PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “I remember thingsmemories from my pastbut nothing as specific as what you are asking. It’s like a big, black blank.”

  He pressed his lips together firmly, nodded again, then took the D-file into his lacking grip and laid it on my lap. He pressed the red button on the top and tapped a few places on the clear surface. The screen blacked out momentarily before a red outline of a human head appeared with tangled cracks covering the left side.

  “This is the thermal x-ray scan of your body we did when you came in. As you can see, you sustained a very serious injury to your temple. There was no need for surgical repair, but you did receive ten stitches and a new hairdo.” He smiled.

  I ignored his pathetic attempt at humor, sensing he wasn’t telling me the truth. “This level of amnesia is normal for this type of injury?”

  “It’s possible. The severity of your memory loss is pretty rare, but you could gain more memories the longer you are out of the coma and once you resume your normal routine.”

  Something about the whole thing seemed off. Way off. Then, I remembered what he said and how it was similar to what Jenna had told me. Perhaps there was a connection? “Now tell me, who was it that asked you to oversee all of my care?”

  He paused, visibly stiffening, and glanced toward Jenna. She seemed to have an eerie calm about her as she sat in the chair and focused on the exchange between me and the ‘good doctor.’ He cleared his throat and returned his attention to me. “I’m afraid I don’t have an answer to that question. Just know that everything is being taken care of.”

  What a liar. He knew damn well.

  “Then who do I need to talk to in order to get these restraints off so I can go home?” I asked impatiently.

  He gave another plastic smile. “Miss Ellery, please understand, we want to make sure that you are stable and well enough to go home. I have no doubt that things will start falling into place, piece by piece, once that does happen, but let’s take one step at a time.”

  “And the restraints?” I asked, holding up my arms as far as they would go and giving them a little jiggle.

  “I’ll get the keycard, so long as you promise not to leave until you are released.” He raised his eyebrows at me.

  I smiled big and batted my eyes. A fake expression, but that was the best I could do. It seemed to work, because Dr. Barlow was smilingreally smilingwhen he removed the digital file from my lap and turned it off. His gaze lifted to mine as he asked, “Would you like anything to eat? The food here is superb.”

  “Whatever you think is best, doc,” I said with a shrug, figuring that being compliant would get me home sooner.

  “All right then.” He turned to walk out of the room but stopped at the corner by the wall. He looked over his shoulder and gave Jenna one of his plastic smiles before continuing out of the room.

  TWO

  NOT LONG AFTER THE doctor left, I turned my attention to Jenna. “You’ve gotta give me some answers.”

  “I can try to answer your questions, but I don’t know much more than you right now.” She gazed out the window as if she was less than interested in playing along.

  “What do you know about this accident?” I asked, carefully watching her reaction.

  She sighed, almost impatiently, but also sadly. “I know that it was a full transporter at takeoff, but you were the only one found.”

  “I was the only one that survived?”

  “No,” she said sharply, turning her gaze to me. “I said you were the only one found.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Neither do I,” said a man’s voice. Deep and luring. My guard popped up instantly, and a chill trickled along my spine.

  I turned my attention to a tall brunette with dark eyes and a smile that looked more like he wanted me for dinner than he was glad to see me. Completely feral. He wore a long, standard military trench coat with black slacks and shiny, black shoes. He kept his hands in his coat pockets and leaned against the corner of the wall as if he materialized there. I definitely hadn’t heard the door open.

  “Who are you?” I asked, attempting to keep my voice even.

  “Do you not recognize me?” He smiled again. I swore I could see the venom. The dimple on one side of his face bothered me, like there should have been one on the other side. But even that wasn’t quite it. There was history. A dark history. My palms itched and my heart fluttered faster. I wanted to run or fight. Not engage in more banter.

  “That seems to be the popular question for today. ‘No—I don’t—should I?’ is usually the question I ask in return.”

