Chapter 8: Remembering the Memories
A/N: Look, sorry this took a while. Tid bits of it were written in class on various post-its and worksheets. I then had to come home, sneak on when my parents weren't home (which I'm doing now, I've been banned since I go on the computer all the time!) and type it all up. Sorry if it's a little short. The poem Abby refers to in the end is by Mirium Waddington (can't remember the name of it.)
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"Wait!" Dave stopped, suddenly, "I just realized. I have no idea what we're going to do!"
"You don't?" Luka asked, "Neither do I!" they heard a cry from inside.
"Wait!" Dave said, searching in his pockets.
"What?" Luka asked. Dave pulled out a police badge.
"My friend, Jake's," Dave informer Luka, "If I flash it fast enough, he won't see!"
"And what do I do?" Luka asked.
"Distract him while I search around the house. She shouldn't be that hard to find," Dave said. They rang the doorbell. It took a few minutes, but the same dark haired man answered.
"Hello, Dr. Kovac... Who's your friend?" he asked.
"Him? Oh, he's, er, Jake," Luka said.
"That's right, Officer Jake Franken, I am here to investigate the premises," Dave lowered his voice. His scarf was pulled over his mouth and nose, and Jacob didn't recognize him as the man he had left in the alley.
"Don't you need a warrant for that?" Crowe asked as Dave pushed him aside, walking in. Dave walked around the house. The couches and armchairs were all white, as was the walls, with scarlet pillows. Dave looked at them and saw no bloodstains.
"If I may ask, Officer, what did I do wrong?" Crowe asked.
"Uh, this is just a precaution, just to see if Lucy is around here," Luka said.
"But she wouldn't be? Why would she be? I've only seen her once and that was six months ago," Without warning, the two doctors heard a muffled cry for help.
"What was that?" Dave asked, suddenly.
"My cat. She can sound human like at times. She's still hungry, stupid thing, here, let me go get her and bring her down!" Jacob ran up the stairs. Dave and Luka heard the cry again.
"It's coming from below us," Dave told him.
"Yes," Luka agreed, "But where?" they scanned the room. Luka saw an armchair off the carpet and noticed a small patch of dust next to it.
"Luka," he whispered, "Doesn't that seem odd to you?" Dave walked over to the white armchair and moved it back over the dusty space. It fit over it perfectly. In place of where the chair had been, there was a trap door.
"Yes!" Dave hissed triumphantly. He opened it and it creaked.
"What's going on down there?" they heard Jacob call from upstairs.
"Um, the wind blew the door open. You should get that oiled!" Luka improvised. Dave smiled gratefully at him, "How's your cat?"
"She won't come out from under the bed, stupid thing! Don't worry, I'll bring her down in a minute so I can show her to you!" Dave licked his cold, chapped lips, took a deep breath, and entered into the dark cellar below...
Mark sat with Elizabeth, holding her hand, wondering if he'd ever see her eyes again.
"She'll wake up," Jing-Mei said when she entered, as if reading his mind.
"How do you know?" he asked her.
"I know," she answered, but he knew she was only trying to be reassuring. Mark took a deep breath and sighed.
"I should go see Abby. I know Kerry's breaking down..."
"No, you stay here. I can talk to Abby," Jing-Mei smiled and left. She walked down the hall and noticed Kerry screaming at Chuny.
"Randi said she saw you talking to them! Where did they go?!" she demanded.
"I told you, I don't know!" Chuny said, "And even if I did..."
"And even if you did what?" Kerry demanded, "You wouldn't tell me? I have a right to know, you know!" Jing-Mei walked over to them.
"Whoa, what's going on?"
"Chuny refuses to tell me where my doctors have gone!" Kerry said, frustated.
"Mark's in with Elizabeth if you need-"
"Not him, you idiot, Kovac and Malucci!" Kerry screamed at Jing-Mei. She looked down.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Chen, it's just too stressful right now and I'm not in a good mood," Chuny took a deep breath.
