Chapter 36

Frigid

*Silas*

I walk for a bit attempting to clear my head from my less than recent confrontation. There may have been a small part of my conscience telling me to kiss her again, yet the other larger portion forcing me to keep my guard lifted and secure. "Snap out of it Silas!... She's just another person trying to get inside your head!" I feel as though I need to punch a wall. My world is being pulled in multiple directions and each time one side starts to pull harder, the others just force me back into a standstill. Sam was just one of those corners that for a short second got the upper hand. Now I'm back to where I began.

But before she showed up… what we're those strange images? I have no recollection to ever being on that pier before, let alone witnessing an event as such. Who was the person in the images? I need to talk to someone about this. And since I really don't know anybody I guess I only have one option on who to turn to. I pull a slip of paper out of my wallet and begin dialing the number written on it. After a few rings the woman's voice greets me at the other end. "Hello?" "It's me… I need to see you right away." There's a brief moment of silence before she answers. "Just give me a location and I'll be there in 10 minutes." "The loading docks near pier 52." "I'll be there."

10 minutes pass quickly as I sit on a bench watching the passing ships. The docks sit full of cargo waiting to be loaded onto the huge vessels. Even though its 10 degrees out the moving currents refuse to let the water freeze over. A sudden sound of footsteps causes me to turn my head to see the blonde woman from the bar with a wide smile on her face. "Sorry I'm late." She apologizes. "So what's so urgent that I had to come meet you as spoken 'right away'?" I stand and walk over to her. Before I can even think of an easier way to say it I blurt it out. "I remembered something."

There's a surprised look on face which only causes me to wish I would have held back a bit. "I see…" "Well actually I don't truly know if it's a real memory or my mind simply playing tricks on me." "What was this supposed memory of?" Her reaction shifts from surprised to vaguely intrigued. "So I was on one of the piers getting some fresh air when I came upon this abandoned crime scene. I was going to go another way but it felt like something was drawing me in. But after looking around for a bit I started seeing fuzzy flashes of these images of a person struggling to stand then collapsing to the ground exactly where I saw the imprint of a body in the snow."

I search the woman's face for a response. She thinks for a minute, pacing trying to come up with a logical explanation. "I have no idea of what to make of it and I just needed to tell someone. I realize you don't count for much as a friend let alone an acquaintance but I didn't know what who else to turn to." "No its fine….. and I think there may be a simple solution to what this all is." "Any scenario you can come up with will be better the ones I've had." "Silas you've been through an event so traumatic that it's caused your memory to have been erased. I'm no doctor but if I had to guess I'd say it's causing you to hallucinate."

"You think I'm going crazy?... that's just great." "I don't think you're crazy. I just think you're confused and unsure of what to do." "Well what do you expect me to be?!" I snap at her. Quickly I turn away and calm myself down. Silence fills the cold winter air once more. "Silas… I'm only trying to help." "Yep. Well there seems to be a lot of that going around." The woman's face fills will confusion. "I don't think I follow." I take a deep breath.

"The day that I lost my memory I was apparently out for hours. When I finally woke up there was this woman in my room who claimed she knew me and that we had some sort of past together. She was practically hysterical and I had no idea who she was. The doctor was eventually able to drag her out. After that craziness the doctor explained to me that I was suffering from amnesia." The woman makes her way back over to me and looks me in the eyes. "You said this woman was dragged out of there. So why should she be of your concern now?" I bite my bottom lip and let my eyes wander around.

"Because that wasn't the last time I saw her." "Let me guess. She approached you again." I laugh a bit. "More like tackled me. She caught me off guard and kissed me." "What'd you do?" "I didn't react well and pretty much threw her off me… After we exchanged a few words she was still so determined to get me to remember something I'm not even sure existed. I almost lost it for a second." I pause. "What happened next?" she asks. "She was so stubborn!… I tried to walk away but attempted to stop me….. So I grabbed her by the wrist and told her to back off." "…..I see." "I realize now that was probably not the best way to handle that situation." "No. Understanding I actually think you handled it quite well… She wasn't backing off so you just gave her a little motivation."

"Anyways after I finally got away I wandered for a while... I came across this bar hoping to find some time to blow off steam…" she cuts me off. "And that's where you met me." I manage a smile. "Exactly." "Still that was a few nights ago. I don't see why you're so bothered by this." "I'm still bothered because almost less than an hour ago she found me again. This time claiming she found the key to restoring all my memories." "By the looks of how things are I'm going to go out on a limb and say that didn't happen." "No….. But there was something about this last exchange. Something I can't quite explain."

The woman puts her hand on my face. "She's getting inside your head." "Yea something like that." "Don't let her. Because once she's knocked all your walls down your whole life gets taken down with it." I send her a brusque smile. "Harder said than done." I hear nothing but chilling winter winds sliding past our faces. "Well here. Let me help you." I'm quickly pulled into a frigid kiss unaware of anything else.