Jack Harden was no more. Gone were the memories, skill, knowledge, courage, and passion that once drove him. Gone was the reason gifted to all human beings. He was aware only of some sort of chaotic movement. He felt a strange burning when he tried to breathe. It was unpleasant, so he decided not to do that again. It was far too much effort to breathe. The world went from pitch black to blindingly bright, but he couldn't make sense of it. He had no idea what was wrong with the world, and lacked the interest to find an answer.<br/><br/>Pain. So much pain. Where was it coming from? What was causing it? He couldn't feel his body. He knew at one point he used to have arms and legs, muscles, skin and bones with which to feel and move, but those were gone now. They seemed to have left behind a source-less, all-encompassing pain.<br/><br/>Chaos. Water. Movement. Was that water? Why did it burn? Finally, a cool gulp of air. His body suddenly returned from wherever it had gone to, and it was screaming for air. His arms scrambling to find a way to breathe, clawing at the water around him. His jaws parted as wide as they could and he gulped in a deep, desperate breath of air. It burned. Oh god, it burned. He coughed and gagged up the sea-water, the salt burning once again. That was the source of the burn, he realized. He'd been feeling the burn of the salty water in his lungs. After several horrible moments that stretched on and on, he managed to cough it all up and breathe again. His body was nearly limp with fatigue. He became aware that he was treading water in what seemed to be open seas. The swells swallowed him so that he could see only a few meters around him. He had no idea if he was anywhere near anything, or anyone. His vision was dark. He knew what it felt like to lose consciousness. He recognized the signs.<br/><br/>With a painful thump, something collided with the back of his head. He saw stars, dropping below the surface of the water again. And the whole thing started over. Mindless, semiconscious chaos, pain, confusion, and finally a gulp of air. He searched for whatever it was that had collided with him. Part of the boat, he thought. Something wooden, anyway. It seemed buoyant  enough to support him so he threw his arms over it, centering the mass of his weight over it so that his head would remain out of the water. His arms and legs dangled weightlessly in the water, drifting and bobbing in the current.<br/><br/>For a while, he simply breathed, in and out, over and over, trying to clear his head. He knew there was something important he needed to remember, but he couldn't quite grasp it. Most of his memories remained just out of reach. Finally, the effort to remain conscious was just too great, and he drifted into unconsciousness. The sun beat down on his already bronzed back, which was exposed through his shredded clothing. He was Caucasian, so the bronze was obviously born either of vanity or of work. The broad shoulders, solid muscle, and various scars and healing wounds visible on what little of his body was not submerged hinted that vanity was not a flaw this man suffered from.<br/><br/>He slept on, oblivious as the debris he clung to carried him with the current. His long dark hair plastered to his face, deep black orbs of his piercing eyes hidden beneath their lids. He remained lost in a black void even when his toes, and fingers, drifting in the water, began brushing against the sandy beach the current had delivered him to. The waves pushed him higher and higher up the sandy beach as the tide rose.<br/><br/>It was a crashing wave rushing up and over his head, driving him into the sand again, that finally broke through the fog and woke him. He blinked foggily, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, and rolled over, pushing onto his knees to look around. He felt awful. Wobbly and weak. He saw nothing but jungle, sand and surf around him. It could have been any beach within thousands of miles of nowhere. Where the fuck was he?<br/><br/>He managed to push himself into a standing position and staggered forward. No use sitting there waiting for a telegram to explain things to him.