"Crowe," she said.
"Crow? Like the bird?" Jing-Mei asked.
"Not the bird, the person. They said they were going to Crowe's to find Lucy..."
"THAT'S IT! I have HAD it with those two! WHY THE HELL DO THEY HAVE A THING FOR NOT FOLLOWING ORDERS?!" Kerry screamed. She then took deep breaths to calm herself down.
"Relax, Kerry, I'll bring them back..." Jing-Mei offered.
"Oh no you won't! You are going to stay right here. Randi? Where the Hell are the police?"
"Police?" Randi asked.
"The police! The police I told you to call two hours ago?"
"Uh..." Randi smiled, nervously, "Well, I was going to, but then, um, Jing-Mei wanted help with Abby and, um, I sorta kinda forgot..."
"You WHAT?" Kerry screamed, her temper rising to a breaking point, "Give me the phone!" she demanded. Randi was only to happy do obey her. She quickly dialed 911 surprised that with all this going on, Randi had forgotten about it. But then remembered, with all this going on, it was hard not to forget about it.
Abby was becoming paranoid and overly sensitive and this was scaring people. She jumped whenever anyone put a hand on her shoulder and accused them of trying to hurt her. People thought she was going insane. She burst into tears easily and soon, everyone knew that this whole ordeal had torn apart her mind. Her security was gone. She felt exposed to danger and emotionally naked. She herself felt she was going crazy. Carter walked in.
"C... Carter?" she stammered through the tears she had been shedding.
"Uh... I'm sorry, I didn't know..." Carter muttered and made to leave.
"No! Don't... Don't go!" she cried. Carter turned.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Come..." she said, wiping away her tears and making a seat for him on the bed, "Why did you come to visit me? Did they tell you?"
"Um... I'm sorry, I don't even know your name any more. Am I supposed to know you?" Abby looked hurt.
"What?" she asked, a tear forming in her eye again.
"Well, the doctors here say I have amnesia. I couldn't stand it in that stuffy room a moment longer, so I sneaked out..."
"Am... Amnesia?" she breathed, shocked, "You mean, you don't remember anything? About me, about Elizabeth, about Lucy... What happened?"
"There was a car..." Carter trailed off. He was thrown into a flashback.
"She was pushed down the stairs?"
"Not pushed, pulled, by a black haired man with the most haunting green eyes. He scared me, Carter!"
"It's Ok, Luce, we'll find him and bust him,"
"CARTER!"
"What?" Abby asked after a few minutes.
"I... I just remembered something. A conversation... Lucy..." he was engulfed by another flashback.
"Ouch!"
"Oh, come on, it's tiny...it doesn't even need a stitch."
"Ouch!"
"Baby! There," Lucy kissed the cut, "Better?"
"Much."
"You OK?" Abby asked.
"Yeah... in fact, this is the best I've felt since I woke up... Could I keep talking to you? And, um... Could you help me... Remember?" Abby nodded, vigorously, glad for the company.
"But I might not be here for long..."
"Huh?" Carter asked, "Why?"
"Didn't they tell you? They're moving me."
"Where?"
"The psych ward. They think I'm going crazy," Carter stared at Abby.
"What?" he asked.
"I don't know. They say I'm being paranoid..."
"What was your name?"
"Abby," this triggered another flashback.
"Going swimming Luce?"
"Abby fell in and I can't find her! Stay there! I'll get her out!"
"You fell in a lake?" he asked.
"River," she corrected, "And was threatened by someone who... used to stalk me. He almost killed me! Then, he made me blame it on Lucy. I felt terrible and had to tell someone the truth so I did. Now, I'm scared he's going to come back and kill you, me, Elizabeth-"
"Elizabeth... She's the one that fell down the stairs!" Carter felt proud. He was piecing it all together. A look of astonishment crossed Abby's face.
"You're remembering!" she said. She laughed with joy and then stopped, abruptly, a strange look coming across her face.
