Maybe

Chapter 30

Ethan looked inside at the man for permission and began leading me down the hallway. Before long we came to a door that was identical to mine. Ethan unlocked the door and opened it. I walked in and as soon as Grayson's eyes landed on me, he jumped up from his seat on the floor.

"Olivia!" He yelled as he wrapped me in a hug, "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." I said as I sighed

"They let you in here?" He asked

"Only for 10 minutes." I said, "It was my one condition." I said

"Condition for what?" He asked

"For the trade." I said

"No, I'm not letting you do that." He said

"I'll be fine Grayson." I said

"You could die!" Grayson yelled

"I won't die. And remember, you don't have to keep me alive for Ethan anymore. If he wants to do that on his own, then by all means he can be my guest." I said

"Olivia, you know Ethan's memories have been wiped. It's not his fault." Grayson said

"That's the thing though, I don't think they've been wiped, I think they've been blocked with this poison that they shot in him." I said, "Did you know he survived the fire? Or the bite?" I asked

"Of course not! It was just as big of a surprise for me to see him." He said

I sat down on the cold tile floor.

"You know... I imagined a million different ways that I could see Ethan again. That he somehow survived everything and beat the odds, but never in a million years did I expect this. I can't believe I'm about to say it but, I would rather him be dead." I said, "At least then I know he still loves me."

"He does love you, Olivia. Very deep in his heart, he loves you. You just have to remind him." He said

"I think it's a little more complicated than that." I said

"We have to get out of here, Olivia." He said

"We can't leave here without Ethan and we can't get Ethan to come with us if he doesn't remember us." I said

"I'm going to accept the trade." Grayson said

"What? Grayson, our plan is to get out of here, not get more involved." I said

"Maybe there is something in those rooms that can help us to get Ethan's memories back somehow." He said

"But, if there was a way, then why wouldn't they just give them back to him? They don't need them anymore if they have us." I said

"Because they want him. An emotionless soldier to carry out their commands, it's just like a robot. Giving him his memories back could mean that everything backfires and Ethan could ruin everything." He said

"But, how much damage could one person do against hundreds of mind-numbed soldiers?" I asked

"Think about it. Ethan knows everything about this place. He knows the people, the layout, and most people probably trust him. If he got his memories back, he would turn against them and destroy everything they have been working towards." He said

"That's what we have to do then." I said, "We have to get him his memories back. They say they are trying to find a cure, but I don't trust them at all."

"Me either." Grayson said, "I'll accept the trade and start doing my research in the rooms."

"I'll do the same." I said

I heard a loud knock on the door.

"10 minutes is up." Ethan said as he opened the door

"I'll see you tomorrow." I said to Grayson

He nodded as I walked out of his room and followed Ethan back to my room. Just as he was about to close the door and lock me in, I spoke up.

"Ethan." I said as he looked at me

"How do you know my name?" He asked

"I missed you." I said

"What are you talking about?" He asked

I looked up, directly into his eyes; his cold, unfeeling, hazel eyes.

"You can tell whoever your leader is that I accept the trade." I said

He nodded his head and shut the door tight. I slumped against the cold tile wall and stayed like that for what felt like eternity, but in reality might have only been a few days. A different guard came in everyday to bring me food. I was forced to eat it, they said I would need my strength for the weeks... months... maybe years to come. I hadn't seen Ethan since the night I talked to him and I wondered everyday what I would say the next time I saw him. Maybe I could bring his memory back without having to go through all of the fancy monitors. Maybe I could get him to remember me. Remember how we met that fateful day in the store, pointing guns at each other. Remember sleeping next to each other so that we wouldn't freeze at night. Remember that he loved me.

I hadn't seen Grayson in days. They told me he was too weak to meet with me, and I was beginning to worry. The next morning, I woke up to my large metal door opening. Ethan stood in the doorway.

"Get up." He said

I stood up and followed him out the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked him

He was silent.

"Ethan?"

"How do you know my name?" He asked

"Because we're a team." I mumbled under my breath

He must've heard me because he stopped dead in his tracks. A flicker of hope lit up inside me; maybe he remembered something from his past? Maybe he remembered me? Ethan shook his head slightly and continued walking. It was small, but it was enough to instill some hope in me that Ethan could come back, no matter how long that took.

He stopped in front of a door and opened it. I looked in and found Grayson, lying on the cold tile.

"Grayson?" I asked as I entered the room and the door was shut tightly behind me

"Hey." He said as he pushed himself up to a sitting position with a grunt

"What happened? Are you ok?" I asked as I knelt down next to him

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just these tests have taken a lot out of me." He said

"Grayson, we need you to get your strength back if we're gonna get out of here." I said, "Have you found anything out about Ethan's memories?"

"Nope. They have everything pretty secret around here. Everything is locked with a special code and no one will tell me anything. Have you found anything out about Ethan?" Grayson asked

"Actually, yes. Well, not yes, but maybe. He was walking me here just now and I mentioned something about us being a team and he just stopped dead in his tracks like he had remembered something." I said, "Grayson, I think I made a dent or something in this thing that is blocking his memories. I just need more time."

"Well, they told me that you start experiments today. I guess you'll have to remind Ethan on the walks to and from the lab." Grayson said

"Ok... I can do that. You just focus on getting stronger. We are going to need all the strength we can get to get out of here." I said

I heard the door open.

"It's time." Ethan said

I stood up and turned around to walk out the door.

"I'll see you later." I said to Grayson

"Wait, Olivia!" Grayson yelled as he pulled me back down next to him, "Remind him of the store and the fire."

I nodded as I stood back up and followed Ethan out the door. I decided that if he wouldn't talk to me, I would not stop talking to him.