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Chapter 14

The ride home was smooth. Even with the aggressive encounter with another group, the playfulness returned after mounting the bikes.

"No funny business on the way back." The captain called out. 

Half-hearted agreements rung out. Did they take the words to heart? No. Some of them decided to race each other but within distance of the rest. I could picture the head shake of disapproval from Hongjoong. I hummed quietly, getting acquainted with the wind. We were travelling in the wind’s direction so it didn’t feel as tough of a whipping.

The base sprung up into view. I could hear the collective sighs upon reaching home. There was something amiss on the corrugated iron walls. Hongjoong went ahead to examine the wall. I could tell from his figure that he was furious. I couldn't peer past Mingi's figure to glance further than the back view of the captain.

"Don't look." Mingi's voice dropped several octaves lower. 

I gave up trying to view the wall over Mingi's impossibly towering figure though it did not kill my curiosity. Wooyoung hopped off from behind San to open the garage door. I watched his steps falter a bit, having seen the anomaly plastered over the wall, before resuming in a stiff manner. Well I would see it when we passed through into base.

Jokes on me.

Mingi managed to press his hand over my eyes without turning around whilst the bike rolled forward. I couldn't move my hands to push his hand away because they stayed glued to the seat I gripped to. The bike rolled further under a shelter where I could no longer feel the wind beating down on my back. Mingi uncovered my eyes and came to a halt into a spot smoothly. 

"Sick bastards." 

It seemed the captain was not alone in rage, everybody else sporting a look of discomfort, unease and anger. I questioningly gaze up at Mingi.

"It's not for you to worry about." 
He ruffled my hair and I moved to bat his hand away. Mingi dodged my attempts and continued. 

"Quit tormenting Mist. It's time to wash up." Yunho saved me from Mingi's claws. He sounded equally tired and tense.

I slipped away from Mingi's side to Yunho. He didn't look at me after spotting my confusion. My attempts to follow the captain outside were blocked. I was denied access to any routes to the outside. Nobody checked on me but they knew I would sit still if told to do so.

Unfortunately they were correct. I would only know if they chose to disclose it. The clothing handed to me was officially mine to keep. I set them down in one of the multiple empty cupboards in my office before I was called for a meal.

At the dinner table, everybody was silent which was extremely unusual. The normal chatterboxes had distant expressions. It was unsettling which brought my mind back to question what they all saw. I excused myself from the table and slipped out relatively unnoticed.

I laid down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling with the lights turned off. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something big was happening like an intricate conspiracy was at play. I thought back to the mysterious person. Throughout the meeting, I could not recognise or even make out the features of the person. It was as if my brain refused to perceive their features, as if my memory of that person had been cut off.

Did they know me before I lost my memory? What did their words insinuate?

A dull thrum resonated from the back of my skull. The more I tried to picture the person, the more a headache formed. The buzzing returned to my ears. My chest squeezed and I gasped. I couldn’t breathe. The sheets underneath twisted from my tightening grasp, knuckles turning pale. I turned onto my side to hopefully alleviate some pain. Unfortunately, the hard hammering persisted.