"What?" Carter asked.
"Well... That's the first time I laughed since... Since I fell in..." she said, dully as if her mind wasn't there. She stared out the window. She smiled again.
"I'm glad you're here with me, Carter," she said, "Dr. Chen, she tried to comfort me, but... And Randi was no help. They all scared me. For some reason I felt that they were in league with Jacob... that's the stalker," she added, knowing Carter wouldn't know, "And... Well, you, I know that you can't hurt me, especially because you don't act like they do..."
"What do you mean?" Carter asked.
"Well, they treat me almost like a child, I guess. Because I've been crying so much. And they act... They act as if I don't know anything and explain everything to me."
"Why?"
"I don't trust anyone anymore. Anyone could be on Crowe's side. So they try to get through to me by using small words. It doesn't work. I know Crowe sent them after me. But you don't even remember anything, so how could you be with him?" she paused, "Unless you're faking it!" she accused, standing up off the bed, "Faking it to give me a false sense of security! You sure know a lot about yourself for an amnesia victim-"
"Thanks to you!" Carter interrupted, helping her back onto the bed, "You've been the one helping me remember! What you say brings back the memories... Please, trust me, Abby, I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to, look at this thing!" she said, pointing to the bandage around his head. Abby relaxed.
"I guess you're right," she sighed. Then, her eyes lit up again, "Hey! I have an idea!"
"What?"
"Well, I can help you remember, and you can help me get my sanity back!"
"Abby, I personally don't think you *ever* lost it," Carter smiled at her. He was determined to remember and this woman was going to help him.
"I don't think you ever really forgot, Carter. There was a line in a poem I read somewhere, um... 'Singing and murmuring, the past is reminding us to never forget.'" She smiled back.
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Please oh please review! Feedback keeps me going! Don't you wanna see what else carter remembers? If Dr. Corday wakes up? If Abby regains her sanity? If Lucy ever gets out of that stinking Hell hole and if Kerry's gonna fire Dave and Luka for leaving? Gimme your thoughts!
A/N: Look, sorry this took a while. Tid bits of it were written in class on various post-its and worksheets. I then had to come home, sneak on when my parents weren't home (which I'm doing now, I've been banned since I go on the computer all the time!) and type it all up. Sorry if it's a little short. The poem Abby refers to in the end is by Mirium Waddington (can't remember the name of it.)
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"Wait!" Dave stopped, suddenly, "I just realized. I have no idea what we're going to do!"
"You don't?" Luka asked, "Neither do I!" they heard a cry from inside.
"Wait!" Dave said, searching in his pockets.
"What?" Luka asked. Dave pulled out a police badge.
"My friend, Jake's," Dave informer Luka, "If I flash it fast enough, he won't see!"
"And what do I do?" Luka asked.
"Distract him while I search around the house. She shouldn't be that hard to find," Dave said. They rang the doorbell. It took a few minutes, but the same dark haired man answered.
"Hello, Dr. Kovac... Who's your friend?" he asked.
"Him? Oh, he's, er, Jake," Luka said.
"That's right, Officer Jake Franken, I am here to investigate the premises," Dave lowered his voice. His scarf was pulled over his mouth and nose, and Jacob didn't recognize him as the man he had left in the alley.
"Don't you need a warrant for that?" Crowe asked as Dave pushed him aside, walking in. Dave walked around the house. The couches and armchairs were all white, as was the walls, with scarlet pillows. Dave looked at them and saw no bloodstains.
"If I may ask, Officer, what did I do wrong?" Crowe asked.
"Uh, this is just a precaution, just to see if Lucy is around here," Luka said.
"But she wouldn't be? Why would she be? I've only seen her once and that was six months ago," Without warning, the two doctors heard a muffled cry for help.
"What was that?" Dave asked, suddenly.
"My cat. She can sound human like at times. She's still hungry, stupid thing, here, let me go get her and bring her down!" Jacob ran up the stairs. Dave and Luka heard the cry again.
