The 7th Child

Chapter 13: The New Memories

May, 2016

It had been a few months since Tyler had found that kid in the water, and it has been hard on both of them. The kid was suffering from some sort of memory-loss that Tyler was trying to help him with in order to gain his trust, walking him down popular streets and sites trying to trigger his memory, but not much help. Tyler also found some old clothes for him. A shaggy red and black hoodie and some sneakers with broken spines. They were dirty and a little over sized but it was better then the all white outfit that the kid wore. Whenever Tyler would try to ask what the kid did remember, he was always met with, "I remember a place I used to stay with some friends, and my mom.", but when Tyler tried to pry further he was met with resistance followed by the kid immediately shutting down. But one day, it was different. The night went by as normal, and the kid and Tyler were eating at a fire, when he tried the same question again, "You remember anything today?" He asked through chewing. To his surprise the kid looked up at him, before looking down at his food and finally deciding to talk, partially out of finally trusting him enough, and partially out of annoyance because he kept asking., "Bits and flashes.", he said.

Tyler was shocked, but wanted the kid to know that he cared about him so he showed further interest, trying not to pry as he did before, "What's it like, when you remember?" He asks, avoiding asking what it was he actually remembered. The kid obliged, "Terrifying. It mostly comes in dreams, nightmares. Remembering is one thing, but what you remember is...hard to deal with." The kid responded, exhibiting some trust in Tyler since the first time he agreed to eat at the same fire as him. It used to be Tyler would just leave the food for him on the pier, but progress is progress. "What..do you remember?" Tyler asked, suspiciously optimistic that he might get some answers of where this kid came from. The kid's face held this forlorn look before finally answering, "Experiments." He said, his voice shuddering. Tyler was confused, "Experiments that you did?" He asked, leaning in towards the kid. "No." He said, not making eye contact with Tyler. Tyler was beyond shocked, is somebody is out there experimenting on a kid? Were there more out there? More kids? More victims? He couldn't even begin to imagine what this kid has gone through. 'No wonder he's so cut off' Tyler thinks to himself.

The expression on his face must have given away the slurry of questions in his mind, because the kid continued talking, "I can't tell you much. I don't remember much. I just remember it being, brutal...horrifying. The only thing I remember is the people I had that helped me through it. The people I've been waiting for." He said, his head sagging down as his face evolved from a look of horror to a look of hope fleeting. Tyler sees this and tries to comfort him, "Hey, I'm sure they're alright. If they're anything like you, they're strong, they'll find their way to you." He says, scooching towards the kid. "Yeah," The kid responded, "You have no idea how strong they are." He said while eating the last of his food. "Exactly. They'll find you, all you have to do is wait. And in the meantime, you got me, right?" Tyler said with a charming smile. The kid looked him up and down, "You're good enough." He said with a humorous shrug as he sipped water from his old cup. Tyler is slightly offended, dipping 2 fingers in his water cup and splashing them onto the kid, actually getting a slight grin out of him, the first...ever.

That night the kid had his nightmares as always, somewhat talking in his sleep. He saw the regular stressful flashes, but this time was different. This time he saw a few extra places, faces, and...names. His name. It came as soon as it went. He tossed and turned in his sleep, his nightmares getting more intense as he tried desperately to hold onto it. The places were louder, the faces were clearer, everything was moving so fast he could barely keep up with it. Tyler woke up, the sound of the kid stirring interrupting his sleep. He looked over to the kid, to see him......glowing. This dim light emanating from the kid's body sent a shiver down Tyler's spine. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing right. 'What in God's name did they do to this kid?' He thought to himself as he scrambled up to go help the kid, but was shocked upon touching him. 'Electric? What's going on..' He thought to himself, sitting there completely unable to help the kid as he groaned in pain. His brain was trying to push something out through his memories. Repairing itself in a painful way, a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. He saw everything, he saw everyone, he knew everything that happened. He finally woke up, and Tyler had a million questions, the kid had a million thoughts racing back and forth in his mind at lightning speed. "Kid! Thank God you're ok....Are you ok? What just happened?" Tyler said through rushed breaths, trying to comfort the kid by putting his hand on his shoulders to hold him still as he was still shaking slightly. Only one cold sentence came out of his mouth, "My name is Legai.".

Tyler's eyes widened, realizing what just happened, "Was that- was that the flashes? What did you remember this time?" He asked, on the verge of hyperventilating. Legai looked at him, his eyes wide as everything was being remade in his eyes. He saw the world differently, he could feel his powers again, but was too weak to conjure them up. "Everything," he said through terrified breaths, "I remember everything.". The next day was spent by Legai filling Tyler in with everything that happened in his life. Everything that happened since the day his life fell apart, learning of his fathers death all those years ago. He told Tyler about his time in the Facility, his friends, his mom, The Doctor, everything. Even the brutal, cruel and definitely illegal activities that were carried out against the children. All the experiments, all the training, the surgeries, the examinations, even making them fight each other. "Jesus, it's a miracle any of you were able to stay positive. That's awful what they did to you. Should we like, call the cops or something?" Tyler asked as the rays of the morning sun started gleaming into their alley way. Legai looked up at him, "Trust me, there's nothing they could do, even if they knew about it." He responded disheartedly. Tyler scratched his head, confused about what this means, "So what do you wanna do?" He asks. Legai looks up to him, "I'm going to get them back. All of them." he said, rage building in his eyes.

Tyler tries to make Legai understand their situation, "Ok, that's great. Love the ambition, but you're overlooking a couple things. #1, If this place was on some secret island that nobody including you knows how to get to, how are you going to get there. #2, you're a kid, don't think there's much you can do against a whole facility of men, with guns, that have no problem doing horrible things to kids. #3, you are homeless. I am homeless. We can't do anything to these guys especially not in your physical state. You barely eat 3 meals a day, you're skinny, and you don't have any of these 'powers' at the moment." He said as he displayed his fingers to number everything he was listing, "You go there for revenge of whatever it is you're looking for with no powers, no strength and no plan you gon' end up right back where I found you. Or worse." He said, staring into Legai's eyes, as he put his hands on his shoulder. Legai's eyes tear up in frustration, "Then what do you expect me to do?!" He yells out at Tyler, swatting his hand off his shoulder, "You don't understand how much this means to me. If they haven't come for me it's cause they won't let them. I can't just abandon them, you don't know what they did to us!!-" "But I do know that letting it make you cry won't do anything." Tyler interjects, the expression of worry on his face growing ever more apparent, "That life is over, there's nothing you can do about it. But you can't let a destroyed life destroy you. You gotta find the strength to build yourself back up, and make them realize the mistake they made by throwing you away." Tyler said, doing the best he can to comfort this broken kid.

Truth be told he never was good at giving regular advice, much less advice to a traumatized 15 year old kid with abandonment issues. Still though, it seemed to be enough at the time to at the very least get the kid to stop crying, take a deep breath, and calm down. "You're right," Legai said, slowing his breathing down and closing his eyes so he can concentrate, "Dwelling won't do anything. I need to...rebuild." He said, almost going completely emotionally numb, "I need to become someone new, someone better." He said, completely monotone. "You gonna be ok kid?" Tyler asked, growing more and more increasingly worried for this kid's mental state. "I'm good," Legai replied, "I just need to think.". Accepting they were gone was one thing, but moving on? He had to do that once with his father and he's still struggling, he wasn't sure if he could do it again. It hurt too much to go through it a second time. He'll get his justice for it this time. He doesn't care how long he has to wait. He doesn't care what he has to do. This was not gonna go unanswered.