Memories

My eyes open. I am awake.

I do not know where I am, who I am, or why am I here. Wherever here is. I am in what looks like a prison cell. Or what used to be a prison cell. The barred door that used to close this cell is now rusted, and hanging on one hinge. The concrete ceiling is cracked, and vines hang down from the opening. The only light is the small amount of sunlight that filters through the overgrown ceiling. I step through the doorway, and survey my surroundings.

There are more cells, some with the doors still attached, most with no doors at all. I look into the neighboring cell. There is a bleached human skeleton, curled in a ball.

A memory flashes in my head. Murphy. This man's name was Murphy.

I can vaguely remember him as my friend. We had almost lived out our sentences, but then... The memory fades. I cannot remember what happened.

I try to find the exit. After a short search, I find it. Also overgrown with vines, I have to push through them to get out of this prison. I step outside, and I am in a small town. What is left of it, anyway.

Another memory appears in my head. Parker. My home town. I cannot remember more. I walk down the street, seeing what is left of a once quiet town.

I look in the sky. The sun is going down.

I must find a place to sleep. I could go back to the prison, but I'd rather not spend the night with skeleton Murphy. I spot a gas station, and go to it in the hopes of finding food.
As I enter it, I see a ghostly young lady at the cash register, who looks like she is talking to someone. She is smiling, which warms me to the bone. She looks at me, and waves.

Taylor. She was my girlfriend.

I run to the counter, memories and feelings resurfacing in a flood. Behind the cash register, is a skeleton with a tattered shirt with a name tag.

Hello, my name is:
Taylor

I fall to my knees, and weep. What happened?

I get up, and wipe the tears from my eyes. I look for food, and surprisingly, the shelves are still stocked with food, and the refrigerators still stocked with beverages.

As I snack on canned Spam and water, I try to figure out where I am going to sleep. I decide to stay in the gas station.
I look out the window, and it has begun to get dark. I close the door, and lay on the floor. My eyes close, my final thoughts of Taylor.

I am on the banks of a small river. I am on a picnic blanket, and beside me is Taylor.

She smiles at me sweetly. "Wake up." She says.

My eyes bolt open. Standing above me is Taylor's skeleton. She is holding a bone, and a apparition of her blood-streaked face is covering the grinning skull.

I jump up, and back away.

Skeleton Taylor says, "It's okay! It's just me."

I reply, "Why are you holding a bone? And what happened to your face?"

"That doesn't matter. You need to stop him."
"Stop who?"
"HIM, silly."
"Okay... And who is he? I don't remember anything."
"Do I really have to explain this to you? Fine. At midnight, every night, there is a skeleton that walks the ruins. He has a sword, and he also has a watch. This watch is a time traveling watch. And the skeleton is the spirit of the man who ruined everything!"
"What did he do?"
"He created a sonic weapon that explodes hearts. Crazy, I know. But he was able to broadcast it all over the world, and destroy humanity. He also had the watch, which when he activated the weapon, would travel one hundred years in the future, where all humans were dead, and he could live his life. But you were able to take the watch, and travel here first. But the watch was lost while you traveled in time, and the skeleton of the man took it. You must hurry."

Skeleton Taylor then dissolved into dust. I am stunned, not sure what to think. Am I crazy? Or did I really just see the spirit of my dead girlfriend?
A inhuman scream rocks the gas station. I get up. I grab the bone Taylor was holding, and walk to the window. I can see him.

He turns, and looks at me. Blood pours from his mouth. He reaches behind his back, and pulls a sword with his skeletal hand. He screams again, blood splattering the window. I back away, and the window begins to smoke. The blood melts the glass, and he steps through. I look on his other hand, and there is the watch. It looks normal, but right now I believe anything.
He swings at me, and I barely have enough time to bring the bone up before the sword collides with my head. He swings again, and I block it with the bone. He keeps swinging faster and faster, leaving me less and less time to block the next blow.

A memory jumps into my head. I took fencing lessons. They aren't helping me as much as I hope, but they are keeping me alive so far. The skeleton steps back, giving me the chance to give him my first blow. I crack the bone across his sword arm, shattering both my makeshift sword and his arm.

I drop the remains of my sword as he screams. Blood spurts from his mouth, sending a deadly blast of acid my way. I dodge it, but a few drops hit my arm. I quickly brush the drops away, my hand and arm burning. He keeps shooting blasts of acid blood at me, me barely surviving. I glance at the watch, and grab at it. I miss, grabbing his other arm instead. He looks at me, pulls his head back, and slams his head into mine. Stars dance around me, but I manage to keep a firm grip on his arm.

He hits me again. I yank his arm with a growl, and pull it off. I stumble back, and take the watch off. He sends a spray of acid at me, which I dodge, but am too slow. The acid hits my back, and it feels like fire. I yell, and throw the arm at him. I run around an aisle, and look at the watch. There only one button, so I pray a quick prayer, and click it. Everything goes black.

I feel like I have been crushed into the size of an atom, then re-inflated. I groan, and look around. I am still in the gas station, but something looks different.

Mainly, Taylor standing over me. Flesh and all.
She smiles.

I did it.