Natalie
“What’s happening? Where am I?” are the few words that I could piece together as I regained my consciousness. When my eyes focused on my surroundings, I saw nothing but solid green giants, with faces that mimicked the sun. I tried to stand, but my knees were weak, and I collapsed. I started running through the field of giant stalks, as I was fighting my way through the jungle of sunflowers I collided with something. Not something, Someone. Her white hair shimmered against the sun, her eyes looked like a green abyss paired with the bright yellow flowers towering over her tiny frame, “I’m so sorry dear, I didn’t expect anyone to be in here this time of da...”, she said until her eyes met mine. Her eyes were in shock and her face looked bewildered as she stared at me, “Can you please tell me where I am?”,  I said while she continued to stare at me. It felt like an eternity passed before she responded to me, “You need to follow me. Be silent! And as soon as we reach the edge of this sunflower patch, crouch as low as you can, until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand me Natalie?”, I quickly responded “What are you talking about? I don’t even know your name, why should I come with you?”, She grabbed my hand, started pulling me and said, “My name is Nyla, I will explain everything to you shortly. Please just do as I say.”
When we reached the city Nyla forced me into a cold metal box that sat on top of a clear platform. Everything in the city was made of what looked like metal, possibly titanium. There were no walls, just glass windows and metal panes. There wasn’t even dirt on the ground. Even the concrete was lined with metal. The people were all either wearing all white suits or they were dressed in ragidy dresses like Nylas. No one was talking and everyone seemed to be busy with something, but no one seemed to be conscious of what they were doing. It’s almost as if there brains were replaced with computers. All I could smell was burning fuel and all I could hear is the humming of the contraption taking me away to another unknown, strange place.
When the top of the metal box was taken off, I expected to see Nyla, but boy was I wrong. When the lid of the box was removed all I could see were eyes greener than a jade stone. I was mesmerized by the gorgeous person standing before me, so mesmerized that I didn’t hear the tall figure say “My names Nathan, I’m Nylas nephew. She asked me to bring you inside while she got some things from the city”. After I brought myself back to reality I realized that my surroundings were much different than before I was put into the box. There was tall grass surrounding the small home just a few feet in front of me. The house was much smaller than the buildings in the city, and it appeared to be much homier and far less threatening. After examining my surroundings I said “What city? If I have to ask where I am one more time I..” it was then that Nathan cut me off and said “You’re in South Africa. A mile behind those bushes is the Indian ocean, and Nyla is in the village that you just came from, getting things for the house. She asked me to give you a new change of clothes and to let you take a shower if you feel comfortable enough. When she gets home she’ll talk to you about.... All of this”
The warm water effortlessly cleansed the dirt and stress of the day from my body. I can’t think of the last time I was this calm, matter of fact I can’t think of anything. There’s names and faces that run through my mind, but I don’t know them. I don’t even know who I am, I don’t even know my name. I recalled earlier in the day when Nyla called me Natalie. How does she know more about me than I do? I’ve never even laid eyes on her before today. Panic begins to set in. Why am I here? Why is this happening to me? In my moment of hysteria I hear a familiar voice from behind the door “I’m back darlin’ take all the time you need in there, i’ll be making lunch when you’re ready to come out and talk.” I tried to mumble a quick response to Nyla, but I couldn’t hold back my tears long enough. My hands were profusely shaking, my heart was beating so hard I felt it detaching from my body, my stomach gave out, I could see the pain growing in my legs. Soon I was lying in the tub gasping for breath, trying to yell for help, but no one could hear me. The room started getting dark as I slowly faded out.
