Relative Strangers (Book 4)

4. Blast From The Past

Although Matt and the team didn't want to keep questioning a traumatised young girl, they knew they had no choice.
If they wanted to help her, they needed to know exactly what she knew and what she didn't.
They would also to have implement as many strategies and techniques as possible, to try and help her regain her lost memories.
All this was going to hard, since the new version of E, didn't trust them.
But luckily the E they all knew and loved, had planned for such an eventuality.

"What are you going to show me?" Asked E, as Matt began to set up one of the laptops in her office.
"A video that you made, when you decided not to stay here, because you wanted to keep travelling through anomalies. You made this video, and instructed us to show it to you, if you ever sustained a head wound bad enough to make you forget who you are, or if you became so scared by something that you no longer felt safe here" informed Matt.
E frowned, "That sounds way too convenient".
"This wasn't the only video you made. You filmed several videos, to be shown to various people in different situations... You even made one for us to watch if you died, which you instructed me not to watch unless I actually had your dead body for proof of your demise" revealed Matt.

"I guess I am pretty smart to have planned this all out" commented E.
"You're the smartest person I know, and you like to be prepared for everything. Which is something I have always admired in you" admitted Matt.
"Thanks, I guess... Go on then, play the video" instructed E.
Matt nodded, and pressed play on the laptop, before sitting down in a seat near E.
He didn't want to sit on the sofa next to her, in case it made her uncomfortable.

The old E appeared on the screen in front of them, and Matt struggled to hold back the tears, as he looked at his old friend.
"Right, hello me. If you're watching this, something must have gone very wrong. I don't know what exactly has happened, but if Matt is showing you this, then you clearly don't feel safe anymore. I am here to remind you, that even though we have never really had a home anywhere, the ARC is the closest thing we have to one. Home is where your family is, and the people at the ARC are our family, even though we do not share the same blood" informed E's recording.

"Nick Cutter may have been our father, but since he never knew of our existence, he could never be a parent to us. But Matt has been sticking his neck out for us, since day one. Even when he barely knew us, he was willing to jump through an anomaly to protect us. We never asked him to care about us, and despite our attempts to push him away, he wormed his way into our heart. No matter how scared you are, you need to remember that Matt will protect you, no matter what. The rest of the ARC are our family, but if you need someone to talk to, Matt should be the one you confide in" continued E.

E's recording paused, before taking a deep breath and starting again.
"Matt, I know you've already been through so much with us, but please don't give up on us. If you're watching this, then I must be in bad shape, but please don't stop trying to help me. I need you. And even if I don't act like I do, please don't turn your back on me, no matter how tempting it might be to do so... I don't know why I'm bothering to tell you any of this, since the whole reason I trust you, is because I know you will always do whatever it takes to help me. But as always, I'm trying to be prepared for every outcome" sighed E.

"If future me has forgotten making this video, then I need you to know that I made this to help you. The one person we have always been able to trust, is ourself. Other people lie and scheme, and sometimes the only person we can believe in, is us. If you feel like you can't trust the people at the ARC, I'm telling you that you can, and I hope you'll listen to my advice, because you always do. We are good at taking advice from other versions of ourselves afterall... I want to finish by saying good luck, and don't worry, because things will get better in the end, you'll see" finished E's recording, as she leaned forward to finish the video she was filming.

Matt and the current E sat in silence for a few moments, as they stared at the old frozen E on the laptop screen.
"Are you crying?" E asked Matt, who quickly shook his head and wiped his eyes.
"No... It's just hard to see my friend, and not be able to talk to her. I miss her" admitted Matt.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm not her, and that I don't remember you" E said awkwardly.
"It's not your fault" replied Matt.
"No, but I feel bad that you are sad".

"Don't worry about me. It's you we are all concerned about" said Matt, before closing the laptop screen.
"I'm worried about me too. I don't like not remembering things" admitted E.
"Does that mean you are going to let us help you get your memories back?" Asked Matt.
"It doesn't seem like I've got much choice. My mum is dead, according to all you, so I haven't exactly got anyone to look after me, and I haven't got anywhere else to go. And if I want to stop feeling so lost, I need to get my memories back" answered E.

"I promise that we will try and not put too much pressure on you, to regain your memories. And we won't keep you cooped up in here all the time. We'll let you spend some time outside, and I'll take you to mine and Emily's place every now and again since you always like visiting us there. I will make sure that the ARC doesn't feel like a prison" reassured Matt.
"Thanks for the offer, but I would rather stay inside. In that video, past me said the ARC was a safe place, but she said nothing about the outside world. If this place really is my home, then I don't want to leave it. I want to stay here" informed E.

Matt felt a little crestfallen that E didn't want to come with him, as she normally loved visiting his home. But he tried not to show his feelings on his face.
"You can stay wherever you like, and we will try to move at your pace. I don't want it to seem like we are interrogating you, and bombarding you with information about the things you have forgotten. I swear that all we want to do is help you" insisted Matt.
"Thank you, Matt. If past me trusted you with her life, then I will try my best to do the same. But it might take some time" admitted E.
"Don't worry, we have all the time in the world. No one is going to rush you into anything" reassured Matt.