Ghosts ✔

042 • Kip

Kip. Edward Kip Epps. 

That was his name – that was all he knew. But only because a cop had just told him that. He didn't feel anything about it, it had no meaning to him. Although there were only a few thoughts crossing his mind, there still seemed to be too much of them. He didn't know what to think. What to feel. Where he was. Who he was. 

Who all those men around him were. 

And why that guy with the mohawk was yelling at him. 

Juice – that was what the cop had called him. Was that name supposed to ring a bell? Apparently he was supposed to know him – but Kip was convinced that he had never seen that man before. Staggering he turned away from the crowd and stumbled to a bar stool. His legs felt stiff, like he had been sitting on his knees for hours. 

There was no way to tell if he had really done so. He remembered a few flashes of green, as if they had been driving through fields of grass. Then he had found himself in the middle of a strange town, and after freaking out someone had taken him to the police station. 

And now he was here. In a smokey place smelling like beer and where dozens of half-naked women were walking around. He noted that he didn't mind to watch them, making him assume that he was straight. Again a little bit of information about himself. Had he a girlfriend? Someone who had missed him during the months that he apparently had been missing? 

He looked up when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. "You gotta go to the hospital kid."

. . .

In the hospital they didn't find much. His blood levels were a little odd which they would delve into, and he had lost a lot of weight, but there was no need to stay. So he returned to what turned out to be the clubhouse of a motorclub where he flopped down on the couch. He could feel someone's scorching gaze, and when he looked over his shoulder he recognized the man who had been so angry with him. His dark look gave him the feeling that he blamed him for losing his memory, as if he had done that on purpose. 

He nodded gratefully to the man who had introduced himself as Kozik and took a glass of water from him. His stomach was upset, he doubted he could keep something else inside. He stared at his knees, not knowing what to say. 

"So... I guess I am Kip," he muttered after a while, hoping that saying that name out loud would do something to him – but it didn't. 

"We called you Half Sack."

Frowning, he looked up. What kind of name was that? "Why?"

The man shrugged his shoulders. "You only got one ball."

Kip bent his head, as if he could see right through his jeans if that was true. He hadn't studied himself that well – he actually had no idea what he looked like. "Where can I find a mirror?"

Kozik stood up and led him to a room behind the clubhouse. "This was your room, even though you didn't use it very often."

There was a man-sized mirror on the wall and he walked towards it. Confused blue eyes stared back. Blonde hair stuck to his head, a wild beard was taking half of his pale face from sight. With trembling fingertips he touched his face. 

"How old am I?" he muttered. 

"Twenty-four."

Kip heaved a sigh. For some reason he felt much older. He sat down on the edge of the bed, not being in the mood to return to the noisy clubhouse. 

"Who is Dana?" he asked after a while. Since that guy had freaked out because he didn't know where Dana was, her name was racing through his head. It felt like a memory was itching in his skull, but there was no way to reach it. 

Kozik sat down next to him. "Around two and a half year ago she came to the clubhouse. She's the little sister of one of your brothers; Happy. He's in jail." The man seemed to search for words. "She was on the run from her ex. Together with Juice – the guy with the mohawk – they found shelter in Mexico. Dana was his girlfriend. Or still is." He briefly shrugged his shoulders. "After more than a year her ex found her and took her. Since then, we haven't seen her."

Kip stared at the ground. Not a single word of what he had said, called up a memory. "And that ex took me too?" Confused he aimed his glance at the biker again. "Why?"

Kozik sighed. "I think you should rest."

"Why did he take me?" Kip repeated. There was a strange knot in his stomach. He didn't want to sleep, he couldn't imagine he would fall asleep at all as long as he felt this confused. 

"I think to pressure her. You two were friends."

Kip felt that the man was keeping something from him. Furthermore, he saw the pain in his eyes when he talked about that Dana. "You were her friend too. So why did he chose me?"

With a sigh, Kozik leaned back. Before he could answer, the door was slammed open and someone rushed into the room. 

"Juice..." Kozik objected. "He knows nothing, he..."

The man ignored him, his jaw clenched, his shoulders broad. With a thud a pile of pictures landed on his lap. 

"Look at her. For a fuckin' year you've been the only one who has seen her. There must be something you remember! The climate, the race of the guards, the name of a boat or the helicopter or whatever vehicle they used to get you here!"

In silence Kip watched the pictures. There was radiating so much anger from that man's face that it was hard to recognize him in the guy on the pictures. There he saw a young man showing a smile that created the impression that it was impossible to wipe it ever off his face. His eyes rested upon the girl. 

She was really beautiful, he thought. Without realizing, his thumb stroked her cheek. There were no images popping up, but there was this warm feeling that bubbled up. Yeah, deep down he was convinced that he knew her, but every route to that knowledge seemed to be blocked. 

"What the fuck are you doing?" Juice grunted, tearing the pictures away from him. "Don't touch her like that."

"Juice," Kozik said in a stern voice. "It's just a picture."

"Just a picture? That's the only fucking thing that's left of her!" he yelled. "That fucking asshole over there has been with her for a year and now he's pretending he lost his memories? That's fucking bullshit man! Shit like that only happens in movies, there ain't such thing as wipin' memories in real life!" Suddenly Juice grabbed his collar and pulled him on his feet. Intense, dark eyes stared at him, full of hatred. "This another one of his stupid games? He made you act like you remember shit to prevent that that fucking bitch of yours is gonna be cut to pieces?! Well guess what, she deserves all the pain of the world and you know it!" He spit in Kip's face. 

"That's enough!" Kozik jumped up, dragging the flipped out man away from Kip. "Go home, Juice. He can't give us any information about Dana, maybe his memories will return later."

Past Kozik, Juice gave him a venomous stare. "When I find out you're really fakin' this, I will rip you open and jam your guts down your throat, you got that?!"

A shiver crept down Kip's spine. He was so overwhelmed that he couldn't utter a word. 

Only when the door slammed shut, he dared to exhale.