Ughhh...

You know that feeling when you wake up, and for a split second, everything seems totally normal? You're groggy, your brain is fuzzy, and you can't really remember what you did the night before. Except this time, I really couldn't remember. Not even a little bit.

My brain: Okay, something's not right.

I groaned, my whole body stiff and heavy, like I'd been through a shredder. Not the most reassuring sensation to wake up to. I tried to blink away the blur from my eyes, squinting up at the grey, overcast sky above me. That's when the smell hit me—something rancid and unmistakably gross. Garbage. I was lying next to a pile of garbage.

What the hell...?

It took me a second to sit up, my limbs feeling like lead as I shuffled back against the wall of what was clearly an alley. My hands hit something wet and sticky, and that's when I noticed it. The blood. My shirt, my pants—everything was stained with red. A lot of red.

Panic mode? 

Activated.

Me: "Okay, that's blood. That's a lot of blood."

I checked myself—like, really checked. My hands patted down every inch of my body as fast as humanly possible. I was shaking, half-expecting to find some massive wound I had somehow missed in my half-awake state. But... there was nothing. No pain, no cuts, no broken bones. Just... blood. A lot of blood.

Alright. 

Not normal. 

Definitely not normal.

I leaned back, trying to piece together how the hell I ended up here. The last thing I remembered was—wait. The car. That guy speeding away from the police, slamming into me like I was some kind of speed bump. That impact had hurt. A lot.

I should be dead.

I should have been flattened. My brain started racing, trying to make sense of the impossible. The blood was still fresh, still warm against my skin, but there were no wounds. I wasn't even sore anymore. That made no sense. None.

What the actual hell happened?

I glanced around the alley, still disoriented. The place was filthy—rusted metal dumpsters, broken glass, and trash scattered everywhere. Not exactly prime real estate for a nap. And yet, here I was. Dumped, like yesterday's garbage. Awesome.

Me: "Okay, ....... I was... hit by a car, and then..."

That's when it hit me. There was something else, something my brain hadn't registered in the chaos. A small, almost insignificant detail I hadn't focused on at the time. It popped into my head like a weird afterthought.

The cat.

I froze. That stupid cat. The one I'd risked my life for earlier, and then... another one? I could picture it clearly now—a little ball of fur, right in front of me, staring at me just before everything went black. I hadn't thought much of it in the moment, but now... it felt strange. Like it was important, somehow.

Me: "What the hell is up with these cats?"

I pushed myself to my feet, shaky but steady enough. My clothes were a mess, blood-soaked and dirty, but I was fine. Physically, at least. Mentally? Not so much. Something about this didn't sit right with me. A cat in front of me before I blacked out. Blood but no wounds. And now I was in an alley? None of this added up.

I need answers. 

Fast.

I dusted off my shirt, though it didn't help much, and took a cautious step forward. My legs were still a bit wobbly, but they held. Good sign, right? Now I just had to figure out where the hell I was and what in the world had happened after that car hit me.

No big deal. 

Just a casual mystery.

But that cat... it was still in the back of my mind, like a splinter I couldn't ignore. Why had I remembered it now, and not when it first showed up? I hadn't been focusing on it before, but now it felt important. Something was off. I just didn't know what.

I limped out of the alley, trying not to draw attention to myself. Last thing I needed was for someone to see me and start asking questions about the blood. I wasn't even sure how I'd explain it. "Oh, don't worry, it's not mine. I just woke up in an alley after being hit by a car, but I'm totally fine!" Yeah, that'd go over well.

This day just keeps getting better.

But as I moved, I couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened—something big. I just didn't know what. Not yet.