Truth Stealers (Thief's Signal: Book 1)

3

Jag scratched under his nose, peeling away the layer of blood as he pondered.

Meta mechanics. Meta Mechanics Developmental.

Having next to no recollection of anything much that had personal meaning to himself wasn't very helpful. In fact, it practically rendered pondering about anything relatively pointless.

Ahh, but the card!

There was one last item in the wallet that Jag had yet to examine. He stuck his hand into the compartment, and it came back out with a small photograph in his hand. It was the picture of a slim, dark haired woman, standing next to another slim and dark haired man. They both looked incredibly cheery for some reason, and were both dressed very fancily. The man wore a top hat, penguin suit, and bowtie, whilst the woman wore a long, white dress, and flowery little white veil over the top of her head.

Jag rubbed his beard.

Why did he have a picture of two strangers in his wallet?

Then he noticed that the man in the picture also had a trim beard just like his. Jag traced his fingers along up his face, along bristled sideburns, watching the picture. The man's face had exactly the same style of facial hair.

How odd.

Oh wait, that's me! Hmm, I don't look too bad, and neither does my wife for that matter. And to think that she was somewhere in the world right now, ready to welcome me home.

Jag flipped the card over, and read a small note on the back: "Congratulations on your marriage Jag and Lucy!" - Jane Smolders.

Lucy is my wife! And I confused her with a friend? Jane must be quite important to me for some-

A piercing pain spiked the muscles behind Jag's eyes, and he jolted backwards. He wasn't in the box anymore; now he was in someone's room, sitting on a bed. A woman approached him as she entered through the door.

"Jane, I'm not sure," Jag started, but the woman cut him off by putting a finger to his lips.

"Shh, don't speak. It's easier this way. Just relax, Jag. We both know you want to, so enjoy it."

Jane put a hand on his shoulder, and leaned forward, her eyes locked with his, their lips about to meet.

Jag blinked his eyes, and he was back slouching against the wall in the box.

Well shit. I really hope Lucy didn't find out about that. But if she did, it wasn't as if she would trap me in a box, was it?

Jag lay his head between his hands. Another headache was beginning again. And for all he had rediscovered about himself, he was still hopelessly confused about his current situation.

********

"Shh, don't speak, it's easier this way," Jag kept on remembering Jane's voice talking to him.

He looked at the photograph on the floor.

I'm sorry, Lucy.

He stared at her, how happy she was in that moment, in the picture.

What could have gone wrong?

His eyes were drying up, but he wouldn't blink, wouldn't look away from her face.

"Shh," Lucy said, touching Jag's shoulder.

Lucy?

Jag held up the photograph to his eye level.

"Shh," Lucy said again, "don't speak."

Her face was nearly touching his now, and he dare not look away. He could feel her breath on his neck.

Jag closed his eyes, but then Jane's face was there.

Jag gasped, "No!"

He opened his eyes again, and Jane was there too.

"I don't want to, Jane!" Jag pulled his face away and scrunched up his eyes.

When he opened them again, Lucy was looking at him questioningly.

"Just relax, Jag," she told him with those dreamy eyes of hers. "Just...relax..."

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