Ch 4: Alter Ego pt-1

The sterile, clinical atmosphere of a high-tech hospital. Machines beep steadily in the background. The cold, white walls seem to close in on Kali as his eyes flutter open. The air is heavy, thick with the silence of the room, but his body is far from silent. It aches. Every inch of him feels alien, foreign.

He blinks, his mind foggy, as fragmented memories flicker in and out like broken lights. His chest burns, a dull pain throbbing in his ribs, and his back feels as though it's been shattered into a thousand pieces. The shadows of a terrible battle echo in his mind, but the details are lost to him.

Suddenly, a nurse's voice breaks through the haze, soft but steady.

Nurse (relieved):

You're awake. Thank goodness...

She hurries to his side, adjusting the machines and calling for the doctor. The words float around him, distant, like an echo from another world. His head throbs, the ache threatening to split his skull open as he tries to focus. The doctor enters moments later, his face stern but kind.

Doctor (gently):

How do you feel? Can you remember your name?

Kali stares at him blankly. His mind is a void—empty, like a vessel with no purpose. He tries to grasp something, anything, but it slips away, just out of reach. His voice comes out hoarse, as if it's been years since he last spoke.

Kali (weakly):

...I... I don't know...

Doctor (concerned):

It's okay. Take your time. Can you tell me about your family? Your school? Anything that feels familiar?

There's a pause. His brow furrows in confusion. His mind is a storm of broken thoughts, fleeting faces, and moments that don't connect. He struggles to hold onto them, but they dissolve in his hands like smoke. A cold chill runs through him as he whispers, the uncertainty in his voice palpable.

Kali (hesitant):

I... I don't remember.

The doctor exchanges a glance with the nurse, both of them visibly concerned. The nurse places a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Nurse (softly):

You've been through a lot... we'll help you through this. But you need to rest.

But Kali can't rest. Not yet. A burning sense of confusion and fear claws at him. He can feel something—something powerful, something inside him that's just waiting to break free. But it's buried deep, and he can't remember why. The pain in his chest intensifies as he tries to move, the memory of the battle with Nishachara lingering in his senses. That fight, that chaos, the overwhelming sense of being pushed beyond his limits.

He can't remember the details. The punches. The mountain. The crash. He can't remember why he's here, but he can feel it—a darkness, deep and suffocating, pulling at him.

Kali (panicking, voice shaking):

Why am I here? What happened to me?

The doctor leans closer, trying to calm him, but Kali can't focus. The world spins, and he feels trapped in a cage of his own body.

Doctor (gently):

You've been in a coma. A very serious one. You were found by some villagers after... an accident. A severe injury. You've lost some of your memories, but you'll recover. Just give it time.

Time. The word echoes in his mind. Time, something he's lost. Something he can't get back. He clutches at the sheets, frustration mounting within him, a dark cloud of emotion hovering just beneath the surface. His mind flashes with fragments: faces he should know, people who should matter to him, yet they are nameless to him. Family. Friends. They're all strangers.

Suddenly, the door opens again. Family members and friends flood in, their faces a mix of hope and pain, their eyes brimming with tears. They reach out to him, but something inside him recoils. He doesn't know them. Not really. He doesn't know who they are.

Family Member (tearfully):

We're here. We've been waiting for you to wake up.

Friend (nervously):

It's okay. We're here for you. Just take it easy.

But Kali can't bring himself to respond. He feels... empty. They are strangers to him. Their voices, their touch, it all feels wrong, foreign.

Kali (softly, with a tremor in his voice):

I... I don't know you. I don't remember...

A wave of guilt crashes over him. He's supposed to know them. He's supposed to care. But it's like they're shadows, flickering in his mind. His heart aches, but he pushes it down, burying the sorrow deep inside.

The room becomes too much for him. The people, their eyes filled with pity, it suffocates him. He pushes himself away from them, trying to get up, but his body betrays him. Pain shoots up his spine. The agony of it takes his breath away, and he stumbles, gasping.

Kali (gritting his teeth, voice strained):

Get away from me...

The voices of his family and friends grow more frantic, but Kali is no longer listening. He tries to stand, to flee, to escape the suffocating weight of their pity. As he rises from the bed, his back feels like it's being torn apart, a searing pain wrapping around him like a vice.

Kali (whispering through gritted teeth):

It hurts... it hurts...

He collapses back onto the bed, gasping for breath. The room spins around him, and his vision blurs. Desperation claws at his insides. He has to understand what happened. He has to know why he's like this. But the answers elude him.

As the last of his family and friends leave, his room finally falls into a suffocating silence. He is alone with his thoughts, but even they feel distant. It's like he's looking at himself from outside his body.

The silence deepens, and he closes his eyes, trying to remember. Suddenly, something sharp and jarring flashes in his mind—images, fragmented, jagged... his mother, his home... and then, something darker.

Kali (muttering to himself):

No... stop...

The images grow more vivid, more disturbing. His mother. Another man. Intimate. A gut-wrenching pain tears through him, sharp as a knife, and his chest burns with the force of it. He tries to push the images away, but they press in on him, drowning him.

His heart pounds in his chest as he fights to keep control. He closes his eyes, trying to steady his breathing, to fight the rising tide of emotion.

Kali (whispering to himself):

I won't let this break me...

But it feels like the pain will swallow him whole.

*Suddenly, a sharp, searing shock strikes his head, as if his mind is being ripped apart. His body goes rigid, and the images intensify, flooding his mind.

In that moment, he understands: the fight is not over. The battle for control has only just begun.