Country Bar
My head pounded as I slowly raised it from the weeds it was buried in. With sore arms, I lifted my chest off the ground before my aching knees brought me to my feet. I tried to blink away the pressure behind my eyes as they met the burning sunlight.
Although my surroundings were unfamiliar to me, it didn’t take long to realize I had been passed out in a ditch beside some unknown highway in the country. I had no business being out here; I lived and worked in the middle of the city. And what the hell was I wearing? Why were my hands so dirty and calloused? Why did everything hurt, my head most exceptionally? Why couldn’t I remember anything?
As the questions flooded my mind, panic began to set in, although the pain quieted the noise enough for me to keep my head on my shoulders. I needed to find out where the hell I was. I reached into my pockets to find that my phone was missing, as was my wallet. The only thing I had, oddly enough, was a wad of cash. I walked along the roadside for a short while until I spotted my savior. A small bar in the distance. A sigh of relief escaped my lungs as my pace quickened.
As I approached the bar, I began to plan what I needed to do, how I would borrow a phone, and who I would call. Though the question of why the hell I was there, with so many holes in my memory, remained, I pushed it down. All of my plans were shattered the moment I entered.
I hadn’t gotten more than a few steps inside before every conversation had been killed, leaving the bar dead silent save for the faint ambience of music. Although there couldn’t have been more than a dozen people inside, all eyes were on me for a brief moment. A chill crawled up my spine as I froze in place. No one looked out of place, but something wasn’t right, and I knew it. Why the hell were they staring? I thought maybe I’d made a mistake coming in here. I even considered leaving.
Regardless, I shrugged off the unwanted attention and took a seat at the bar. The conversations around me resumed as normal, albeit quieter.
“What can I get you?”
The bartender addressed me quickly.
“Oh, uh…just some water for now, please. Thank you.”
I responded with a raspy, dry voice. As soon as he handed me the glass, I raised it for my cracked lips to meet the icy water. I don’t think I’ve ever drunk a glass of water so fast in my life. I gasped for air upon finishing, and the bartender refilled my glass without me saying another word, although he gave me a long, side-eyed look as he did.
“Thank you.”
I muttered in an attempt to sound as grateful as I could.
“Say, I know you’re not one of our regulars, but you seem a little uh…familiar?”
I finished my second glass of water before I responded, the question confusing me further.
“No, sorry. I don’t think I’ve ever been out this way. Maybe you’ve got me confused with someone?”
The bartender shrugged in response, seemingly conceding that he may have been confused indeed. The next few minutes were filled with awkward exchanges between the two of us in an attempt by me to order a burger.
He still looked at me with a look of cautious intrigue. The ominous feeling from the rest of the bar patrons had yet to cease. Despite their conversations having resumed, I still caught the occasional glance in my peripheral and the whispers that followed. Something certainly wasn’t right here, and I started to think it might be me.
Without a word, I left my seat and proceeded to the bar’s restroom.
After quickly locking the door behind me, I immediately turned to the mirror to get a good, long look. To add to my confusion, nothing looked too out of place. Just my normal, albeit somewhat rouged up and dirty face. That’s when I heard a voice.
“Haven’t forgotten now, have we?”
Came the soft whisper of a woman from behind my ear. I jolted back around with a gasp.
“Who the fuck said that?”
I muttered to myself between breaths.
“Who…who…”
Before I could continue to look around, I felt the grasp of a firm hand on the back of my neck. My head was twisted by some unseen force to look at the mirror again.
“Remember”
I looked into my eyes and found something else looking at me from behind them. In broken pieces, the picture came back to me again.
I was back on the bridge where I decided to take my own life. I was standing next to the one who had deceived me. Next to the one to whom I gifted my life and soul. Next to her. I jumped, but never met my end. It saved me. She saved me, but now I was hers.
The memories of our wrath followed. A room full of gutted criminals, intestines spread out as far as they would stretch. The severed head of a crooked lawyer, his empty eyes capturing the dread and regret he felt in his final moments. The mangled body of a corrupt politician lay spread across the stage of his campaign rally, a mutilation that haunted every living soul that witnessed it, a masterpiece in which we held immense pride. News reporters describing my exact appearance and the reward for information leading to my capture. The horrified voices of the shaken witnesses they interviewed.
And now I looked back into those eyes in the mirror.
“There you are.”
Her voice whispered to me, relieved. I calmed myself and found my words.
“I think we'd better get out of here.”
A smile slowly crept across my face, one that didn’t belong to me.