I was running. I recognized the road. It was the road I often passed by almost everyday to go to school when I was younger. Full with people, cars, bikes... but it was different now. I didn't know why I was here, but it was dark. Somewhere around 2 or 3 am, probably. The wind was cold. The road was empty. There were structures alongside the road, I recognized their shapes. The gas station, a garage, the small diners, the school, the clinic, the banks, the hotel, shops and houses I had seen everyday since I was a small child. But I could tell they are all dark and empty. Please don't ask me how, I just knew. 

Something happened, and the city was abandoned? I wasn't sure about abandoning the whole city, but at least I was sure THIS part of the city was abandoned. The area where my house was located not too far from where I was standing now. Three blocks away. 

Wait.
I didn't understand. I had been away from home for eight years. I lived practically 900 kilometers away from my hometown. Why was I here now? How? I didn't remember taking a flight or a train... all I knew was now I was here, running down an empty and dark road. I drenched in cold sweat because I was running and I remember I hated this part of the road because it was kind of climbing up. It was cold, and a chilling night wind pricked my skin. 

I was alone. I hadn't seen a single soul. Buildings and houses were all dark. The ones that kept the road barely illuminated were the old poor street lamps. 

I kept running, a bit slower now. I didn't have any clues of what was going on so I thought I should go to the direction of my childhood house. 

Suddenly, I had no idea why I did, but I already crossed the road. I was running on the left side of the road and I crossed to the right side for no reason. I just did. And then I saw a small house - no - it was a structure of onced a house. Broken walls with no door or windows, with roof made of planks and cardboards. A wide dirty rag served itself as a curtain, hanging losely on the door frame. It was a half-demolished small shop, I guessed. I would have not even thought to walk inside if not for the light that came from it. 
So I walked in, through the rag curtain. Nothing inside. Just an empty small space with dirty floor and walls, but it was bright lit although I strangely couldn't find the light bulb.

I was about to leave when I heard a rustling noise outside. I instinctly jumped back inside and pressed my back to the wall, hoping whoever or whatever outside didn't see me. It was silly actually. If there was someone outside, he probably the one who owned this half-demolished little shop - at least took refugee in it.

A second later, a tall lanky man walked in. He was just as shocked as I was. He looked like a homeless, wearing a very dirty and tattered clothes, and carried a big sack with the same dirty color.

"What are you doing here?!!" he snapped.
I couldn't say a thing because I literally didn't have any answer. I was opened my mouth to say something but was abruptly interrupted by him pointed his finger at me.

"Wait," he hissed. "What is that in your hand? What do you bring with you here?"
When I just stared at him with my mouth open like a dying fish, he pointed his finger at my left hand. I looked at my left hand and I realized I had been clenching something. I opened my left palm slowly. So weird, I didn't know I've been holding something in my hand all along.

"What is that!?" he barked.
I jumped in surprised and handed it to him. "I... I don't know! It's a small duct tape, I think..." My eyes widened in realization. " Uh... it's a slice of an apple..."
Okay, this was getting really absurd. Was I dreaming? I was holding a slice of an apple in my left hand and I didn't know?
The homeless snatched the apple slice from my hand and ate it. He smiled in satisfaction and then he looked at me from head to toe. "I know you..."
"What?"
"I know you. I know your father. I'm his friend."
A homeless man was my Dad's friend?
"My father passed away three years ago." Why did I bother telling a homeless I didn't know. I was going crazy. 
The man only stared at me and he continued. "You should go to your house. Save your father's work. I have some of his stuff... here, take them." 
He threw a blue slingbag from his sack  onto a wooden table I didn't know was existed in the corner. It was contained some maps and papers. I tried to examine the documents but they didn't mean a thing to me. Should they?

The man spoke again in a low voice, "Take these documents with you. Don't let them take it. They will be here soon. The soldiers... I must run. YOU must run. Hide. Go to your house. Take what's left and run."
He stopped talking abruptly. His eyes widened in terror and he whispered, "They're coming!" and ran away, blending into the darkness outside. 

I was just stood there, confused, and I heard it. The sound of vehicles coming this way. Jeeps, two or three jeeps by the sound of it. I gathered all the documents, put them into the bag and ran out. I jumped the fence of a nearby building and hid behind the bushes and trees in its garden. I got out just in time because I saw soldiers in jeeps stopped right in front of the demolished shop and they ransacked it. From where I hid, I heard them yelling to each other but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

I waited until the soldiers went back to their jeeps. They didn't drive away though, but stayed there watching.
I had no choice but to try to find my way through these buildings and houses. I slowly and silently climbed the wall, crossing to the next building's frontyard, which gratefully full of trees and bushes. I could only pray for no snakes or spiders because gosh, I hate them.

