Refinement: A War of Europe

Chapter Fourty-One: East: Sorting Day

Anya~ East (Russia)                        

"Wake up," Adric said to me urgently.

"What for?" I moaned as I got out of my bed, and started to brush my tangled hair.

"You're being assigned your permanent position today," he said.

"Oh gosh," I winced, "Already?"

"Yeah," he laughed superiorly. "This is going to be a much bigger deal than the last one. This one is mandatory for all residents."

"Then I may as well sleep some more. I'm quite certain that I'll end up a garbage luger," I sniffed.

"Mmm," Adric sounded with disbelief. "We don't even have those Anya."

"Then what happens to all of it?" I asked.

"I don't know! Why do you expect me to know what we do with trash? I work with the military, silly girl," Adric replied.

I sighed as I shrugged my shoulders. "Spoiled boy," I said back combatively. I wasn't going to let him disgrace me like that. I wasn't a "silly girl". My brother raised me better than that. I thought as a pain seared in my head. Across my sight was a flaming light and then I felt unstable. I tried to reach out to the wall to balance myself, but I couldn't move fast enough.

I crumpled to the ground where I stood. I couldn't even register a sound thought. Just that I existed. I couldn't even tell if I were alive or not. What was alive anyways? A blurry shadow burst through the blinding whiteness. I felt my cheeks stinging and I curled up my lip in tolerance to the pain.

I heard a low vibration in my ear and I brought my hands up to my chest. What was that? My frustration of my inability to comprehend anything built up. I winced sharply. I didn't like the feeling of being helpless.

I shut my eyes and images flickered to a handsome face. It was almost a mirror of my own, except it wasn't me. It was my brother.

This time I screamed as a pain burrowed into my head. In my stress my fingers clawed at it. I wanted it gone, but I didn't want to let go of Grayson. Endure it. I thought. Just a while longer. After you stop thinking of him you won't have the energy to remember for a long time. Possibly forever. That was my greatest fear- forgetting him.

In my head I pictured myself beside him, letting my arms wrap around him. I cried just imagining what it would be like to speak with him after so many years of thinking he was dead. You'll see him again. I assured myself. You'll find him after you make it through today's ceremony. Maybe just get settled with your job, and then once you're trusted enough you can escape. Go West.

"Wake up," a shaken voice shattered through my trance.

Until we meet again... I thought solemnly as I complied to my body's desire to stop hurting itself.

My eyes fluttered open and I thought I saw Jace at first, but once my eyes cleared up I realized it was Adric. I didn't feel any more pain, and I couldn't remember why I had earlier. I don't remember what caused it. I remember nothing.

"What happened?" I asked Adric with concern. "Did I get cut with a knife or something? Did somebody break in?"

"No... Nobody did," he replied warily. "I'm not exactly sure how to say this without triggering your memory, but, this happened to you before. I talked with the medical staff and you- at one point- were injected with a serum to block past memories. Remember now? Apparently this was just a larger scale of it. You kept muttering: "I don't want to let him go." Over and over. I wasn't sure what to do, Anya. I was worried for a bit," Adric said.