Runaways: The Journey Home

Chapter 9 - Amnesia

Extra chapter post to celebrate my birthday!

....

The next morning, Brooklyn gave a muffled yawn from his muzzle, staring around at the unknown place around him. He tried again to find his memories, but they were still blank.

Someone help, I can't remember anything! Brook wailed quietly, staring at his taloned hands. He swallowed, seeing how sharp they were. Did he ever cut or hurt anybody with these frightening claws? He hoped not, blood growing cold from the idea of hurting anybody, even out of defense. He feared now of being some kind of bloodthirsty predatory creature.

Also, Brooklyn felt a twinging pain in his left bicep. Flinching, he looked to see a strange mark on it. It hurt. Who wanted to mark his shoulder in a painful manner? He swallowed a nervous lump in his throat.

He looked at the sun, curling up timidly again, wondering if anybody lived in that house at all. If they did, were they friends? All he could do was wait. Brooklyn didn't like the idea of waiting but he had no choice, tears falling down his face, quivering softly, skin tingly with anticipation.

....

Meanwhile, Shadow Man had woken up, going to check on his prisoner. He saw he was awake, a confused and scared look on his face. This somewhat pricked his curiosity. Why wasn't the beast fighting anymore? Narrowing his eyes, Shadow Man went to investigate with his goons, another bottle of water with him. He would demand answers and tempt him with the thought of gaining water but wouldn't give it if the gargoyle gave the wrong replies.

Brooklyn heard the door open. Looking up, he at last saw a human (he still remembered humans) coming out, with two others. His skin shivered, hoping for answers about himself.

The tall male masked human grinned. "Well, look who's finally awake. And how are you feeling?"

The red male tilted his head. Who was this hooded human? Shadow Man noted the blank gaze in Diablo's eyes, then recalled back to when he punched the devil. Could he have somehow lost his memory? This sent a wave of eagerness and delight through the evil man. Yes... this could be a perfect opening to make the creature even more submissive to him!

"Don't you even remember me?" he asked carefully first. Brook swallowed, shaking his head in sorrow. Shadow Man then demanded his comrades to remove the muzzle.

Brooklyn took some much-needed breaths, happy to have it off and wondering why they even put it on him. Shadow Man knelt, lifting Diablo's chin with his hand. "So, you don't recall me, huh?" Brooklyn again shook his head.

"N-no. I don't even know who I am, what I am, or where I came from," he said shakily and quietly.

The man turned to his comrades and whispered to them, "He's lost his memory, Men. This could work in our favor. We get him to do our bidding and he gets rewarded respectively. If he doesn't do as we wish, then he gets punished." The boss decreed. His men nodded in response.

Shadow Man then turned back to the scared gargoyle. "Your name is Diablo. You are a gargoyle. My men and I saved you from a bad accident not too long ago, hence why your one arm is so badly injured, and you hit your head on some debris in a big city where you were found. We brought you here to recover and so other humans wouldn't see you." He explained in a lie.

Brooklyn looked down at his arm. "What does the mark mean?" he asked.

"We don't know. We don't know where you came from unfortunately. You were found to be maybe only one of your kind." Shadow Man said.

"Why aren't you afraid of me if other humans would be afraid of me?" The gargoyle now thought of his name as Diablo.

"Because we aren't so surprised by such exotic creatures like yourself. We see such beauty in you that you were worth saving. Would you like some water? It gets awfully hot out here."