Alone in the Dark - A Dark Ghost Sequel

SEVEN

"Lee. Who is this? Why is she here? And why do you both look like you just waltzed out the gates of hell?"

"Chubs - calm it, alright? She would've died."

I stood in the middle of a forest, leaning on Liam for balance. Looking around, I spotted Zu and Chubs. He didn't look happy and I realised I was meeting him for the first time. Before I could open my mouth, the scene disappeared and was replaced with a new one, this time an office.

"Meditate on that, Mr High and Mighty. This child is here to stay."

The words were out of my mouth before I even realised what I was saying. John Alban was sitting in front of me, with Cate and a Liam-lookalike that must have been Cole. As I walked out of the office, my surroundings morphed into something else. If the transition had been any faster it would've given me whiplash.

"CHEAT!" Jude pushed the pile of cards in the middle towards Vida triumphantly and she took them, sighing. "That's our fifth queen, you're bluffing."

"Fuck," she cursed, rolling her eyes and adding them to her hand.

The edges of my vision began to become clouded as I was transported into a new memory, but I wasn't ready. I liked this one too much. In a failed attempt to stay, I reached out for Jude but he disappeared and I was left alone. This time, it wasn't exactly a happy memory.

Chubs laughed, wincing at the effort from it as paramedics surrounded him. "Yeah, Captain Obvious. No shit."

I was torn from the memory almost as soon as he had finished speaking, coming to my senses in the middle of a badly-sung solo from Liam, barely having time to catch the words coming out of his mouth before I was somewhere else, and again, and again, each jump more significant than the last.

"You did fucking shoot the man in the crotch not that long ago, he's gotta want vengeance for that."

"Move! Move! MOVE!"

"Us. A cure for the Psi."

"We're finally getting out of here."

"She may be better than that. But I'm not."

"That must be thank you in a language I don't speak."

"Killing him would be simpler."

"Oh, Grannie. I can't even."

"Get your asses over here!"

"Hey yourself, darlin'."

"Project Jamboree."

"I'm... sorry."

My eyes burst open as I tried to catch my breath. The second I felt Ruby's hand in mine I realised I was back to reality. Tears were streaming down my face and Ruby's mouth was open in shock. I let go of her and brought my knees up to my chest, clenching my fists in my jacket.

"Did it work?"

I didn't realise she'd asked the question more than once. "What?"

"Did it work?" She whispered, almost as if she was afraid I'd give the wrong answer.

Before I replied, I ran through what I now knew.

1: My name is Aria Stacey.

2: I was in Black Rock, then a Leda Corp facility, then The Children's League and the Ranch.

3: After seven years, I have just found my friends again.

4: Almost all of my friends.

My mind drifted back to the happy memory at the League, with Vida, Nico and Jude. Jude.

Jude. 

I choked his name out and Ruby wrapped her arms around me as I drowned in the freshly reopened wound of his death. I remembered telling him everything would be okay. How did I not know how wrong I was?

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"It worked."

"I know." She whispered. "I know."

~

I wasn't exactly sure what to do. I had stood up, and I had come outside. And that was about as far as I had gotten. I needed some air, so I left. Unfortunately, I wasn't entirely sure what to do after that. It had been ten minutes and all I had done was kick a tree stump (I now have a bruised foot) and rake my hands through my already greasy short hair.

"So what's up?"

So focused on my own thoughts, I didn't notice Vida arrive until she appeared next to me. She leant one shoulder against the side of the house and looked me up and down.

"Not much. I'm only reliving every single best and worst moment of my entire life, no big deal or anything."

Vi laughed, rolling her eyes. "Definitely back to normal. Amnesia was not a good look on you."

"Yeah, I didn't think so either." I managed a small smile. "What do we do now?"

"Well, for one thing, there's a secret conversation going on inside the kitchen that you're not supposed to know about, so I came to get you. Coming?" She cocked her head in the direction of the back door and I followed slowly, careful not to make any noise.

Ruby and Chubs' voices, however hushed, echoed through the house as everyone tried to listen.

"Something's not right."

"What do you mean something isn't right? It worked, didn't it?"

"Something was blocking me."

"Something? Or..."

"Someone. I could see everything as it came back— he wasn't there."

"What do you mean 'he wasn't there?'"

"I mean," Ruby took a deep breath, "I mean... she remembered everything but Cole. There's interaction, but nothing major, nothing important. There's no training, there's no... whatever they got up to when they were alone... there's not even Sawtooth. It's like she met him once, saw him around, and that's it. There's no emotion behind it. I think she's blocking me, and doesn't know it."

"Why? Does she not want to remember?"

"Something tells me, no. She doesn't. And she's not even making that decision consciously."

"That's not good."

"No, it's not." I walked into the room and leant against the fridge, my sudden entrance almost causing Chubs to jump three feet sideways into the island. Ruby carefully lowered her drink to the sideboard and took a deep breath.

"How much of that did you overhear, I'm guessing by the look on your face most of it?"

I nodded, folding my arms. "What can we do about it?"

Chubs cut in, smoothing down his shirt and regaining composure. "Sorry, but for now it isn't our top priority. According to the emergency message on that group chat, which I still refuse to be a part of, there's a reason that Nico and Cate didn't show. And it's not good."

"What's happening?" Vida reappeared, her eyes flitting back and forth between Chubs and Ruby. "Where are we going?"

"There's been an attack on Cruz, and half of that sector's been put on lockdown." Chubs' jacket flew into his hands from the hallway and he shrugged it on, barely flattening the collar.

I dusted the mud off the back of me and pushed up the sleeves of my own jacket. "Right, what do you want me to do?"