Chapter Six! Voila!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Everything an all belongs to SM.
Chapter 6 – Remembering
You'll never get away with this.
Her voice was even and sure. I took a deep breath.
Please listen, I'm not trying to get away with anything.
Bullshit.
Humans are such stubborn creatures. Once an idea has been placed in their head, they lose the ability to think with an open mind.
I'm sorry that you feel it was not worthwhile for me to guide your body, but I do need to access your memories. Would you please allow me?
Never.
The word was a short, simple six letters, yet held an ugly, hateful longevity.
Will you work with me then?
There was no response. Seconds ticked by.
Who is Jeff? Is he your brother?
I suddenly felt very foolish, talking to voices inside my own mind. Yet somehow I knew that Dana was very real. I was not alone in my own head.
I hoped this would benefit everyone.
I returned to my sketchpad, erasing the graphite skid marks Dana's hands had left on my picture. Slow and deliberate, I retraced the lines of his jaw and nose. When finished, I began absently shaded under the cheekbones, thinking about other matters.
Jeff, Jeff, Jeff. I knew I should report the information that Jeff was Dana's sibling, but I truly did not want to see my Seeker again. The information didn't seem crucial anyway.
I closed my eyes.
How many siblings do you have? I asked into the darkness. I had a strange feeling Dana had more than one.
No response. I wasn't expecting one.
I glanced out my window. The sun was falling towards the spread of hazy blue mountains in the distance. It was definitely past noon, maybe four or five o'clock. I should've been downstairs, eating dinner. I wasn't too hungry though.
I longed to step back into the body's memories, and explore Dana's past. It was like becoming a new person, accessing new thoughts and feelings. I sat down by the bed, keeping my sketchbook and pencil close beside me, in case I needed them.
I fell into another of the body's memories.
It was dark and warm here. I – Dana – was sitting upon a bed of dirt underneath the floor boards of a…a…
The exact type and make of the building vanished from my thoughts, even though I had known it only seconds earlier.
I was underneath floor boards. I could hear several bodies breathing beside me, all asleep. I was talking to someone in a hushed whisper, a woman. We had waited until nightfall to speak of it, because of its secrecy.
I squinted at the memory, trying to make out the face of the woman. My attempts were fruitless. It was too dark to even spot my own two hands.
I tried to quiet my own thoughts, to listen to the conversation. The words leaving my – Dana's? – mouth were harsh, and seemed to reverberate through the darkness. I couldn't understand them.
Dana? I asked myself, Are you doing this?
I waited a few seconds, pulling myself out of the memory and sighing.
If you won't help me, they'll discard the body.
Still, no response. I clarified, in case she didn't understand what that meant.
If you don't help me, you'll –
I know what it means! I know what will happen! She exploded.
I was taken aback by her sudden angry response. Humans were so unpredictable.
Even so, I contemplated her words for a second.
So you'd die to protect these rogue humans?
Yes.
She answered the second I finished the question. There was no hesitation in her voice, no waver of uncertainty.
But don't you see? I asked, getting frustrated with her narrow-mindedness, You're not protecting them! You're making them suffer in this such a violent and unstable world!
I felt Dana's presence drifting away. She had left the conversation.
The room suddenly seemed eerily silent. I picked up my pencil and began adding lines of hair to Jeff's picture. It wasn't necessary, but the scratching of my pencil against paper helped me feel less alone.
Jeff, Jeff, Jeff. I repeated in my head. I spelled his name out on paper, in fancy, curling script.
Where was he now?
Another memory tumbled through my mind.
I was in my bed, a soft mattress with pale yellow sheets.
Much more comforting than my cold and sterile cot.
My head was laid back on the pillow. I was thinking about Jeff. He was in college…his third year. He had left a few months ago, and this body missed him terribly.
But I was hopeful because…because he was coming home today.
And today was Thanksgiving.
The details of the memory flooded back to me.
I rolled out of my bed, filled with new excitement. This body was aching to throw its arms around Jeff like a little girl.
I remember dressing comfortably, in a soft pink sweater and jeans.
Quickly, I threw a glance down at my cotton tee-shirt and rough, ill-fitting denim pants.
I was counting the minutes until he was supposed to arrive: later today, at twelve o'clock, just in time for lunch.
I pushed against the bathroom door to wash up.
There was a strange body leaning over the sink, splashing water on its face.
I recognized it almost immediately.
"Jeff!" I squealed.
He looked up, spreading his arms, "Dana!"
Laughing, I bounded across the bathroom into his arms. We stayed, embraced for a moment.
"Why are you here, now?" I asked, looking up at him.
"I decided to sneak in here a little early."
I pulled out of his hug, giggling as I realized he had grown a beard while he was gone.
"What's up with the facial hair?" I asked.
He grinned, stroking it with his fingers.
"You like it?"
"It makes you look like a…" I said, trailing off, trying to find the right words.
"It makes me look like what," He said, placing his hand over his heart in mock hurt.
"A grown-up," I said, wrinkling my nose, "it makes you look like a man."
He laughed. "Well Kate thinks it looks sexy."
Kate?
"Kate! Is she here?" I squealed.
He laughed and nodded. "She's downstairs with mom."
The memory cut off there.
Kate. Bits and pieces of her face came back to me. Pale skin and a spatter of freckles. Feathery brown hair always in a ponytail. I couldn't pinpoint exactly…who she was though.
I found Kate. I said, expecting another splitting headache or an angry explosion from Dana. But there was nothing.
I moved my hand across a new page, drawing a thin, oval shaped face. I sketched the outline of her ponytail and the placement of her eyes. What color were they? Blue? Green?
Who's Kate?
I felt the need to keep the conversation going, even if it was one-sided. It was too quiet in this room.
Kate was Jeff's girlfriend.
Dana's voice came back, faintly.
Emphasis on 'was.'
I knitted my brows, confused.
I don't understand what you mean. Did she…die?
I felt Dana tense up.
Worse, she growled, She was erased. You people stole her.
Ah. Kate was guided out of the human's violent ways. I felt a rush of happiness for her.
I ignored her Dana's "erased" comment, and instead leaned back against my bed, thinking about laughing with Jeff. How safe I – this body – felt when he hugged me. A tiny smile played on my lips.
Dana sent an image of Jeff, standing cold and hard, with silver ringed around his dark eyes.
My smile vanished.
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