Disclaimer: I still don't own them. We should all know who they belong to by now.

Author's note: I would like to thank all of my reviewers for their reviews! If anyone has any suggestions for the story, my ears are open. Thanks again for the encouragement!

Chapter 4

Trent awoke with a start. He couldn't remember anything. He frantically sought out any memory from his fog covered brain. But still, his mind remained blank. With growing panic, Trent tried to remember his name. But still, he could remember nothing.

He cried out in frustration and in fear. What happened to him? Why couldn't he remember anything? Who was he? Where was he?

Trent noted that he was in a comfortable bed and the room he was in had white walls. Was he in some sort of hospital? He quickly dismissed the thought when he noticed a black dresser and a desk on the far side of the room.

If he wasn't in a hospital, was he home? What if someone had kidnapped him? When he tried to conjure up memories from his home a blank, empty spot was all that remained.

His panic assaulted him once more. He became frozen where he lay. He battled desperately to come up with any name for himself. Trent…Trent was his name. Yes, he could remember that much at least. Now he had to figure out where he was and how he got there.

Trent's puzzled thoughts abruptly ceased when the door to his room was flung open and a strange man barged in.

Trent screamed bloody murder.

"It's okay! I'm not going to hurt you son! Just take it easy."

"NO!" Trent shouted.

"Trent, don't you remember who I am?"

Trent was hyperventilating from sheer terror by this point.

"NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you! Just calm down!"

"Who are you!"

"So you really don't remember me," the man stated matter of factly. "I am Anton Mercer. I brought you to my house after the hospital released you."

Recognition slowly began to seep into Trent's eyes.

"Why was I at a hospital?"

"Don't you remember?"

Trent thought hard. He recognized Anton but he still couldn't quite put it together.

Anton cleared his throat.

"I joined you and your parents on a dig about a week ago. The land was very dry and the air was simmering hot."

Trent shook his head as he tried to rid himself of the cobwebs that fogged his mind. He could feel his memories slowly returning, like a swimmer trying to surface out of the water.

Anton continued, "We went into the cave and started our dig. I forgot my camera and had to go back out to my car to retrieve it. You came with me…"

The rest of what Anton was saying faded out of his hearing. Trent's stomach lurched. He had a gut feeling that something bad had happened and now he didn't want to know.

"STOP! Please don't tell me anymore! I don't like this story!" Trent pleaded.

"I'm sorry son, but you have to know. Otherwise you'll have to go to a foster home and I'll lose you forever!" Anton's eyes grew misty.

"Okay," Trent softly whispered.

Anton sat on the bed next to him and struggled against the lump forming in his throat. He really didn't want to tell the boy but he had to or else social services would take him away. That would be even more traumatic for Trent.

Anton's reasoning was that Trent could stay with him because he was the one Trent knew, now that the rest of his family was gone. Anton tried placing himself in Trent's shoes and realized that he wouldn't want to be thrust out into the world and be handed over to a bunch of strangers either. Besides, he had more than enough money to take care of him.

"What happened?" Trent dreaded the answer.

"As we were walking back inside, there was an earthquake. The cave collapsed…"

Once again, Anton's voice had faded out of Trent's hearing. Horror filled his brandy brown eyes. Flashbacks seared through his brain like a movie on fast forward. They repeated themselves over and over.

Trent could finally take no more and screamed, clutching his hands to his head in agony. He wanted to erase those horrible images but when he attempted to block them out, they simply repeated again…