Stumbling upon the site, he was taken off guard by the sight of it. The scattered debris of the thirty-two-meter-wide crater that was once the epicenter of the escape pod crash—the crumpled remains of the metallic sphere that was supposed to save his life from the impending doom—now lay broken and twisted, a stark reminder of the devastating force that had shattered it to pieces.
Neither knows what brought him here, but the head doctor himself, however, already has the answer to what brought Danny to this place. "This is it," Hansel said plainly, gesturing at his friend at the side who was too busy staring at the remains of the crashed pod.
"This is where you were found," he continued, exclaiming the obvious truth that was now evident to Danny's own eyes.
"It's a miracle you survived such a crash," the doctor added, shaking his head in awe. "Crashing from orbit should burn you already to crisp, but here you are here, alive and not injured in the slightest," impressed by the sheer luck and resilience that this individual showed.
Looking around, he saw many pieces of junk littered across the ground, some of which he recognized as parts of what seemed to be a ship.
"So I fell from the sky... with a spaceship?" It was hard to believe at first how he could possibly survive a fall from such great height. "How did I manage to live through that?" He asked, genuinely curious and amazed at the same time. "I mean, I don't remember anything from before the crash," trying to recall any memories of the past only to come nothing in mind, leaving him with more questions than answers.
"Heh," Hansel chuckled softly, "well, you're a lucky one, aren't you?" The doctor's tone was laced with amusement and a hint of wonder. "As for the memory loss, it's quite common among those who experienced severe trauma, especially in cases like this," he explained, his eyes scanning the debris.
"The impact must have caused a concussion, knocking out most of your memories," the doctor theorized, "but it's a good sign that you didn't get any severe brain damage, unlike some of my patients." A sad tone crept into his voice as he trailed off, remembering the ones who were not so fortunate to survive their own tragedies.
Taking a deep breath, Danny begins to ponder where he might come from. "That means..." Thinking aloud, "I must have been in space before the crash, maybe on a mission or something?" He speculated, his mind racing with possibilities.
"Likely I am an astronaut for some organization." That could be an explanation, "or perhaps a spy or mercenary?" More theories flooded his thoughts, each one more intriguing than the last. "There's just so much I don't know about myself," he admitted, his frustration growing as the mystery surrounding his identity remained unsolved.
Sympathy appeared on the doctor's face from listening to those words. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out soon enough," he reassured, placing a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "In the meantime, is there anything that reminded you after coming here?"
He asked, hoping to spark any memories that might have resurfaced amidst the familiar surroundings of the crash site. One of the many things that might help recover someone's memories of their past.
Shaking his head and caressing his own chin with his fingers, Danny tried to process what might be the realistic part of why he was launched into space and, in addition, why he would even come back here.
On one hand, he believes it is more likely that he is just some long-lost forgotten astronaut for the organization he mentioned before. However, another part of him could be convinced that he is indeed a spy or mercenary, given the circumstances of his crash landing in a desolate wasteland.
Yet neither of his options is one hundred percent true, as he could only just hypothesize who he was once: "Anything eye-catching when you found me? Like an insignia or logo?" He inquired, looking around for any clues that might have been left behind.
"Maybe something that can lead us to my true identity?" His heart racing with anticipation as he scanned the area for any signs of recognition. Instead, Hansel could only give an apology for the lack of evidence.
"I'm afraid I didn't notice anything like that," he said, his expression turning apologetic. "I was so focused on getting you medical assistance that I didn't pay much attention to anything around me other than just seeing trash all around," Hansel added. "I'm sorry, but it seems we might have to rely on other methods to uncover your past," regretting the fact that he couldn't provide any concrete leads in helping his patient friend despite promising to help him get them.
Grinding his teeth in frustration, Danny doesn't know whether to angrily respond back to the doctor or just accept the fact that he might never find out the truth about himself. However, he decided to keep his cool for now, knowing that there's no point in getting angry over something that he cannot change.
"Might as well check something out," he whispered under his breath, telling himself to just try to find any clues that might be hiding in plain sight. "Let's see if there's any other debris that might have survived the crash," he said aloud, his eyes scanning the area once more, searching for anything that could potentially hold a key to unlocking his forgotten past.
Just to find nothing of importance in return, "this is disappointing," admitting the truth. "I thought there would be some kind of proof left behind," he said, looking down at the ground, his shoulders sagging in defeat.
"I guess I'll just have to live with not knowing," sighing exhaustively, he felt a sense of emptiness wash over him. "It's not like I can do anything about it anyway." A clear resignation was noticeable in his tired voice.
Feeling pity for his friend, the head doctor comforted him with his encouraging words: "You'll find who you were; just trust that feeling and keep believing in yourself," Hansel assured, giving his friend a reassuring smile.
"And besides, we still need to focus on our current goal, finding that radio and sending out a distress signal," he reminded, his eyes lighting up with determination. "We can't afford to let ourselves get distracted by the past right now," his words were laced with urgency, "our survival depends on it."
Smiling happily, he closed his eyes, wanting to just laugh off the idea of remembering own past in one go. "Yeah, you are right," he agreed, opening his eyes again and looking at the doctor. "Radio first, then we can talk about me later," he said, his resolve renewed.
"Lead the way, doc." Finishing his sentence, he gave a thumbs up, ready to move forward with their mission, whatever the cost. With that, the doctor returned the gesture with his own as Hansel turned around and walked away, urging Danny to follow suit.
