"What is wrong with you, Memphis? What the hell happened?"
"I don't know, Houston. Stop asking me so many questions."
"You aren't supposed to remember my name. You aren't supposed to remember anything. Where do the Sabres play? When did our eight week old kitten get killed? Did the Bruins beat the Canadiens last week? What did our father die from?"
"Uh...the Sabres play at KeyBank Center. As for Elliot, he died on June 6, 2042. The B's fell to the Habs 4-1 in Montreal last week, and our father was hit by a car. What do you want, Houston? Why are we turning this into an interrogation room?"
"It's because, Memphis, three days ago was your fourteenth birthday. On that day, all your memories were to be erased, but it didn't work. You seem to remember over half your memories, but you aren't supposed to remember even one."
**
The year is 2049. Twenty-five years ago, scientists revealed a new plan to make the world a better place. On every person's 14th birthday, their personal memories would be completely erased, leaving them with only basic skills like walking, eating, and breathing and academic skills up to eighth grade level. From several successful tests, scientists determined that without traumatic childhood experiences, people wouldn't have as much built-up anger to release on others. Up until present day, everything has worked. But on August 1, 2049, a girl named Memphis comes back from the MemoCenter in downtown St. Louis remembering nearly everything.
Memphis remembers that she was born in Laval, Canada, to Adeline and Laurent Turcotte, on July 29, 2035. She knows that she became a US citizen when her family moved to Missouri in 2038, and that her 18-year-old brother is Houston. She knows the names of all 32 NHL teams, and worst of all, she remembers every event from her childhood and early adolescence.
If anyone finds out, she will be executed. Will Memphis Turcotte keep her secret, or will this be one thing she forgets?
~COMPLETED!~
Word count: about 37k
Elodie's life changes at the turn of a doorknob when she is forced into joining a secret organization that claims to be protecting the Earth from aliens. But with every step she takes, she finds the organization, or the facility, as they call it, becoming more and more suspicious. When a mysterious death occurs, revealing a well-concealed secret, things quickly go downhill as humanity's future is placed on the shoulders of a single gaggle of teenagers.
***
I hear a sigh from the other side of the door, "Miss. Chaucer, you have a wonderful opportunity here, are you going to take it or not?"
Now, I am seriously confused, "Opportunity?"
She takes advantage of my befuddled state and shoves the door open. Shit.
The corners of her mouth pull up, and it's so unnatural, it takes me a moment to realize she's smiling. Major plastic surgery? Probably.
Click.
Did she just lock the door?
She locked the door!
I spring towards the house phone, dusty from years of doing absolutely nothing, so I can call the police.
I don't make it. Halfway there, I trip on my own pant-leg and face plant on the floor. The woman steps over me and retrieves the phone. She looks at it as if it's a foreign object, "This won't be necessary. All I want to do is talk to you."
For some reason, instead of screaming, I stay silent.
She smiles and pulls out a chair from the kitchen table for me to sit on. When I don't sit, she says, "If you want to know what's going on, then sit." I think about it for a moment. She hasn't hurt me yet, and I have to admit, I am quite curious as to what's going on. So, call me stupid, but I sit down.
"I am from a space organization that protects civilians from . . . outside threats."
***
Beautiful cover made by @mahana258!
HR: 203 in science fiction (5/8/18)
Completed on August 15th, 2018 (Indian independence day!)
*******This is not a zombie novel