Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-43311054-20191230215000/@comment-43311054-20200131212448

Chapter 6

There were flashes of screams, of red, of fire. Face after face passed through her vision, but she couldn’t tell who was who. She didn’t know anyone.

There was a brown-haired boy, teal eyes tinted black, as he stared at her angrily from the other side of a room.

There was a boy with strawberry blond hair, periwinkle eyes glimmering as a dimple popped out, and then that same boy, face apologetic and suddenly horrified.

There was a blond boy, ice blue eyes twinkling, as he bit into a small elf-shaped cookie.

There was a boy with short, black-brown hair, looking at her for a painfully long time as his lips moved before heading away from her.

There was a boy with silver-tipped hair, his face turned away before something slammed into his head and he went away.

There was a girl, blonde braids woven through her hair, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her to a table. She could feel the group of boys she’d been sitting with look after her as the girl plopped into a chair and the scene shifted.

Another girl, her hair the same chocolate color and her eyes the same teal as one of the boys’, was lying in a pool of blood—was it hers?—surrounded by glass shards.

A girl with familiar silver-tipped hair looked at her as they locked hands and rose into the air, water everywhere.

And then…then what? More faces, suddenly coming and going even faster than those few that she’d been able to focus on just a moment ago. She felt as if there was a soft color seeping into her brain. Was that even possible? But—if it was actually possible—then what color was it? What was happening to her? She tried to rack her brain, but whoever she was, whatever was happening with her, she couldn’t remember.

A soft voice whispered in her mind, “Sophie.” Her mind flashed to an image of the teal-eyed boy before wondering who Sophie was.

Another wave of soothing color swept over her, and the face of the blond boy flashed across her mind, something clicking.

Keefe. His name was Keefe.

And the other boy…was it something like Fitz?

How did she know?

And then her mind flashed backward.

Fitz. His brother had betrayed him…and hadn’t she gotten his heart hurt? She had. It was her to blame for that. Her mind was saying so.

And…his name was Dex. The dimpled one. Oh, he’d gotten kidnapped. And…a scar? That was from the kidnapping. She’d been there, hadn’t she. It wasn’t a question. She knew, that whoever she was, she’d been there. There was no question of whether or not it was her fault. Of course it was.

Keefe. She remembered something seeping into him, shutting him down, hurting him. And had that been her fault also? Her mind wanted her to believe that even more, and so she did.

Wylie? Wylie! That was his name! His father was broken, somehow and his mother was killed. And it was her fault as well—they’d both been lost protecting her. No matter who she was, she wasn’t worth that.

And her mind tried to show her more, but she refused to see those horrible things. Suddenly she didn’t want to wake up, because she didn’t want to hurt any of these people. They looked so wonderful, so happy, and anything that had happened to them was her fault.

Something started to pull her back, something darker, and she panicked. So she pulled herself from the darkness.

“She’s okay, right?” someone said. It was the same boy who’d spoken before.

“Yes, Fitz, she’s alright.” Another voice spoke, and another face, similar to the boy's, flashed across her eyes. She could hear the obvious lie in the voice, but she didn’t understand. Were they talking about her.

Suddenly she realized that she could move, and she opened her eyes slowly, scooting to sit upright on the bed she was currently laying in. The face of the teal-eyed boy, Fitz, stared at her as she blinked.

“Sophie? Sophie? Are you alright? Hello?” He strode right in front of her and leaned close, causing her to shift uncomfortably and move away.

“Who…” her voice croaked, heavy. “Who’s Sophie?”

The little color that had been in the boy’s face before drained away.

“Who’s Sophie?” he repeated, his eyes wide. “No, no, no, no. No. No. This can’t be happening. No, no. Please. Sophie. You’re Sophie, remember?”

Sophie, that was an interesting name. So that was what everyone called her?

“I don’t remember, no. If it helps…I know who you are,” she said apprehensively. “I don’t remember much about you, but I know who you are.”

The boy—Fitz—frowned, furrowing his brow as he asked, “Then who am I?”

She replied quietly, “You’re Fitz.”

The man standing next to Fitz, one of the group of people surrounding her bed, spoke up. “So you’re saying that you remember Fitz, but not yourself?”

She nodded, looking down.

He tilted his head a bit and asked, “Is there anyone else you remember? Do you remember me?”

She studied him, eyes squinting, before she replied, “I know other people, but I probably couldn’t name them off of the top of my head. And you—I know that I’m supposed to know you, and I’m pretty sure you’re related to Fitz, but I’m not sure who you are, exactly.” The man nodded, a small smile on his face as if to try and cheer her up.

“Well,” he said, “there’s no reason to worry, we’ll just figure out who and what you know.”

Something tugged at her memories, and she asked, “Is there any reason why that sounds familiar? The worrying part?” The man’s smile grew a bit and he nodded thoughtfully.

“Well, Sophie, I’m not going to tell you my name, and nor is anyone else here. We’re going to see who you do remember, and then see who you can figure out from there. Would it make you feel more comfortable if most of us left?” She raised her head more for her eyes to scan the group. In the mass of adults was a couple in particular that seemed very, very familiar, but they were still strangers.

“Yes.”

The man nodded. “Very well. There’s no reason to worry, everyone, we’re going to figure everything out.”

Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, “Your name is Alden, isn’t it? And you’re Fitz’s dad?” A broad smile grew on the man’s face as he nodded.

“See? She’s remembering things already. And, Sophie, I’ll be right back. One moment, please. Fitz, stay with her for now.”

She and Fitz nodded, and as soon as the adults had left, there was an awkward silence.

She opened her mouth and stuttered nervously, “Fi-Fitz, why are everyone’s eyes blue-ish?”

Fitz bit his lip, glanced toward the door, and said, “We’ll explain it later. Now, Sophie—wait, do you mind if I call you Sophie, or should I call you something else?” Fitz’s eyes swept across the room, fists clenched.

“You can call me Sophie,” she assured him. “What is it?”

Fitz bit his lip again, striding closer, as he asked, “Do you really not remember anything about yourself?”

This time, she bit her lip, responding, “All I know is that I know about some people, and one of those people is you.” A small smile tugged at the corner of Fitz’s lips.

“Tell me, Sophie, what memories do you have of me? Do you remember anything about us?”

Something painfully strong pulled at her thoughts, but she held back her wince and replied shakily, “The only memories I have are painful, and I’m not really in them. I may know who you are, but I don’t know you.”

Fitz’s hopeful smile fell as he replied, “That’s okay, Sophie. We’ll work on it.”

But she could tell it definitely wasn’t okay.

She wanted to apologize for it, but then the door opened again, and she braced herself for whatever was to come.