After a good-three-times climbing and crossing walls of a total four buildings, I was far enough from those soldiers. I sat on the cold damp grass behind the last wall I climbed, catching my breath. 
The whole thing was so weird. Nothing made sense. My dad's work? What work? As far as I remembered that my dad was a school teacher. Why these documents were really important? And why I ran away from those soldiers? I could ask them to help me but why the hell I trusted the homeless man's words who probably crazy to begin with?

My head hurt. I stared at the blue bag next to me. What to do? My mind told me to ask for some help to the soldiers. They could help me. But every instinc in my body told me to stay away from them, avoid them at any cost.

I puffed, releasing a breath I had been holding for a while. Okay. I had decided to go straight to my house, find what was there. And after that I could decide my next move. So I resumed my wall-climbing and fence-jumping, as quiet as possible, as stealth as possible, until I reached the last house at interjunction. It was far enough from the soldiers and their jeeps and I could cross the road and two more blocks I would finally reach my home.

I stood in front of my childhood home. It was the same. The house was. Nothing changed. It was a big house a long time ago, and then my greedy big sister claimed half of it so it literally splitted into two houses. So my sister and her stupid husband lived next door but it was now also dark and empty. They left too. My neighborhood was also abandoned, it seemed. It was very dark, the street lamps were gone for a long time, judging from how rusty the poles were. 

I jumped the fence into my frontyard. The front door was locked, of course, but the spare key was there, hidden buried under the stone in front of the third window on the left as usual.

I took the key and quietly let myself into the house. I closed the door and locked it just to be safe. 
Looking around, everything was just the same, the pictures, the furnitures. Only now covered in thin layer of dust.

Of course nobody was home. A few years ago Mom finally decided to live with her younger sister on the south side of the city and if I had my cellphone with me I would've called her, but I didn't have it. For the first time, I realized that I did not have any of my personal belongings with me - except the blue slingbag the homeless gave me - no wallet, no money, no cellphone. Did I lost them somewhere?

When I was walking by a large mirror in the livingroom, I stopped dead in my track. I took a double check to make sure I wasn't seeing things. 

I was wearing a military uniform.

The same one with those soldiers' but mine was entirely black in color. Black shirt, black tactical pants, black military boots - while those soldiers wore a typical deep green camouflage-pattern.

I touched my forehead, suddenly felt nauseated and a prick of headache. So who was I? Was I a soldier? How did I get here? Why didn't I remember a thing?

I shook my head. Stop it. The most important thing to do was checking my Dad's study room. Study room? I didn't remember we had a study room. I didn't remember my house was a 2-stories house but strangely I was sure that my bedroom was on the second floor. Weird.

I walked to the kitchen. It was dusty and cluttered. The spot near the kitchen door which I remembered was only a wall, was now stairs to the second floor. I made my way up slowly, trying to convince myself that this was the house I lived in for 20 years before I moved out. Still, I couldn't remember the stairs and this 2nd floor. As far as I could remember, there was never a 2nd floor.

I reached the 2nd floor and resumed my way to a corridor. The first door to the right was my bedroom. And the second door on the left further away, was my Dad's study room. I entered the left door, and saw a bookshelf full of middle school textbooks, a messy desk cluttered with students' workpapers I saw my Dad used to grade every night after dinner. It was 10 years ago. Why those papers were still here? 

I checked the whole room and found nothing suspicious and no documents similar to what the homeless man gave me.

I shook my head again. I left the study room and headed to my - supposed to be - bedroom. I opened the door and I saw a large bed, which was weird because I remembered I had a small single bed, but somehow I was convinced this was my room. Shelves full of books, some trinkets I didn't remember. No posters or pictures on the wall, only an old calendar dated back to 2008. To my surprise, the room was clean. No dust whatsoever.

I sat on the bed, confused. What the hell was going on? My fingers touched something on the white bedsheet. A piece of paper, with Mom's handwritings on it! I didn't notice it before. I my bedside lamp, and it . I jumped a little, shockingly realized the electricity in the house was still running.

I read the note my Mom's left me. I touched her handwritings longingly. I missed her so much.

"My dearest son,
I'm sorry I can't be there when you come home. I'll be living with your aunt because she is now sick and needs my care. I cameback just to get some stuff and I wrote you this note to tell you that your beloved father left you something in your room. Before he passed away he said you should have it when the time's come. I don't know what's inside the package your Dad left for you but your Dad mentioned it as very important. I also don't know where it is except it's in your room. Your Dad really wanted to spend more time with you, talking things, and eating his favorite pizza with you. But we all know he had gone to heaven. Your father loved you so much. I love you so much. Come visit me and your aunt when you have the time. 

