Prisoner Of The Storm (CANCELLED check my works for current version!!!)

Nine

Nine

***

“So,” August says, in between bites of his sandwich. “How does this whole blackout memory thing work?” He asks.

        “‘Blackout Memory Thing’. That’s one I haven’t thought of before.” He looks up and rolls his eyes. “Fine…I’m not exactly sure how. Different things trigger them sometimes. Noises that are similar to ones I’ve heard before. I can see the same memory over and over again by just thinking about it or until a new one comes. The one with your dad…I think that’s the last one from when I was with Thomas. I don’t know if there are more before that I just can’t remember. They only go in order some of the time.” August puts his sandwich down and stares at me.

        “How do you stop them from coming?” He asks, I take a bite of the sandwich August made for me before answering.

        “I’ve never been able to stop them before. I try almost every time, it just never works.” I tell him.

        “What if you wanted to remember something specific? You would just have to find the right trigger.” He says.

        “I guess…I’ve never tried it though. I don’t even know how long forcing a memory would take. I can be in them from seconds to hours, and sometimes they can be so vivid it’s like I’m there, not just remembering it anymore. When I come out of them, depending on how long it takes, it can get pretty hard to function properly.” I say. August stares down at his plate, focusing hard on something.

        “Who’s leading The Outsiders? Since it’s not my family. You know right? Don’t you have to be high up or something to get into the city?” I ask, remembering my dad telling me about how hard it is to get inside The Wall.

        “Not exactly.” August says, “I volunteered. I don’t know who’s been running things though. He’s a very secretive person. Only has a few people he trusts. One of them had been my dad. Which is why I had to beg everyone to let me come. They all thought I was going to be a traitor like him. They finally listened and allowed me to come. Funny how I still ended up breaking rules.” I stare at him for a minute. I’m not sure what, and I don’t want to be thinking this. But something is off with his story.

        “I was thinking, we should go check out what your parents left you when The Storm is over.” August says, smiling at me. I feel a small pit forming in my stomach. What is he lying about?

        “Yeah, maybe you can figure out more than I could. It seemed like a bunch of junk when I looked at some of it. You might be able to find something though, since you’re from out there.”  I say.

        “That’s what I’m hoping. Come on, we should get some rest. I’ll tell you more about the outside tomorrow.” August says, standing up. I stand with him.

        “You go ahead.” I say, “I’m going to stay out here for a while longer.” He nods and walks back to his room, shutting the door. I know he’s lying about something, I always know when someone lies to me.

        I walk over to the boarded window again. Lightning flashes.

***

 

        The lightning illuminates his face for no more than a second. I sit on a rooftop in center city, looking down to the alley where Jonathon Thatcher stands, arguing with someone in a long dark coat. I’m not sure what gender this person is, the coat is too large to see the build and their hair is tucked underneath a dark cap. Whoever this person is, they’re making things complicated for me. I don’t like complications.