Aspen Heights, Book 2: Forgotten

Elita

The door to Ben's room was part way open so I let myself in. Ben jumped in surprise as I barged through the door. He was sitting on the bottom bunk of the bed, his roommate wasn't here. Good. "Hey." I said, as I burst in. "I mean sure, just barge into my room uninvited, which I'm pretty sure isn't allowed anyway but...welcome, I guess," Ben said, his eyebrows raised. "Oh please! I don't need to hear it from you too, I just need to talk to you!" I grumbled, exasperated. "I'm listening," he replied. "Um, could you scoot over so I can sit down?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Uh, yeah, sure, I guess...Queen Elita," he replied, scooting. "I don't need to hear it, but thank you," I said, taking a seat on the bed. "You're the only person that I currently trust, so we need to talk about the dance," I explained. "Should I bother asking why you only trust me?" he asked. "Well, I dunno what's going on with Cassie and I'm still not sure about Sophia and I know you said she was fine but I'm not so sure," I said, shrugging. "You realize how ridiculous you're being right?" he asked. "Anyway! Livia came to my room this morning and informed me about the dance." I found it strange that the voice I wasn't controlling knew about Livia, because that had actually been me. "Ok... I don't know what you want me to say. I mean yeah, everyone ate something and then we all passed out so..." Ben trailed off. "Are you kidding me Ben? You actually believe that?" I shouted, standing up from the bed. I was too frustrated to sit. "What do you mean "do I believe it"? I was there, so yes!" he said, crossing his arms in annoyance. "They must have brainwashed you or something," I explained, probably sounding like a total loon. "Who? Who are you talking about right now?" he asked, flustered. "I'm talking about the Hiats! They were there that night! They were there for me!" I shouted. "What? No. No they weren't," he insisted. "Yes they were! They were there for me! And I went...went down," I explained. I felt myself regaining some control. "Down? Wait, do you remember what happened? Elita if you remember..." he said, his eyebrows lifting even higher. He stood up too. "No. I had some sort of weird vision today. I think...I think I'm starting to remember," I said, massaging my temples. "Elita, you know you can tell me anything right?" he asked, gently placing a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah I know. Uh, look, it doesn't matter. Right now we need to worry about you. You need to remember. For me, it was when Livia said gun. I had some weird flashback. Maybe something will trigger your memory," I suggested. "Gun? Wait a second... Here, move!" he said, pushing past me and reaching down into an open drawer. He pulled Sophia's gun out and held it up for me to see. "After the dance, when they let everyone go back to their rooms, this was on my bed. And I though it was kinda weird so I just threw it in a drawer. I didn't really wanna think about it," he explained, examining the surprisingly realistic gun. "That's the gun! Sophia had one and I had the other one! There were two of them and I took mine down to the Hiat headquarters and then when I got there it was gone and I was so upset because I think they belonged to my mother," I explained. "What are you trying to say? I'm still really confused," said Ben, scratching his head. "Alright, let me break it down for you. At the dance, you didn't just pass out because of something you ate. The Hiats must have woken up before you guys did and brainwashed you! Took away a memory and put a new one in, I don't know! And then, someone must have put this gun in here for you. The guns are supposed to come when you need them but I don't know why you would need them right after the dance..." I said, trying to wrap my head around it all. "You're saying that we didn't pass out because of food?" he asked again. "No Ben, and you'll probably remember it soon but, I've just gotta figure out how you got that gun...and why," I said. "You know what would probably be helpful right now?" Ben questioned. "No. What?" I asked. "Two more people," he replied. "No Ben, not yet."

I went to bed that night feeling extremely tired. Not the nice kind of tired, but the 'so super exhausted I'm about to die' kind of tired. I tossed and turned for awhile before finally falling into a restless slumber.

I was in a room. A completely white room. I was laying on a bed...or maybe more like an operating table. I was wearing the same white gown. My body shook from all I'd been through. The heavy medical equipment hooked up to me beeped and buzzed. The wires stuck all over my body still tingled. "Oh chosen one, how was your nap?" came a voice from above me. It was a Hiat. One of her eyes was messed up. It was like she couldn't open it, like it was glued shut. I sat up quickly, breathing heavily. "Please, no more!" I begged desperately. "But sweetie, you haven't told us what your name is. You know I can't stop until you tell me. And as much fun as it is torturing you like this, I will have to stop eventually," she said, shrugging. Her crooked, sinister smile grew. "Now, I'm going to ask you one more time, what is your name?" she asked me slowly, as if I were a small child. "I'm not telling you," I replied, trying to stay strong. "Hmmmm, that name just doesn't fit," she said, flipping a switch. I screamed, kicking and flailing as the machine turned on and jolted to life. Electricity shot through me. "Stop...stop," I pleaded, my voice a faint whisper. The buzzing stopped as she clicked the machine off. "Have you finally come to your senses?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "I just need a second," I replied through gritted teeth. My body was still shaking and I could barely breath. "Now little chosen one, we've talked about this. I can't stop the procedure just because you need a little break...or you feel like you're going to explode. Because if that were the case we'd have to stop every single time, now wouldn't we?" she growled. "You can't do this," I said, quivering. "Sure I can! It's my job! Now if you're not going to tell me your name I'll have to start it up again ok?" she said, her eyebrows raised expectantly. Her good eye gleamed, it was a deep brown color, almost red. She had her hand on the switch, ready to start it up again. "I don't want to hurt you," I said, trying to buy some time. "See normally, when someone says that, I'd be scared, but with you, I don't have a tingle of fear in my body. Because although you have so much power, you are so clueless on how to use it. I find it hilarious that you would even insinuate that you know how to use your powers. But I mean obviously you know how to do something right since you're not dead, because I'm using so much electricity on you that a normal person would be long gone," she sneered. "Sorry," she added, not a hint of sympathy in her voice. She flipped the switch again, watching me scream with satisfaction. "Fine." I finally trembled. She turned it off with a sigh, disappointed that the fun was ending. "This had better be for real now chosen one!" she snapped. "It is, I'm ready," I choked out, gasping for air. "Really? This better not be a fake name chosen one," she hissed, glaring at me. "It's not. My name is Elita Carpenter," I admitted. "Elita Carpenter," she repeated, nodding. "It's predictable because it means chosen one. And yet we couldn't guess it because it would be ridiculous to name the chosen one...Chosen one! I'll be right back," she said, hurrying off. I woke up with a start. I was in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. My hands shook, my heart pounded and my throat was dry. I was back in my bed at Aspen Heights. It was all a dream. No, not a dream...a flash back.