Heroes

Chapter 19. Memories

...nothing. There was nothing there. I know, I just scared you there, didn't I? I didn't mean to, but...I bet it was funny, seeing your face. No, there was nothing there. I half expected there to be, but nope, everything was just as it had been before. Nate walked up to me.
"We need to keep moving. We shouldn't stay here for long. I've got a bad feeling."
He was looking all around us tentatively, almost waiting for something to jump us. I agreed with him and motioned to the others to go back the way we'd come.
We trudged off and found ourselves on a main road. Cars raced past, their headlights passing over us and blinding us. No-one gave us a second glance considering we were in asylum uniforms. The night was just as dark, with a few more stars.
"So..." I asked everyone over the sound of traffic. "Where do we go now?"
No-one had an answer, so I just signalled to cross the road and keep going on the other side, where I saw a small country road.

Everyone had crossed over safely and we were now walking in complete silence, using Mat's fire as a flashlight. I looked back and noticed Nate lagging behind. Letting everyone else go ahead of me, I walked with him. He was holding a small photo of someone: a woman. She looked a lot like him.
"Is she your...?" I asked, to which he nodded.
"I don't remember what mine looked like," I said, looking straight ahead.
He turned his head to look at me confusedly.
"Dude, it's been like, a week! How could you forget that fast?!"
"I don't know! I guess, I never really gave her that much thought."
"It's not like she's difficult to forget though."
I didn't reply, just continued walking and staring ahead.
"Do you remember anything about her?" He asked me, almost pleadingly.
I really thought about it, then said, "I remember she had black hair and chocolate brown eyes."
As I thought about her, memories started flooding back to me. Happy memories. Memories of me playing in the back yard with her and my father. And my brother. He was a few years older than me, but he would still play with me. He was the one who taught me how to use my power. But when I was around 7 years old, he left. I didn't get to know where he was going, but he said that he'd be gone for a while. He hugged me tight and whispered that he'd come back for me one day. And that was the last I remembered of him. His face was blurry. I looked back at Nate and then paid closer attention to the picture he was holding. The woman in the photo had long dark hair and dark eyes and looked alarmingly like Nate. But she also looked a lot like me. I stopped suddenly and Nate looked back, concerned.
"Mark? You okay?"
I didn't answer. My head was reeling.
"No...No it's not real...that's not..." I stuttered.
Nate stood in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eyes. All I could were the lights in his pupils.
"Mark?! Look me in the eyes and tell me you're okay!"
I couldn't.
"Nate?"
"Yeah? You good now?"
"Nate, you're my brother, aren't you?"

Silence. This was one of the longest moments of my life. Waiting for Nate to reply. He just looked at me, eyes filled with sadness. He didn't have to say anything. I already knew. Nate was my brother.
And just like that, my memories were filled with him. Nate teaching me how to properly use my power, teaching me to hide it from our parents. He would send me messages through my mind and I'd be fascinated. He even took me flying once, holding my arms so it felt like I was a bird. And then the day he was taken away. He said he'd come back for me. Isn't that what he's done?
I couldn't breathe. My throat was tight and my chest felt like it was constricting. I fell into Nate's arms and my vision went black.