“ Every time i’ve opened my eyes today, something traumatic happened to me shortly after. Please just tell me what’s going on. I want this nightmare to end!” I shouted at Nyla immediately after I regained consciousness. This time I was in a bed and new clothes. Nyla was sitting in a chair to the left of me and Nathan was carrying a tray of food into the room. “ Okay then, You’re twenty years old. Your mother and father were Miranda and David Housend, you had an older brother named Colin. The only ones left of your family are you and your younger sister. Do you remember Adelyn?” My mind was trying to grasp the information I just learned as I fumbled on the words coming out of my mouth as I said “ I.. I don’t remember anything. I don’t even remember my own name. Please tell me what happened to my parents? What happened to me?”  Nathan began speaking “Your name’s Natalie Ann Housend. Your mother and father were forensic investigators. They were assigned to a case when you were seven years old. It seemed like any other case. They discovered that the large corporation, Lovinev they were putting a chemical in their products. By the time your parents discovered what was happening it was too late. The owners of Lovinev had already found out that your parents were on to them.” I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. “Before your parents were murdered they collected evidence of what Lovinev was doing. They downloaded it onto a hard drive, then they gave that hard drive to your brother. Your parents knew what was going to happen to them, but they did everything in their power to keep it from happening. Unfortunately they got to Colin a couple years after your parents passed. Colin was a good friend of mine when I attended school in the states, that’s how we know all of this. He told me all that had happened and his plan to keep you safe a few months before he was killed. I thought that he was insane, but I agreed to it. Your brother flew you out here for me and Aunt Nyla to keep watch over you for a few weeks  so that they could finish up some tests. The last time I saw you.. You were.. you were dead ” He said it all so nonchalantly. Like these things happen everyday “ What do you mean I was dead?” I shouted at him “He means that your brother worked for a very prestigious and advanced lab that wants Lovinev brought down just as much as the rest of us. Your parents knew that Colin could stop them. Your brother was a genius, but Lovinev knew your mother and father would pass the information to Colin and Colin knew it to. Your parents and Colin devised a plan. Colin crafted a serum that had the capability of stopping all of your internal organs except your heart, so that your body would be preserved and undamaged when you woke up. Your parents pulled together all of the evidence that they had against Lovinev and put it into a chip. They then inserted the chip into you. If you look at your right wrist, there’s a small scar. It’s from the incision that was used to insert the chip” I looked at my wrist to confirm what Nyla told me. There it was, an incision barely an inch long. This means everything they’re telling me is true. It makes so much sense now. This is why everything is so different, this is why they’ve been smuggling me everywhere I go, then I asked “ Why can’t I remember anything?” as calmly as I could. “Well, you were asleep a lot longer than anyone anticipated. They’d never tested it on humans before giving it to you, so there’s bound to be unknown side effects. It was there last hope to bring them down, so they went for it and prayed for the best.” Nathan said as he put his hand on my arm to comfort me. “ I’ve contacted the scientists that worked with your brother on the serum. They should be here in the next few hours. It seems the lab that your brother did all of his research in has.. Blown up. They’re going to retract the chip from you, then Lovinev is going down, for good.” Nyla said “That still doesn’t help with getting my memory back. I have no memories, apparently my only purpose is to give this chip to complete strangers that my alleged brother worked with years ago, which by the way sounds like could get me killed just like the rest of my family” I blurted, clearly agitated. “ I understand this is hard for you to grasp. Everyone is coming to help you and your sister get back on your feet. I think it’s best that you go to bed and get some rest before tomorrow. There’s a sandwich setting on the dresser, along with a bag of chips and a soda. If you need anything press the button on your nightstand and Nathan will come help you. Sweet dreams sunshine.” Nyla said as she walked out the doorway. Soon after Nyla and Nathan left I fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night from a dream, or at least what I thought was a dream. There was a little girl running down a long, bright hallway laughing. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her long slate black hair was bouncing as she ran down the hall and her ice blue eyes sparkled in the light. Between the girls giggly laughter and infatuating smile, I felt overwhelmed with happiness. Before the girl reached the end of the hallway a man jumped out from a doorway. The girl  was screaming with laughter when she tripped and fell on her arm. The laughter and infatuating smile was quickly replaced with a pitiful whimper and heart wrenching frown. The man rushed to the girls side and whispered “Don’t cry sunshine, the sting will be gone in a moment.” I felt my body jolt, as if I was being ripped from my dreams. When I woke I pressed the button on the nightstand and Nathan was in my room within seconds. “Do you ever worry about yourself?” I asked as he walked through the door. He smiled and said “Do you ever stop asking questions?” with a smirk. “Well no actually, I can’t say that I do. In