Blood of A Seeker

Blood of A Seeker -19-

I wanted nothing more than to shake him silly, slap him even, so long as he remembered. The pain that had erupted after swelling in my chest was unbearable, sobs breaking through my lips.

Tucker peered up at me, confusion written all over his face. He was weak and feeble, blood crusting along his gashes. My footsteps drew me closer until I was barely a metre away. He wasn’t chained up; he could easily lunge forward and attack me – but he didn’t. Not yet at least.

Instead he just sat there, staring at me like I’d lost my mind. “Who are you?” he repeated.

Those three words struck my chest like a truck at full speed. I glanced at the ceiling, the tearful lump rising further in my throat. “Never mind.”

“How do you know my name?” he growled, snapping my attention back to him. “What am I doing here?”

I closed my eyes to prevent tears from leaking. “You’re –”

“You’re in captivity, Tucker,” Rosemarie spoke up and stood next to me with a hard look on her face. “We’re Chromas, you’re a half-blooded Seeker. Right now your Seeker side is dormant. Don’t even think about attacking us; we’ll just kick your butt.” The empty humour and lack of emotion made my fingers curl into tight fists. How could she speak to him so cruelly?

“Why would I want to hurt you if I’m weak?” he snapped. I jumped in shock at the sudden hostility lacing his tone. Just before he had spoken to me with a smooth, soft voice, one I was so used to hearing. He glanced at me, brow furrowing. Something flashed through his crystal-clear blue eyes – they were the only features that remained untouched and perfectly clean. For a moment, his dark blue eyes had flashed a brilliant white-blue then flickered back to their old colour. “Do I know you?” The question was directed to me.

I wrapped my fingers around Rosemarie’s arm tightly, expressing my stress and sorrow. “I-I –”

“I think that’s enough for today,” Rosemarie concluded softly, patting my arm and started pulling backwards, away from Tucker.

My feet walked on their own accord. I couldn’t control them despite the screaming voice in my head begging me to stay, to reason with him, to make him remember.

“Wait,” I croaked yet Rosemarie never listened and continued pulling me out the stone door.

My eyes never left his as I left the premises of the cell. The rest of the Protectors had gone though I could still hear them shouting at Seekers who wailed in cells further down from where I was. I ignored Jillian who slipped in after me.

“Tucker,” I rasped out for the last time before the stone wall closed before me and Tucker’s face was obscured from view.

School meant nothing to me at all, whatsoever. No matter what subject was in or what code book I was deciphering, I went through it like a breeze. I didn’t care for what I did.

Day after day, Rosemarie kept me from visiting Tucker’s cell. Jillian had figured out a way to keep the code active without having anyone supervising him at all times. The Keepers were working to find a stronger code which would permanently place his Seeker genetics under dormancy forever but I was more concerned with getting his memories back. The fact that he couldn’t recognise me still had me in shock.

I sat down on the couch, staring blankly at the black screen of the TV. Rosemarie hummed away softly in the kitchen to herself, a song which sounded familiarly like the wedding march. Of course, why shouldn’t she? Stefan was her fiancé and they were planning a wedding in the future at some point. I wondered if I would want to even attend.