Forgotten Spark

Chapter 9

As I walked down the hill back to the dorms to change (I was still wearing my pajamas from last night) I got a strange sensation. Almost like a flashback, maybe?

I saw someone who I knew, in the vision, was my father. But he was drunk, and snoring on the couch. I left him there to go to my best friend's house, only to get there and find him locked in the closet and beat up by his dad. I lost my temper and started beating up the horrible man, until the friend told me to stop.

Then it was over. I opened my eyes and found myself lying face first on the grass, at the bottom of the hill. My shoulder was throbbing. I must have blacked out, fell on my shoulder, and rolled to the bottom.

Someone was running towards me. Actually, multiple someones. One was Taylor, one was Ostin, and the other was a blonde girl I hadn't seen since the first day.

I sat up to let them know I was alright, even though I wasn't sure if I was. Taylor got to me first and knelt down beside me.

"Are you alright?" she demanded, breathlessly.

"Yeah," I told her. "Yeah, I think so." I put my hand to my head, trying to remember that weird picture that randomly appeared in my head. Was that a memory?

"What happened?" Taylor touched my shoulder. Then she gasped.

"What?" I asked, seeing her face pale. "What's wrong?" The others caught up. Ostin looked at me with concern, and the girl crouched next to Taylor.

The girl had long blond hair and pretty blue eyes. She laid a hand on my arm. The pain in my shoulder faded. But my confusion only grew.

Taylor look even more confused than me, if that was possible, and I prodded her again. "What is it? You're reading my mind, aren't you? So what's wrong?"

Taylor shook her head. "What was that?" she mumbled to herself. "That doesn't belong there."

The blonde looked at Taylor, keeping her hand on me. "Taylor, what doesn't belong there?"

"A memory," Taylor said. So it was a memory. But there was something strange about it. I knew I was a little weaker than I was before I lost my memory, but somehow I knew I was never strong enough to lift and beat up a grown man.

"You mean it wasn't mine?" I asked. She shook her head slightly.

Then again, as I thought more about it, the way my mother had described my dad didn't really fit into what I saw. He was kind, and loving. I couldn't imagine him being drunk on the couch. And I didn't think the best friend I saw was Ostin, who was apparently my first best friend I had.

"Wait," the blond said, looking back and forth between us.

"Yeah..." Ostin added slowly. "Michael had a flashback?"

"I think so..." I said slowly. "But maybe not." I looked at Taylor. "What was it, and if it wasn't mine, whose was it?"

"I--I'm not sure. It looks like...." We were interrupted by a four-wheeler driving up, with Jack riding on top. Taylor just looked at him incredulously.

"Michael!" He jump off the four-wheeler. "You okay? Need a ride to the med room?"

"He means the medical room." The blonde explained. "You just randomly fell down the hill. You don't look very good, either. You're really pale." I nodded. I felt like I was. My head was spinning and I felt dizzy, but I didn't think it was from the fall.

Jack and the girl helped me stand and board the four-wheeler. The girl sat in front of me, keeping her hand on my knee, now. Jack got in front of her, and we drove off, leaving a confused Taylor and Ostin, who started talking in low voiced as soon as we started to leave.