The Question That Hurts
Thomas woke up on a floor of gleaming white tile, smooth as glass. There were no walls, no ceiling, just an endless sky above, swirling with violet clouds that pulsed like living things. It looked like space. It felt like nowhere.
"Hello?" he called out, voice echoing into the void. "Hello?"
He blinked, trying to make sense of it. I must be dreaming, he thought. I was in a cell. I remember the hay, the bucket, the concrete...
Then, like a whisper carried in the wind, he heard it.
"Thomas."
He spun around. No one.
Again: "Thomas."
He turned again. Still nothing.
Then right next to his ear: "Thomas!"
He dropped to the ground, heart pounding. The voice had weight, like thunder wrapped in silk.
As he scrambled to his feet, he saw him.
A man stood over him early thirties, dressed in full samurai armor. His eyes were sharp, unreadable. His posture coiled, like a snake ready to strike.
Thomas blinked. "Who are you, samurai?"
No answer. Just a blank stare.
Thomas tried again, cheerful this time. "Friend, can you help me out? I'm lost. Or dreaming. Or both."
The samurai's expression shifted to surprise, maybe. Then he turned slightly and asked:
"Thomas. What do you want?"
Thomas frowned. "What?"
The samurai repeated, voice like steel: "What do you want, Thomas?"
Thomas shrugged, still trying to keep it light. "I want to know what's going on."
Bang.
The samurai drove an elbow into Thomas's gut. The air left his lungs. He collapsed to his hands and knees, coughing.
"Why'd you do that?" he gasped.
Again: "What do you want?"
Thomas groaned. "I want to know why you hit me!"
Crack. A kick to the head. Not fatal but brutal. Thomas hit the ground, blood in his mouth.
The samurai stood over him, unmoved.
"Thomas. What do you want?"
Thomas, dazed and furious, muttered, "I want to… hurt you."
The samurai chuckled. Then, with a final blow, everything went black.
Thomas jolted awake, back in his cell. The concrete. The hay. The bucket.
He groaned, clutching his head. "That was a crazy-ass dream."
But the pain lingered. His body ached. He pulled off his shirt and froze.
A bruise. Right where the samurai had elbowed him.
He stared at it, heart racing.
It can't be real… Can it?