Memory Files

01 - The Meeting

     I was in a deep sleep, having the best dream of my life when I was awoken by a loud annoying ring. I struggled to turn off my alarm clock and was quickly getting irritated before I finally managed to stop the ringing. 

"It's 7, huh..." I thought to myself.

"I don't know if I'll be able to make it to school with all this rain..."

     Right as I was about to drift off again, I heard the voice of the devil pulling me back to reality.

"Hey! Wake up, Sam!"

   That high-pitched, ear rupturing voice belonged to my sister. She was always getting on my nerves and has been my parents' favorite since she was born.

"I-I'm up.."

     Jeez, will she ever shut up? After changing into my school clothes, I heard a knock at my door.

"Sam, go get the door," my sister yelled.

     When I opened the door, I realized there was nobody there.

"Hey!"

     Huh? What was that? I heard a voice that sounded like a little girl, but I didn't see anyone.

"Hey, idiot!"

     There it was again.

"Huh? Where are you-"

     I looked down and saw a little girl with long brown hair and tan overalls.

"O-oh... Sorry, I don't want any girl scout cook-"

     Before I could finish my sentence I noticed she had a knife in her hand.

"Hey, what're you doing with something like that? You know those are dangerous rig-"

     She pounced on me immediately with a mischievous look on her face.

"Ahh!"

     I let out a scream and tried to run back inside the house, but in a hurry, I ended up tripping on the rug in front of my door and hitting my head on the hard wooden floor.

     I awoke in a small, freezing, dark room. The first thing I noticed was the people surrounding me, staring at me with cold and expressionless faces. I counted and there were exactly seven people, eight if you include me. The more I looked around, the more confused I got. Boarded-up windows, cameras, and a door that seemed to be locked. Where the hell was I? Who are these people? It was then I realized I was shaking uncontrollably. My palms were soaked with sweat. My eyes were welling up. To say I was scared would be an understatement.

"W-"

     I tried to speak but I couldn't even get a single word out. The fact that everyone was staring at me with piercing eyes wasn't helping. I noticed that among them was a girl reaching her hand out to me.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked me in a calm, motherly voice.

"Y-y-y-"

     I'm pathetic. I tried to respond, but the fear wouldn't let me.

"Hehe, take your time."

     Her voice somehow made me feel slightly more relaxed.

"W-w-where am I?" I managed to get the words out.

"I asked everyone else the same thing, none of us know, unfortunately.." she responded with a sad expression.

      That response was particularly eerie. The girl stuck her hand out in front of me.

"Get up, we'll figure stuff out, don't worry!"

     What an optimistic attitude... It reminded me of someone close to me, but I don't know who.

     Actually, now that I think about it, my mind is foggy. I can't really remember much. In fact, I can't remember anything at all.

"You okay?" The girl asked.

"Y-yeah.." I muttered.

     When I looked up at her, it was as if I had been staring at a guardian angel sent from the heavens. Her angelic blood-colored hair, her diamond necklace, her blue eyes. I was entranced. All of my fear was replaced with hope as I grabbed her hand. She pulled me up and everyone else's face lit up with a slight sense of hope as well. I thanked the angel and asked her for her name.

"My name? I'm sorry, I don't remember," the angel responded.

     She doesn't remember her name?

"Do you?" she asked.

"My name? Let's see..." I thought about it for a while, but nothing came to mind. What's going on? Why can't I remember my own name?

"Nobody else remembers either, unfortunately," the angel said with a worried expression on her face.

     I felt chills go down my spine. Nobody remembers their name? How is that possible? This can't be a coincidence, something's going on. Is this a dream?

     I heard a large crash towards the door. There was ever so slightly more light entering the room, and behind were a bunch of doors and more boarded-up windows. Curious, we all walked through the doorway to the hall.

"What the hell is going on?" one of the men asked in a deep, serious, shaky voice.

     We kept walking until we finally reached a dead end. In the room was a sketchy-looking oversized throne. I could barely even hear my own thoughts with everyone's mumbling.

"Is this some kinda joke!?" one of the women yelled in a frustrated voice.

     Everyone started getting louder until we were all interrupted by footsteps. Footsteps loud enough to make everyone in the room silent. I could feel cold sweat running down my back. The tension in the room grew as the footsteps grew closer. I heard everyone gulp simultaneously as we saw a little girl and an old man walk in slowly. For some reason, the girl looked familiar but I didn't know why. Long brown hair, tan overalls, she was way too familiar, but I didn't know who she was. The older man looked at least 70 years old and wore a formal suit and tie, almost like a butler. The little girl opened her mouth.

"Hey hey, you all might not remember me but I'm the one that brought you here! Some people told me to come pay you a visit and bring you here, and it turns out you were all perfect candidates for this experiment! I know none of you remember any of that though, because you all have amnesia! (=^･^=)"

"Experiment? Amnesia?"

     The silence in the room at that moment was the loudest sound imaginable.