Memory Wipe

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Melody

I stared at the unconscious Carter, my chest heaving. I was furious. Everything in me wanted nothing more than to strangle the life out of him. I couldn't believe I had trusted him. He got me worked up, and I trusted him. He made me think that everything would be okay. All of the sudden my vision split, my head swimming. That whole flying vase stunt had drained me. I sat back down in my chair, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples. My head was pounding.

Alice came up behind me. Putting a hand on my shoulder. She was shaking. I looked up, and her face was streaked with tears. Her hair was all over the place, messed up from her fall. I stood up, hugging her.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I thought he was going to kill me." I shook my head, holding her in front of me.

"I trusted him." I sat back down, laughing. A blinding pain shot up my side, right where Carter had hit me. I winced, a grunt coming from my gut. I barely lifted my shirt, just enough to see my hip. I immediately dropped it back down, gasping.

Alice sat on the floor, lifting the edge of my shirt. Her eyes widened. "Oh, that's not good." The entire left side of my ribs was bruised, a disgusting mix of yellow and purple. But the one thing that stood out was my rib jutting out of my skin.

I leaned back, closing my eyes. "I think I'm going to be sick." Alice touched the edge of my wound, examining it. I arched my back, hissing in pain.

"Sorry!" She shrieked, jumping back. "But, look..." She pointed to my side. I looked back down at it.

As I watched, my bone slowly receded back into place, sealing to its other half. The wound closed, leaving only the bruise left on my skin. I brushed it with my fingertips. "Well, that could be handy." I muttered, confused. Today was just getting better and better.

I stood back up, gingerly stretching my back. It was a bit achy, but that was it. Even then, the bruise was starting to fade to a blue.

I grinned. "Wow. If I have all of these powers, I wonder if you have any more." I said, turning back to Alice.

Carter stirred on the floor, groaning. He was starting to wake up. I sighed, conflicted. "What do we do?" I asked. "We can't exactly leave him there, he'll destroy the place."

She nodded, furrowing her eyebrows. "Yeah, but we can't exactly knock him out again, then we wouldn't be able to move him. Maybe we should just let him wake."

I looked at her, exasperated. "Do we have to?" She glared at me, and I sighed. "Fine. But let's use a few precautions."

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"Done," I huffed, tying the last knot. Carter was in front of me, still unconscious. His hands, feet, and body were held tightly to a chair by some rope we found in the kitchen. He stirred again, mumbling a bit more audibly this time. I looked to Alice.

"I give him five minutes, tops," she said, tying a cloth over his eyes.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I can't wait until he wakes up. The reaction will be epic!" All of the sudden, Carter bolted up, straightening his back. He squirmed, trying to free himself from his bonds. I glanced over to Alice, her face scrunched up holding back laughter. I put a finger to my lips, keeping her quiet.

"Don't bother struggling," I said in my deepest voice possible. "You won't escape." Alice was doubled over in the corner, dying with silent laughter.

Carter struggled even more, pulling harder and harder against the ropes. "Where am I?" He grunted. "Where's Mel? Did you hurt her?"

I rose an eyebrow at Alice, intrigued. "Maybe, maybe not. You should worry about yourself right now."

He turned towards my voice. "I don't care about myself," he said, his face turning red from anger. "I only care about Melinda! I SWEAR IF YOU HURT HER I WILL RIP YOUR INSIDES OUT!!!" I jumped back, startled, as he began thrashing around, the ropes digging into his skin. I wasn't expecting him to react this way after he had attacked me like that. I looked at Alice. She was as confused as I was.

I sat in front of him, genuinely concerned. "Hey," I said in my normal voice, pulling off his blindfold. "Stop. It's okay, I'm right here." He was drenched in sweat, a few tears dripping down his face. He really did care about me. He looked up at me, hurt in his eyes.

"Why would you do that to me?" He said. I shook my head, untying the knots around his wrists.

"Why would you attack Alice and I?" I countered. He rubbed his wrists.

"Alice," he whispered. "Everything makes sense now." I shook my head.

"Answer the question." I said, impatient.

"Fine," he said. "I have different powers based on my emotions. When I'm excited, I can fly. When I'm depressed, I can turn invisible. And, as you saw, when I'm angry, I turn into a rampaging monster. They had to lock me up for weeks after you disappeared."

I smiled. "That's all I wanted to hear. Now, what were you saying about Alice?"

He got up, walking over to her. "I thought my sister was killed when she was seven, but the police never found a body. She had powers too. She could see the past, present, and future. She had green-brown eyes, brown hair, and freckles." He put his hand on her shoulder. "And her name was Alice."