Memories

The girl heard voices; voices that floated all around her. She didn’t recognize them, but somehow they sounded familiar and the figures……………. There was a handsome man with clear blue eyes and tousled dark hair telling that he believed in her. Then a red haired woman looked at her and told her that she was the one.

She so badly wanted to reach out and prevent them from fading. But then, the images, or maybe even memories faded and she became aware of her surroundings. The ground was icy cold beneath her and when she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on an alleyway.

Panic clouded her thoughts. Where was she? How did she get here? And most terrifying of all…………. Who was she?

She felt her mind trying; trying so hard to patch up her memories. She took a deep breath. She knew that panicking wouldn’t earn her anything. From the mess of her memories, a single word floated up, just enough so that she could latch onto it.

Theia. Her name was Theia.

At least she knew who she was now.

But………….where was she? Why was she even here?

Theia got onto her feet, her silver hair rippling with the wind. Her feet were wobbling, much like a newborn fawn. She scanned the alley. Why did she have to end up here? Couldn’t it have been a nice forest or maybe even in one of the estates of the Otherlings?

A migraine so strong flashed in her head that she had to lean onto the dark wall and clutch her head. Who were the Otherlings?

Light flashed at the end of the alley and all of her instincts told her to bolt. But she stayed because if those were any people…………..then she could learn something. Like where the hell she was.

There were two figures. The light illuminated them; their shadows stretching out. Both were burly; muscular bodies barely contained in the suits they were wearing. Every cell in her body, everything around her, told her to run; to get as far as possible from them.

Still, she stayed. She knew that they had seen her and there was no use of running now. Even if she tried, she would be caught.

They stepped out from the shadows, their faces rough and unyielding. These men had killed people. Theia didn’t know how she knew; she just did. That was another reason why she should have run.

Quick as lightning, one of them grabbed her hands and pinned her on the floor. He strapped them with a handcuff, which was made from a weird red stone that glowed in the moonlight.

Another memory resurfaced.

A woman, her golden hair pulled into a tight bun, showed her a glowing red stone. It was pretty. Pretty enough that 10-year old Theia started to reach out for it.

The women swatted her hand away. “No, you must never touch this. It drains you; mentally and physically. The humans, they uses this to contain us.”

Horrified, she flinched away from the stone.

“Yes, you understand now. The humans are the enemies. You must never trust them.”

Theia was brought back by shaking. “Come with us,” one of them said. “You know what you did.”

She tried to twist out of his grasp. But that golden haired woman was right. That handcuff, whatever it was, was draining her strength. If she could just close her eyes………………….

No. She had to fight it. She twisted enough so that she could see the man who was holding her. “What did I do?” she asked; her voice raspy.

He shook her again. “Don’t act dumb, girl.”

Theia honestly had no idea what she had done. If it was so serious that she had to be taken.

The man started dragging her. That’s when she noticed the black van. She almost laughed at her situation. Was this going to like one of those movies where she was going to be taken to some secret lab and experimented on?

As he shoved her into the dark van, the power of the stone that encircled her wrists finally won over and Theia floated into the darkness.

*            *            *

When she woke, she could once again here voices. But this time, it was not in her head.

“How is she?” a rough voice asked.

“Okay, for now,” a female voice replied. “And you boys had no trouble getting her here?”

“No, Ma’am. She resisted a little. But not as much as we expected.” This voice Theia recognized. It was undoubtedly one of the men who had taken her.

Suddenly, she registered the throbbing in her head and the ache that spread all through her body. Involuntarily, she groaned.

“Well, look who’s awake,” said that women again.

Theia forced opened her eyes. The bright light speared into her mind. She almost closed them again when she remembered that there were people in front of her.

She looked in the direction of the woman who had spoken. She was beautiful, Theia supposed, in that cold and aloof manner. Like a statue that they could admire but never love. Her blond hair curled just above her shoulders and her blue eyes gleamed with a cold light.

