Sincerely, Anonymous

January 2

January 2

Dear Annabeth,

Maybe I should start these letters a little more formally, seeing as you don’t have the faintest idea as to who I am, past the fake name of course. That hardly tells you who I am though, just that I chose a name, a common one in fact. But I guess the fact that it is something I chose tells you about me doesn’t it. It tells something, though not something I am able to interpret or understand. Likely something psychological, one of those subconscious things.

Damn, I am already off topic. Back to formality. Does the “Dear Annabeth” work? I think it just absolutely screams formal so I’m going to keep it. 

I should probably tell you how yesterdays story ended shouldn’t I? Well it’s kind of boring, but the gist of it is Kay is not pleased that she had to melt another cuff off my wrist (nor was I since the small burn from where she missed the cuff last time was not quite healed yet). But in the end it worked out for the better. She had to seek me out anyway to give me something they called “The Drive”. It was a small device concealed in a necklace that I was to wear at all times. She told me I wasn’t allowed to try and open it or figure out what it was. She said it was crucial to the plan but that telling me would ruin everything.

The Drive is quite simple for being something supposedly important. Its a gold chain, thing, delicate. It looks like it could break at the slightest provocation but its’s quite sturdy. It must be some kind of metal other then gold. I’ve seen old gold jewelry, it’s too delicate compared to this kind. Gold had survived, it was one of the only metals not taken for weaponry in that war so long ago. It was too soft. The Drive itself looks kind of like a locket. A small oval with a tiny clasp and an intricate symbol that looks as though an eye in a triangle. I haven’t tried to open the clasp, I am following the instructions not to mess with the thing. I am quite curious as to what is contained in something so small.

I have never really questioned the Black Tens motives. But, I’ve realized that they don’t quite tell me everything. They only tell me what I “need” to know. That scares me. But, in the end, I am the one who made the decision to put my friend’s and my lives in their hands in exchange for the world’s memories. And thus, I am stuck with what little information they give me, and what little information I can give you. Do not get me wrong, the Black Tens are a good cause, albeit a somewhat secretive one, but I trust them and I hope you do too. I just want you to know everything you can, so I am feeding you the good and the bad, and the Black Tens really are the good guys, even if sometimes it seems as though they are playing around with me.

To be completely honest with you, these letters might not (and likely will not) make sense, but give it time. For starters I am only here to tell you my story, and my story might not even make it to you, for all I know these will be intercepted and then we are all dead, but at the very least I can try.

I will tell you one thing more before I truly start on my story. You have already had the Procedure done. You have no recollection of your past. You may have already guessed such after my last letter, and I swear I will do whatever it takes to get your memory back too, but I need your full cooperation. That starts by reading these letters, and listening to my story.

I guess I could start my story at the true beginning. Tell you all about my childhood all the way up to today. I did not have a very extraordinary childhood, though. I grew up with one sibling, my brother Sam. He is a year behind me and we are quite close, though he knows nothing of the Black Tens and Procedure. I am hoping that he never knows of it, and that my year is the last in which they take our memories. Past that, I have lived a quite normal life. I grew up wanting to be an artist. I live in a Government regulated neighborhood, just as everyone else I know does. I had a couple of friends growing up but the only one that every stuck was Emily. I never got in trouble, and was usually mild mannered, though at times a little outspoken. Past my asexuality, I was normal as could be until the Black Tens came around.

Now I have the anxiety too which I guess makes me a little less plain, but that didn’t even crop up until I got my Career so I guess it’s just a side effect of realizing the full impact of the role I am to play.

I already told you about meeting Kay and the Black Tens so I guess I won’t start my story there either. To be completely honest the first two years of high school were even uneventful Black-Tens-wise too. We hardly ever met or planned but I think thats mostly because they didn’t need to focus on anyone until they knew their Careers and whether or not they would actually be able to play a vital role.

I guess that means the only way to start this story is in what is happening right here, right now. That makes my life a little easier since I just have to sit down and write what happened that day. I don’t have to worry about reciting my past or going to far back in my life story.

For starters, I know you a lot more then you know me. I might know more about you than you know about yourself, seeing that you don’t have much of a memory. More accurately, you only have the memory in which the Panel has allowed you to keep. But I know you can keep a secret, which I why I am sending you these letters in the first place. I know that you will read all of these because you are naturally curious and you just need to know how my story will end. So I guess we will both have to wait and see, since I am still living my life and thus equally waiting for the ending. But now I’ve gone on a tangent, and the point of me starting this whole thing was that I think you deserve to know a little more about me, however little I can spare.

First off, I am plain. I don’t have very interesting features. I’m that kind of brunette that comes across just a little too washed out, a though my hair had been scrubbed a bit too hard and the color faded. My eyes are nondescript, a dark blue with short lashes, and just a tad too far apart. I used to have these prominent cheek bones and a big nose but over time my face shape has changed to make those far less prominent. In the end it works out for me because I now have the wonderful ability to blend into a crowd. The second thing you have to know about me is that I care strongly about my friends. They mean everything to me and if anything happens to them because I dragged them into this Black Tens thing I swear I will never forgive myself. Past that I guess you will just have to learn about me as I go along, and I promise I won’t be as boring as I was today in the future, but I do think you deserve some background.

Love Always,

Lilly