The Wrong Side

Chapter 37

My name is Damon Ophia, and everything about my life is finally coming back together. On the other hand, Caden Tarasi's life has probably been ruined.

"Damon? Can you hear me?"

My eyes flutter open. Initially, everything is too bright to process anything, but I blink a few times, and my vision starts to sharpen. Everything focuses and I can make out... white. Everything is white. The walls are white, the bed I'm in is white, the hospital gown I'm in is white. There's an IV in my left hand, dripping fluids into my blood stream and making my hand feel numb. There's a familiar pounding in my head that I've gotten used to over the past few months.

"Damon?"

"Yes, sir," I mutter. "I can hear you."

I blink again. I scan the room, and I see Venning sitting in a chair to my left. He's leaning back; he has his legs crossed, and he has his arms folded. I try to sit up, but I instantly feel lightheaded and weak.

"Don't try to strain yourself," he says.

"What happened?" I ask. It comes out as a rasp and Venning stands up. He hands me a paper cup with water, and I take it promptly.

"We had to flush the drug out of your system," he says.

"What drug?"

"The one that blocked your memories," he sits back down. "You just underwent quite a few blood transfusions."

"What?" I blink.

"The drug was in your bloodstream," Venning explains. "Every time you bleed, a bit of the chemical leaves your body. The procedure to remove it is imperfect, so there may be parts of your life that are inaccessible. But overall, you do remember everything, right?"

"Wait, so," I pause, thinking, and eventually I come to the conclusion: "What?"

Venning chuckles. "Did you lose any blood on your mission? When you do, the lost chemicals in the blood don't get delivered to the brain, and some of your memories come through."

I laugh then it fades slightly. I did. The first time was when I woke up in the van, and I ran away barefoot. My feet were cut and bleeding. When I saw Dawn, it invoked a memory and headache. When I sparred with Dennis, he punched my face, and I had a full out flashback of a training session with Venning on the roof.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," Venning says, noting my expression.

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"How did you know I was coming?" I ask.

"Do you think I'd send you out there without insurance?" he replies. "Your arm. What do you think is in there?"

"A tracker," I mutter, realizing what he's saying.

"Yes. It also monitors your vital signs just as a precaution. However, there was a period sometime in January where we were very concerned and considered sending someone after you."

"January?" I ask, blinking. "That was when this guy with a vendetta with Caden Tarasi beat me up. He had some help and uninstalled my arm."

"He did what now?" Venning asks, his eyes wide.

"Yeah. Wait, sir, where are you going?"

Venning stands up and leaves the room without a word.

"Sir?" I ask fruitlessly.

I sigh and lean back against the pillows. I hadn't realized how tense I was until I relax. After so long, being myself again is such an indescribable feeling. The sense of knowing who I am and why everything was so messed up is a satisfying sensation.