"It's coming from below us," Dave told him.
"Yes," Luka agreed, "But where?" they scanned the room. Luka saw an armchair off the carpet and noticed a small patch of dust next to it.
"Luka," he whispered, "Doesn't that seem odd to you?" Dave walked over to the white armchair and moved it back over the dusty space. It fit over it perfectly. In place of where the chair had been, there was a trap door.
"Yes!" Dave hissed triumphantly. He opened it and it creaked.
"What's going on down there?" they heard Jacob call from upstairs.
"Um, the wind blew the door open. You should get that oiled!" Luka improvised. Dave smiled gratefully at him, "How's your cat?"
"She won't come out from under the bed, stupid thing! Don't worry, I'll bring her down in a minute so I can show her to you!" Dave licked his cold, chapped lips, took a deep breath, and entered into the dark cellar below...
Mark sat with Elizabeth, holding her hand, wondering if he'd ever see her eyes again.
"She'll wake up," Jing-Mei said when she entered, as if reading his mind.
"How do you know?" he asked her.
"I know," she answered, but he knew she was only trying to be reassuring. Mark took a deep breath and sighed.
"I should go see Abby. I know Kerry's breaking down..."
"No, you stay here. I can talk to Abby," Jing-Mei smiled and left. She walked down the hall and noticed Kerry screaming at Chuny.
"Randi said she saw you talking to them! Where did they go?!" she demanded.
"I told you, I don't know!" Chuny said, "And even if I did..."
"And even if you did what?" Kerry demanded, "You wouldn't tell me? I have a right to know, you know!" Jing-Mei walked over to them.
"Whoa, what's going on?"
"Chuny refuses to tell me where my doctors have gone!" Kerry said, frustated.
"Mark's in with Elizabeth if you need-"
"Not him, you idiot, Kovac and Malucci!" Kerry screamed at Jing-Mei. She looked down.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Chen, it's just too stressful right now and I'm not in a good mood," Chuny took a deep breath.
"Crowe," she said.
"Crow? Like the bird?" Jing-Mei asked.
"Not the bird, the person. They said they were going to Crowe's to find Lucy..."
"THAT'S IT! I have HAD it with those two! WHY THE HELL DO THEY HAVE A THING FOR NOT FOLLOWING ORDERS?!" Kerry screamed. She then took deep breaths to calm herself down.
"Relax, Kerry, I'll bring them back..." Jing-Mei offered.
"Oh no you won't! You are going to stay right here. Randi? Where the Hell are the police?"
"Police?" Randi asked.
"The police! The police I told you to call two hours ago?"
"Uh..." Randi smiled, nervously, "Well, I was going to, but then, um, Jing-Mei wanted help with Abby and, um, I sorta kinda forgot..."
"You WHAT?" Kerry screamed, her temper rising to a breaking point, "Give me the phone!" she demanded. Randi was only to happy do obey her. She quickly dialed 911 surprised that with all this going on, Randi had forgotten about it. But then remembered, with all this going on, it was hard not to forget about it.
Abby was becoming paranoid and overly sensitive and this was scaring people. She jumped whenever anyone put a hand on her shoulder and accused them of trying to hurt her. People thought she was going insane. She burst into tears easily and soon, everyone knew that this whole ordeal had torn apart her mind. Her security was gone. She felt exposed to danger and emotionally naked. She herself felt she was going crazy. Carter walked in.
"C... Carter?" she stammered through the tears she had been shedding.
"Uh... I'm sorry, I didn't know..." Carter muttered and made to leave.
"No! Don't... Don't go!" she cried. Carter turned.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Come..." she said, wiping away her tears and making a seat for him on the bed, "Why did you come to visit me? Did they tell you?"
"Um... I'm sorry, I don't even know your name any more. Am I supposed to know you?" Abby looked hurt.
"What?" she asked, a tear forming in her eye again.
"Well, the doctors here say I have amnesia. I couldn't stand it in that stuffy room a moment longer, so I sneaked out..."
