[StLee]

Blink. Bat those eyes. 1. 2. There’s a voice. Who is that?

“Leo? Leo, can you hear me? I need you to open your eyes.”

I don’t know that voice. I don’t know . . . who I am. Oh, Atom, who am I? Who is Atom?

“Dammit, he’s not responding. Maybe the wipe didn’t work. Gina, get me the scalpel. I may need to cut him back open.”

I feel movement. I feel everything. I am alive. Open those eyes.

The scalpel moves towards the back of my neck. I can feel it, a slight hum. I lunge behind me and grab the wrist of the arm about to cut my neck. The man drops the scalpel and quickly pulls away. The man is frightened.

“You will not touch me,” I shout. “Who are you? And what do you want?”

“Leo, I am Doctor Stanley Carrington. I’m with the Railroad. We’re here to help you, Leo.”

Leo. I am Leo. Yes, that is right.

The doctor continues. He looks like a doctor, but he is dirty, his face and medical jacket covered in dirt and soot. But not his hands. The cotton skin, white and soft, scrubbed fresh in purified water. He is dirty but took care to clean his hands. For me. Leo.

“Leo, you had an accident in an attack. You were injured, but you are awake now. Do you understand? Do you . . . remember?”

Remember. A cliff? The coast. A storm forming and the wind blowing through. Her hair blowing, gold braids matching the storm-soaked, heightened waves. We are calm, walking towards an underground bunker. Radstorm coming, she says smiling. She is not worried, and I am not worried. She opens the door, and a neon flash of light pours through. She walks in first, and I follow. Emptiness. Room of white. I cannot remember more. What in Atom’s name?

“Who is Atom?” I croak.

“Atom?” Doctor Carrington looks to the young lady also in a medical jacket. “Why, some people believe he’s the radiation god of the Wastelands. A crazy group that came all the way from D.C. worships him.”

“Where’s D.C.?” I ask. My voice is deep baritone. Strong.

“Washington, D.C. The old capital of the United States of America. It’s all ruins out there. Took a direct hit on what used to be the President’s house. Nothing but rads and mutants that way. But, wait a minute. We didn’t . . .”

His voice trails off, like there is something he is not supposed to tell me. I feel anger building up in me, rage, aggression. Danger.

“What I meant to say is, um, you never mentioned knowing about Atom before. You knew me before the . . . accident. T-That’s why I’m surprised.”

Atom. D.C. President’s house. I don’t know why, but I can tell that I need to be there.

I stand from the dentist's chair I am lounged in. I feel strong, sure.

“Are you leaving already?” Carrington asks, glancing quickly at the girl. I notice she has a pistol holstered at her hip. Nervous.

Yes. I say or think. I look for an exit. I see the sign and walk towards the exit.

“You’re not ready yet,” he says, but does nothing to stop me. “Where are you going?”

“I think I will go to see the President’s house,” I say. Armed guards let me know that they will see me out, help me navigate outside the city.

I walk south from a place called Lexington in a place the guards escorting me called the Switchboard. I walk and I walk and I walk. I never get tired.

I must find her. I must find Atom. I must find the President’s house. I am Leo. I feel reborn, alive. A phoenix risen. I feel like an elite warrior on a divine mission.

I walk. And I walk. And I walk.