The cool mountain top, the sprawling sea of ?owers, the wild grass, the descent, the smoke, and the ?ames.

  As these images ?ashed in Sai’s mind, a small, delicate voice rang out across the scenes. “What are you doing? You’re back already? No, no, not yet! Go back.” The last word echoed, eventually giving way to fuzzy static, then nothingness.

  Sai sat up with a start. He found himself lying in a somewhat uncomfortable bed with a soft brown blanket draped over the lower half of his body. Cool sweat covered his forehead, and he breathed heavily. This sudden movement was enough to make his fresh injuries painfully obvious. His shirt had been removed, and his chest and right arm were wrapped in thick white bandages. The smell of aloe seemed to emanate from every inch of him as he shifted. He sat in only his dark blue pants, which reeked of stale smoke. He could feel the various burns that dotted his upper body under the white linen wraps.

  He looked to his left as something peculiar entered his peripherals. A large mirror hung on the wall above a small side table. In its shining re?ective surface, a dark-haired ?gure stared back at him. This mirror image seemed familiar, yet somehow not. Then it dawned on him; this had been the ?rst time he had seen his own face. Touching his cheek, he con?rmed that this person was indeed himself. He had short raven hair streaked with vast grey lines of ash, which gave him the appearance of a much older man. Whatever age his ash-strewn hair portrayed was in stark contrast to the youngness of his face. His cheeks were slightly rounded and lacked any sign of facial hair. His pale blue eyes stood out from beneath his equally dark eyebrows. If he’d had to guess, he ?gured he couldn’t have been more than seventeen years old, but with no memory, who could tell for sure?

  Looking down at the side table, Sai noticed a glistening pitcher of ice water sweating in the open air. An empty glass and his white elbow-length tunic from the night before sat beside it. It was clear that his shirt had been folded neatly and placed there by whoever put him into bed.

  “Where am I?” He murmured to himself. The raspiness of his voice surprised him. Although it did make sense. It was a side effect of the massive amount of smoke he had inhaled. He held his head as it throbbed slightly, his lungs still burning from the caustic gas.

  As he looked around, he noticed the eggshell white walls and dark parquet-style ?oor of the room, which bore unmistakable signs of regular maintenance. Off to his right, about midway up the wall, he noticed a small window. It was slightly ajar, letting in the cool breeze that brought with it the damp smell of morning dew. Beyond it was a brilliant view of what looked to be a small pond and a thickly wooded area. The water in the pond shimmered as the ?rst rays of sunlight hit it.

  Wanting to get a better look at his surroundings, Sai twisted in his bed and sat his feet on the hard ?oor. As soon as he went to stand, however, he felt it. A sharp, searing pain shot up from his left ankle. The shock of it knocked him onto the ?oor instantly, and catching himself with his hands didn't help at all. A burn on his palm that he could only assume occurred from clutching the hot stone of the crumbled wall the previous night caused contact with the ?oor to be unbearably painful. His face met the ?oor with a thud as the pain surged through his right arm. Using his left, he struggled to prop himself up.

  Just then, the door at the front of the room creaked open. Rolling slightly, Sai ?nally righted himself and leaned back into a sitting position against the bed. An older balding man with a short salt-and-pepper beard, a dingy grey suit, and a lab coat entered the room.

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  “What are you doing out of bed?” The man chastised as he knelt beside him. He offered Sai his hand and prompted him to stand. “You had quite the traumatic night. You need your rest.”

  Sai put his right foot under himself, noting that he may never want to use the left again after that little debacle, and used it to stand. He could see now that his left foot was wrapped in a rough splint to keep it from moving around. It wasn’t enough to keep it in place when his full weight was on it, that was for sure.

  “Is it broken?” Sai asked uneasily as the man helped him to sit back on the bed.

  “Unfortunately, yes, you caused serious damage to your ankle and tibia. These things tend to happen when you jump off of roofs.” The man explained. “Not to mention the burns and smoke inhalation. Honestly, you’re lucky to be alive.”

  “I didn’t jump off a...” Sai stopped abruptly, realizing where he had rolled out of. It was the attic of that building. He had indeed jumped off the roof. These thoughts drew him back to the events of the previous night. The ?re, the smoke, the demon… The girl.

  “Did she make it? Did the girl survive!?” Sai’s rough voice had risen to nearly a shout.

  “Take it easy. You mean the one who was brought in with you?” The man stroked his beard as he spoke. “Yes, and apparently, that’s because of you. She’s fortunate that you came along when you did.” He explained. “She’s actually in the room next door. Her injuries were far less serious than your own. However, she isn’t quite ready to wake up, so perhaps we should keep our voices down.”

  “S-sorry. So, you know about what happened last night?” Sai responded.

  “Only what I was told when you were brought in. They said you fell from the roof and were found hauling that girl out of the inferno on your back,” He replied.

  Sai gave a quick nod. “And you're the one who wrapped my leg and bandaged me up, then?” He asked as the man took a seat beside him.

  “Yeah, the name’s Holland. I’m the closest thing this village has to a doctor.” The man extended his hand in greeting.

  Sai extended his good hand and gave it a quick shake. “Thank you. I’m Sai. Say, would you mind telling me where I am?”

  “Of course, my dear boy. You’re in the village of Iapetus. It’s about ten miles from Dione, the village where you and the girl were found.” The doctor explained. “That girl and yourself were the only two to be rescued after the attack last night. As for Dione, it was almost entirely destroyed.” As the man explained, there was a knock at the door. A woman in faded jeans, a red short-sleeve shirt, and tan boots entered the room. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun atop her head, and she carried a clipboard in her arms.

  “Holl, you’re needed in room four.” She spoke sternly before turning on her heels and exiting again.

  Holland stood quickly and caught the door before it could close. “Thank you, Mel.” He half shouted after her. Turning back to Sai, he spoke again. “Get some rest. You did good, now take your time and recover.” The door tapped the frame loudly as he took his leave.

  Alone again, Sai felt the cool breeze enter through the window once more. He turned to the side table and reached over to grab his shirt. Slipping it on, he realized just how much damage it had actually received. Black scorch marks and large holes littered the fabric across the very places Sai’s bandages were applied. It reeked of stale smoke, which made him slightly nauseous. With a low sigh, he removed the shirt and tossed it to the ?oor.

  As he lay back on the bed, he ran through the events of the night before and tried to comprehend all that had happened. How much of that was real? Clearly, the ?re, the fall, and the girl. What about the monster who called himself Roark or the girl who saved them? How many of those events were hallucinations brought on by lack of oxygen? And above all else, how had he gotten here in the ?rst place? People don’t just wake up on a mountain one day without any recollection of how they got there. None of it made any sense. Maybe it was all a dream, even this moment right now. Perhaps none of it was real. Before long, the soreness, exhaustion, and existentialism of it all became too much to handle, and he was dragged down by it back into that Morpheus realm of sleep.