Then, she looked down and realized that she was strapped to a chair with silvery chains.

“No snarky comments? I seem to remember you had quite a lot to tell me the last time we crossed paths,” the woman said.

“What?” The light was messing with her mind, making her unable to think straight. But she was pretty sure that she had never seen this woman before. Or maybe that was just the memory loss. “Who are you?”

The women narrowed her eyes. “Are you telling me that you don’t remember me?”

“No, I don’t,” she admitted.

“Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.”

Theia struggled against her bonds.

“Don’t bother. You can’t escape. Those were custom made for you, Guardian.”

That explained why she was feeling very lightheaded. But there was a more important question. “Guardian?”

“So, you weren’t lying about losing your memory. Maybe I can finally talk some sense into you.”

“You expect me to listen to someone who kidnapped me and tied me to a chair?” She didn’t know where the sassy reply came from.

The woman laughed. “So you haven’t lost all of your arrogance.” She turned to the two men. “Make sure that she does not escape.”

“Wait,” she called out. “Why did you bring me here?”

“For what you did, of course.”

“What did I do?” Theia was getting tired of them telling her that she had done something. She wanted to know what she had done. But another part of her was too terrified to learn what she had done.

“Unspeakable crimes.”

No. She couldn’t be a bad person. Because if she was……………….

“I can sense your terror, Guardian. And it is appropriate. If you have any sense, you will wait until your Trial.”

“My Trial?”

“Yes. Two days from now.”

In answer, Theia snarled at her. The woman laughed. “Enjoy your stay.” With that she swept out of the room.

The two burly men stayed guard. Escape was going to be difficult, but not impossible. She had to come up with a plan. Then she would recover her memories and the rest of them depended on what she remembered. But she would get out of here, whatever it took.

*            *            *

The next few days went by uneventful except Theia struggling every minute. She was so frustrated since she didn’t even know what those chains were made of. And it didn’t trigger a flashback like that glowing red handcuff.

They didn’t bring her food or water for the two day and surprisingly, Theia didn’t feel hungry. But the thirst was horrible. She still knew that she wouldn’t die without water. Because whatever she was; for it was pretty sure that she was not human, didn’t need any of that to survive.

On the third day, those two men walked in with a syringe in hand. When she realized that it was for her, she started squirming in her bonds because she had no idea what that would do. One of them held her down while the other pushed the syringe into her arm. Theia closed her eyes and waited for something to happen, but when nothing did, she glared at the men.

“Huh, this was supposed to work,” the first man said.

“Maybe we have to give her a higher dose,” suggested the second, palming a second syringe.

Before they could do anything, Theia plunged the second syringe into the back of one of the men and smashed the other’s head onto the floor. They were both out cold. “Some guards,” she muttered under her breath.

She struggled with her bonds again. How could she escape from these weird silver chains? Only if . . . Another flashback hit her.

Theia was a little older than the last vision, her silver hair pulled up into a ponytail and golden eyes sparkling.

The same golden haired woman stood next to a silver chair and told her, “Theia, this is steel infused with pure starlight; the only thing that can trap us. If it were some other substance, we could shred it with a mere thought. But this . . . It can contain our powers; contain us. Never be lured into being trapped in this.”

Past Theia nodded; her face now calm. “And remember, you are the Guardian. And you will not be defeated.”

Then, the memory faded.

But she had got at least one thing from it. These chains were made to contain them. As was the chair. She didn’t care if they contained her powers. She pooled all her strength into her hands and tore through the chains like paper.

Standing up, she looked around her. The door was unguarded. They were fools, for leaving her here with nothing but two guards. She had a feeling in the back of her head, that what she was doing was right.

As she stepped out into the sunlight and scanned the green grounds now stretched out, she knew what she had to do. “I am the Guardian and I will not be defeated,” she repeated as she sprinted away, to regain her memories and find out who she truly was.