by S. M. Bowles
I tried fighting myself free of Avery imagining that I was about to lose Herrik forever. I wanted to run to him and throw my arms around him and suffer as Herrik suffered knowing life would not be worth living without him.
"Let me go!" I growled. "Let me go!"
I sunk my teeth into Avery's hand to get him to release me. As I did my ears started ringing and the melee abruptly died down. One after the other vampires collapsed and plunged to the floor with their eyes wide open and their expressions frozen in shock. The only ones that didn't fall were Avery, Freya, Herrik and Carah. Carah was already on her back. She kicked her opponent to the side and sat up before scuttling several feet away. Avery released me and when I raised my eyes I saw Artur slowly approaching Herrik.
"Dear God!" I whispered.
I knew he had abilities not unlike Avery's but I never knew Artur was so strong. He was so carefully guarded and his power so well hidden under his friendly, unassuming exterior that it would have been impossible to discern how much strength he actually possessed. To see him unleash such a potent inoculant and neutralize so many adversaries all at once was unimaginable.
He made his way through the prostrate bodies then reached down and helped Herrik to his feet. Afterwards he looked my way. "Come," Artur called out to me and Avery. He glanced over at Carah, "it will only last a moment more," his voice was completely calm but his eyes hinted at the urgency he felt. She fled the chamber while Avery dragged me towards the hidden elevator.
Already the vampires that were furthest away began to moan and come to.
The car was right there waiting when Artur finally managed to wrestle Herrik to the far wall where the hidden panel was located. He stood aside and waited for Avery to force me in then Artur tried to squeeze himself and Herrik in but the elevator was too small for the four of us.
"Take Herrik!" Artur decisively commanded.
Before Avery could act, though, Herrik looked up at Artur, his eyes full of love and regret. He reached out and pressed the strange symbol, thrust Artur into the elevator and the door slid closed.
"No!" I cried out and fought desperately to free myself. "Herrik!" his name suddenly died on my lips as Artur laid his hand across my forehead and forced me from consciousness.
"I'm sorry," I heard Artur's voice in my head. "It's too late...it's over. I will not let you sacrifice yourself for a cause that is already lost."
Chapter 17
My face felt cold and wet. There were strange noises all around me and my eyes kept going in and out of focus. It was raining and someone was shaking me to wakefulness.
"Miss? Miss? Are you alright?"
It felt like I was dreaming as I slowly turned my head and tried to locate the face that the voice belonged to.
"Are you hurt? Can you sit up?"
Other than the terrible ache that was throbbing inside my head nothing else was hurting. I tried nodding but only managed a feeble assent.
"Here let me help you," and the man that was kneeling beside me carefully eased me to sitting. "Is there someone I can call? Is there a friend nearby or family that can help you?"
"Who are you?" I asked utterly confused.
"I'm Nathan," he half-smiled and then asked, "What's your name?" his voice was friendly but his tone seemed condescending, like he was talking to a child.
"It's...it's..." suddenly I realized that I didn't know...I didn't know anything. The man waited patiently while I struggled to remember. I started to shiver.
Nathan stood up and offered me a hand, "Well, maybe we should get you inside somewhere and warmed up then things will become clearer once we do," he gave me that odd, half-smile again and I wondered if he thought I was a simpleton or a vagrant of some kind.
I graciously accepted his help and once I was on my feet I took in my surroundings. "Where are we?"
"In the park, just outside the city," he answered as he led me away. "My car is over here. If you let me I'll take you to the hospital or the police. I think you might be in some kind of trouble and could use their help."
"Trouble?" I mumbled and tried to puzzle out what he could possibly mean by the statement. As we walked I did a quick assessment of myself to see if I had been injured or hurt in anyway. "I'm not hurt," I said confidently.
"Are you sure?"
"I...I don't know...I feel...lost..."
Nathan held the car door for me while I took the passenger's seat. He brought me to a nearby hospital but didn't speak to me during the entire ride. Every once in a while he glanced over at me and sighed. If I happened to look his way he would turn towards me and his mouth would twitch into that uncomfortable grin.
After explaining to the nurses that he had no idea who I was and that he could not get the information out of me he left me there. I was terribly dismayed as I watched him walk away. A moment later one of the nurses came around and slipped a band around my wrist then had me take a seat in the waiting room.
"Jane Doe," I whispered as I spun the tag around and around. Tears sprung to my eyes and I covered my mouth while I tried to choke back the fear that seemed to have a sudden stranglehold on my heart.
Everything seemed so wrong, so foreign to me - the people, the noises, the lighting - even the air had a sour taste to it. It was overwhelming as I sat there all alone taking it all in. The nurses glanced up from time to time and would either try to look or say something encouraging. My mind wandered away several times only to be startled back by a voice over the intercom paging some doctor, patient or other.
Eventually someone approached me with a wheelchair and a clipboard. He picked the board up from the chair and patted it for me to sit down, "Jane Doe, right?"
"No, it's...it's..."
"It's OK," he chuckled, "we'll get you all sorted out in no time!"