  He chuckled quietly. “Yes, you should, but given the circumstances, I understand why you don’t.”

  I nodded slowly. “Uh huh . . . ”

  “I’m Alexander Barabbas,” he said, then shifted his gaze to Jenna. “Could you excuse us for a few moments?”

  Immediately, she stood and walked out of the room, keeping her focus on the floor as she passed him. I raised an eyebrow at her, then shifted my gaze back to him. He watched Jenna walk out, turning his head as she passed, then slowly returned his attention to me.

  “I trust you are being treated well?” His eyes shifted to the restraints. His jaws visibly clenched. I swallowed hard.

  “I took off the monitors and tried to leave. They didn’t like that, so they sedated me, and here I am.” I tried to shrug, but the restraints didn’t allow for much movement.

  He nodded, removing himself from the corner and sitting at the foot of the bed, shoving my legs out of the way. Even through the thin layers of cloth, I felt something in his touch. It wasn’t something I enjoyed. Like the sticky, moist, clinging heat of mid-summer that always makes me wish for snow. Something I wanted to shrink away from rather than embrace. It didn’t match the impression he was playing at. It annoyed me to have another contradicting front to figure out on top of finding my memories.

  “They’re on their way to take them off right now,” I added, moving my legs further away from him.

  His cold, dark eyes stared into mine and held me in his gaze, as if he was desperately trying to find something within them. An uncomfortable, invisible weight pressed on my shoulders. The weight of him trying to invade my mind. I’m sure he thought he was being clever and undetectable. I instantly recalled the training that taught me how to recognize all forms of attacks, especially those on the mind.

  People were killed in similar attacks.

  Before it was discovered that there were gifts, or skillsets, such as psychic abilities, most suicides were chalked up to teen angst, depression, or stress. As soon as the Nepherium made themselves known, they taught those gifted individuals how to develop their skills and use them for good. It was only a matter of time before some of the gifted became corrupt. Those who can manipulate the mind quickly discovered how easily a mind could bend to their will. They could make their puppet place a gun in their mouth or leap off a fifty-story building.

  Luckily, I knew how to counter those attacks. I locked down my mind. I wasn’t going to submit. I knew that as soon as I looked away, or dropped my guard, I’d become an open book and would be as good as dead.

  The door to the room opened and sealed with the appearance of a nurse. I observed her from outside my direct vision. She had black hair and smooth brown skin. She paused at the foot of the bed with a shocked look on her face, taking in the sight of me and Alexander.

  “Oh, Mr. Barabbas, I didn’t know you were here. Shall I come back?”

  “Are you here to take her restraints off?” he asked with a tone that hinted more at a threat than curiosity. His eyes were still locked on mine.

  “Y-yes, sir. I am.”

  “Then by all means, do so,” he nearly growled, detaching himself from his seat and, thusly, my eyes. However temporary it would prove to be.

  I knew then, more than ever, to remain suspicious of him. He didn’t seem to know I was aware of his prying even though he clearly wasn’t too thrilled with not being able to get through. If h
e knew I blocked him, he wasn’t showing it.

  Quickly, she moved to the other side of the bed and slid the card through the reader at the top. The cuffs deflated after a short, yet cheerful, jingle. She flipped the small, metal clasp on each cuff and unwrapped them from my wrists, tucking each under the bed. With a nod to Alexander, she rushed from the room.

  He reclaimed his seat at the foot of the bed. “Have you eaten anything yet?”

  “It’s on the way. I just woke up.” I rubbed my wrists where the cuffs had been and sat up straighter. Crossing my legs, I gained a bit more distance from Alexander.

  “I know. I told them to call me when you woke.”

  “What is your interest with me, exactly?”

  “You and I were friends before the accident. I wanted to be more but you weren’t ready for it. So, this is my way of proving that you can rely on me.”

