Our Darkest Memories

8. The Red

5 weeks after forgetting

The ride home was getting rough and I couldn't wait to arrive at East River. The tension was unmissable and I was pretty sure that I was the main reason for that.

Then there was also the girl on the back seat, tied up like an animal. She hadn't said a word during the last two days of the car ride, and by the looks of it, she wasn't planning to. I couldn't blame her.

Luckily, we were close to East River, and then it would all be over. I would never have to worry about Buz wanting to kill me, and I wouldn't have to see the girl again. Although, I wasn't sure if that was true. She knew my name. What did that mean? That Raiden had been telling the truth? I wouldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it.

My eyes had subconsciously found their way to the girl, and when I noticed that she stared back, I quickly averted my gaze. Her eyes still seemed full of hope, but I knew better than that. She was foolish to have hope. After all, she was a red, and everyone knew that reds weren't around anymore and there was a reason for that. She was in a very difficult position, and I knew that she wasn't gonna be able to get herself out.

My head turned back to the front window and to my relief, I recognized the environment. We arrived at East River.

Buz parked the car off the road again and we all – except the red girl – helped to cover it with leaves. After grabbing my backpack, I turned to the girl. Her hands were still tied uncomfortably behind her back with the metal handcuffs and she still had the piece of cloth in her mouth.

After inspecting the security measures, I grabbed her right arm and pushed her forward with me. She stumbled because of her sprained ankle and the tempo I was walking in on the rough forest ground, but I paid no attention to her struggles.

Eventually, we reached the first cabins and I immediately turned to a path on my right, where I knew that the security cabin was - the one I interrogated the Yellow in as well. Stopping for a small moment, I told a passer-by to tell Clancy that we had returned before continuing walking. I noticed how Mitchel didn't follow us, but Buz and Aaron did not leave us alone.

When I finally entered the cabin, I forced the girl down on the ground, which she did without hesitation. I pulled the cloth out of her mouth before marching to my desk and turning around to look her in the eyes with a stern face.

"Name and color," I demanded.

"Blaze. I'm a red, but you probably already knew that," her tired voice responded. She didn't sound scared.

"And what were you doing here?"

Technically, I already knew the answer to that. After all, Raiden had already told the story, but I wanted to know if she would tell the same story. There was something about those two that I didn't trust.

However, to my surprise, she had the same answer. They had been traveling together for a while when at some point they heard noises, and Raiden went to check it out. After Raiden not returning, she had decided that she needed to leave. And so she did until we found her.

Since the story checked out, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Sending Buz and Aaron away, I pulled the girl up by her arm and put the cloth back in her mouth. Buz gave me an angry look while walking out, but Aaron a questioning one. I tried to give him a look that would reassure him and dragged the girl with me to cabin 27, knowing exactly who I was gonna find there.