Not an Innocent

Memory Loss

      Anindo is just standing there. He's staring at me, at least I thought he was, then I remember that he can't see me, the field won't let him see me. I notice something that I hadn't seen before. He had the wristband, the one marking him a treasure hunter. I still don't understand why they mark themselves; it gives them away.

I can save him. I could take away all memory of me, of the treasure hunters, of everything that took away from who he really was. I could change everything. We could become good friends. I could have changed him. I could end this all right here, given him back his life. All it would take is a few moments. I know that a sudden burst of memory loss could be disastrous, he could come back, so different, so dangerous; so, I make my final decision, I can't. I won't.

I make eye contact with him, and force him to keep eye contact with me as I back up to the rock and slowly put back on my gloves. Then I put back on the hood of my cloak, then I enter his mind. I always hate doing this, what I can do scares me, that's why I make the field invisible, I just hate seeing people's minds, I hate changing them. I have trained myself to not see their memories, that's what scares me most, seeing what people know, what they experienced. I begin to imagine the last hour, that's how long I've been out here, and the only way he would have known I was out here was if he followed me, and I begin to picture it gone, and I force him back a couple of steps into the trees.

"Why do you make me forget?" I jump for a minute, then realize he was talking telepathically. Since I am in his head, he can just think a thought towards me and make me hear.

"Why do you hunt me?" I make sure my response contained no residue of my own voice.

"I don't know," Anindo responds. The answer catches me off guard.

"What do you mean? You're a treasure hunter."

"But you seem harmless, powerful, but harmless. You come out here every night, and train yourself, the only feature I can ever make out of you, is your eyes. They convey the same emotions with the same colors as my best friend's little sister, fear, so much fear." I cock my head at him, this might mean he doesn't suspect me.

"Is your friend's little sister a controller?" I can feel him hesitate.

"I don't know. I think so, but I don't want the other treasure hunters to find out if she is."

"Why not?"

"I feel like she's my little sister. She's had it rough. And, I can see it in her eyes, through the emotion colors, she's terrified."

"Why do you think she's had it rough?"

"I think that she went dormant, then awakened the night of her mother's murder. I know they don't say as much, but her family all fear her now. Something happened that night. They all had burns the next day. The ashes of one of the attackers were found on the ground of the crime scene, and another one was convinced that this nine-year-old innocent had gotten into his head."

"You understand I have to make you forget the past hour?"

"I understand. Just, help look out for her, please. I know you don't know me, but maybe you can protect her better than I can. I am trying to make her see me as an enemy so I can't get close enough, just protect her please." I nod. I don't know if he can see me.

"I'm sorry." I quickly finish the job and get out of his head.

I take down the field and hurry into the trees. I look at him long enough to see the confusion register on his face, then anger. Then I turn and run through the woods. I feel the tears running hot down my face. My mind is going a million miles a minute. I can't slow my heartbeat. It was a miracle that I got out of there without him getting evidence that it was me. Anindo, I should have known he was one. It's no wonder I couldn't feel any trust for him. If he found me, then there's no telling who else might be after me. I just hope he didn't see my face, maybe he doesn't suspect me, but I think it might have been a rouse.