Sam didn't know how to respond to Tom, so she followed her instincts.

Her legs carried her all the way to the balcony before her mind caught up, but when it finally did she became aware of the fact that her breathing wasn't unlike an old woman's. She leant against the rail for several moments, allowing her body to recover from and her brain to process the last couple of minutes.

What Tom had said made sense, but she didn't want it to. She didn't what to remember all those horrible things, to remember who she actually is over what she thought she knew about herself. Least of all she wanted to find out about what kind of a person goes against their dead mother's wish. But, in the back of her mind, there was one thought that was ripping apart her resolve.

What about her brother?

He was the only real friend she had as a child; most people dismissed her from the potential friends list as soon as they got a look at her tomboyish dress sense. Those that didn't soon changed their minds after getting a taste of her quick temper. She couldn't give up on the one person who had stood by her.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and cringed slightly at the petrol filled air. Ever since she was young she couldn't stand the polluted streets of cities, instead preferring the quaint countryside towns dotted all over the UK with fresh air and ancient pathways that you could jog around for hours while praying that you didn't get lost.

Even if she did lost her sense of direction it never scared her, rather it thrilled her, the adrenaline rush you get out of racing around some woody area while trying to figure out how long you had before the sun went down and you froze. Some days she wouldn't find her way back, and ended up waiting for someone to realize she was missing before calling the police. More than one her mother had given her a slap round the face for scaring her half to death.

Sam sighed. Her mother. She was as tough as nails once upon a time, never letting how scared she was or how alone she felt really show around people. More than once Sam had walked into the kitchen and caught her crying over a picture of her husband, Sam's father, in his army uniform but not once did she ever accept any hand of comfort, arguing that it was her job to make Sam and her brother feel better not the other way around.

She wasn't sure if it was thinking about her mother was the catalyst, but suddenly her mind had taken her back to a far darker place in time.

The air was filled with the sound of people screaming, the smoke clogged her lungs and eyes. The machine gun fire whistled overhead as she fought to drag one of her injured colleagues back to the safety of behind the squadron she had accompanied, who were firing back with a frenzy.

They stumbled over every brick, more than once tripping over what felt like someone's lifeless body, but as the smoke became thicker it was impossible to tell. They both coughed and wheezed and the bullets wound to her colleague's leg splattered her uniform with blood. It was getting harder and harder to tell which way they were going, to the point where Sam had no idea if she was leading them either towards safety or towards their death.

The sand beneath their feet was also in their shoes, with the odd piece of shrapnel joining it and pricking their feet along the way.

The next few seconds of Sam's newfound memory was blurred, but involved her trying to turn around after realizing she had gone the wrong way and feeling the cold barrel of a gun pressing at her windpipe, accompanied by a harsh voice.

"Move, now."

The flashback ended as quickly as it came, and left Sam gulping down heaps of petrol laced air in the hopes of clearing her throat of the smoke from her memory. She then sat down upon the ground with her back to the railings and closed her eyes, now breathing deeply.

She didn't know what happened after the gun barrel had cut off her airway and she wasn't sure she wanted to. But at the same time she did. She didn't want to be haunted for the rest of her life by what she couldn't remember, like her brother's whereabouts and who she had actually become. She couldn't live like this.

Sam may have noticed Tom sooner had she not been so embroiled in her latest flashback.

"Sam are you alright? I didn't mean to upset y-" He began.

"It's fine. This wasn't you." Sam said flatly as she slowly stood up.

"Still, I'm sorry. I completely overstepped the mark." Tom said, giving her a look of concern. "What was this about?"

"Its fine and I flashed back to a day in the army." Sam replied in a way that made the summery day feel a few degrees below zero.

"What did you see?" Tom asked, stepping a little closer.

"I... Saw me. Helping someone." She replied slowly, frowning at the very last image she saw. "Then…"

"Then what?"

"Then… It doesn't matter. Look, Tom, I need a favour. Charlie said the ED was closed after it became too full, right?"

"Yes…" Tom replied, narrowing his eyes. "What are you..."

"Can you take me down there? I want to see it again."

…

Sorry about only being able to update once... My first exam is on the 13th and I've been going a little crazy with worry. Still, I did start my sequel to Haunted so I'm hoping that makes up for it :)

Thanks for reading and reviewing :)