The screen flashes to a close-up of a painted face. The paint has flaked off in multiple points, the eyes are bloodshot, a strand of hair droops down across one eye whilst the mouth is contorted into a pained smile. The canines flash brilliantly against whatever lighting has been used by the camera man, and a velvet tongue darts out to lick the pearly white teeth. Danny bites down on his lip, hard enough to draw a little drop of blood. As he opens his mouth to speak, the red blood stains his teeth.

His eyes dart to the right, then to the left, before coming back to the camera.

The slightest twitch comes upon his left eye.

Danny spits out the last word, his smile turning into a dark sneer.

He lets out a guttural growl, flipping back into a smile almost as quickly as he had sneered.

Danny huffs hungrily, the top of his chest is just visible on screen and it’s heaving heavily.

Danny uses both hands to collect up his hair, getting it off his face.

Danny lets out a loud scream, forcing the camera man to stumble backwards in shock. Danny’s whole body is revealed to the audience. Most of his torso is bandaged up, bar his right shoulder and his left pec. His hands are still holding his hair off his head, and he’s still garbed in his wrestling gear. Danny stares straight into the lens, as it slowly fades to black.

The scene opens into a room with off-white walls, painted with pastel colored butterflies, rabbits and other ‘cutesy’ animals. The floor is laden with a sickly imitation grass wallpaper, and a fake stone path is sprawled across it. A multitude of voices have come together to create a buzzy white noise, phlegmy coughing and sudden shouts break the monotonous murmur every couple of minutes. The camera pans to the right, away from the wall and room full of people crawling through the last chapter of life begin to fill the frame.

Some of the elderly shuffle through the room in their walkers, moving as fast as their arthritic bones will allow them. Others sit in plump couches that threaten to swallow them, reading the day’s news. Not that they knew what day of the week it was, or who was their current president, it was more of a ritual than a source of information at this point. Some sat alone, mumbling into the air or being force fed their medications, these were those truly lost to the ignorance of dementia and still others sat across from each other, testing their mental capabilities in games like checkers or chess.

That is where we find out protagonist, Danny Imperial, sitting, in a long hospital gown and nothing else, sitting beside an elderly individual, in his eighties. The other man has a black checker piece in his hand and he waves it about the board, unsure where exactly to place it. Danny stares off to his side, looking at a lady being force fed her medication.

A few of the elderly jerk their heads at his crass comment.

Danny turns his attention back to the man sitting before him, who’s still figuring out where to put down his piece.

Danny reaches over to knock on the man’s skull lightly. The old man doesn’t seem to hear or feel him, but puts his piece down anyways, a giddy smile coming upon him. He manages to jump one of Danny’s pieces, and claims it for his own.

Danny mimics the look on the old man’s face, doing a little jig to match.

The old man frowns, clearly, he hasn’t heard a word, but is waiting for Danny to move.

Chris points emphatically at the board, gesturing at Danny’s pieces.

Danny finally looks at the board and picks up one of his pieces.

He hums to himself, hovering his piece over the board dramatically.

Danny drops his piece, taking one of Chris’ pieces back, to his opponent’s dismay.

Christopher is much quicker with his move, an obvious piece to take having popped up.

Danny looks up at Christopher with pleading eyes, as he moves one of his pieces without really looking. Christopher is happily clapping his hands, eyes glued to the checker board.

Christopher takes another one of his pieces, eating two of Danny’s pieces happily. He throws his hands in the air and lets out a tired chortle.

Danny lifts up one of his pieces, jumping it over four of Chris’ pieces. He places it at the opposite side of the board, flipping it over to turn it into a king. He laughs hysterically.

Giggling loudly for the whole room to hear, Danny smiles sadistically at the old man, who’s now whimpering and crying for his loss, nurses rush over to attend to him.