Forgotten Past: Chapter Four-Lost
She drifted awake slowly. Her head was throbbing and she didn’t dare open
her eyes to the sun. Her dark glasses weren’t on her face and this was looking
like no fun at all.
A low groan emanated from her prone form and she struggled into a sitting
position, fighting to remember the events that had led her to this place.
She searched her mind for some clue, some answer... any answer would have done
at that time. A slow grimace pulled her thin face into a mask of pain. The pain
of digging into her own memory became so intense that a convulsive shudder
racked her body and she fell back against the grass, chest heaving.
“Oh god,” she groaned. Deciding that her best bet was to look for those
glasses, she searched herself, patting her pants and shirt down, in her boots,
on her head... nothing. She got on her hands and knees and swept the grass with
her fingers, feeling for them desperately.
She knew she’d have to open her eyes, if only for a moment, to see where she
was and then wait for night to fall before she could get anywhere. “Shit!”
she cried out, wondering if anyone would even hear her. She doubted it.
When she realized there was no going about anything without opening her eyes, or
some sort of miracle, she stood up, wobbly at first. Her head spun crazily and
stars were flashing unmercifully behind her clenched lids. The sun made the
star’s background a dim red, and even that dim light harassed her eyes. Her
hands shot out unbidden as everything tilted wildly below her feet and she
widened her stance to regain some semblance of balance.
A cool breeze suddenly brushed past her skin and she welcomed it, turning her
face towards it. The sound of tree limbs and leaves rustling caught her
attention and she turned about, listening for the sound. When she was sure she
was facing the trees, or at least what sounded like trees, she cracked an eye
open. The sun screamed down on her and the blinding white and light gray blinded
her.
She fought the urge to cry out and jam the eyelid back shut with pure will and
finally caught the motion of the leaves. Not far, she told herself, staggering
forward, her hands held out before her.
She’d been told the operation would be a mistake, but it had seemed like a
good idea when she’d done it. She couldn’t remember *why* it had seemed like
a good idea, though. Why’d she’d done it escaped her like so many other
things.
Only a few things made sense. Like that the sun burned her eyes. Her head hurt.
She was dizzy. Her head hurt. It was to hot out. Her head hurt...
Feeling out with her feet on the grassy ground she felt her fingertips finally
brush a rough tree truck, and she wrapped her arms around it, leaning against it
heavily. The short walk had drained her.
The sun seemed dimmer beneath the tree, and she crawled on hands and knees a
little deeper into what was apparently a small forest, or at least a green belt.
Barely daring to peek at her surroundings again, even if the darkness behind her
eyelids was black instead of red again, she opened her right eye to a narrow
slit.
Seeing that she’d crawled farther than she thought, and that the forest was
amazingly dark, she opened her eyes fully. It was *very* dark if she could look
about without pain, she thought to herself.
Birds were twittering loudly in the trees above her and she rolled onto her
back, observing the leaves. No sun filtered through, and when she looked back in
the direction she’d come she saw that the blinding sun was a ways away, to far
to bother even her.
Now to try and remember again. She closed her eyes again, allowing her mind to
drift. Nothing happened. It was a blank. How she’d gotten there. What had
happened to her head, which was still throbbing painfully.
Letting out a tired groan, she rolled to her side and pressed her back against
an immense tree. The bark caught on her shirt, and she sighed at the warm
feeling of the tree against her. Then she slept.
~~~
When the woman awoke she sat up with a start, flashing her bright eyes towards
the edge of the forest. It was dark beyond the line of trees and she stood up.
The pounding in her head had receded to a much less painful throb and she
didn’t waver on her feet again.
She made her way to the clearing she’d found herself in and looked around.
There was nothing to be seen. She turned about, searching for something that
would help her figure out where she was, but there was nothing familiar.
Continuing her visual search she finally spotted something that gave her hope.
Light. She’d never been so glad to see the thing that could cause her such
pain. It wasn’t actual light... just light pollution. Obviously from a city.
