Mister Nobody

Chapter 14

Jack winced as he looked out the hotel window at the darkened New Jersey skyline. "Ow." He said as he turned back to Alison, who was currently disinfecting some of the scrapes and cuts he'd sustained from the crash. Alison shook her head. "Don't blame me, you're the one who had the bright idea to ram a car into a police roadblock." Sighing, Jack winced again. "Hey, I said I had a plan. Never said it was a good one." After ditching the patrol car, they'd managed to steal a truck from a parking lot close by, then doubled back a bit and headed north up towards Belleville, hopefully shaking the cops and the FBI for a little while. Now, they were at a small hotel for the evening, hopefully the both of them being able to get some sleep. "You sure you know how to do this?" Jack said as Alison gave him a withering look. "We were all trained in basic medical procedures. Now hold still." Placing the cotton swab laced with alcohol that she'd gotten from the drug store down the street onto his skin, Jack winced again at the slightly burning sensation, then sighed as she took it off and placed a bandage on it. "God, you were so much more sturdy when we fought against each other."

Frowning, Jack looked at her. "We knew each other?" Alison shook her head and sighed as she put everything away. "Knew is a bit of a stretch. We were more...sparring partners. Each of us was given someone from a different class to fight against during combat training. You just happened to be mine." Jack reached over and pulled his shirt back on, his muscles still aching slightly from the fall. "Must be weird for you...meeting someone you've known for a while, and them not knowing a thing about you." Alison paused as she placed all of the medical equipment in the bathroom. "It's...something I'm used to. In our line of work, memories are fleeting. Which reminds me..." She walked back over to where her coat was, and opened a stitch inside of it to reveal a bottle of pills and a small vial of amber liquid. Sitting back down on the bed next to him, she took out a syringe from the medical kit. "Listen...if we're going to do this, we need to let you get your memory back. This, right here, is a concentrated form of the counter-agent for Ozone." She said as she held up the vial of liquid. "This is for getting memories back fast, but only in short bursts." Frowning, Jack looked at her. "Why only short ones?" Alison sighed as she opened up the vial and stuck the syringe in. "Because, if you got all your memories back at once, you would be overcome by all the input and probably go brain-dead in a matter of minutes. That is, if you didn't have a heart attack before then." Swallowing nervously, Jack pointed at the syringe. "And you're going to stick that in me?" Extracting some of the fluid, Alison flicked the syringe twice. "Yup, pretty much."

Sighing, Jack leaned back against the wall next to the bed and held his arm out. "Y'know, I don't think I need Ozone to help me remember I hate needles." Alison took his forearm and looked for the vein. "Trust me, you had a lot worse than this poked into you when you were part of Castling." Nodding, Jack sighed and looked away. "That's comforting." Placing the needle over the vein, Alison spoke. "This is going to be like nothing you've felt before. The important thing you need to know is to stay calm. Ok?" Looking back at Alison, Jack could see the seriousness in her eyes, and he nodded. "Alright." Alison poked the needle into the vein, injecting some of the Ozone. Jack's heart skipped a beat, and he breathed in sharply as he felt all of his senses skyrocket to their limits for the briefest of moments, then collapsed back against the wall as he suddenly began to see things in his minds eye. He remembered a classroom, not the one he would always think of whenever he thought of school, but one that seemed more cold, clinical. Men with guns always blocked the doors, and the children spoke in a militaristic and more serious voices whenever they recited the alphabet or math. The teachers always wore lab coats, and recorded everything. Jack was in the middle of this, not questioning anything, just listening and obeying. It flashed forwards to a gym-like area, where groups of children were practicing combat moves on mats. Jack was fighting against a brown-haired girl, who seemed to always be in full control of the situation. Her hair may have been different, but her eyes were still the same brilliant shade of blue. Alison had been telling the truth.

Snapping back to reality, Jack jolted upwards on the bed, and felt Alison holding his shoulder and arm tightly. "Breathe Jack...breathe." Panting, Jack closed his eyes and tried to slow his heartbeat down to its normal levels, putting his face in his hands. Alison stared at him with a remorseful expression. "It's always the worst the first time. You'll get used to it." Jack looked back up at her. "Its like...watching another person's memories...but they're mine." Alison looked down and placed the vial back into her coat. "This is why we have to stop these people, Jack. They can use anyone with this drug, turn them into a weapon." Noticing the pills, Jack pointed at them. "What are those for?" Holding up the pill bottle, Alison looked back at him. "These are our last resort. Pills of Ozone that will fully dissolve in 10 minutes. By that time, all of our memories involving Castling or anything we've done will be erased. For when we get captured." Looking down, Jack stared at the small amount of blood that was dripping out of the needle wound. "Right...they can put whatever they want in there, can't they? That's how you were able to convince me to let you in with that phrase." Nodding, Alison sat down on her bed next to Jack's. "Memetic passphrases, they allow agents to communicate with each other even if they don't remember they've met before. Standard issue for every Castling member." Thinking to himself, Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We should get some sleep." Nodding, Alison turned off the lamp next to her bed as she laid down. Soon, he could tell she was asleep by her laboured breathing. He envied her. Jack looked up at the ceiling as he relaxed in his bed, wondering how much of what he knew was real, and how much was Castling. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to know.