Forget Me Not

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I had fallen asleep after a while, my face propped up against the car door with my legs sprawled out against the cold leather. When we had gotten back to my area Robonna awoke me by pulling up the door and letting my head fall down. I jolted awake immediately, sitting up fast enough to get stars circling around my cranium.

“We’re here.” She held out one hand as I squinted towards her, the only light being from the light fixtures above my head. Outside it was very dark and I could barely depict Robonna’s form. When I looked to the front seat I noticed that Nuada and Runda were gone.

“Where are they?” I took a hold of her hand and sleepily pulled myself out of the car with some of the robot’s help. Okay… maybe a lot.

“They are inside.” She responded, her voice hushed and barely above a whisper.

“Inside where? What about Kieran?”

“She won’t be able to find us here.” Robonna crooned softly, holding my arm as I walked. I was a bit wobbly from being in the car all day and recently hadn’t gotten my exercising in. There had been a lot on my mind, you know?

“Okay, I trust you.” I nodded, trying to look up at the building we were resting in. I couldn’t tell at all what it looked like, I honestly couldn’t even see the outline. Everything was just big blobs of muggy shadows. They blurred together as if they were in operating blenders. “I can’t see, Robonna.”

“I’ve got you, don’t worry.” She guided me up a few steps and opened a door, letting me enter first for some reason. All I did was stand awkwardly inside the doorframe, waiting or her cold fingers to touch my forearm again.

Inside was even worse, the area was just pure darkness and I couldn’t get my eyes to adjust properly. Once again I felt like what I imagined Runda felt like all the time; frustrated.

“Lay here.” She lowered me down to the floor. I could tell I was sitting upon a comforter, but could also tell that there was nothing but that between me and the floor. Silence enveloped my ears, giving me no other clue to what was happening. “You’ll be able to see soon, don’t worry.”

I nodded to myself although I knew Robonna wouldn’t be able to see due to the darkness, or at least I didn’t think she would be able to. For comfort, I curled up my legs once more and pulled my arms around them securely. My back hunched forward a bit, but it didn’t hurt. I simply waited until further notice, which took quite a while.

The darkness had faded just a tad bit before it happened. When I looked around all I saw were masses of still forms. I heard no words, no breathes being taken or released besides my own, then I knew that they were all Robonnas. Nuada and Runda couldn’t be anywhere in the room because of how unnaturally still it had been. I felt like time had stopped and I was the only one aware of it.

Then, suddenly, a loud crashing noise exploded from nearby. I shot to my feet immediately and looked around frantically for some kind of clue to what it had been and where it was. After a few seconds a small square of the area burst with all shades of shadows. They were bright and engulfed the room with light. When I looked around once more I found that my previous suspicions were true. Robonnas filtered around the room like bugs. They didn’t move for a moment, and then they sprung to action in seconds. They all filed out of the room in neat lines. The light disappeared then and I waited patiently for some kind of sign. What was I to do? No one told me anything.

Another bang exploded from the sky and I looked around the room once more. When I looked to the Robonnas they all held…

‘Guns, Aislinn. You should know that, I've been showing you all these years.’ Anam said swiftly, but he didn’t sound like my Anam. He sounded cruel and hard. His voice scratched when he said the first word, which I honestly didn’t comprehend. ‘You stupid girl!’

My eyes gave way to a memory suddenly, but not from my free will. I felt my body plummet to the ground, but couldn’t feel the impact. The images engulfed me and I couldn’t release myself.

Men rushed by like speeding cars, their faces filthy and splattered with a dark hue. I could see all the colors, but I couldn’t explain them. The dark hue on their faces dripped across their facial features like water drips down your face when taking a shower. They didn’t seem to mind at all. They just continued with blank faces and in their hands the same object sat promptly. They gripped onto the ‘guns’ as if they were small children or babies, but not with the same sincerity I had seen before from mothers. When they passed their lips moved, but I couldn’t hear a word. My ears rung with some high-pitched frequency and frankly it hurt. I tried to rub my ears, but when I did so I felt a sticky liquid clamp around my temples. When my hands pulled to my view they were covered in the dark liquid. It made me nervous and unclean so I tried to rub it off on my stomach, but that shot pain through my entire body.

I cried out, but couldn’t hear the simple sound. The shocking feeling spread throughout all of my limbs and up to my head. It pounded horridly and still the sound didn’t leave my ears. It got louder with each second that passed. When I looked around the men were gone, all that was left was a ruined, smoking mess. The earth was lit aflame in some places and pounded in to create gaping holes in others. I couldn’t see any other being. I was left behind like trash, somehow wounded and in pain. Why did they leave me? What did I do?

Slowly the ringing faded away, leaving the cackling of flames and the cries of other human beings. I couldn’t see them though. I tried to turn my head and look, but the lights were fading.

The world around me came crashing back. My chest heaved with horror while my hands clutched overtop my stomach. I looked down to my hands and rubbed them together. I felt no liquid across my skin, which was a relief, but I couldn’t see anything. The world was dark like before and I couldn’t see any figures around me. I rose to my feet slowly, feeling my way out of the room and outside.

The same shadows welcomed me, but with a companion this time.

“Come on, Aislinn. It’s starting.”