War of Peace

Chapter Fourteen

Maddie

We keep running until we can't hear the alarms from the lab anymore. We stop to catch our breath and no one's following us so we stop for a long break.

"That was one of the scariest experiences I've ever had," Silas breathes out.

He gently lays Emma down on the forest floor.

"We didn't die though," I add laughing and panting.

"We were pretty close."

I look at Emma and it hurts to see her like this. She's extremely pale and it looks as if she has no soul left inside of her.

Silas walks over to me and looks into my eyes, his icy eyes studying me carefully. There's a chilly breeze blowing his hair slightly to the side. A tear escapes my eyelid. I'm cold and without thinking, I fall into Silas's arms for a hug. The hug is warm and comforting and I've wanted to hug him and feel his warmth since I first saw him in the parking lot of Shaewick High School. I open my eyes and I see Emma waking up. I jump out of Silas's arms and run to my sister's side.

She's so drained of energy and confused. She tries to stand up but she's shaky and unbalanced so I stop her from doing so. She looks into my eyes with no emotion then looks at Silas. She looks horrified when she sees Silas.

"Maddie who is that? Please don't let him hurt me!"

She must not remember who Silas is. That's strange and frightening at the same time.

"Emma, you don't have to be afraid of me. It's Silas, remember me?" Silas says gently walking closer to Emma.

Emma still looks perplexed and frightened. Silas exchanges a look of terror with me as Emma scrambles on the moss covered ground.

"Silas, somethings wrong with her. She should remember who you are," I stress trying not to freak out. "What if we were too late? What if she goes insane like Jason did, or worse?"

"Don't think like that Maddie," Silas insists as he wraps his fingers through mine.

His hand is warm and relaxes me slightly. His cool blue eyes almost stop my heart. Thinking about Emma made my heart beat a thousand times a minute but locking eyes with him makes the whole world stop.

"Maddie!" Emma hollers in my ear as she vigorously taps on my shoulder. I jump my focus back to my sister.

"Maddie what's happening? Who is this guy and why are we in the middle of a forest?"

I let go of Silas, "Emma, this is Silas. You can trust him. He helped me get you out of the lab."

"The lab?"

How much of her memory was wiped? This is going to be tough. I wish I could cry but that would frighten her more.

"You don't remember the lab or the experiments?" Silas asks.

"No, I'm trying to remember but I can't."

"It's ok, maybe it'll come back to you eventually," I empathize.

I talk with Emma about all her childhood memories. I never want to stop talking with her but she's forgetting more and more as each minute passes. We spend the whole daylight talking.

The sun's going down and Emma is remembering things more vaguely or not at all. I know it's only a matter of time before I have to say goodbye. She started looking at me with the same confusion and fright as she did with Silas. She can't recognize me anymore and it's the worst feeling in the world. Her breathing slows and I'm constantly checking her pulse. I go to check her pulse one more time and there is none. My stomach sinks and I feel sick and scared.