Before doing so, Danny had the sudden, growing urge to touch any piece of debris that caught his attention. It might be something insignificant to others, but to him, it could be the only thing that he had left to remind him of his past.
Instinctively, his hand reached out to grab a small metallic object lying nearby; it was small enough to fit in his palm, and it seemed to be made of some sort of alloy. Just as he lowered himself to grab it within his open palm, a flash of images played in his mind from the moment he touched it with his extending hand.
It felt as if the memory was trying to break free from the confines of his forgotten mind, but it was too weak and faded, unable to fully manifest itself. Nonetheless, it was at least the start of something, despite making him feel as if he were being torn apart into a million pieces.
Holding his head together, he screamed loudly about the pain he was experiencing from terrible recollections that were trying to surface, a dream that he couldn't wake up from.
The doctor heard it from afar. Turning his head back in the direction of his friend's voice, he immediately rushed towards him, worried that he might be having some kind of seizure from the memories that were flooding his mind.
"Danny!"
In the immense pain of being stuck inside a scorching hot furnace, the young man collapsed onto the ground, his body wracked with convulsions as he desperately tried to cling to his sanity. "No! No! No!" He muttered desperately, "stop, please, just stop!"
His pleas went unheard when the onslaught of the pain continued to batter him mercilessly. He can feel the heat entering through his skin, like he was submerged in boiling water, his flesh screaming in agony as he writhed in the dirt with his fingernails digging into the earth while he fought against the overwhelming sensations that threatened to consume him whole.
Hansel knelt beside him, his expression etched with concern. "Snap out of it!" He begged urgently, shaking his shoulders, trying to bring him back to reality: "You're safe; I'm here; just breathe; calm down." The soothing words were drowned out by the cacophony of anguish emanating from his friend's tortured form.
It is a sight that clearly hurts him to witness his friend go through such a painful ordeal. The doctor's eyes darted around frantically, looking for anything that could help alleviate Danny's suffering, his mind racing with possibilities.
Meanwhile, Danny could see something else beside the painful memory of being stuck inside an enclosed control room while being boiled alive; indeed, it began to clear better the more he focused on it.
"Hah...ha..." Breaking out into a cold sweat, he coughed violently, his throat burning from the intense trauma he just experienced. "What the hell...?" Cautiously getting up, he tripped and almost fell before being saved by the head doctor, who quickly wrapped his own arm over Danny's chest to prevent him from hitting the ground.
"Careful," Hansel warned, his grip firm yet gentle. "You look like you've seen a ghost," he added with a concerned frown. "Are you alright?" Words couldn't express how much he wanted to help his friend in this time of need. "Why did you scream back there? Did you see something that scared you?" Laced with worry, the doctor's eyes searched his face for any signs of further distress.
However, the young man just shook his head, his face pale and clammy. "No, not exactly," he replied, his voice trembling slightly. "Let me catch my breath for a moment, okay?" Telling the doctor to give him some space, which the blond man did in response.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, the memory that just surfaced was still lingering in his mind like a bad omen. "God, that was horrible," he muttered under his breath, his hand instinctively reaching up to touch his sweating forehead to comfort himself further.
Standing silently, the head doctor decided it was best to let his friend collect himself before trying to pry any information out of him. He knew that the memories of the past were fragile things and that forcing them to surface could have unintended consequences.
So instead, he simply waited patiently, his eyes never leaving Danny's troubled visage, even though he was clearly worried about him. "Take your time," he commented, comforting the young man to take all the time he needs to gather his bearings.
Letting out one last sigh, he wiped his sweating forehead with a sleeve before turning around to face the doctor directly. "I was in the ship," still shaken by what he saw and felt, "it was like being trapped in a furnace; the heat was unbearable."
Shuddering at the mere memory of it. "I remember being able to see some kind of controls, levers, and buttons, but I couldn't reach them from where I was," his mind replaying the events of his nightmare-like experience, "aside from that, the most memorable thing about it is nearly being burnt alive within an enclosed room." shuddering at the memory of it all, "I don't know what that place was or why I was there, but I know it wasn't good," he finished grimly.
Nodding sympathetically, Hansel understood where the young man was getting from as he approached him with his hand touching Danny's right shoulder. "It's alright; whatever you saw or felt is already gone by now," reassuring his friend that everything will be fine in the end.
"The important thing is that you're safe now, and we'll figure out the rest later," calm and soothing from the way he comforted him. "Remember to take deep breaths and try to relax, okay?" He suggested, "You're not alone, and I'm here to support you," adding a warm smile to his words.
"Now, let's get moving again as always, okay?" He asked, his eyes sparkling with determination once more, "Having a nice walk on this fine day should help you clear your head," attempting to lighten the mood.
"Come on," he offered, his hand extended towards his friend, ready to continue their journey together. Accepting the doctor's offer, Danny placed his hand in his, allowing him to pull him to his feet.
"Thank you," he responded back with some hesitation in his voice, "but," retreating his own hand from Hansel, he averted his eyes from the new level of fear he had just experienced. "I think it's better if we keep going; I don't want to linger on these bad memories," he admitted with a mix of resolve and trepidation in his tone of voice.
"Its just..." Taking a step backwards, he was hesitant to go on with this.
"Bothers me for reason."