I wasn't so sure. I stood up and fretfully met the eyes of the nurses who had been watching me from their station. One of them nodded for me to go ahead and the other lent voice to the suggestion. "G'won, darling. We'll be right here when you're done."
Gingerly I took the seat and let the man wheel me away. He brought me to another small waiting area and while we were there he measured my height, my weight and had me look at an eye chart to get an idea of how good my vision was. I absently did whatever he asked and watched as he scribbled notes onto the paper attached to the clipboard.
When we were done he brought me to a tiny exam room where he took my pulse, blood pressure, then listened to my heart and lungs. Afterwards he told me that the doctor would be right with me and that I should take a seat and make myself comfortable.
The minutes ticked by and while they did I replayed all my memories up until then. It was so frustrating and so disheartening. All I could recall was waking up in the park with the strange man beside me, the trip to the hospital and everything that had happened since. I was on the brink of tears again when there was a subtle knock on the door.
The doctor cautiously opened it and smiling came in and introduced herself.
"Hi there! I'm Dr. Johnson," she held her hand out to me.
"It's nice to meet you," I mumbled unsure of what else to say.
"So," she put her reading glasses on and glanced at the papers she was carrying, "Jane Doe, huh? Can you tell me what happened?"
As she said this she took my arm and pushed my sleeve up above my elbow. She turned it over, carefully inspecting it then repeated the process on my other arm.
"Have you been taking anything?"
At first I didn't know what she was asking but then I realized why she was inspecting my arms and confidently answered, "No, I've never taken anything - not even an aspirin."
Dr. Johnson cocked her head at me, "You sound very sure of that."
"I...I am," I nodded as I considered whether or not I was really telling the truth.
"Hmm, interesting. Have you been drinking?"
I shook my head no.
"Any injuries?"
Again no.
"Were you with anyone when th
is happened?"
"I...I..." I thought of the man who had brought me to the hospital but that somehow didn't seem right, "no, I'm pretty sure I was alone."
"How old are you, Jane? May I call you Jane, at least until we know differently?"
I shrugged, it really didn't seem to matter to me what she called me. "I can't remember."
"Early 20's I would say. Do you go to school?"
Her questions kept coming and I did my best to answer them while she gave me another thorough inspection.
"I think we may need to do some tests, Jane. Amnesia can be caused by any number of serious..."
"Amnesia?"
"Yes. Amnesia can be a symptom of stroke, infection, degenerative disorders or any type of trauma. I think I am going to order a CAT scan for you and we'll need to do some blood work, too."
"Blood?"
"Yes. We'll need to test your blood for infection and we should do a cheek swab for a DNA sample. We can give your results to the police so they can run it through their database and with luck we might find out who you are!"
Dr. Johnson's face was bright with optimism but I felt completely overwhelmed. The idea of being poked and prodded in order to discover some hidden ailment when I felt perfectly fine was not a pleasant one. She must have seen my sentiments and the nervous looks that crossed my face. Hoping to ease my mind she carefully explained each of the tests she wanted to run and how they would be performed and what I could expect during the procedures.
I couldn't think of any reasons to object to any of them and signed a series of papers approving them all. Afterwards I spent the day being wheeled throughout the hospital and feeling very much like some elaborate science experiment as the doctors and nurses performed the various tests. Near the end of the last procedure Dr. Johnson came and firmly stated that though there was nothing quite apparent that was wrong she wanted to keep me overnight for observation.
Again, not knowing any reason why I shouldn't, I agreed to her recommendation and was given a private room several floors above the entrance to the hospital.
Night fell and I was brought a tray from the cafeteria and given the remote so I could watch TV while I ate. Though the food was tasteless and rubbery I was so hungry by then that I mindlessly ate everything they provided. When the nurse came to check on me she was quite pleased and asked me if there was anything more I would like.
"A shower?" I asked full of hope.
"There's nothing in your chart that would suggest you shouldn't. I'll bring you some towels and something to wear when you're done."
By the time I was finished I was more than exhausted and crept to the bed, adjusted the pillows then fell fast asleep. It was late morning by the time I woke again and I may have gone on to sleep much longer but I heard a great deal of commotion outside my door.
I put my hands behind my back and pushed myself to sitting. As I swung my legs over the side of the bed so I could try and find out what was happening someone burst into my room.
"Emily!"
I met the stranger's eyes.
"Oh, God!" she gasped. "It is you!" and a steady stream of tears burst from her eyes as she hurried towards me and threw her arms around me where I sat astonished and silent on the edge of the bed.
Behind the woman two men came in, just as awestruck and unbelieving as the woman that was holding me. One was much older and I guessed him to be the father of the younger man. They were both smiling and fighting back what appeared to be joyful tears.
"I can't believe it's you!" the woman cried. She pulled back and full of hope looked into my eyes. Her face fell a bit when she realized I didn't recognize her. "It's me, Emily! I'm your mother."
A twinge of recognition rippled through me as she grasped my shoulders and studied me for a moment. She stepped back and the man came up to me and took my hand in both of his. He smiled and gave me an emotional squeeze then kissed my knuckles.
