Adenah: Original Short story

“Ugh…w-where am I?” I muttered, looking around.

The bed I was on creaked as I moved. White walls, white tile floor, white sheets, white clothes. The bright lights over head made my eyes ache. Too bright. I closed them.

“Ugh…” I groaned again.

“Adenah…? Are you awake?” a soft whisper came from my left.

I scanned the stark white room until my eyes came to rest on a pair of light brown eyes.

“Alec?” I asked the slightly familiar slim form.

He grinned.

“Oh thank goodness!” he sighed, slumping against the white head board of his bed. “I thought you’d never wake up!”

This confused me and I looked around the room again, trying to recall anything familiar. My mind was blank, a slate wiped clean.

“Where…are we?”

Alecs eyes darkened.

“A lab. This is where they keep ‘patients’.”

His hand went up to make air quotes when he mentioned the word ‘patients’.

My eye brows furrowed in confusion.

“Why are we here..?”

“Shane.” He spat.

The name seemed to leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Head cocked to the side, I searched my memories, trying to remember the face that belonged to that oh-so familiar name. All I could come up with were faint clips and fragments of Alec and I as children. His hair was darker, longer then. The memories brought me a sense of warmth. Smiling, I looked over at him, just in time to see something flash across his features –though I couldn’t make sense of it- before he went back to his normal look.

Tap tap tap

There was someone at the door. I stood but Alec’s hand on my wrist held me in place. His face was hard again as he stared at the opening door.

“Here’s you r food Alec-“ the pale guy with black hair stopped as he caught sight of me.

He was slightly taller than me and skinny as a rail. He was carrying two trays of food. His presence brought back that feeling of warmth I felt from my memories, which confused me. His eyes held a soft look but quickly flicked to Alec and turned stony. He set the food down on the stainless steel table between the door and our beds and left. He stole one painful glance back at me before shutting the door.

“Let’s eat!”

Alec’s cheerful voice startled me from my thoughts as I was pulled toward the table. We sat across from each other. The metal was like ice in contrast to the steaming bowl of stew in front of me. I watched Alec as he happily gulped down his bowl and started on his roll.

“Eat.” He said, reaching over and placing a spoon in my hand.

His grip was gentle, comforting, though it was almost as cold as the table. I returned his smile and ate.

After our meal was finished we pushed back our trays, full.

“Woo! I’m stuffed!” he sighed happily.

I nodded in reply.

Silence settled between us as we stared at nothing in particular.

“…So why are we here exactly?” I pondered, looking over at Alec, who was busy popping his knuckles, back, neck and anything else that would pop.

He was tall, much taller than me. His knees almost hit the table sitting down and his long arms could reach me without leaning forward.

“I don’t know… they never told me…” he confessed.

“Well, how long have we been in here.?”

He shrugged.

“I think a few weeks. I’m not really sure. It’s hard to tell time in here…” he trailed off.

I was about to ask him another question when the door opened again. The guy from before walked in and went straight to work cleaning up our trays without looking up from his hands. The faint smell of mint drifted through the air. I inhaled, closing my eyes. I remembered this smell had a certain importance to me but I couldn’t figure out why. Something inside me told me to dismiss it, but something else whispered for me to hold onto it.

He picked up the trays and left, glancing at me once more with the same painful look in his eyes before shutting the door quietly. Every time he looked at me like that I felt a slight pain in my chest. I looked over at Alec to ask who he was but I stopped short, stunned by the hateful grimace that covered his normally soft features.

“Alec..?” I said carefully

He snapped out of his trance and smiled softly at me. Silence overtook us once more

“…Alec?” I asked again.

“…Hmm?”

“How long have we known each other?”

“You don’t remember?” he asked, sounding concerned.

I shook my head.

“It feels like all of my memories were pulled out of my head. It…worries me…” I sighed, looking down at my folded hands.

“I’m so sorry Adenah.”

His face was riddled with guilt, like he was the one who did it.

“What happened to me…?” I whispered.

“It was about a month ago..” he started. “You and I were working on an experiment. Top secret. When Shane came in, demanding we tell him what we are working on.”

