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How could you be so careless? You know exactly it’s basically impossible to bypass a MULE group, they have sensors and ping. They probably saw you before you saw them. Luckily they abandoned their pursuit of you after you tumbled over a rocky slope. They most likely assume you didn’t survive the fall. You sit at the end of the slope clutching your left side; every breath hurts and sends a stinging pain through your body. You feel dizzy and a small trail of blood tickles down from your eyebrow. You need to find shelter or help because the timefall will arrive soon.
You check your map for a Safehouse nearby but you’re quite outside from any major city and the area is thinly populated. But then you notice a building next to a weirdly shaped lake crater. You decide to take your chance and head towards there since it seemed like a relatively short distance. You slowly try to stand up, your head starts spinning and the pain on your left side seems to get worse by the minute.
Once again you check very carefully if you have a clear path because you want to avoid another encounter with the MULES or even worst. You slowly head towards your destination. The area surrounding the facility is surrounded by snowy cliffs and uneven terrain which makes your journey harder than it originally looked. You start to get exhausted from your injuries, your headache gets worse and the cold air hurts in your chest. The closer you get and the bigger the building gets you start to wonder if you made the right choice. Who would live out here so far off the grid? And the big glass fronted house doesn’t fit into the scenery.
As you look up, you notice that some of the windows on the lake side of the house are dimmed.
You slowly make your way up a set of stairs towards the front door. You start feeling weaker and dizzier by every step. Your head’s spinning and your vision stars to get blurry when you finally reached the front door. But before you can make an attempt to knock your legs give in and you collapse to the ground.
Heartman is sitting his stretcher's edge slowing panting from yet another visit on the beach when suddenly his Lab AI announces: “Warning. Intruder alert. Front door”. He’s confused since he isn’t expecting anyone. If it were a Porter delivery or a member of Bridges they would have sent him a message that someone would be coming. His Lab AI continues, “Intruder is female and unarmed.” ‘Hmm, so definitely not a MULE or Homo Demens’, Heartman mutters to himself.
He leaves his Lab and slowly approaches the big window front outside of it to take a look, when he spots a person lying next to the entrance. He gasps of shock and quickly gets to the door to check on the stranger. Heartman approaches her and softly tries to speak to her “Hello, can you hear me. Are you alright?” After he gets no response from the person he decides to take her inside. Luckily for him, the unknown visitor is a small lightly built woman so it doesn’t take a lot of strength to get her inside his lab.
You slowly opened your eyes, your vision is still blurry and your head hurts. It takes you a moment to realize that you’re in someone’s house, because you’re lying on a sofa and it’s getting warm under the blanket that is draped over you. As you slowly try to sit up you’re greeted by a familiar pain from your left side. You close your eyes and groan quietly. Suddenly there’s a voice coming from the other side of the room
“Whoa, take it slowly. You’ve been out for a while and I’m not sure how serious your injuries are”.
You look up and are approached by a tall, lanky guy with brown hair and glasses who tries his best to give you a reassuring smile.
You look at the stranger and ask “Where am I? What happened?”
The man now stands in front of you and replies “Well, I was hoping that you would be able to tell me. It’s quite unusual that I have visitors, especially unannounced. I found you unconscious at my front door and took you insider to look after you. What's the last thing you remember?”
You look down slightly frowning as you try to piece everything together “I … I don’t know. I was trying to get away from some MULEs and then one of them shot at me. I must have slipped and fell because after that, things are getting hazy.”
Suddenly the guy twists his wrist and a holographic image of your body appears with several red dots on various places. He notes, “A mild concussion, probably the reason behind your retrograde amnesia. 3 cracked ribs, a bruise on your hip, a small burn mark one your lower leg and several smaller cuts and bruises. Your heart rate is a bit irregular and elevated, probably a side effect of the Taser one of the MULEs used. Nothing to worry about, it’ll be alright. “
You try to say something when you’re suddenly interrupted by an artificial voice “4 minutes to cardiac arrest”. You eyes go big and panicky “What is that supposed to mean… cardiac arrest? You just said I shouldn’t worry. What is going on here?”
The stranger steps away from you but tries his best to remain a soft tone as he explains, “No no, this has nothing to do with you. It’s complicated and I don’t think I can explain before…
"3 minutes. Activating lab security measures”. You suddenly hear the door behind you locking, as again you face the man. “Am I locked in here? Why am I not allowed to leave? Please let me go.”
