Masked by RB Stutz

I’m sure it has been difficult, not knowing who you are and
not being able to remember anything prior to waking.” Dr. Roberts said in an
almost robotic manner.
     “Please, could you all take a
seat in the front row?” Dr. Roberts asked politely with her open hand stretched
towards the front of the room. “A few others will be joining us shortly so
please have a seat while we wait.”
    I shuffled over with the rest of
the group to the front row. I was the last to sit on the far right of the row,
next to Sara. I’d made it point to sit next to Sara. Based on the brief
introductions and my sense of her, she seemed to be someone I might be the most
comfortable talking to and initially getting to know.
    Even though I didn’t know who I
was, there were things I just knew and felt about the kind of person I was. I
couldn’t tell you my name or where I was born, but I could tell you the type of
things that would make me comfortable or uncomfortable. I could tell the type
of person I would get along with well or confide in. Somehow I instinctively
knew Sara was someone I would really get along with. Of course it could have
been because she was really cute.
    Sara was the first to enter the
row of seats, so I casually walked around the front to the other side. She saw
me and left an open seat at the end. I congratulated myself on my slickness as
I sat next to her.
    “How are you feeling?” Sara asked
as I sat. I could see James, who was on her other side listening.
    “I’m feeling better than I did when
I first woke a few days ago. I’m still a little shaky,” I said.
    When I first awoke, I felt like absolute
crap. It was like a light suddenly came on in my head, but too bright all at
once. I tried to open my eyes, but when I did the intense brightness of the
room was too much. My head throbbed intensely, compounded with the confusion of
not knowing who or where I was. I think I was pretty doped up at that point.
Once they started to bring down the dosage on the meds, the shakiness came. I
guess it was my body’s reaction to withdrawal of whatever they had me on. The
shakiness was still there, but it had greatly been reduced.
    “I’ve been awake for a week now
and just got rid of the shakiness yesterday. Whatever it was they put in us, my
body was hooked on the stuff,” she said.
    “Have they told you anything?” I
asked.
    “No. Not really. I’m sure you
know as much as I do. All I’ve been told is I have just recovered from some illness
that we were all exposed to and that they wanted to wait until we were strong
enough to fill us in on the details.”
    That’s what I was told as well. I
didn’t think any of the others had any more information, but thought it
couldn’t hurt to ask.
    “They also said they’re not sure
if our memory loss is temporary or permanent, that it’s a result of the
illness,” she continued.
    “That’s pretty much what I’ve
been told as well,” I said.
    After that, the room stayed quiet
for what seemed like an endless amount of time even though it probably wasn’t more
than a couple of minutes. We were five strangers in a really strange situation.
    “So, some of you have been awake
for a couple of weeks?” I asked the group, trying to break the awkward silence,
plus I was curious. “That must have been horrible not knowing what was going on
for so long. I’ve had a hard time with just the couple days I’ve been awake.”
    “Yeah, Alex and I have both been
awake for almost two weeks. James and Sara have been awake for six days. There
wasn’t much we could do, not knowing exactly what our conditions were. I
thought I was under some sort of quarantine due to the illness and they seemed
to be taking care of us. Dr. Roberts has been friendly, but not especially
helpful.” The last part Rachael said muffled under her breath as she glanced up
at Dr. Roberts who was still in the front of the room, standing quietly.
    Rachael continued. “We were
locked in our rooms. I