“How come?”

“Well, you see, you and him were partners, but he got jealous of your fame. He tried to poison you, play it off like it was some sort of lab accident but he was caught before he could finish the job.”

Alec’s expression took on a strange feature. I couldn’t place it but it made me uneasy.

“After that you were assigned to me and we continued the work you two had started and he didn’t like it. So he kidnapped you and erased your memory, so you wouldn’t be able to complete the experiment.” he finished.

His expression was sorrowful but there was something else in his eyes.

“Wow…” I whispered, looking down. “but wait, I’m only 17? How could I have been some famous scientist??”

He chuckled.

“You were a prodigy. You came from a long line of wealthy, intelligent scientists. Your parents always had you cooped up in the house studying.”

“I don’t… remember my parents being that… cruel about learning…”

Suddenly Alec’s chair scraped across the white tiles as he stood.

“Well, maybe we should get some rest.” He said, his voice slightly strained.

I paused, thrown off by his unexpected eagerness to get to sleep.

“O-okay…” I stood and pushed my chair in, flopping onto my bed with a squeak. Alec shifted so his back faced me and switched off the lamp next to his bed.

~

“-denah…Adenah…”

I woke to someone shaking my arm.

“Huh..?” I mumbled drowsily, and a warm finger was placed against my lips.

“Shhh…” the figure above me whispered. I smelled the faint scent of mint.

“Come with me.” A male voice spoke.

“Wha-?”

“Shhh...” he pointed to Alec’s sleeping form.

The figure motioned for me to come with him. I nodded and slowly sat up, wincing at the loud creaks that emanated from my bed. He put his hand on my shoulder and shook his head. He paused for a moment, thinking, and abruptly scooped me up and started walking towards the door, a small line of light was the only thing I could see in the otherwise pitch black room.

Once we were out into the dimly lit hallway he set me down, closing the door and sliding a card through the machine on the wall. It beeped faintly and he put the card back in his pocket. While he did this I studied him. He was slightly taller than me with dark skinnies and black converse which matched with the black hoodie he had on. He turned to face me, pulling his hood down and shaking out his straight, choppy cut black hair. His ice blue eyes brought back that sense of comfort.

“Y-you’re that guy...” I said before I could stop myself. He gave me a soft, pained smile.

“Please follow me.” He replied walking down the hall.

We walked up some stairs, down several hallways and finally stopped at a door labeled “testing room” I bit lip, suddenly worried. He looked back at me and smiled gently again.

“Don’t worry, It’s not what you think.” He said , opening the door.

A table with two chairs sat in the middle of the small room, a couch and a love seat were pushed against the walls.

“Sit wherever you’d like.”

His voice was so soft, kind and gave me no reason to feel afraid, but something in my brain told me to not trust him. I sat on the edge of the couch, suddenly nervous again.

“Make yourself comfortable.” He said, noticing my awkward and stiff posture.

He closed the door and pulled a small bottle of orange colored liquid from the mini fridge by the love seat that I hadn’t notice before and handed it to me.

“Here” He said, smiling again.

I took it cautiously, which made the pained look return to his eyes as well as the ache in my chest. Ow. I looked at the label.

“Mango juice?” I read.

“Your favorite.” He replied, pulling a chair from the table in the center a sitting on it, facing me.

“My…favorite..?” I echoed.

He nodded. I twisted the cap off and took a sip. The taste of the tangy, sweet drink brought memories I didn’t remember I had experienced. Hot summer days with laughter, music and sand, cool dark nights that held secrets, the feelings of love and friendship.

He watched me closely, hope in his eyes, his face, his posture.

“My favorite…” I repeated. “yes, I remember that…” I said, taking a larger drink.

He beamed.

“Good.. now, can I ask you a few questions?”

I nodded.

“Sure.”

“What’s your name?” He started.

“Adenah Mellowbrook.” I replied. Simple enough.

He nodded.

“Good. How old are you?”

“17”

“Birthday?”

“August 3rd 1995”

“Great. Now…where did you grow up?”

“…Kansas city, Missouri.”

“Awesome.” He praised. “ Do you remember any childhood friends?”