"Am... Amnesia?" she breathed, shocked, "You mean, you don't remember anything? About me, about Elizabeth, about Lucy... What happened?"
"There was a car..." Carter trailed off. He was thrown into a flashback.
"She was pushed down the stairs?"
"Not pushed, pulled, by a black haired man with the most haunting green eyes. He scared me, Carter!"
"It's Ok, Luce, we'll find him and bust him,"
"CARTER!"
"What?" Abby asked after a few minutes.
"I... I just remembered something. A conversation... Lucy..." he was engulfed by another flashback.
"Ouch!"
"Oh, come on, it's tiny...it doesn't even need a stitch."
"Ouch!"
"Baby! There," Lucy kissed the cut, "Better?"
"Much."
"You OK?" Abby asked.
"Yeah... in fact, this is the best I've felt since I woke up... Could I keep talking to you? And, um... Could you help me... Remember?" Abby nodded, vigorously, glad for the company.
"But I might not be here for long..."
"Huh?" Carter asked, "Why?"
"Didn't they tell you? They're moving me."
"Where?"
"The psych ward. They think I'm going crazy," Carter stared at Abby.
"What?" he asked.
"I don't know. They say I'm being paranoid..."
"What was your name?"
"Abby," this triggered another flashback.
"Going swimming Luce?"
"Abby fell in and I can't find her! Stay there! I'll get her out!"
"You fell in a lake?" he asked.
"River," she corrected, "And was threatened by someone who... used to stalk me. He almost killed me! Then, he made me blame it on Lucy. I felt terrible and had to tell someone the truth so I did. Now, I'm scared he's going to come back and kill you, me, Elizabeth-"
"Elizabeth... She's the one that fell down the stairs!" Carter felt proud. He was piecing it all together. A look of astonishment crossed Abby's face.
"You're remembering!" she said. She laughed with joy and then stopped, abruptly, a strange look coming across her face.
"What?" Carter asked.
"Well... That's the first time I laughed since... Since I fell in..." she said, dully as if her mind wasn't there. She stared out the window. She smiled again.
"I'm glad you're here with me, Carter," she said, "Dr. Chen, she tried to comfort me, but... And Randi was no help. They all scared me. For some reason I felt that they were in league with Jacob... that's the stalker," she added, knowing Carter wouldn't know, "And... Well, you, I know that you can't hurt me, especially because you don't act like they do..."
"What do you mean?" Carter asked.
"Well, they treat me almost like a child, I guess. Because I've been crying so much. And they act... They act as if I don't know anything and explain everything to me."
"Why?"
"I don't trust anyone anymore. Anyone could be on Crowe's side. So they try to get through to me by using small words. It doesn't work. I know Crowe sent them after me. But you don't even remember anything, so how could you be with him?" she paused, "Unless you're faking it!" she accused, standing up off the bed, "Faking it to give me a false sense of security! You sure know a lot about yourself for an amnesia victim-"
"Thanks to you!" Carter interrupted, helping her back onto the bed, "You've been the one helping me remember! What you say brings back the memories... Please, trust me, Abby, I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to, look at this thing!" she said, pointing to the bandage around his head. Abby relaxed.
"I guess you're right," she sighed. Then, her eyes lit up again, "Hey! I have an idea!"
"What?"
"Well, I can help you remember, and you can help me get my sanity back!"
"Abby, I personally don't think you *ever* lost it," Carter smiled at her. He was determined to remember and this woman was going to help him.
"I don't think you ever really forgot, Carter. There was a line in a poem I read somewhere, um... 'Singing and murmuring, the past is reminding us to never forget.'" She smiled back.
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Please oh please review! Feedback keeps me going! Don't you wanna see what else carter remembers? If Dr. Corday wakes up? If Abby regains her sanity? If Lucy ever gets out of that stinking Hell hole and if Kerry's gonna fire Dave and Luka for leaving? Gimme your thoughts!