The Phylum

Chapter Nine: The Memory Thief

Once we reached what I assumed was the Isolation door, we stopped. I was already beginning to doubt the frightening rumors I had heard about Isolation. The normal door seemed harmless enough, it was the same door design used throughout the Phylum. It was something familiar, something I was very used to. However, Calico's grave face stripped me of my assurances. She's worried, I thought, Calico's worried about me. I waited for her to say something since she made no move toward the door's thumb pad. "Don't let her break you in there, okay?" Her? Calico kept her eyes low, as if she couldn't look at me. I stared at her ready for her to flash me that unexpected, superior grin of hers. It didn't come. "We're just trying to protect you and the others, you don't know what that bill means." Calico's words came fast, making it hard for me to keep up with her. "Protect me from what? Cal, I didn't see much, I couldn't even hear the broadcast-" Calico went on as if she hadn't heard me, "we don't want you to realize that the world is hopeless just yet. We want you to hope." My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, could this be the same girl who went through such great lengths to keep me in the dark? Suddenly, she gave me an awkward pat on the shoulder, an action I assumed was the Calico version of a hug. I knew it was supposed to reassure me, but it made me feel as if she was saying good bye.

Calico thumbed the pad on the door making it open just a sliver. Without another word to me, she pivoted and started back up the way we had come. I watched her, her thick hair bobbing with each quick step she took. I knew Calico wouldn't turn around, she was too disciplined.

Calico's word repeated inside of my head as I pushed the door hesitantly open, 'don't let her break you, okay?'

Okay.

Beaming lights assaulted my eyes. It took time for my vision to get used to the light since I was so used to the darkness. After blinking away the dull pain, I looked around wildly. The room contrasted the Phylum's common dark decor drastically. Everything was white and.. dry. I searched for one sign of the natural underground dampness that coated the grounds of the Phylum, but an immaculate, pearly floor had been built over it. Cabinets had been built into the walls, below the cabinets was a pearly desk. I stiffened at the vials of clear liquid on the desk, remembering my first few days spent in the hospital rooms of the Phylum. A woman stood patiently in the middle of the room, her blonde hair pulled neatly in a bun at the back of her head. Her dress matched the room, its spotless white fabric flowing neatly from her shoulders. She had the attractiveness of an Outer Ring citizen, she didn't belong here. Her groomed hand tapped the back of metallic chair, one I was obviously supposed to sit in. I walked carefully across the room, knowing I was tracking dirty water and gravel in. I didn't care, the room needed it. It was uncomfortably clean.

I sat in the chair, watching the woman from the corner of my eye.

"I am Rosasharn. Hello." Her voice was musical, soprano-like.

"Okay," I responded. Rosasharn let out a sound under her breath and walked toward the vials on her desk. Her shoes were loud, the sound of her heels sharp and unfriendly.

Silence.

I listened to the clinking of vials, the opening of a cabinet, and the clash of metal. I didn't look at her, instead I stared at the white wall ahead of me. "You're from Outer aren't you?" I didn't mean for my voice to sound so accusatory, but I wasn't particularly sorry. "Once," I heard the sharp snap of sterilizing gloves. I imagined her thin fingers gliding over the needle, carefully coating it in the gloves' sterilizing gel.

I heard Rosasharn turn around.

Tap, tap, tap.

She was behind me now, flicking the tip of the needle. I held a breath, my hands instinctively curling into fists on the arms of the chair. Rosasharn bent over my arm, her light eyes roving my arm for the proper vein. "What's in the needle?" I asked her, craning my neck to see the wicked thing. "Muscle relaxant, I can't have you thrashing around" she replied simply. I watched her search for the vein, "why would I be thrashing around?"

The needle found its mark.

I barely felt the prick. With the injuries I had obtained throughout training, this could be considered enjoyable. Once the liquid had been emptied into my arm, Rosasharn slipped the needle out of my skin. She returned to her desk, my eyes followed her this time. The blonde bustled around, discarding the needle and opening cabinets. I returned my gaze to the white wall as I heard her shoes rotate back to me.

Tap, tap, tap.

I felt the relaxant take effect, my arm feeling more and more like lead. "Why would I be thrashing around?" I repeated, my voice apprehensive. The lead feeling slowly sneaked into my shoulder. "If I told you, it wouldn't matter. You won't remember." My eyes widened in realization and, with some effort, I turned to look at the blonde. Rosasharn folded her hands beside me, waiting for the temporary paralyzation to take place. I looked forward, resting my head on the hard, head-rest of the chair. I let out a dry chuckle, "that's how it's done. Mischievous kids come in, but they're different when they leave. They forget why they were so mischievous in the first place." The relaxant had continued into my chest and legs causing me to slump forward. "It's effective."

I tried to hold onto the last, precious feeling in my face, but the relaxant forced it away too.

Tap, tap, tap.

Rosasharn stood in front of me, her pale face staring into mine. Her eyes roamed over my limbs, deeming whether I was ready or not. I suppose I was, because she knelt in front of me and placed her soft fingertips over my eyes. "I'm Ezra" I told her quickly, the last physical push I was able to make. I heard the smile in her voice, "Okay."

Suddenly, my head erupted in pain. It was a scorching feel, an unknown fire licking the insides of my head. I wanted to let out a cry, to rip Rosasharn's hands of my eyes but I knew I couldn't. Visions of my childhood and adolescence were being flipped through as if my life was a book. I watched a young me say hello to his first friend, I watched a teenage me fall for his first girl. Then I saw my first meeting with Calico, the confusion as she threw the dogs away from me with her gravity shield. I remembered the incomprehension I felt at the black mesh stretched across her face, I had no idea how important it was for her to keep her identity a secret. The fire grew as the memories came closer and closer to the present. Me becoming a tired slave to my dreams. Me waking up. The flames increased, trying to violently rip away my memories. I could feel the unyielding flame begin to swallow the memory of my watching the broadcast. I wasn't letting Rosasharn take away the only information I had of the outside world. I couldn't let her. There was a fleeting, splitting pain, a pain that a million training sessions with Calico could never amount to, and then there was nothing. The fire was extinguished, the memories had settled back into my mind. I blinked hard, the brilliant light making it hard for me to get my bearings.

The first thing my eyes adjusted to was the thin figure on the ground. Rosasharn's originally neat blonde hair was splayed across the floor, her face contorted in an expression of surprise. Her blue eyes were wide and staring.

I went to take her pulse, or to fetch help, but the muscle relaxant still imprisoned my body.