Broken Silhouettes

-3-

The tattoo didn't look professional in any way, it was more likely it was done in a hurry. In the upper part of it, some lines added up to a strange kind of logo, almost looking like a combination of an A and a W. Underneath it, there was a four digit number. 8.5.9.8. A number that seemed oddly familiar to me, but yet I couldn't make any sense of it. The leader held on tightly to my wrist, almost staring at it. "8598?", she exclaimed, "That is a pretty low number. So you are really one of them..." "One of who?", I asked, "This all still doesn't make sense to me." The young woman just shook her head and instead of an answer, she left the room without a word, leaving me behind with the rest of her crew. The girl who had helped me slowly approached me again, shoving up the sleeve of her black gown. "We all have one of these.", she said quietly, "They are the only from of identity we still have." She showed me hers, revealing the same logo but a different number: 22422. "Is there anything else you know about these?", I carefully asked. "I just know they have been calling me #22422 ever since they found me." , she answered, "And these two are #20282 and #20740." "So I am #8598 then?", I asked, slowly understanding what this all meant. "Yes, you are. But yours is oddly low.", #22422 explained, "The lowest one I have heard of so far is #14747. I am quite sure she knows more about all of this, but so far she has never talked about it. She just keeps running away, like she did now." So the leader's identity was #14747. "But we still don't understand why you are the only one dressed in white. And why #14747 calls you a traitor.", #20740 said from the background, and he was right with that. I didn't even understand that myself. After a few minutes of silence, #14747 came back into the room. She had found back to her strength and commanded: "Let's go, everyone, we have to get back to the base before it gets too hot outside. I don't want to risk anyone of you guys getting hurt. We're taking #8598 with us. I am sure she'll solve a few problems for us once her memories return." The four of us got up and followed her lead. It was incredible how much respect the other three had for her. #22422 grabbed me by the hand and helped me get up: "Can you walk a few miles?", she asked, checking for my bruises and my physical condition. I nodded my head: "I will have to. And hey, thank you for being so kind to me." #22422's face lit up with a quick smile for a second, before she asked me to hurry up and we followed the rest of the group. It took us about two hours of walking through the hot desert air, before we reached the old warehouse that was the base of the group. We followed #14747 inside and entered the room I had been to before. #20282 handed all of us a few bottles of water and a can of food, before we headed down a flight of stairs that I hadn't noticed before. It lead us into the basement of the warehouse. The air was a little cooler in there, no windows, no desert sand. We followed #14747 through room after room. It all felt like a big maze to me. Finally, she allowed us to sit down. "Everyone, get some rest now.", she said, the tone in her voice a little calmer than before, "Don't forget to stay as hydrated as you can during the heat. I know you guys have done this before, so pay attention to #8598 and make sure she doesn't pass out. She's part of the team now." "Thank you, everyone.", I said quietly. "You're welcome.", #22422 whispered. "I... Can anyone explain to me what happens out there during the days?", I finally dared to ask. "We get solar heatwaves out here during the daytime. It only gets better during the evenings.", #14747 explained to me. "That is probably what kept making you pass out out there. It's super important that your body now gets enough water back into the system.", #22422 added. I nodded my head and drank another sip of water, just to be sure. The younger members of the group, #20282 and #20740 had both fallen asleep in another corner of the basement room. The other two were sitting next to me, taking turns on watching over me and them. It slowly got hotter down in the basement as well, we could almost feel the temperature rising. I tried my best to fall asleep as well, but something kept me up. It was now #22422's turn to watch over the two young ones, when I finally found the courage to ask #14747 a question. "What caused all this?", I asked. She was the one who knew most of all the group members. She was the one who could have an answer to all this mess. The young woman turned around, taking off the hood from her head to reveal her light blonde hair. Then she laughed sarcastically: "You really don't remember anything, do you?" I shook my head. "This is all your work. It's your fucking fault that this world is burning." "My mistake?", I asked, confused and also suddenly really scared. "Not yours personally maybe, but definitely the mistake of the whole fucking white wing.", she spit out. "White wing?", I repeated. "Yes cause you guys thought you were better than us. You thought you could save the planet. But hey, look what you achieved... It's the exact opposite. And now we have to clean up your fucking mess.", she said. #22422 suddenly joined the conversation, having kept quiet until now: "#8598 is part of the white wing?". she asked, completely stunned. "Oh yes she is. That is why her ID is so low.", #14747 explained and then got up to leave the room.