Chapter Five: A Scar Laced Mind

Darkness surrounds, suffocating, drowning forcing its way down. Sinking, sinking into the blackness; something rises to the surface something spherical. An eye, they come up in force bubbling frothing to the surface hundreds, millions, billions staring, burrowing deep. Suddenly a whisper of breath finds its way from behind a figure stands. “Dad” it flinches at the word and smiles blood pours from the corners of its mouth and trickles slowly down its torso; a slow river of red trailing down it “Bullet, why didn’t you save me?” the figure melts into deep ruby liquid onto his hands. He stares into it his face staring back at him, his eye drenched in blood, red and dripping. A spot of darkness like the eye of a needle appeared in the ravaged eye dripping with streams of a jet black liquid, then the darkness started to grow swirling and spiralling consuming his eye his face then “AAAAHHHH” Bullet jumped out of his sleep in a cold sweat entangled in a mess of hospital robes and bedsheets. His vision was red and hazy giving the room a crimson tint and he couldn’t put his finger on it but it was just a little bit off almost like it wasn’t real, like a flat picture.

He surveyed the room, it was quaint bright and white and crimson dawn shone through the windows to the right of him lighting the whirring machines lining the room with a sweet orange glow. Wires and tubes like water flowed from his arms into the different machines emitting a droning whirr and hum, one was next to his bed that had a white package drip that he couldn’t make out anything other than in bold letters AB -. The miasma of a sterile chemical scent enveloped his still dull senses, suddenly out of the sea of ringing almost white noise came out beeping with increasing loudness; he felt an almost gelatinous warm liquid trail down his cheek then drop onto the sheet. Deep charred red stained the sheets and burned through his retinas and a sharp raw metallic scent bubbled forth from the sea of sterile smells and stung his sinuses; the beeping became louder and stabbed at his ears with rampant intensity.

He rose his hand to the route of the sickly liquid; he felt a warm damp fabric over his face or more specifically his right eye, it was covering the entirety of it no wonder his sight wasn’t right his whole right eye was covered but how has it taken him this long to figure this out he questioned to himself. He slowly drew his hand back feeling more drowsy as the liquid still covered his hand, as he inspected it a wave of dizziness washed over him; his hand was drenched with a piercing red liquid and as he stared into it the room started to swirl around him and his vision started to waver and still, the repeating beeping screamed on. He swayed and tipped slipping off the bed, multiple wires snapped and even more wailing sounds burst forth clawing at his brain along with a multitude of fast footsteps slowly getting louder. He stared at the floor gulping at the air on his hands and knees a growing pool of the rose liquid trailing from his cheek, he retched into a white bin beside the bed and he lost all strength from his body and collapsed into the puddle as the door of the room burst open with an army of footsteps surrounding him.

Reality faded away.

Silence. The silence was then broken by distant voices “Bullet Bullet Bullet! Wake up!” Blinding lights filled his vision “whe...wha?” Bullet mumbled incoherently “Oh thank goodness, any longer and you could have been in a coma,” said a familiar voice with a relieved sigh “Uncle?” Bullet said quietly strained “Yes it's me” Bullet slowly tried to fully open his eyes, his vision was filled with a mixture of worried and relieved faces in a similar but bigger room “W-what happened” Bullet stammered “Oh you, I don’t know how but your wounds were reopened due to exertion and coupled with a high heart rate you bled a lot, so much so that you went into hypovolemic shock and could have had a stroke or even go into a coma” he stopped and sighed and sat next to so the boy staring blankly at him. He turned to the nurses beside them “Everyone you are dismissed please go back to your assigned sector” they all nodded slowly and left one by one “Bullet...” Bullet was looking down and clasping the dressing on his eye “Bullet I have to be frank your left eye was completely destroyed in whatever accident or fight you had and because of the biology of your eyes and how they connect your right eye is destabilising” Bullet stared at him in silence, wide-eyed.

“Bullet you’re going blind.”

A few days later

"What do you mean we got nothing !" Cade stood up suddenly smashing his hands on the desk in front of him crushing papers and knocking over his desk tidy "Sir I sent emails with photos and scans to every hospital and University on the island and sent every form of message out of the island with either no response or they to have no idea because of the individuality and fragility of the boy's eye" the Assistant said with a noticeable waver in his voice " I refuse to believe that because he's a little different no doctor in the island knows what to do" he paces around his desk and shakes his hand in front of him as he talks "Every doctor on the island are either stupid or still ignoring us" he pinched at his brow, his eyes squinted shut "Jesus Christ! Its been four damn years, forget it ill just do it myself. I'll sort it out" he sighed "But Dr Dens the board said if you do any more unsigned procedures they could shut us dow-" "ADAM, I said ill sort it out! OKAY!" the Assistant recoiled at the exclamation " Y- yes sir" the assistant stuttered then Cade sighed again " Listen I'm sorry I'm just very stressed" he looks around at the table behind him "Where's my coffee..." he looks around frantically "WHERE'S MY COFFEE, I NEED MY GOD DAMN COFFEE!" he slams his fist on the table mid-sentence "ADAM I NEED MY-" " Already on it" the Assistant interrupts as he runs out the room.

As Adam ran past he revealed a certain boy standing at the office door " Oh... Bullet I uh... didn't see you there" Bullet didn't move "We were just talking about the uh new bedsheets in your room which one would suit you better, cream or... white" Bullet gave him a level look and Cade stirred at the unusual maturity coming from him "Grampa. I may be seven years old but please don't treat me like an idiot" Cade's eyes widened at the child's statement " Uh... okay" he gave Bullet a nervous smile " Did you come to ask to see your brother?" Bullet just looks down and shuffles on his feet and nods " Come on then"

To be continued...