Lost Memories

8: Dangerous Coffee and Rising Suspicion

#ophiuchustakeoveroncemore

I tried so hard guys like seriously though also go follow the author of this story @minnowheart because she is AWESOME and I probably wouldn't have that much drive to write if we hadn't met because I feel like with every chapter I improve a bit more-

ANYWays love you guys and I hope this isn't confusing and I'm doing enough showing instead of just telling.

Update: damn this took WAY too long to write

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What's it called again? A building, there we go...? It looks abandoned, and I think I'm in some sort of ghost town near the lab. How did I get lost?

It was blistering hot outside despite the darkness. The stench of oxidizing metal permeated the area around here, and every footstep I took bounced off the walls and seemed to go on forever. A light sweat coated my hands as well as my face. Despite the fact that I've been reassuring myself that everything is alright, I have a strange feeling about this place.

I feel a power beneath me. It vibrates throughout my body and I feel a sensation of radiation in my bones. It makes my stomach feel wobbly and unsteady, and I want to sit down but there's nowhere to stop. Where am I? Car doors slam behind me and I take off as fast as I can go.

"Okuda!" God, could it hurt them just to leave me alone? I am on my way to the butterfly farm- "OKUDA!"

"I SEE YOU WORK AT THE LAB, WHAT ELSE CAN YA DO WITH THOSE HANDS?!" "NICE RACK YOU GOT THERE, GIRL!"

The voices get louder and more violent. I feel endangered, and a cold sweat runs down my back, breathing heavier. I'm going slower, but I want to run faster, but my body just doesn't permit it and fails on me. Let me go.

It seems like I'm running from nothing, and the voices become a blur. Why am I here? How did I get here? What am I running from? Who is following me? I don't know if I recognize their voices or not. Everything just keeps turning.

"WHERE YOU GOIN'?!"

I turn my head, and there's more of them. How many exactly though...? I'm wasting my energy. Keep going. Don't stop.

I believed safety was ahead: safety was always ahead. I kept going, but it seemed like I was only running in place. They caught up shortly after.

"Gotcha." The tallest one muttered triumphantly, seizing me by the shoulders. I couldn't see who it was, or even what their hair color was, but I knew that I recognized the voice. My efforts were diminished anyways, because, in my daze, my vision faltered into black.

~~~

Earlier that day:

"Shut. Up. No way did you make these." I gasped, surprised at the flavour, texture, and colour. "I don't believe it."

"Oh, please, Okuda, no need to thank me. I cooked these myself. They're the best thing you've ever tasted, are they not? I was in the A class, after all." Asano stands with one foot on the chair, ego inflating.

These chicken nuggets were some of the worst things I have ever tasted. How you screw up this badly on something as mundane as a crisp, orange chicken nugget, I don't know. It wasn't like Asano burned them or anything, no. These nuggets came out as soggy as a wool sock in the river. They were damp, man. No way I was gonna say it to his face though.

"Dude, this is the nastiest thing I have ever tasted in my life. Did you dump these in the Atlantic and fish them out with a stick? No wonder you were such a jerk in middle school. Eating cooking like this would make me want to bully innocent kids too," Karma commented indifferently. Thank God for Karma. We were all goofing off; nothing really important was happening.