The guy sighs and looks down his chest “Ok, first of all I’m going to mute your alarm because you are definitely not helping. Please let me assure you that you are not in any danger. Not from the outside, since no one or nothing can come in nor in here. I’m not a threat to you, especially for the next three minutes. I want to help you but please be patient. I promise I’ll tell you everything you want to know when I come back”.
“Come back? Come back from where? Where are you going?” you nearly shout at the guy.
The stranger hears the panic behind your voice and tries to explain “To the Beach. I have to lo…”
Before he can finish his sentence, he suddenly collapses to the floor. A soft puff from an air mattress is heard, the lights go dim and a phonograph stars playing music. You jump up from the sofa to rush to the collapsed guy. You ignore the pain from your injuries as you lean down to him softly shaking him. “Oh my God. Are you alright? Sir… can you hear me? Hello? “You slowly put your hand on his neck to check his pulse but you can’t find one. “Oh no. I… I’ll try to get some help. Please hold on”.
You quickly stand up and immediately your head starts spinning. It takes you a moment to recover as you try to get to the Lab door. You rattle it when suddenly the voice comes back “Denied. You are unable to enter or leave this facility. Please remain at the location until the security measurements are lifted”. As you turn around you bump into a replica of a BT hanging on the wall scaring the shit out of you. You let out a scream as you tumble back from it.
You are panting as you mutter to yourself “What is this place?” Even though the lights are dimmed, there is still enough light for you to look around the room. There giant shelves filled to the brim with books, film and records. You wonder what kind of person this stranger is and draw a slight smile.
As you continue to look around you notice a giant monitor at the other side of the room showing vital signs and other medial readings. Currently it shows “Flatline” in red letters on the monitor. There’s also an I.V. stand and other medical equipment. It’s only now you notice the defining sound of the flatline ECG filling the room. Next to the monitor is a stretcher with a little table beside it. On it is a strange hourglass; it looks delicate so you don’t dare to touch it. The whole atmosphere in the room makes you uncomfortable and it suddenly feels weird snooping around this stranger‘s personal belongings when he’s not able to give you his permission.
“What did he say? Something about 3 minutes? That must be over soon and I’m curious what’s going on here” you say to yourself.
Once again you are startled by the artificial voice. “Administering shock. Please stand clear”. A loud thump is heard and the man jolts up, panting heavily. At the same time the music stops and the lights go back on.
He sits on the floor and you look at him with wide eyes.
“You… you were dead. I saw you collapsing on the floor. I checked up on you, you had no pulse. Now you’re back, just like that, as if nothing happened. Now would be a very good time for the promised explanation”.
The guy smiles softly and slowly stands up. “Yes, you have been extremely patient and I’m sure a lot of impressions just hit you in such a short time. Especially after you yourself just have woken up here, not knowing what happened to you. This whole situation must be very overwhelming for you and I want to apologize for that”.
You give him a small nod and say, “Thanks. I mean… this whole situation is weird and I have no ideas what is going on but nevertheless you helped me when I lay in front of your door. You took me inside and looked after me. So, Thanks a lot for that as well. By the way my name is (y/n) and with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?
“(y/n)… what a nice name,” he said before he nonverbally asks you if it’s okay when he’s sitting next to you on the sofa. He continues, "I’m Heartman…don’t laugh I’ll explain. I mean if you want to. The doors are unlocked you can leave at anytime if you feel well enough; ahem…would you like to have a cup of tea? I brew it before in case if…when you woke up. I’m not sure if he’s still hot, but…” You can’t help smiling at the poor guy stumbling over his words.
“Yes, a cup of tea would be lovely“. You grab the cup and take a careful sip “So, Heartman. What’s your story? Or better, what’s the story behind everything here?”
Heartman looks at you and tries to crack a smile but you see sadness behind his eyes. “My story is long and complicated and I’m sure you have more urgent things to attend to. As I said you can leave at any time. Well, in the next 21 minutes. Before… well… ahem” He stops talking and swallows hard. You notice that Heartman seems upset and you decide to sit a bit closer to him. You look down and say. “It’s probably going to take a while before I’m well enough to travel again and to be honest no one out there is waiting for me. I’m a bit of a lone wolf. Well, let’s just say there aren’t many people I know left out there. It´s also complicated”. You look up and stare at his pale blue eyes. “I have time. So please… Heartman, tell me your story. I really want to know the Man behind this name and this house. Take all the time you need.”
Heartman gives you a soft smile, takes a deep breath and starts talking.