Love, 
Mommy."

A package? In my room? 
I quickly stood up and checked the room and found no package. I searched the bookshelves, I even checked under the bed. Nothing. 
I read my Mom's note again. And it hit me. 

"…and eating his favorite pizza with you."

I turned my eyes to the table by the window. There was a box of Pizza Hut. I thought it was just a garbage, I shamely admitted I often let take-out food boxes days in my room before I threw them away. 

My hands were slightly shaking when I opened the pizza cardbox. There it was. The package. Wrapped in brown paper, a stack of documents similar to what I got in the blue bag. I once again tried to read the documents, made sense of it. But they contained formulas and some chemical symbols I didn't understand. 

I gave up and put the package into the slingbag. I decided to go to my aunt's home. It was far, took an hour even by car, but hell if I had to walk all the way there I would walk.

I was just about to get some clothes to change into, when I heard the front door was kicked open. The loud bang echoed throughout the house and honestly I was extremely frightened. I heard men's voices shouting and talking and I knew the soldiers had found my house. I needed to get out! 

I grabbed the bag, but before I got out from my room, two men were already standing at the door, blocking my way. I stared at them and shockingly I felt that I knew them. They were wearing green camo uniforms. One man stepped inside. He was eerily handsome, with black hair and piercing eyes. He sneered at me, looking vicious. His one hand was on his gun holster. The other guy was also goodlooking, black hair, a bit shorter than me but muscular. He looked strong and he lowered his body slightly, prepared to jump and tackle me at anytime. 

I didn't have time to think. All I knew that I had to make a run for it no matter what. I swung the bag with all my might and hit the handsome guy straight to his head. He was flung to the wall and grunted in pain. I dashed to the door but the short guy seemed to be ready for it. He jumped at me and hit my stomach with his fist. I doubled over and coughed. It hurt like hell and I almost passed out because I couldn't breathe for a moment. But my fear of getting caught got the best of me. I pushed myself up and punched his face. He didn't expect me to get up so quickly and my fist landed smoothly on his jaws. He fell backwards and I  jumped over him, running down. There was a soldier walked up the stairs and he didn't stop me. When I ran past him I got that feeling again, the feeling that I knew this guy, I knew them all. The soldier I passed by on the stairs was quite too young, big eyes, and a bit skinny. Probably that was why he didn't stop me, I was bigger and taller.

There were soldiers in the livingroom, they were too surprised to see me running down the stairs and I took advantage of it to dash to the front door. But they were soldiers, their bodies reacted before their minds. That was how it worked if you were a soldier. They moved quickly to block me, some of them tried to hit me with the base of their weapons, and some tried to catch me. I didn't know that I could move so fast, but if I was a soldier like them, that explained it. I managed to dodge their attacks, but what happened next I could not avoid.

The front door was blocked so I ran to the direction of the door led to the garden. If I could make it to the garden I could climb the wall and escape through the roof. 

Suddenly something - or someone - rammed me on my side and I was thrown and hit the wooden floor. I landed hard on my back, the air was knocked out of my lungs. I cringed and glanced at my attacker. A short guy, with muscular body, dishevelled silver hair and the wildest eyes I had ever seen. He already got my slingbag in his hand. 

I panicked. I had to get those documents back! I tried to get up but a harsh hard kick on my ribs sent me back to the floor. There was a loud gunshot and I felt a searing hot pain on my right thigh.

This time I couldn't get up. My body spasmed and all I could do was writhing in pain. A pair of heavy military boots stood beside my head and I looked up. A man, holding a gun, with brown hair and a wide smile looked down and met my eyes.

"Never learn, do you." He chuckled. "You can't run away from me. Never."

I stared at him. Shocked. This time I knew him. I remember this guy. I used to be his friend. I used to be his superior.

"Howon- "

He grabbed me and struck my face hard. He leaned forward until our noses were almost touched.

"Commander Howon to you." He hissed, and tossed me back to the floor.
 

"Why..." I breathed.

He looked at me intently. I didn't like this. 

"You don't remember anything." He said it more like a statement, not a question. "Do you remember your own name?"

I opened my mouth to reply but I stopped. No. I didn't remember my name. How could I forget my own name?? I remembered bits of things here and there, but I couldn't remember my name and how I got here.

Howon growled. "It's time for you to remember everything, Sunggyu."

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My dream ended here. Please please please don't kill me. The rest of the story I leave it to your imaginations ^^ Do share your thoughts in comments, you might give me an idea to continue ^^