Forbidden ~ after unlocked

Chapter 27 - Keefe

"What's wrong?"

The sound of Evren's voice pulled him out of the shocked daze he'd been in. Keefe blinked several times, then shook his head.

I need a memory. He pleaded silently. I need a memory.

But no memory came.

Still no flashbacks of that night.

Keefe didn't understand how that was possible. Shouldn't being in the exact place he'd been before trigger his memory? Either the washers had done an exceptionally good job shattering his memories from that night, or... he didn't know.

"Nothing," Keefe mumbled, studying the door before turning to Evren. "I... uh..." Keefe cleared his throat, motioning awkwardly towards the entrance. "Shall we?"

Evren rolled her eyes—way over dramatically in Keefe's opinion, but he followed her the rest of the way up the stairs.

Keefe then found himself right in front of the door, standing on a run-down mat with the word "Welcome!" scrawled messily across. He felt his hands start to sweat as he clenched and unclenched them, his knuckles turning white. Why was he so nervous?

Maybe it was the idea that he had more family. Maybe it was because of the door from his memory. Keefe didn't know. It was probably a mix of both, along with hundreds of other things.

Evren knocked on the door—a sequenced knock, clearly a code. Tap tap tap. Pause. Tap. Pause. Tap tap.

The seconds inched by as they waited for someone to answer, and Keefe felt his heart pick up pace. He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself, but nothing seemed to work.

"Hey." Evren caught his attention. "You okay?"

"Fine."

"You sure? I get this is probably a lot for you—"

"I said I'm fine."

Knocks came from the other side of the familiar door, in the same sequence Evren had used before. She squared her shoulders, and Keefe swore he heard her whisper, "Here goes nothing," before she grabbed the brass handle and slowly turned it.

Keefe held his breath as the door opened, and he was half expecting someone to jump out from behind it, but nobody did. The hallway was dimly lit and empty as he followed Evren inside. The lights lining the wall flickered, unable to stay on long enough to provide any sufficient light. He noticed the wallpaper was old and peeling and had probably the ugliest design of green and gold Keefe had ever seen. The eerie hallway did nothing to help his nerves, and he felt his head pounding in time with his quickened heartbeat.

They walked a few more paces before Evren froze. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could get a word in, somebody sprung out of a doorway Keefe hadn't noticed, startling Keefe so badly he yelped.

Before Keefe knew what was happening they were hugging him and he couldn't see as a huge tangle of red hair blocked his vision. He was hit with so many emotions, all at once, it felt like he was drowning in them.

Excitement. Happiness. Relief. Sadness. Guilt. Annoyance. Regret. Anticipation.

Keefe couldn't tell whose was whose, what was what, all the feelings so sudden and so strong colliding inside him, fogging everything over.

A command started to itch in his throat, and although Keefe tried to fight it away, he was so exhausted from the previous days he wasn't sure if he'd be able to. And at the moment, the monster controlling his ability was winning.

Keefe tore away from whoever was hugging him, desperately in need of space to breathe and sort through all the emotions overwhelming him.

He felt himself crash into the wall, slowly sinking down towards the floor. The monster extended its claws, fighting harder and harder to let the command to numb escape, but Keefe battled it with any of his remaining energy. Keefe heard voices around him, saw arms reaching towards him but he ignored it all. It hurt more than anything he'd ever experienced, but he tried to persevere, knowing that he needed to keep his ability down.