“Alec.” I replied without hesitation.

He winced.

“What? I grew up with him. He was my best friend.” I said, confused.

The answer felt wrong but that same voice that told me not to trust him also said that answer was right.

“Yes… and… what did he look like?”

His voice was slightly shaky.

“Brown hair and light brown eyes, tan and uhhh…taller than me.” I said, struggling to remember what had been so easy to remember earlier this morning.

This answer felt wrong too. What was happening? He winced again and bit his lip. Reaching for my shoulders he pulled me closer.

“Adenah. Do you remember me..?” he whispered.

“U-um…” I tried to think.

“Please Adenah. PLEASE. Think hard.” His panicked voice threw me off, I watched tears form in his eyes the longer I took, bringing that sharp pain back, stronger this time.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

A red light illuminated the room and he cursed.

“Adenah! You have to trust me!” he called over the siren, grabbing my arm and pulling me up.

We ran from the room, down the halls. Left, right, left up a flight of stairs and into another room. This room looked like some sort of classroom. He pulled me into the closet and shut the door.

“Adenah.” He panted. “please try to remember.”

“I’m trying.” I whined, sitting on the floor, panting as well.

Outside we heard a muffled voice over the speaker.

“FIND THEM NOW!!!”

He pulled me closer again, his forehead resting on mine. The tears in his eyes made them look like blue crystals.

“Adenah…” he breathed my name.

My heart thudded in my chest and my cheeks went warm. Something in my head screamed that I should know him. Another said he was an enemy.

“You may not remember my name or exactly how you know me but I KNOW you know me!”

Tears coursed down like a slow river down his cheeks.

“Please. Just trust me when I say everything, everything you have been told up to this point is a lie. I am the only one who has been truthful to you.” He said, staring into my eyes.

Boots thudded like drums outside the door.

“In here!” a voice called.

We looked at the door, panicking. He pulled me into his arms and pressed his lips against mine. Pulling away, he searched my eyes for any sign of recognition.

“Adenah. I love you. Please remember that.” He said, a mix of pain and love in his eyes.

The closet door was wrenched open, red light flooding the small space. Soldiers grabbed his arms, pulling him away. My mind screamed no but I couldn’t make my body move. He struggled against them. They dragged him out of the closet and through the classroom doorway.

“No! NO! LET ME GO! Adenah! ADDIE!”

Then something clicked in my mind. A semi truck of memories body slammed me. I gasped, falling forward on my knees.

“SHANE!!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, scrambling to my feet after the soldiers.

His voice was a strangled cry. “ADDIE!!”

I followed his voice, turning a corner and slamming right into someone.

“Alec…” I gasped.

“There you are Addie.” He growled. “C’mon.”

He grabbed my arm roughly and carted me in the opposite direction of Shane’s screams and cries.

“SHANE!!” I cried, my screams tearing at my throat raw.

Alec pulled me into another room. There I struggled, screamed and scratched till something bit into my arm.

“ow.” I winced and suddenly I felt sleepy.

~

“’Addie’… How could I have missed that stupid detail? … Ugh...Rotten little-“

“…another failure?”

“yes…but that’s alright. It’s the perfect torture form him.”

“what about her?”

“She’ll forget him in due time…”

“This is going to kill him.”

“Good. Serves him right for stealing my partner.”

“I thought you wanted her dead?”

“…No. She’s still a good asset. I just need to get that information without it bringing up Shane…”

“She’s waking up…shhh…”

“Ugh…Where am I?” I mumbled, looking around the bright room. White walls, white floors, white sheets, white clothes. Too white. The bright lights stung my eyes. I groaned and closed them.

“Ugh…” I groaned again.

“Adenah..? Are you awake?”

I looked to see the all too familiar face of my childhood friend. I smiled.

“Alec.”

He grinned.

“Hey Addie.”

I giggled lightly at the silly nickname he had given me so long ago.

“Where am I?” I asked, looking around the too bright room again.

“You’re in a hospital. You’ve had an accident.” He replied, pulling me into a hug. “But you’ll be fine. I’ll keep you safe.”