Amnesia

Chapter 4- Tye

I walk down the lightly lit street, looking for the girl's apartment. The sun went down hours ago, so now I can investigate without interruption.

Finally, I find the complex and climb a single flight of stairs. What is the apartment number? 278. I find it at the end of the hall. Perpendicular to the door is a window, probably my best chance of gathering information at this point.

I open it easily and slide my lean body through, balancing on the windowsill. Slowly, I stand straight, then I put both feet down onto a small stretch below. The stretch is about one and a half feet wide, just enough for me to stand on. As quietly as possible, I inch my way to the window looking into her apartment.

I crouch low and look in through the thin drapes lining the inside. I see a bookcase in one corner, a tan sofa, and brown rug. Leading into the living room is the kitchen.

At the table, I see the girl. She is looking down at something, I assume it's her port screen. Her auburn hair covers her face and her back is facing me. I watch her for a moment, when she suddenly gets up. She reaches her arms back, stretching, then she picks up her port and bag and enters the living room. I move away from view for a moment so she doesn't see me. Then I glance back in.

The girl named Aidlyn sits on the sofa. Her face is scrunched and she's clutching the arm of the chair with what can only be described as ferocity. I wonder what is going through her head. Suddenly her arm goes slack and her face goes blank. I watch closely as all movement leaves her body and she stares straight ahead. Could she possibly be remembering?

I tally this on my mental evidence board.

I keep watching her. A couple minutes later, I see her gaze snap back into focus. Aidlyn pushes the hair away from her face then wipes her eyes as if she's wiping away tears, but from what I can see, there aren't any.

Soon she gets up and turns out the lights in her apartment, leaving to go to sleep. I wait until all sounds have left, then I inch my way back to the hallway window.

I press in the keypad passcode, given to me by the ARC. I then wait for the lock to click. I wait another minute, in case she might have heard it, but I don't hear anything stir. I open the door and slip inside like a burglar. Shutting the door behind me, I walk into the living room.

Aidlyn had been on her port when she had stopped to think about something that obviously upset her, probably something having to do with why the ARC questioned her and the reason I've been sent to watch her. I remember the shocked look on her face when she'd seen me on the transport, like she wanted to talk to me but decided against it. Does she think that I was called for questioning, like her? All this leads me to believe that she needed to know more.

I pick up her port and type in a hack-code that shows me all of her late history, which mainly consists of information on the Addendum Tablet, Dr. Manson, and lots of pages on the Society's history. I add this to the evidence.

Exiting out of her port, I turn off and return her it to her bag.

I'm almost certain that she has a defect in her tablet. The way she seemed to lose focus on the rest of the world and her interest in the Society's history are almost enough information for me to know that she is waking up. I'll just have to keep a close eye on her for a little while longer. It's still too early to know for sure.

I hope she isn't awake, for her sake. I don't know what the ARC will do if I turn her in, but it probably won't be good. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help feeling attracted to her. The way her eyes seem to see the world on a much deeper level than everyone else.

It would never be possible for us to even be friends. Especially given the fact that I remember.

My father was a high commander in the Society's military. He died in the war before the Society was built. Being his only son of course, I was and still am expected to train as a soldier and the reason I remember is because of his rank.

Sometimes I wonder where I would be right now, if I didn't remember. Would I still be in school, would I have friends, would I still have the weight of all these responsibilities? No, I probably wouldn't.

After leaving Aidlyn's apartment, I make my way back to my own. I take a transport to the West sector of the city, in the wealthier portion. It's where most of the political officers live, this includes me, as a "politician" in training.

I survey the familiar layout of my apartment. The basic style is similar to Aidlyn's, only bigger and contains different colored furniture.

I go into my room and lay on my bed. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.

From the window in my kitchen I am able to look down and out across the gates enclosing our community. People yell across the courtyard of my sector. They shake the gates and wave their fists. Many of them try to throw things over the gates. Some hold signs, that say things like Give us homes! or Why should we suffer!

I sit on the windowsill in the kitchen.

"Dad? Why are they yelling at us?" I ask, pointing down at the signs. I look up at his face and he frowns.

"Those people are angry at us because we have what they don't and they blame us for it."

"You mean like jobs and houses?" I say and my father nods. I turn back to the courtyard.

Soon several jeeps appear and soldiers get out, holding guns. All dressed in grey uniforms they create a barricade between us and the people on the ground. I watch as the soldiers force them to leave, but the people are being defiant. They try to push back between the soldiers, without triumph. In shock, I watch as a man about the same age as my father breaks through the line of soldiers. He begins to scale the gates and is immediately shot down.

I let out a gasp of shock and turn away from the window.

. . .

The next few weeks have been uneventful. The girl hasn't had any moments where she seems to remember. She hasn't given anything up so far.

I watch her now, safely hidden the crowd of the city as she approaches the transport leaving the school grounds. Aidlyn boards as she would normally and I follow closely behind her.

I'm taking things into my own hands, speeding this process along.

Thin steam blows into my face as I go up the step of the transport. When I board, I look down the rows searching for her bright hair and school uniform. Then I see her. She's facing the window, looking back at the city. She sits on the far left row, towards the back.

When I walk to her seat she doesn't notice me until I sit down. Aidlyn turns her gaze to meet mine, and as she does, her luminous blue eyes widen.