She could find out where she was, she thought hopefully. Get food, too, she
added silently when her stomach gave out a loud growl.
The woman started loping towards the bright lights. The city was at least seven
miles away and she ran at a steady pace. She didn’t wonder how she was able to
do this; run for mile after mile without getting tired. She just could.
When she could finally hear the sound of vehicles, voices, music and the other
obvious sounds connected with a city of any size, she slowed to a jog and headed
towards the city.
She slipped her hand into her pants and fished out a couple credits. Not much,
she thought bleakly. But should be enough for some dark glasses.
Squinting slightly from the neon lights, she entered the noisy city. Gun fire
cold be heard some where far off, and there was a party going on close by.
Spotting a nearby corner store she slipped in the electric doors quietly.
Just as she’d hoped, there was a tall stand of sunglasses near the counter.
The phosphorescent lighting stung her eyes, making her almost blind, and she
groped around the stand, pulling off random glasses. She finally found a pair
that rapped completely around her eyes, blocking all light, and were very dark.
She made a show of looking in the mirror and then pulled the shades off and
fumbled for the counter ledge.
“You all right, lady?” the heavy set man behind the counter asked, ringing
up the shades on his register.
She squinted at him, trying to make out his face before finally giving up.
“Uh, yeah. I just have sorta sensitive eyes is all.”
He grunted and handed her the shades. She tore the tag off and put them back on.
Everything game back into focus and she glanced at his face.
“But thank you for asking,” she tacked on.
Wondering if she looked as beat up as she felt she went back to the mirror and
looked at her image.
A bruised and battered, dirty woman stared back at her. Her wavy blonde hair was
pulled back into a braid that was falling apart. She struggled to remember how
long it was, but gave up when her brain rebelled and pulled up the headache that
had finally faded away.
She flashed the man what she hoped was a carefree smile and left the store.
Her hands were in her pockets as she strolled absently down the street, looking
for a place that would give her a quick bite to eat.
She finally found some sort of fast food joint, and looked around the crowded
interior, searching for someone or something familiar. Nothing still.
Getting in line behind a young man, she fumbled in her pants again for the rest
of her creds. She held them in her open palm and counted them. Thirty-six left,
then she’d be broke. She turned her eyes to the brightly lit menu hanging over
the counter. Everything here was greasy and cheap. That was good. She could come
here until she figured out how to get back to... she stopped. Back to where? She
didn’t have a clue where she was from or where she would go.
“Shit,” she cursed sotto voce, mouthing the word beneath her breath.
Pulling out of her reverie, she ordered what was supposed to be a burger and
fries and paid for it.
She left the building and sat on the sidewalk, eating thoughtfully.
The food tasted all right, despite the grease, and she chewed it happily,
feeling it slide down into her empty belly. She drank the soda that came with
her meal through a straw and wondered how she would figure out the mystery that
was her head.
“To confusing,” she mumbled quietly, just wanting to hear her own voice
mostly. A chunk of burger fell out of her mouth as she spoke and she lifted it
off her pant leg with her fingers and popped it back in her mouth. If she was
going to eat, she told herself, she wasn’t going to waste what she could get
with her rapidly diminishing creds.
Suddenly, there was a man in front of her, hunkering down on his haunches to
look her in the eye. “Well, hello there, little lady,” he said.
She looked up at him curiously. He had a strange, comforting accent. She tried
to place it, but gave up quickly. She licked her lips after swallowing a
mouthful of fries and washed it down with her drink. She lifted her brows
questioningly.
“I haven’t seen you around here before. What’s your name?” he asked.
She wanted to tell him, to talk to someone and try to find out where she was.
She opened her mouth to say her name, but nothing came out. She closed her mouth
and searched her mind, racking it for the answer. Finally she looked up at him,
blinking as if she’d been struck and said the only thing she could. “I
don’t know.”
***