Fade to Black

Chapter 8: Group Therapy

"C'mon boys! Up and At 'em!"
Someone was yelling. Oh, it was Cassandra. She was standing in our doorway, flicking the lights on and off.
"Five more minutes.." Evan grumbled, still half asleep. He then rolled over to where he was facing me. When he did so his hand brushed against mine. Evan's eyes shot open in surprise. He gave a yelp and fell off his bed, taking all the covers with him. Rude. Now I was cold. Cassandra glanced back and forth between us with a quizzical look. She just smirked at Evan and as she left, she called over her shoulder  " Hurry up you two. Group session starts in 10 minutes."
     I peered over the edge of the bed to look at Evan. Or rather, the Evan- shaped lump on the floor, as he had hid himself beneath the  blankets. I peeled the covers off of his face so I could see him. He buried his face in his hands and muttered " Well this is awkward..."
"What's awkward?"
" Do you not remember what I told you?"
" Do you not remember what I told you?"  I retorted
" Touché"
" Now c'mon, or we're gonna be late."
" No."
" Yes."
" But the blankets are so comfy!"
"Get up."
"Make me!"
   He tried to wiggle his way deeper into the pile of covers, but I was having none of his crap this morning. I tried lifting him off the floor, but he just deadweighted. After a few minutes of struggling, I somehow got myself tangled up in the blankets as well. Evan smirked at me triumphantly. "I told you the blankets were comfy..." He teased  in a singsong tone of voice.
" I never denied that they were." I retorted.
"Whatever."Evan huffed, frustrated that I was right. " How long did Cassie say we had before therapy started?"
" Ten minutes."
Evan raised his eyebrows at me and slowly said " And how long ago did she say that?"
"Ummm" I sheepishly whispered " Ten minutes ago?"
"So basically it's starting right now?"
"Yeah..."
Evan jumped up and pulled me to my feet. He ran out of the room with me in tow. Evan lead me through the twists and turns of the hallways, sprinting the whole way. We burst through just as everyone was getting settled. I bet we looked great. Evan and I were still covered in sharpie and had no shoes on. Evan's hair at least looked okay. Mine in the other hand, not so much. I had a serious case of bedhead. My hair was spiking in all different ways, I looked like a porcupine.
     Evan and I calmly took our seats with innocent smiles on our faces. The man running this freak show, AKA Dr.Tragger stood in the center of the room. He began to talk about how we should "share our feelings." No Thanks. I'll keep my feelings to myself, thank you very much. Something about this guy freaked me out. He had a hint of this crazy light in his eyes. He The Doc was going on about doing something that intimidates us. I was so confused.
I looked at Evan like What's up with Doc McStuffins over there? Evan just rolled his eyes. He clearly thought this dude was off his meds as well. Honestly I completely zoned out for the next hour. As we were getting up to leave, Tragger pulled me back.
" It's coming for you..." He whispered
"Excuse you?"
"It's coming...."
"What's coming"
"The darkness..."
This dude was seriously creepy. His voice sounded like a snake gliding through dead leaves. I felt myself shiver. Had it suddenly gotten colder? I was terrified, but I decided to play along.
"What would this darkness be?"
"Fear. Regret. Amnesia..." He looked at me " You're going to forget yourself."
I froze. How could he possibly know that? Patient files. It had to be in my patient files.
" How do you know that?"
" I used to be like you.."
"What do you mean?"
" An Echo of myself..."
"WhaT ARE YOU ON ABOUT?"
I freaked out and started yelling. Dr. Tragger raised a finger to his lips and went shh.
" I used to be like you, I could see the memories of others. I would forget myself..."
I was speechless. He was just like me.
" What happened to you?" I croaked
" I never fully forgot myself.."
" How?" I knew I shouldn't be asking questions, but I was curious.
" I learned to regain my thoughts."
" What are we? What am I?"
" You are an Anti-Prophet."
"What the eff is that?"
"A prophet, but for the past, not the future."
"Why am I forgetting myself?"
"The other memories are overpowering your own, and each other. They all fight so hard to take control that they cancel each other out."
I had a million questions, but Tragger was already leading me into the hallway.
" This concludes our one on one session."
"WAIT NO-"
" Remember Kyle, do something that intimidates you."
He had already shut the door.
                         - - -
" ANTI PROPHET! HE JUST STRAIGHT UP DROPS THE BOMB AND LEAVES ME HANGING!"
"Kyle please calm down.."
"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN. I AM EFFING TERRIFIED RIGHT NOW."
"I understand that, but yelling isn't going to get us anywhere."
"I- you're right. I'm sorry... I'm just..."
"Don't be sorry, you have every right to be scared."
" What do I do now?" I whispered
" We try to find more information about this thing."
" Can we please just try to forget about it for right now?"
"You sure?"
I nodded. I don't need any more stress than necessary. Plus, Tragger was right about one thing; The amnesia was closing in on me very fast. So, forgetting everything wouldn't be so hard for me. I was already halfway there.