The Alien Agenda (#Wattys2018)

[Chapter 24: Amnesia]

The hot guy looked dumbfounded for a moment. Then, without a moment's of hesitation-or my permission- dragged me out of my house and shut the door behind me.

"Hey! Let me go," I cried.

He did, release his grip on my forearm, but then placed both his hands on my shoulder. He stared me dead in the eye.

"What do you mean, who am I?" He asked, slowly.

I rolled my eyes, then struggled under his grip,"I meant it. Who the hell are you?" I said through clenched teeth.

"You don't remember me?" He asked again, as of I was supposed to.

Wait, what if I was supposed to. I thought to myself.

I stopped struggling, and stared back into his green eyes.

"I... Am I supposed to?" I asked him.

He looked shocked, then his expression clouded. He released his grip on my shoulders and turned around sighing in frustration.

He turned back to me and said,"Okay, let me get this straight. You really don't remember me. Did you wake up this morning with a terrible head ache by any chance?" He asked.

"H-how did you know?" I questioned.

"Because I did too," he replied.

I contemplated my situation for a moment. This guy seemed to know what was wrong with me. He probably had answers as to why I felt like I lost some time, and that I did not remember anything that happened the past month.

"I-I woke up this morning, with a terrible headache. And... I feel like some weird time skip happened, because the last I remember, it's supposed late October," I explained, cautiously.

The guy, listened to my explanation, then muttered a string of curses.

"Late October?! Memory loss... that's what they did," he said to himself.

"What do you mean, memory loss?" I asked.

"You really don't remember anything from last month?" He asked, for confirmation. I nodded. He let out a frustrated sigh again.

"Listen, Laila. This is really bad. Because for all I'm concerned, you just lost you memories of the most important month of your life. And we're all gonna die."

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Have you ever felt that overwhelming feeling you get when you are drowning, and water is gushing into your insides, more than your body can hold? Imagine that, except a million times worse.

I could not digest all the crap, Axel, the stranger that claims to know me- slash- hot guy, told me.

"So you're saying, I'm supposed to saving the entire human race from aliens which are going to control human minds and reign terror over the planet, in four months to come?" I said.

"Wow, it sounds crazier when you put like that. But...yeah," Axel, replied, nodding.

I shook my head. I was not buying this.

"It was very nice meeting you Axel, but I gotta go," I said, wanting to get as far away as possible from this hot lunatic.

"Laila, wait! Seriously I'm not lying. I'll prove it," he said, stopping me.

"Well then prove it!" I said, exasperated.

"This whole plan revolves around the AHM333," he said, stressing on the acronym he said at the end.

I stared at him puzzled for a moment. Then suddenly, I felt jitters run up my spine, and the loud throbbing of my head returned. Strange images flashed before me. I saw blotches of light dance across my eyes. The word triggered me for some unknown reason. I felt anxiety well up from within me.

"Stop! What are you doing!?" I exclaimed to Axel.

My knees buckled. Luckily, Axel caught me. He set me back onto the bench in the park that we were sitting on.

The throbbing never ceased. I felt my whole body tremble. Axel was saying something, but all I could hear were faint echoes of his voice.

The last image that flickered in my head, was of an alien-looking being, trapped in a glass coffin, before I blacked out completely.

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I let out a whimper, as I awoke, trying to force my eyes open.

"Laila," A voice said, worried.

I gently pushed myself up, and realised I was lying on a bed. I took in my surroundings. I was in a room. Strangely familiar, but then again it was not.

Axel was sitting at the edge of the bed, next to me, with a glass of water in his hands. I took it and gulped it down in an instant.

"Sorry. I didn't think you would react that much. You usually don't," he said apologetically. He said it as if he knew me so well. And I started to believe tat really did.

I gave him a long look, then sighed.

"So, you're not lying. This whole thing... it's real. I reacted to that because I was, what you called, the SOM5?" I murmured. He nodded slowly.

"But why don't I remember?" I asked.

He sighed, then went on to explain this crazy mission we took up to get answers. I somehow had a conversation with a grey alien- time travelers, to be correct- and we got caught. Axel suspected that those people drugged me and caused this amnesia.

It was insane. And insanely enough, I believed him.

"I think Lin is experiencing amnesia as well. Though I don't know if I should tell her what happened-" I cut Axel off.

"Don't. Please. I don't want her involved in all this. She got hurt because of me. I don't want it to happen again," I said firmly. Axel nodded in agreement.

"But how are you not affected?" I asked.

If those men captured all of us, I was sure they should have done the same thing to Axel as well. But how does he still remember everything?

"I don't know myself. The drug probably did not work on me," he said, clearly trying to avoid the topic. I eyed how him suspiciously.

"But what's important right now is that, are you still going to pursue this? The world is at stake and all, but I know I can't force you," he said.

I breathed in deeply.

Was I really up for it?

I could not believe that I had done something that heroic before. Where did all that bravery come from? I was a total scaredy cat and they wanted me to save the world?

"You don't have to do this," Axel said gently, placing his hand over mine.

I closed my eyes.

No, this was not just about bravery.

I knew why the me, a month ago, agreed to this. I knew that I would not live with myself, to watch the world go into chaos, knowing I could have done something about it. It was not just an act of bravery, it was a responsibility.

I was terrified. But somewhere deep down, I knew I was born to do this.

I linked my fingers with Axel's. It felt like a normal gesture to me.

"I'll do it," I said, with new-found resolve.

Axel squeezed my hand,"Good."

I gave him a half smile, and he responded with his own.