The Fall

Light, Chapter 24: The Fall

A short extract from the chapter can be found below. Go to www.lightmysterious.com to read the rest of Marcus' new online novel.

The exams came. I’d pretty much given up on them to be honest. For my Philosophy exam I just sat there for an hour before I began to write a rant against the “retardation of the western mind”. That took me about fifteen minutes, and after spewing that out of my system I just went cold. A dark cloud descended upon me, and I fell asleep right there in the exam room. I only awoke when I felt a hand shaking my shoulder. I looked up, unsure for a moment where I was.

“Your paper?”

Groggy, I handed it to the examiner. She looked at it, and handed it back.

“Your name?”

She was pointing to the front page. I’d forgotten to write it.

“Oh?” I took it back, picked up my pen. But for the life of me I couldn’t remember my own name. My mind was completely blank. My breath caught in my chest, and for a moment a wave of panic almost overcame me.

“Um, sorry, this pen isn’t working. Wait a moment.” I shook the pen violently, then began rummaging through my bag.

The woman went off to the front of the room. That gave me time.

So what was it? James? No, that was my bother. Paul, no he was my friend. It was, it was…

           I sat there, barely able to contain my panic. This was the end. I had gone insane, lost it, my life over. I was a man who didn’t even know who he was.