Stonebrook High School

Chapter 70

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"... Training?"

Isa let sneak in a small smirk. "I'll tell you after you meet your sister."

"Isa, are you hiding something?" Jesse's mom crossed her arms and glared at her sister through the rear-view mirror. The Director shook her head. "Nothing important, really."

Jesse's dad peeked over the car seat. "Whatever it is, just don't let him out of your sight, alright?" Jesse looked back in exaggerated hurt and Isa laughed. "I would never. He is safe in my hands."

The car pulled into the center Jesse and his friends had been staying at and the four of them got out. After a bit of explaining to the parents, Isa took Jesse alone to the quarantine zone and through the now-broken door. There was Jess, laying down on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Her face was blank, as if there was nothing to think about or nothing to be.

Jesse took a seat next to her and said a small greeting with his raspy voice. "Hey, sis."

"Hey, Jay. What have you been doing?" Her eyes continued to stay glued to the gray ceiling. Although she was referring to him, Jesse could feel the disconnection.

"... I just saw Mom and Dad for the first time. Aunt Carrie, too."

"Are they okay?"

"Yeah. They were more worried about us."

"That's good to know."

The short one-liners she had been spitting out made the brother uncomfortable and he didn't know what to say next. How would he start? Something about her memory? Her hand? Both were pretty terrible conversation starters.

"Jay."

He broke out of his thought bubble and turned to her. "Yes?"

"What happened to me?"

Ah. Of course she would want to know. Her memories were probably very jumbled now, especially since she recalled everything at once. Jesse turned to Isa for help and the Director took a seat next to him.

"Jess, darling," Isa started, "what do you remember right now?"

The sister adjusted her position on the hospital bed, ruffling the sheets. "I remember... learning that Petra got sick. Jesse left to confront... Ivor? Then I remember being with Gabriel. Something hit me really hard. Then it was just... black." She gripped the sheets and furrowed her brow. "I want to say there was a large earthquake and someone really bloody in front of me. Then a fight between me and someone else? Far Lands? I don't know. Everything's just floating around my head. I have memories of hanging out with our enemy Aiden. What is happening?"

Isa held a hand out in front of Jesse to let herself talk first. "Jess, you were one of the people who contracted Wither sickness along with your friend Petra. It blocked out your memories. Your brother managed to get you and hundreds of others out of the Witherstorm and you joined the Order's mission to destroy the Witherstorm without knowing who you were."

The Director skipped to the end, mentioning that there was a lot of stuff in between that happened but she would not explain any of it. "You managed to climb onto the Storm and bring it down. However, you fell a great distance and that was how you lost your hand. In order to speed up the healing process, we removed a memory-blocking drug that had been in your system for years. In doing so, we also brought back old memories that you would have forgotten otherwise."

Jess held her head. "A... memory drug? I..."

"When your pig Reuben died, your parents opted to alter your memories as you and your brother had also been hit, darling. I know you can recall this. You don't want to believe it as you've been living years with a false idea in your head, but it's true. Your brother can vouch for me."

"The best way for you to remember is to rest, sis," said Jesse. "It took me a day or so. It's only been a few hours since you've awoken. Don't think about it too much because it'll hurt your head, alright?"

She sat up on her bed and exhaled in exhaustion. "I know what happened. I remember everything. But you were right, Miss. I don't want to believe it. I can't believe this was my life. And now I have to live with who I never thought I would be." Jess raised her right hand, the prosthetic one, and looked at it gleam under the bright fluorescent light. "Actually, I shouldn't call you 'Miss'. You're Aunt Isa, isn't that right?"

Isa smiled. "Yes, darling. I am."

"Mom... Mom had invited you over once. How come we never saw you again? Who are you really?"

Jesse grabbed his sister's arm gently and shook his head. "I'll tell you everything later, alright? You're spending too much energy thinking." He cracked a small smirk at the thought. "Get some rest, Jess. There's a lot to talk about tomorrow."

She saw the smirk Jesse attempted to hide and bits of her personality came through. "Do I have to wait until tomorrow? I feel like I'm swimming in migraines and medicine right now. I want to talk to you. I was so worried about you once I woke up."

"Jess, darling, your brother is right." Isa ruffled the girl's hair. "Get some rest. You'll only stress yourself more if you stay awake. You're supposed to be administered the old saline solution right now but no one is here..." Her voice trailed off as she looked around to see who was slacking on the job.

Jesse smiled. "You'll be fine. I'll come back, I promise."

"I know you will," the sister whispered. "Thanks for coming by. I really needed that."

"Of course." Jesse got up and began to leave the quarantine zone, going by himself to the door. He was about to turn the handle when he heard a "Wait!" behind him.

Jess had her hand outstretched and she clenched the sheets with her other. "I love you, Jay."

"... I love you too, Jess. Take care."