The sensation in the air around her was of peace and serenity.
It was as if she was floating, or enjoying a deep sleep. Whether time moved fast or slow it was undeterminable. Nothing seemed to matter in this place. It meant nothing.
She felt as if she could stay here forever. Sleeping was the thing she ever did. There seemed to be no hunger, no thirst, and no desire of any kind. It was always dark in this place, but she couldn't remember anything else...

Suddenly, all she felt was pain. It wracked her body, burned her skin. Everything turned a bleached white color. She tried to shut her eyes, but she couldn't escape the intensity of it.
"Can you hear us?" A voice asked, cutting through the blinding light. She pushed it away, wanting to return to the happy bliss of nothing.
"Miss don't fight us," the voice said. Strong hands gripped her arms and held her down on some type of uncomfortable bed.

A foul scent filled her nose. It was overpowering all of her senses. It was the smell of burning wood and something else, something rotten and decaying.
Blinking open her eyes, she saw a man standing above her, wearing a blue shirt and rubber gloves. It was the man who belonged to the voice. He had black hair and dark skin. He was putting a hanging pouch of liquid onto a metal rod. A thin tube fed from it into her arm. It hurt, but there was too much going on around her to notice.
"Can you hear me?" The man asked again.
The girl nodded.
"Good," the man said. "We're taking you to a hospital right now. We'll be there in a few minutes. You've got some minor burns on your forearms and bruises on your body, but you'll be okay. Just rest and you'll be alright."
She closed her eyes, wanting desperately to go back to the kind place where nothing mattered. Deep down, she knew that she would never again be able to return to the safe place in her mind. Though she couldn't go there she was able to fall into a deep sleep.

.

