Serene

8

I wake up to the concerned face of Odeo. His eyebrows are furrowed and his lips are pulled into a tight line.

He relaxes when I open my eyes, but he's still so near me and quite stiff.

"What?" I ask, tilting my head.

He shakes his head. "It all happened so fast."

I chuckle. "You got that right."

I sit up and he helps me.

"Where's Gabby and Carlos?"

"Downstairs. Carlos found himself bored and started hacking into the Villa's house while we were talking and he found some stuff we should see. Not much though." Odeo says, standing up. He holds an arm out for me and I take it.

We walk down the stairs gently. "So hacking and stuff. This is all okay?"

He sighs. "I honestly get confused too. Like, we're doing this for good right? But what about their side? Is this good for them?" He stops and we pause on the stairs. "I guess we'll just have to see where this leads us."

Gabby looks up as we enter the living room.

"Thank goodness you're okay." She says, her eyes relaxing and her body slouching from her firm posture. "You need to see this."

She gets up to firmly shut the windows and pull the curtains close.

Carlos pulls out a big screen and soon a picture of my face as well as information about me, surrounds us.

"Serene. No last name still." I read. I walk closer to the screen. "Car accident. Hit by a car on her tail."

I look at Gabby. "A car on my tail?"

She nods. "It was chasing you."

I turn back to the screen.

"Injuries. Bruises. Deep gash on her head. Scratches on her arms and legs. Time spent in hospital. One month." I read. "We already know that. What's new?"

Carlos types something and the information changes.

"Fernand. Use this opportunity to finish your task." I read aloud. What?

"What task?"

Gabby shrugs. "My guess is that Fernand knows to erase your memory. But he doesn't really know the motives behind it all. Like he's working for someone. But just as most employees, they're kept in the dark from their employer."

"Oh. That makes sense. But his wife sure acted like he knew something." I say.

"I think they just need you back to monitor you and be sure what they did worked. They should also finish whatever task they need. And you did run away." Gabby explains. "Or, they have new information and need to do some more experiments with you."

"So what now?" I ask quietly, not very fond of the word experiments.

"We continue searching. There's got to be a way to find a good clue that'll lead us somewhere with Serene." Odeo answers.

Gabby sighs. "Well, if Mrs. Villa won't help us and if this is all that Carlos can hack into, we have to move again. Mr. Villa should be with his assistant doctor, Doctor Herce. Doctor Herce is part of the Frill and lives in the mountains. However, due to the other data Carlos collected from messages, the so-called business trip these doctors are on, happens to be in Streak. They're probably meeting with their boss and maybe Serene is part of the agenda."

"And how did you infer all this?" Odeo asks, raising an eyebrow. It's getting obvious that he's desperate to get a good lead and solve these two big quests. Especially since we don't really have a lead on the other quest about the mystery girl.