  I didn’t believe him. He undoubtedly held a key to my past and could possibly help unlock my memories. Despite his attempted mind invasion, my memories were all that I had that could tell me what happened. Until I got them back, why not take him for what he’s worth? He knew much more about my past than he was letting on. That much was evident. Friend or otherwise.

  “Where did you get this?” he asked, reaching for my hand. Immediately, I pulled it away from him. He pulled back, his brow pursed.

  “It’s just a ring,” I said, and glanced at the small, braided, silver band that rested on my left ring finger. I didn’t remember getting it. I hadn’t even noticed it was there until he pointed it out. For someone who really wanted to be that close to me, he didn’t know about it either. Still . . . I felt protective over it.

  “Hmm . . . ” he mused. “When did you get it?” There was a level of threat and intrigue in his words.

  “I don’t remember.”

  “Who gave it to you?”

  “I don’t remember,” I repeated more insistently. Screw this man and his pressing questions, and especially the way he asked them. What business was it of his, anyway?

  He nodded. “Well, I suppose you’ll remember soon enough.” He smiled, more to himself than anyone else, though it didn’t lack threat.

  “Why does it matter? I probably bought it for myself.”

  “Perhaps you’re right.” He stood at the foot of the bed. “I have to go, so I’ll let you get some rest. Have them call me if you need anything.”

  “Wait. You also don’t understand why I was the only one found?”

  He sighed, his back turned to me, then spoke over his shoulder. “No one should have survived that accident. Get some rest and try not to think about it too much.”

  “Thanks for coming,” I said sarcastically under my breath.

  He continued for the door but stopped before he passed the wall. He raised his finger and partially turned back toward me. “Why don’t you come and stay in my guest house when you get out of here? Sometimes remembering what you’ve lost is hard, even more so if you’re alone when it happens.”

  “I’m fine going to my own home and sleeping in my own bed.”

  A light glinted in his dark orbs, like an angry fire burning beyond the depths of his soul . . . if he had one. All the while, his expression remained even. Clearly, he didn’t like being told no.

  “Very well,” he muttered. “Perhaps I can take you to dinner then?”

  I nodded, just to get him out of the room, but I would never follow through.

  He seemed appeased by my faux cooperation and stepped out the room just as silently as he entered. Except that time I heard the door.

  THREE

  IT WAS LATE. EVERY time I closed my eyes, flashes of horrifying images with distant echoes of screams and alarms bounced through my mind. I stood from the bed, wrapped myself in my blanket, and moved to the glass door to walk through the courtyard. The air was chilly but the blanket kept me comfortable. The cold, stone path led me to a waterfall and pond. There were still lily pads and moss floating along the surface, with little shadows dashing underneath. The trickling water brought me peace.

  Then the weight of someone’s eyes on me brushed that peace away. It wasn’t that their presence was threatening. Protective, actually. I peered back toward my room, taking in all the shadows. An empty, darkened courtyard stared back at me. Still, the presence surrounded me. Trying to appear nonchalant, I continued my stroll along the path throughout the span of the courtyard. Nothing moved. Not a shadow. Not even a branch from the bushes. None of the other doors were open. All the lights were off, and everyone else seemed to be sleeping.

  The towering building surrounded the courtyard. Nothing along the top, just the stars and moonlight pressed against an indigo sky. I sighed. It must have been my imagination. I walked to a bench next to the waterfall and sat down.

  What happened to me? Damn it, why can’t I remember? What’s the deal with Jenna and Alexander?

  I sensed neither of them had told me the entire truth. I knew both of them before my accident, but how? Their connection to me couldn’t be as pleasant as they were trying to portray. The harder I tried to look into my mind, the more of a headache I got. I groaned, leaned forward, and placed my head into my hands.

  “You shouldn’t be out here,” a man’s voice said from behind me. His voice was strangely soft and soothing, and not as deep as Alexander’s. Commanding, for sure. But not overbearing. There was something . . . almost familiar . . . in his voice.

