I took a deep breath, then opened the door again. She was still huddled in the corner, half curled up in a way that suggested that her rib was hurting her too much to do more.
I closed the door, and leaned up against it, wondering what to do.
She wiped her nose on her sleeve, watching me cautiously, looking a little like a trapped mouse.
I studied her, letting it sink in that she'd had her mind wiped clean, and that she had no idea where she was, or what was happening. In that moment, I knew exactly what she was to me; she was a frightened victim, and I needed to calm her down.
I put on my kindest smile, and walked over to her, sliding down the wall so that I was sitting near her, but not blocking her in.
She studied me for a while, gears churning behind those blue eyes, then she took a shaky breath. "I should know you, shouldn't I? I'm sorry… It's just, everybody keeps asking me questions that I don't know the answer to, and they wont answer any of mine… Or am I jumping to conclusions again?"
I shook my head, and pointed to her, then to me.
"We don't know each other, or I'm not jumping to conclusions?"
I was used to her reading me like a book. This was hard. I pulled out my O.W.C.A. wallet, and showed her the pictures of Doof, me, and her.
She gave a little gasp, and snatched the wallet, staring at it like it was the first tangible proof she had that she hadn't just appeared here. "Who's he? And who are you? Who am I for that matter? Oh, please, help me! I, I don't remember anything, and it's awful!"
No amount of reasoning could have stopped me from reaching out and holding her hand right then.
I pulled the phone from my pocket, and typed out a quick text, turning the phone so that she could read it. 'Tell me what happened?'
"Well I don't know what happened. It's hard to explain, apparently, because everyone thinks I'm nuts. To be honest, I'm relieved that you know me, because I was starting to think…" she looked over her shoulder, then whispered. "I was starting to think I might be an android or something."
What?
"I woke up on that bed over there, hooked up to all those creepy scanners. My mind was a complete blank. People kept coming in and checking on me, but no one spoke to me for a really long time." Her voice trembled a bit, so I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
She gestured towards the phone. "I know how to read, and walk, and I recognized what everything is, but I didn't know how I know those things. Anyway, after all that, an old man with a mustache and a monobrow came in, and started asking all sorts of things I don't know, and I realized that… I don't know who I am, or where I came from, or… anybody." She gave me another long, calculating look, then sighed in defeat. Her voice was timid and apologetic. "What's your name?"
I wanted her to know it. To remember on her own. But I couldn't have her calling me Agent Plats anyway. 'Perry. My name's Perry.'
"Perry. Huh, it might just be the pictures, but that does have a familiar ring to it."
She hesitated, then gave me a quick hug. "It's so nice not to be alone!"
I hugged her back, nodding.
I got up, and held my hand out to help her off the floor.
As I led her out of the building, my mind was racing. I couldn't bring her home without being relocated, memory wipe or not. And I certainly couldn't bring her to my home. But I didn't have much time if I was going to convince her to trust me before dinner.
So I ended up following my gut instinct; I took her to Annie's house.
There was no car in the driveway, and the place was locked up tight, but I had one of the two keys in existence, and I know her security codes, so it wasn't a problem.
Hilda followed me in, looking around uncertainly. "Do I live here?"
I shook my head, and grabbed a tablet from the coffee table. 'This is a friend's house. She's on vacation right now, but you'll be safe here until she comes back.'
She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Is she your friend, or mine?"
'She's a mutual friend.' I was stretching the truth a bit, but really, Hilda and Annie had never had anything against each other. It was more of a, you're the sister of my best friend's nemesis, sort of… complicated mess. The important things was, I knew she wouldn't mind Hilda crashing there, especially under the circumstances.
She wandered around, looking at everything, but mostly just sneaking little glances at me. I could almost feel the questions she was hesitating to ask, but maybe I was just making assumptions based on the questions she'd fired at me the first time we met.
I scribbled another note onto the pad. 'No, I can't talk, and yes, yes my hair really is this color.'
She looked away in embarrassment. "Sorry… I just… it's weird that I used to know you. I sort of want to ask what you're like, but right now, I wanna know what I'm like. And what's with the accent? Is it me, or them?"
I smiled, and pointed at her.
She slumped onto the couch. "Oh, great." She was still looking around like she was expecting something.
'Ask your questions.'
She stared down at her shoes. "I don't want to sound ungrateful, but… is there… you know… anyone else?"
I blinked, not knowing how to take that until she kept going.
"Am I just, completely alone in the world, or do they just not care enough to be here?"
Wham. Right in the conscience. And how the heck was I supposed to answer that? Oh yeah, you've got more biological family than you can shake a stick at. I'm the one who ought to be alone in the world now. It's just that, only one of them cares that you're alive, and he's my nemesis, so if you'll excuse me, I need to hurry home to my wonderful family and leave you here with zilch.
"Oh."
I winced. By necessity, I have one of those faces, and my guard wasn't exactly up, so I'm sure she caught some of that. I forced a smile, and showed her where to find everything, except Annie's office, and told her to make herself at home.
'I live just a couple blocks away, so if you need anything, just give me a call.' She still had that worried look on her face as I jotted down my number.
I gave her a thumbs up, and turned to go.
"Perry?"
I froze, trying to remember if I'd ever heard her say my name. When I turned to look at her, she was trying to look brave. "Thanks, for… you know. Getting me out of that horrible place. This is much nicer."
I smiled and tapped the small rectangular box that housed the keypad for the security system.
She nodded. "I remember. I'll stay put, and if it goes off, I'll hide in the upstairs closet, and I won't try to shut it off."
I gave her a thumbs up, and turned to go, going over my mental checklist one more time to make sure I'd covered everything. Even if it took Hilda a while to remember how to cook, I was sure Annie had the cupboards stocked with enough sweets and baked goods that she wouldn't go hungry.
The lonely thing I couldn't help right now, but I was going to fix this.
I had to.
