Cat N' Mau5

Chapter 19: The Truth Makes a Cameo Appearance

I woke up to a concerned face leaning over me. It was Gerard, the soft puffs of his breathing brushing gently against my nose.

"Mau5," he croaked, sitting back on his haunches and giving me room. I raised myself up on my elbows, groaning.

"Did I...?"

"Pass out." He nodded. "Yeah. You were screaming 'red'."

I winced. "How long was I out?"

Gerard answered with a shrug. "I don't know. Impossible to tell, but it's been a long time. Here," he pulled out a water bottle from behind him, "you must be thirsty."

I whispered a grateful 'thanks' and took it from him gingerly, sitting up and drinking hungrily. Gerard watched carefully, giving me an unnerving feeling.

When it was done, I let out a gasp of air and wiped my mouth. Gerard's eyes were staring straight through me when he cleared his throat.

"Uh, Mau5..." He began, and I noticed the nervous flicker of his eyes.

"Yeah?" I shifted around to face him, crossing my legs.

"When you were out, did you dream?"

I thought about it for a moment. I couldn't think of anything, but now that he's mentioned it I realise that it hadn't been an empty sleep. "I think so, but I don't remember it.."

He nodded slowly, staring blankly at the wall. When he turned back to me, his eyes locked right on mine and a look of dead seriousness was on his face. "You were the best griefer, Joel."

At this my head started throbbing again, and I pressed my palms to my temples and grabbed my hair.

"Crap! No no, not again!" Gerard's voice rose in his panic and he reached for me, but I pulled away.

I could feel my brain rampaging, trying to find why the name sounded so familiar. The sound of Gerard faded out as the intense pain grew. I stubbed my toe on something but hardly felt the pain.

I let out a yell; a bellow of pain and sorrow. That's when it hit me. That was the moment my brain accessed whatever cell that was storing the information.

It wasn't just any name. It wasn't even the name of someone I knew.

It was my name.

At that moment Gerard threw water in my face, which seemed to have a reviving effect. I calmed down and my brain cooled off, the pain dwindling to a low throb.

"Joel..." I breathed. "That's my name..."

"I'm so sorry," Gerard blubbered, not listening, "I didn't mean to set you off again, but we needed to know!"

"Gee..."

"I won't do it again, I promise!"

"Gerard..."

"Next time I'll give you some kind of warning first-"

"GERARD!" He stopped rambling and froze, staring at me with wide eyes. Taking a breath, I continued. "Look, Gerard, you were right to do that. It was something really important, and now I know."

He remained silent, so I kept going. "I didn't pass out this time. Which is good - I mean, aside from the obvious reason; but it means I'm slowly remembering. I just... How did you find out about that?"

"You were talking in your sleep," he said calmly, now composed. "What did it mean? Who did you say that to before?"

I looked him right on. "Gee, I wasn't the one who said that. That was what was said to me. My first 'fan experience', I guess..."

"So..." He squinted one eye as that sunk in. "That's your name?"

I shrugged. "Seems that way."

"This is good, Mau5-" he faltered. "I mean Joel. You're slowly getting your memory back."

I nodded. "Got anything to eat?" I asked, feeling my stomach churning in hunger.

"Yeah," he laughed and stood up to go find something. Whilst he was digging through the shelves, a loud yell resounded, echoing off the various bits of metal. Gerard and I exchanged glances, silently deciding whether we should lock the door and hide or go out and help.

Because someone was out there.