interrupted my thoughts. From across the room, there was a door (which I correctly assumed led to the toilet). A burly looking man stepped out of the toilet and glanced at me with a smug smile.
"Sheesh, you should really fix that clog you got in there, Chuck." he said.
I stared at him for a while, unsure who he was talking to. I'm pretty sure my name wasn't Chuck.
"Oi, have you gone deaf?" the burly man asked me, waving a hand at me.
Confusion ran across my mind. There was only ever really one question to ask in order to get an answer to all this.
"What year is it?" I asked him, hoping he wouldn't answer with a joke. It was a pretty stupid question to be asking to be fairly honest. Only a few exempt would be able to ask a question like that without getting any kind of judgement - maybe someone with a severe memory problem.
"It's 2012, Chuck." he responded, looking at me strangely. "Did you hit your head or something?"
And the year. Good God. It was just a year before the Cleansing. I felt my blood turn cold.
"You look pale, man." the burly man told me.
Of course I'd be paling. I'm scared to death. I'd have to go through that hellish nightmare again.
"There's breakfast downstairs, go eat something." he said as he left the room.
I glanced at the band on my wrist again. Not only did it send me back in time, it also gave me a whole new identity. I was no longer Inigo. I was Chuck.
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After gathering my bearings, I headed downstairs. Everything was already bizarre enough for me as it was and I honestly didn't need any more confusion.
"Good morning, Chuck." a voice greeted me as I entered the kitchen. "Feeling a little groggy, I see."
I turned to see who this was now. It was a woman - about my age. To her right was a young child. She was feeding him.
"Good morning," I greeted back faintly, unsure how exactly I should be addressing this woman. I didn't know her after all.
"God, you look awful," she said to me as she fed the child another serving. "You didn't sleep so well I'm assuming? Stephen was just telling me about your morning."
Ah, so that's what his name is. Stephen.
"Yeah, I had a rough night," I played along. "I've been having these crazy nightmares."
"That's a sign for you to take it easy on the horror movies!" she laughed. "I told you it's not good to be watching those."
I shook my head a little, genuinely smiling at her banter. I do not know this girl, and I don't carry any memories of this Chuck she's made memories with. But she's alright.
"Trust me, it's got nothing to do with those movies." I jokingly reassured her. "It's something else. Something bigger than all this."
"Bah, don't talk about all that yap You're just hungry." she playfully interjected. "Eat something!"
I grinned as I took a seat. The food was absolutely delicious - even to the eyes! Nothing like eggs and bacon. Fresh out of the pan. I ate like there was no tomorrow. After what I've been through, this small banquet was the best compensation to ever come out of it. The girl noticed my eagerness.
"Slow down there, champ," she chuckled. "You'll choke."
"Sorry," I apologized with the most relieved smile I've had in a while. "It's been so long since I've had a hot meal this good!"
"Wow. As if you hadn't gorged on all that turkey the other night." she responded, almost shocked at my statement.
I ignored her. I kept eating. All the while, I remembered Tommy. Was he here too? Or was he still stuck in the Cleansing? A small pang of sorrow nearly gutted my chest as I thought about what he could be going through now on his own. The poor guy. But I hope he's eating well with what I could get him.
"I'm off to work, hon." the familiar voice came from behind me. it was Stephen. That burly man.
So these two were a couple, and the child was their son. I wonder what my relationship is to them. I could be a cousin who's bunking with them or a wayward brother who lost his job.
"Take care, Ste." the girl yelled back at him as he left the house.
She turned to me.
"You alright there, Chuck?"
"Yeah, I'm alright." I muttered as I chewed on my meal. "This is really good, by the way."
"At least someone appreciates my cooking around here," she laughs smugly as she nudges the child beside her. The child merely blew a raspberry back at her in response.
"Hey, you're not going to be busy today are you?" she asked me.
I didn't really know what "Chuck" was going to be up to today, so I didn't have a damn clue.
"Uh, no," I replied. "Why?"
"I'm gonna need some help with the groceries." she said as she began putting out the empty plates into the sink.
"Sure, of course."
The Cleansing happens next year. I need to make sure I don't make the exact same mistake I did when I was "Inigo". This time around, I'm gonna be better - more prepared.
For Charlie. For Tommy.
- Writer
