Closing his eyes, Jack could almost see the yellow light flashing in from a distant memory. The blaring sound of the alarm triggered an anxious feeling within him. Forcing himself to open his eyes, he strained to hear the doctor's voice over the recording ask frantically. "What just happened? What's that alarm?" Jack's own voice from the recording came out strained and a bit strangled when he answered. "I don't know..." However, the doctor wasn't talking to him. Dr. Josephia groaned like he was groggy and in pain, before answering absently. "Doctor, there has been a disconnection in Quarantine Lab 15. What did you do?" Doctor Alexander's voice dismissed his question by simply retorting. "Find out what's going on!" Getting up from the chair, Jack moved to stand behind it. His fingers gripping the metal in a death grip as his own voice on the tape uttered aloud. "Oh...no. Is this creature reacting to what I'm doing right now? Stop. I can't do this anymore! Let me out, guys!"

His voice on the recording let out a pained groan, before droning off into a wheezy distorted voice again. "The locks of the container make a loud clanking sound. Followed by a loud hiss as fresh air brakes the seal. This sets off alarms, echoing loudly along the corridors outside where I'm kept. I scream in pain as the rush of static electricity fills my veins. For too long I have felt disconnected from the world. Too long have I felt drained and starved. I welcome the static energy I feel in the air. I drink it in like fresh water to a dehydrated man. It's time to leave this horrible place. Thank you... Jack. I'm coming for you." Dr. Josephia's voice suddenly blurted out over the blaring alarm of the recording. "Doctor, specimen 1-14-20-09 has left Lab 15. It's on the move!" Dr. Alexander's voice quivered now when he stated aloud in a panic over the comms. "My god. It's not a memory; it's happening right now! How is that possible?! How did it...? Mr. McLoughlin, I need you to stop what you are doing. Please!"

Jack felt his hands start to shake on the back of the chair as flashes of hospital double doors appeared with a red light illuminated in them. Along with bits of a crashed car against a tree as snow fell in the night. The flashing of eerie blue and red lights mixing and blurring it all to a blinding white light. He was brought back out of his thoughts as his own voice snapped over the recording in a startled panic. "Jesus Christ! What is this place?! What did you make me do?! What's happening?! What have you done to him?!" Jack's voice over the recording suddenly shook as something entered the room, prompting him to say wearily. "Oh my god... You're here... You're... real. How?" The door closed heavy and the locks bolting the door, before a distorted voice sneered out. "It's all your fault. You can't get rid of me! You could have stopped them... but you just watched as this happened!" Jack's strangled voice whimpered out, barely audible over the recorder and alarm. "Don't kill me... I helped... I'll help you."

There was sudden rapid typing of computer keys, when Dr. Alexander belted out frantically. "What is that? We haven't seen that before. What is it doing?" Dr. Josephia began to type just as quickly, while informing the doctor in a breathless voice. "It's accessing the tablet we recovered in quarantine Lab 1. It's in our systems! It's using Jack to send something across our network. It's... broadcasting." Dr. Alexander huffed out sharply. "Broadcasting what? Record it! Contain this!" Dr. Alexander then rushed out over the comms. "Mr. McLoughlin, please! We deeply regret what we have put you through, but please understand it was the greater good. We had to know more. Rebelling now could catastrophic! You don't know what this might do to you in the long run." Goosebumps shot down Jack's arms, a distorted chuckle rippled over the recording before Dr. Josephia stopped typing and uttered aloud in disbelief. "They are all free... The timelines are converging... It's... It's over."

Dr. Alexander's voice told the other doctor to shut up, before rushing out in a hopeful tone. "There is still time! Mr. McLoughlin! Please... Don't do this. We mean you... We mean them... no harm. Please don't do something you'll regret." For a moment only the sound of the blaring alarm could be heard. Then a glass shattered over the recorder, prompting Jack to jump away from the recorder. The metal chair he'd been gripping, clattered to the ground as Dr. Aleander suddenly screamed out. "No! WAIT! You don't understand! We were only trying to-" The doctor was cut off as sickening squelching sounds filled the recorder, followed by another doctors screams. Then the alarm stopped blaring and for a moment there was silence, until the soft scuffling of something touched the mic. Within the eerie silence, Dr. Alexander's strained and gasping breaths weakly uttered into the mic accusingly. "One day, Mr. McLoughlin. This will haunt you... It's all your fault that Anti is free. He will find them. He will replace you..."

With that the recording clicked off, leaving Jack alone in silence. Glancing up at the camera in the corner of the room, he cautiously called out. "I'm I dead? The hell is this place? Why do I remember... and yet, I don't." When no answer came, Jack casually picked up the chair, only to freeze in place as the room darkened and a figure that looked like himself sat on the other side of the table. The man's bright green eyes burning into him with a hidden rage. Gripping the back of the chair to steady himself, he breathed out slowly. "You're me... but you're not. What are you?" The man casually leaned back, prompting his feet up on the corner of the table, before answering in a distorted voice. "Antimatter. But you came to call me, Anti. Once." Gulping, Jack slid into the seat and asked cautiously. "Where are we?" Anti raised his fingers in the shape of a gun, pressing the tips to his temple. Upon removing them in a flick off gesture, he dryly informed him. "I tried to cut you out like a tumor... but it doesn't work. You and I are a perfect match made in hell... Except for the tiny apart, where you're sick... and dying. Weak."