"This is the happiest day of my life," he sobbed.
Then it was the young man's turn to approach me. Nervously he looked down at me, "I've missed you so much, Emily!" and much like the woman he threw his arms around me and held me close. "Thank God," he mumbled into my hair. "Thank God you're alive!"
I didn't know what to do. I couldn't find any words to express how I was feeling. They were all strangers to me. I couldn't, didn't remember any of them and just stared back in confusion as they bit their lips and cried their tears and told me how thankful they were. It was utterly disconcerting. They were all so sure and so happy and I felt exactly the opposite.
Soon they started asking questions that I couldn't possibly answer and telling me things I had no knowledge of whatsoever. My heart was racing, my head was pounding again, then one of the little alarms on one of my monitors started beeping and to their very earnest protests the nurse came running in then shooed them all away.
While she checked all my vitals to make sure I was alright a new doctor came in. I started to recover myself once the strangers who called themselves my family were gone. The doctor did a cursory check of my pulse and shined his little penlight in my eyes along with a few other token inspections.
"I think we had better limit your visitors for the time being. It's probably just too much stress for you under the circumstances. I'll talk to the nurses."
"Thank you," I mumbled then slumped back down onto the pillows. "My family," I thought to myself. "I have a family," but for some reason I just couldn't believe that they were it.
My mother was the first to return. She came in alone and sat on the edge of the bed clutching my hand and smiling.
"Oh, Emily! It is truly a miracle to see you! I have never given up hope and here you are...seven years later and here you are! I wish you would say something. Anything! Anything at all."
"I'm sorry," I said shaking my head, "I just don't know what to say. I...I don't remember you. Any of you."
Fresh tears sprung to her eyes, "It's OK, honey. It will come back. It will all come back. We'll help you however we can. We'll get the best doctors and find the..."
I sighed and looked away.
"I know it's hard to talk about just yet. I won't force you until you're ready but the police are here and they have a lot of questions. I'm afraid you'll have to speak to them."
I turned back to face her, "Why? I won't be able to tell them anything. They probably know more than I do!" I buried my face in my hands.
"Well, we'll put them off as long as we can. Daddy would like to see you. Would you mind if he came in for a few minutes?"
"Daddy?!" I said to myself, "Is that how she expects me to think of him. What am I 12?" I reluctantly acquiesced.
My mother stepped away and after a few minutes she returned with my father. He was clearly ill-at-ease and for the most part just stood nearby and watched while my mother bombarded me with a whirlwind of conversation. Her thoughts and ideas came one after the other and there was no cohesiveness to anything she was saying. It was wrenchingly painful. I was so overcome that I couldn't bring myself to take much of a part in the conversation. Besides no matter what she called herself, this person was a stranger to me and it was unbearably uncomfortable having someone speaking to me as though they knew me intimately when I had no idea who they were.
About an hour later the police finally finished talking with the doctors and staff and knocked on the door. I felt a wave of relief wash over me thinking that speaking with the police would be infinitely more enjoyable than listening to this strange woman that called herself my mother and watching the intense emotions playing on the features of the man that was supposed to be my father.
"I'll send them away," my mother assured me and rose to speak with them.
"No!" I stopped her in her tracks. "I...I think I would like to get it over with."
"Oh. OK, sweetheart. If you're sure you're ready."
I nodded.
My dad slipped up to the bed as she walked away, "Just give her some time. It's been quite a shock for her, for us
all. Once she's had a chance to recover she'll settle down."
I smiled, "Yes. Of course."
"I'll go see how Evan's doing," he patted my hand and kissed my forehead and I felt the first hints of a familial connection with them all.
He brushed my mother's cheek with a kiss as she returned with one of the policeman and let her know where he would be. After a final encouraging smile my dad left the room. My mother introduced the police officer and though she tried to persuade him otherwise he insisted that she needed to leave the room.
As I expected I couldn't answer any of his questions. When he finally concluded the interview he handed me a card. "If you think of anything, any time day or night, please let me know."
"I will," I said. "Thank you."
"Would you like me to send for your family?"
"Actually," I feigned a tremendous yawn, "I think I could use a little rest."
He just nodded and walked away. Once I was alone again I had a chance to think about and consider my circumstances. So far every test the hospital had run had come up empty. They had no explanation for my loss of memory and as far as they could tell I was the picture of health. Dr. Johnson seemed confident that I could be released at any time.
"But where will I go? Home? With...with them?" There seemed very little alternative. I had no recollection of where I had lived for the past, "7 years," my mother had said. There was nowhere else for me to go and as far as I knew I had no viable resources to use in order to obtain an alternative. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a life with the three of them, my mother, my father, Evan.
I sat there quietly contemplating my decision then rang for the nurse. Later that evening my parents checked me out of the hospital. My dad drove us home while I sat in the back seat with Evan and watched the world zip by. I tried hard to recognize the landmarks my family pointed out as we went along but there wasn't even an inkling of familiarity about them.