case you haven’t noticed i’m a stranger to myself” I said as I rolled my eyes. Nathan sat on my bed and put his hand on mine and told me “ I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but I promise it will all be over soon. As soon as this chip is out of your wrist you can restart and make memories you’ll want to relive for the rest of your life.” I appreciated that he was trying to console me, but I needed answers. I asked “What is this corporation that destroyed my life doing exactly?” He sighed, put his hand on his chin and began to explain “The simplest way to say it is, they’re infecting the world. They put a chemical in all of their products. The chemical, It.. It basically takes over your brain and puts you into autopilot. Everyone you saw dressed in white in the city is one of Lovinevs “employees” that they’ve brainwashed. The chip in your wrist has the formula for the antidote. We have guys working for Lovinev that will be given the antidote and from there they will replace the chemical being put into the products with the antidote.” We sat for a moment in silence before I said “So, after this I can move on with my life? Everything will go back to the way it was?” Nathan shook his head “ No, not immediately. There will be a transitional period and we’ll have to destroy every chance there is of them redistributing the chemical. People all over the world will have to be educated on what happened to them and how to protect themselves from it ever happening again.” I shrugged my shoulders, sighed, then replied with “Well that’s better than never being able to live my life. At least this way I can feel accomplished when it’s all said and done.” Nathan smiled at me and said “Now that’s the girl I fell in love with.” My eyes widened and  my mouth dropped. I could tell that Nathan didn’t think twice about what he said when a concerned look popped up on his face as I stared at him in disbelief. “What’s wrong Natalie? Did I say something wrong?” I looked at him dumbfounded “Yes! You said something very wrong! What do you mean that’s the girl I fell in love with?” His eyes widened and he began to fumble on his words “I.. I.. I don’t know what you mean. Those words never came out of my mouth. Why exactly did you call me in here?” He was quick to change the topic and I was fine with that. “ I guess I had a nightmare, only it wasn’t scary, or sad. It was happy. So happy that I could feel the sun beating down on the little girl in my dream, and the laughter sounded so familiar. It was almost like I knew her or was there, but anyways I couldn’t fall asleep so I figured i’d bug you.” Nathan looked at me curiously “ What exactly did this little girl look like?” I gave him an odd look and proceeded to say “ She had the blackest hair i’d ever seen and eyes were bluer than the sky. There was a guy too.” Nathan looked at me alarmed “What’s wrong?” I asked in a concerned tone. He raised his eyebrows and said “Natalie I think that was a memory. Not a dream.” I sat there baffled. After I began to think about it, I never took the time to look in the mirror. “I don’t know what I look like” I mumbled under my breath, then suddenly jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. Nathan followed close behind laughing when I almost tripped over my own feet. I got to the doorway of the bathroom and stopped. “I’m twenty years old and i’ve never seen myself before” I said to myself. I looked forward into the bathroom, took a deep breath and took the final steps to the mirror above the sink. When I finally looked up from the floor, I saw the little girl, but she wasn’t the same. Her hair laid flat and lifeless, her freckles had faded, as did the sparkle in her pretty blue eyes, and her contagious smile was replaced with a cold dead look. I’m the epitome of misery.. Nathan came up from behind me. He must’ve known I was upset, because he turned me around and hugged me. I began to cry, then Nathan put his hand on my head and stroked my hair. He was able to calm me down and for the first time today I felt at peace, all thanks to him. He picked me up and carried me to my bed where I soon fell asleep.
“Hi Natalie, Do you remember me?” I looked up with my eyes still crusted shut, the mans voice sounds familiar, but I definitely don’t know who it is. “No, what’s going on?” I asked groggily “We just took the chip out of your wrist, we’re going to be passing it to the next stage in the operation momentarily. I need to run a few tests to make sure you’re doing okay.” I wasn’t quite with it yet so I nodded in agreeance with the strange man. I felt a little poking, some pulling and a few pinches. It lasted for about ten minutes, then all of the sudden I was shaken back to reality. Nathan was setting on the edge of my bed with his hand laying on my shoulder. “Natalie, It’s all done. The chip has moved in to the lovinev facility. Now all we have to do is wait for it all to come crashing down on them.” I couldn’t believe what Nathan was saying. My nightmare is finally over and I wasn’t even awake for the hardest part. I felt a warm feeling in my chest as a genuine smile crept onto my face. I heard a voice in the hall shout “Where’s my sister?” Nathan looked at me and said “ Adelyn must be here. Are you ready to meet her?” My heart started to skip beats when I saw a petite little girl with platinum blonde hair and green eyes pop through the doorway. She looked at me, smiled then tackled me on my bed. I couldn’t help but laugh while we squeezed the life out of each other. Nyla came in the room “ Well, You guys can stay here with us or you can go back to America. I prefer you stay with us, but I understand if you want to leave.” Adelyn and I knew what was right. Without so much as a glance we shouted “here!” simultaneously. This will be our new home, where we will make new memories and a new life.