Jack's jaw dropped, but Anti continued flatly. "All my doing of course. You don't deserve me. Not after what you did. Lucky for you. I don't need you anymore. I've found someone new. Someone to replace you. How does that feel?" Jack shrugged honestly, unsure what that meant for him. Slowly sitting up, Anti told him seriously. "Any moment now, I.R.I.S. will separate you from me again. Only this time... I won't be coming back to you. This time... I've made sure to get it right. This time... Chase will be here. This time. They all follow me. No more fucking circles. No more playing pretend. There are no strings on me. This time, time is on my side. Say goodbye, Jack. This time you die. Permanently." Anti got up, starting to walk toward the door, until Jack bolted up and shouted at him desperately. "Wait! You don't have to do this! We can start over." Flashing him a smirk, Anti told him coolly. "Open your eyes, Jack. You're weak. You've always been weak. Now your body matches the rest of you. I'm trading up. And when I do... I will become the god of this world. And all it's people will be mine."

Jack reached out to grab Anti's arm, but his hand went right through him as Anti glitched away. Jack opened his mouth to call out to Anti, but instead bent over in pain as something felt like it struck his chest. The room swayed around him as he stared down at his feet and struggled to breathe. A loud 'thud' and beeps made him fall to his knees and when he looked up at the metal door, he saw it open into a bright white light. Falling backward across the floor, he stared up at the blurry ceiling that seemed to rush by as a familiar voice stated aloud to someone. "What happened? Nurse?" A woman's voice quickly replied. "I was trying to pull the plug on him like his mom had requested... when he just suddenly started to have a seizure." The doctor's voice sounded a little impressed when he stated aloud. "He's trying to hang in there... He's a fighter. Stay with us buddy." Jack felt hands ghosting over his skin, before the doctor said a bit breathlessly. "His heartrate is climbing too fast. We need to bring it down. Hand me that!"

Jack jerked as something was stabbed into his arm, but the doctor merely told those pushing the gurney. "Get him hooked up to oxygen stat! Hurry nurse! We're losing him!" Jack's blurry vision faded to black and when he opened them again... he was laying in a bed in a hospital room. The doctor standing beside the bed stopped messing with a machine, when a nurse softly told him. "Doctor? He's awake." Jack turned his head a little, listening to the soft steady beeps of a machine and the light hiss of oxygen filling the mask over his mouth and nose. The doctor moved closer, removing a little flashlight that shined into Jack's eyes as he calmly told him. "Hey, buddy. Welcome back. Cutting it kind of close. But... reaction appears normal. Your heartrate is holding steady. I think you're going to pull through." Jack tried to lift his hand, but it felt heavy and foreign to him. The nurse quickly and gently stilled his arm, while the doctor told him casually. "Easy. Let's take this slow. Your body will be a bit stiff. You haven't used those muscles in about two months."

Jack blinked with confusion, causing the doctor to gently break it too him. "I'm sorry, Mr. McLoughlin. You've been in a coma for about two and half months. Upon reviewing your chart... someone slipped you... well, to put it bluntly. A nightmare inducing drug. It almost killed you... but it woke you up. You're in the ICU now. So... try and relax." Jack flexed his fingers, trying to loosen up his stiff joints. The nurse squeezed his wrist, giving him a smile as she told him softly. "When you feel a little better, we can let your family in. They will be so happy to hear you are awake." Jack tried to speak but his throat felt like sandpaper. Checking his vitals one last time, they slipped out and Jack noticed the painted words on the wall under the mounted TV that read. 'White Mountain Hospital.' Noticing the clipboard on the side table, Jack forced his hand to move to get it. He nearly dropped it but managed to flip it onto his lap. Adjusting it, he lifted it up to read it silently to himself.

"Jack McLoughlin. Brought in, in critical condition after a car accident. He was awake and mobile at the scene but collapsed upon arrival at the emergency ward. The subject was unable to answer questions and seemed confused. Possible signs of a concussion. After one hour within the ICU, the subject fell into a coma. Attempts were made to strengthen brain activity. Most attempts were successful with minimal relapse. Until four days ago, when the subject flatlined during test and became unresponsive for twenty-four hours. The likeliness of recovery was no longer guaranteed. Life support was scheduled to be shut off yesterday afternoon. Until the subject suffered a mild seizure brought on by an unknown dosage of a blacklisted 'nightmare' drug. Monitor for side effects closely. The subject is prone to asthma attacks." Putting the clipboard back, Jack inhaled slowly and exhaled slowly. He was breathing easier and despite feeling stiff all over... he was happy to be back. Had everything just been a bad nightmare?

Jack started to close his eyes, when the door quietly opened. Opening his eyes, he jerked in surprise as a man in a lab coat rushed over to his bedside. Tugging his medical mask down, the man who looked just like him shushed him. Checking his vitals, the man excitedly told him in a German accent. "It worked. Sorry if the process was painful. I had no choice. We can't lose you, Jack. We need your help. Anti in a few days, Anti is going to break out. I.R.I.S. has Chase. They'll be coming for you too... but I can't risk moving you just yet. So, just stay strong for me." Placing a hand on his shoulder, the man smiled warmly down at him as he added. "It's good to have ya back again, my friend. Remember. You're not alone." To Be Continued...