"Hey," a gentle voice whispered. "It's time to wake up."
Groggily, she opened her eyes. The light here wasn't as strong, it didn't burn her eyes.
She realized that she was in a hospital room, lying in a bed, covered with a warm blanket. A nurse stood next to the bed, wait for her reply.
"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked, she looked genuinely concerned.
"Fine," the girl answered, in a voice she didn't recognize.
"My name is Sherry," the nurse told her. "You're in Saylesville, Wisconsin. The date is Tuesday, July 16, 2007. You were in a fire accident, but you weren't hurt
badly. We tried to find identification on you and we've looked through dozens of missing person's reports and we can't find anyone matching your description. Can you tell me your name?"
Her name, her name. What was it? The girl though, searching every part of her mind and memory for the answer, but she only drew a blank.
Then it hit her. She couldn't remember anything. No memories came to her mind, any familiar faces or people. It was as if there was just a giant gaping hole in her mind where her memory belonged.
"I...I can't," the girl said softly.
"Why not?" The nurse asked kindly.
"I don't know it," she admitted.
The nurse looked skeptical.
"I'm going to check your bandages," the nurse told her.
She looked down and saw bandages cover her arms, from her wrists to her elbows.
The nurse cut the tape holding the cloth bandages together on her left arm and slowly unwound it. Burns lined the underside of the girl's forearms. As the nurse
unwrapped the girl's right arm, she saw almost the same thing. They looked like they could match. The nurse said nothing and wrapped the girl's forearms in new bandages.
The girl just saw confused, staring at the bandages, at a loss for any words at all.
"We think you might have fallen onto some hot embers when you were trying to escape from the church," the nurse explained.
"Church?" The girl said as she looked up at the nurse.
"That's where the fire happened. The best answer the police can come up with as to why you were in there is that you went in there to save the pastor who was bound near you."
The nurse looked down and when she spoke there was a deep sadness in her tone. "Unfortunately he couldn't be saved. Pastor Robert Carmichael was a good man. It was hard to lose him."
Silence descended on the room as the nurse seemed to get lost in her thoughts. The girl just waited patiently. It was obvious the nurse had known the pastor. They probably belonged to the same church.
The nurse seemed to suddenly shake herself out of the daze. "I'm sorry about that," she said. "I shouldn't be getting so caught up."
Her expression changed to a happier look. "The truth is sweetie, you have amnesia. You can't remember anything about you or your life before the accident. We're not completely sure as to what caused it. It's possible that a beam fell from the church ceiling and hit you good on the head, jumbling things up a bit. But it really is a miracle that you can function the way you are, most people would have difficulty doing normal things. Yet you don't. Are you okay?"
The girl looked completely lost and without hope at what she had just been told.
"Yeah," was all she could say.
The nurse went around to fluff up the girl's pillows a bit for something to do while the things she had told the girl sunk into her mind as she tried to make sense of them.
"Now we need something around here to call you by other than 'the girl with amnesia'," the nurse said bluntly with a smile, trying to make the girl laugh.
The girl didn't respond. She still held the look of utter confusion on her face.
The nurse went on. "How about Sarah, or Alicia, or maybe even Lydia?" She asked.
None of those names seemed to stick with the girl. They didn't fit her.
"Actually you remind me of a friend that I had when I was growing up. Her name was Kasey Locks and she looked like you," the nurse told her.
"It's fine," the girl said, cutting off any more suggestions.
"Oh alright,'' said the nurse. She smiled brightly, but the girl could tell it was forced. "Good. Then Kasey it is. I'll go and get you some breakfast."
The girl, now Kasey, nodded and watched the cheery nurse walk out the door. She realized now that she was hungry as her stomach rumbled at the thought of food.
Looking out the window, thoughts flooded Kasey's mind. Who was she before the accident? Did she have a life, a family, people who loved her? How did she end up in a burning church?
None of the questions had answers at the moment, but Kasey was determined to find them soon.
It was hard to believe that everything was gone from her memory, wiped away like footprints in the sand.
Sherry returned twenty minutes later with a plate full of warm food, eggs, a few pancakes, toast, jelly and a tall glass of milk.
"I made it myself," said the nurse as she set the plate on a tray next to Kasey's bed. "I know this hospital food isn't the best so I decided to make a little something. Enjoy."
Kasey couldn't wait to eat.
The nurse walked out and Kasey ate her breakfast in silence, disturbed only a bit by the hustle from the many people in the hospital tending to their duties.
When Kasey finished she walked to the window slowly. She still felt weak from the drugs they had probably given her.
Stupid gown, Kasey thought as she felt a draft. Grabbing a blanket, she walked back to the window.
It appeared she was on the second floor as Kasey looked at the ground below. The hospital was on a spacious lot with well kept landscaping. The police station was located just across the street. The hospital had to only be a block from the main road in town. A building, larger than most was just a few blocks away. It looked like a library from what Kasey could tell.
Someone knocked on the door and Kasey spun around to see who it was, not liking be taken by surprise.
The two men standing in the doorway seemed to take up the entire frame, though one stood behind the other.
They were both tall. The guy standing behind his partner was the taller of the pair by at least two inches, maybe more. He had a slender face and dark brown eyes. His dark hair was combed back from his face to give of the professional look. He had a lean body. Kasey thought he reminded her of a basketball player.
His partner was a bit different. He looked just a little over six feet with a body more muscular than his partner's. He had a pointed chin and full lips. His dark blond hair was cut short and styled up. From what Kasey could see, he had lighter eyes, probably a dark green.
Both were dressed in dark business suits and carrying brief cases. Kasey also couldn't deny that they were both very handsome.
"Good morning miss," the dark blond one greeted openly. "We're with the insurance company that St. Catherine's Church belonged to. We'd just like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind."
Kasey nodded and they stepped inside the room.
"We spoke with your doctors and they said you have amnesia," the taller partner said in a softer tone. His voice was smooth. "Can you tell us your name?"
They seemed nice enough. A conversation wouldn't hurt.
"Kasey," she answered.
"Hi Kasey," the taller one said with a warm smile.
Kasey couldn't help it, she smiled back.
"So miss..." the blond one started, looking for a last name.
"Just Kasey," she told them.
"Miss Kasey," he continued. "Can you tell us anything you remember about the fire?"
Biting her lip, Kasey tried hard to come up with a good answer for them, though it was more for herself.
"I really just remember a lot of heat and coughing on smoke. And then I was brought here," she told them.
"Anything before the fire?" The taller one asked.
"No. My mind just draws a blank," Kasey answered.
She noticed that neither one of them used their brief case. They appeared to be more for show. The blond guy looked uncomfortable in his suit.
"New suit?" Kasey asked.
"Yeah," he answered, laughing a bit, trying to be casual.
"No...strange voices or flickering lights?" the partner continued.
The question seemed odd. "No," Kasey answered.
"We're just wondering if maybe it was something electrical," the blond guy explained, answering Kasey's skeptical look.
"Oh," she said, part of her still unconvinced.
"Do you remember anything about the pastor?" He asked.
Don't they get it? Kasey wondered.
"No, nothing," said Kasey. Her voice was stronger. She hoped it portrayed the annoyance she was feeling.
"You sure?" The shorter partner ask, as if unconvinced by her answer.
"Thank you for your time," the dark haired guy said before his partner could go on. The blond guy gave his partner a look.
"Yes, thank you," he said smiling, though Kasey was sure it wasn't completely true.
He walked from the room and his partner followed him out.
Walking back to the window, Kasey waited for them to come out of the hospital. A few minutes later the two insurance guys walked out. The blond guy loosened
his tie as he looked like he was discussing something with his partner. They walked to a black older car parked down a ways from the police station. The dark haired guy walked to the passenger's door. The other guy tossed his brief case into the back seat, not caring what happened and got into the car. He started it up, a low rumble Kasey heard even from her room and they drove off.
The questions they asked were unusual, but they were nice for the most part and Kasey liked them, the taller one especially. He was kind and his partner seemed persistent.
Kasey had the feeling it wouldn't be the last time she would see the young insurance workers.