  My heart leapt into my chest as I stood and turned around, looking for the person that had just spoken. I spun in another circle, keeping my eyes out for his shadowany movementlooking for him.

  No one was there.

  My head throbbed again, and the thought of returning to my own bed became more appealing. Yet the images of the nightmare that haunted me, keeping me from sleep, came to mind. They forced me to hesitate just a little longer before making my way back into my darkened room. I pressed the lock button on the sliding door and watched the light turn from green to red with a small beep. My gaze wandered over the courtyard one last time, looking for the source of the voice before I climbed back in bed. I waited for the exhaustion to become too great to fight.

  FOUR

  THANKS TO THE ‘GREAT and mysterious’ Alexander Barabbas, and the strings that he pulled for me, I was released to go home. The comfort of my own bed and solitude of my home called to me. Jenna was instructed to take me home and make sure everything I needed was given. As much as I appreciated the help, I wanted to turn it down. I had normal clothing to go home in. That was enough.

  I told Jenna as much.

  “You should do what he asks,” she warned.

  “Why? What’s he going to do if I refuse him?” A part of me knew very well what he could do, but I needed to hear her say it.

  “He’s a very powerful man, Elsabetha, and he doesn’t like being told no. He’s dangerous, so just be careful.”

  “Why do you work for him if he’s so dangerous and you’re so afraid of him?”

  “I’m not afraid of him,” she said sharply. After taking a deep breath and letting it out through her pursed lips, she added, “I work for him because I want to. The money is beyond good. Besides, he owns half the city. We all work for him at one point or another.”

  We pulled into the parking garage of X-Caliber Condominiums, so named because it was in the shape of a giant ‘X.’ Each wing on every floor held two apartments with the exterior walls made entirely of windows. For every floor after the third, the parking garage bridged the gap to the building with an enclosed hall, up to the thirteenth. My condo was on the top floor, level ninety-four. I found comfort in something as simple and private as my home remaining intact in my memory.

  “I don’t care what he owns, doesn’t own, or how powerful he is. I’m not someone he can buy. If you really knew me, you’d know that. He should know that, especially with how well he claims to know me.”

  She glanced at me from the corner of her eye with a look of pity and another hidden
emotion I couldn’t place. She parked on the thirteenth floor of the garage, just under a sign that said ‘Visitor Parking.’

  “By the way, he wanted me to tell you that he’s made dinner reservations for tomorrow evening. He’ll have you picked up at five thirty,” Jenna said as we climbed out of the car and walked to the elevator.

  “Tell him it’s too soon. I’ll call him when I’m ready.”

  “Elsabetha, he doesn’t like being told no.” She pushed the button to the doors harder than necessary. They instantly opened.

  As we stepped inside, I said, “Well, he’s just going to have to get over it, because he’s going to hear it a lot from me.”

  “You realize you’re making things harder than they need to be?”

  She leaned against the wall of the elevator with her back pressed to it, her arms crossed over her chest, and her legs crossed at the ankle. I wasn’t about to answer her question, not matter how she glared at me. “Do you know who’s responsible for my accident?”

  She startled, as though caught off guard by my sudden change of topic.

  “I ask this because yesterday you said, ‘they really did a number on you.’ Who did a number on me?”

  Her full lips parted as if to respond when the elevator doors opened. After stepping out, she twisted at the waist and said, “Let’s get you home.”

  “Answer my question,” I said, following her.

  “No, I don’t know who’s responsible for the accident.”

  Yeah right. That's not something said to someone because the moment called for it. She knew more than she was letting on.

  Stopping at my door, I lifted my wrist to the scanner to unlock it. The pale blue light showed neon green on the barcode tattooed on my wrist. My keys, bank account, personal information—everything—was stored in it. A series of beeps sounded a welcome as the door slid open and all the lights in my apartment turned on. I was expecting it to look as I had left it. Instead, I found it filled with numerous vases, bouquets, balloons, and stuffed animals.