The Shadow Project

Chapter One: N is for Nothing

The sweet scent of summer was carried upon a gentle wind. Tufts of cotton wood fell through the air like snow. A swing set swung and squeaked. A little girl sat in the backyard, feet bare and dirty, face smudged with pollen and mud. Her hair was tangled to oblivion, but she didn’t care; she was busy knotting tiny white and pink clovers to fluffy dandelions to create a crown of flowers. A canning glass sat at her side, with a bit of metal screen rubber-banded to the mouth, and a highly annoyed mantid was perched on a twig within, cleaning its forelegs. A plastic kitchenware tub sat on her other side, and a bumpy, black toad peered out with sleepy eyes.
A young woman called out to her from the house, and the child turned her gaze to her. Her dark chocolate hair was plaited into a chunky, wispy braid, and was draped over her shoulder. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. She lifted her long, flowing, maroon dress, revealing her bare feet, and she tip-toed through the damp grass. The hem of her skirt fluttered in the wind, and the lace edging tickled the blades of grass as she passed them. She crouched down in front of the girl, and propped an elbow on her knee, and her chin on her hand. Her smile was the incarnation of happiness. Her face was round and her cheeks were rosy from vigorous work. With the other hand, she offered a very tiny, very dirty rag doll, with a dress that matched her own.
“I found her in your pocket when I was washing the laundry,” She giggled.
The child dropped the flowers and enthusiastically snatched the doll. She kissed it and held it close. “I missed her.”
“I know you did, sweetie.” The woman reached up and gently pinched the child’s smudgy cheek. “Look how muddy you are,” she laughed.
“Ow! Don’t pinch!” The girl rubbed the affected area with annoyance.
“Aww I can’t help it! Your cheeks are just so pudgy and cute!” The woman picked up the jar and studied the mantid, who had since moved from cleaning its forelegs to its antennae. “A fine specimen you have here.”
“Yeah, its super rare,” the girl boasted. “I’m gonna find some crickets for him to eat.”
“You know, he would be a lot happier outside of the jar,” the woman chuckled.
“Yeah, but I wanted to show him to my friends.”
“Do your friends catch bugs, too?”
“Yeah. They show me their bugs and I show them my bugs.” The girl took back her jar so she could stare at it again.
The woman took the tub and looked inside. “Do you think you would keep bugs if your friends didn’t do it?”
“No. Then I wouldn’t have anyone to show them to.”
“Do you know what happens when you keep the bugs for too long?”
The girl pouted, but didnt say anything.
“They always die, right?” The woman asked.
“....yes.”
“Well, sometimes you have to think about the animals and bugs that are being captured.” The woman took the toad from the tub and studied it in her hand. “For your whole life, people all around you are going to convince you to do things, just because they do it. But a lot of the time, it's not the best idea.”
The little girl pouted. “Why not?”
“Sometimes, other people get hurt in the process. Sometimes that person is you.”
“Why would I get hurt if I put a bug in a jar?”
The woman chuckled a little, and ruffled the girl’s hair. “Think about what you do every time one of your bugs or animals die. What do you do?”
“...I’m really sad.”
“That’s right. You want to impress your friends with your bugs even though you know they are going to die, and don’t want them to die. Right?” The toad jumped out of the woman’s hand and into the grass.
“...yeah.” The girl looked a little forlorn as the toad hopped on its way.
“I know it's hard to see it right now, but both you and the toad are gonna be happier this way.”
“It doesn’t feel like it. The girl crossed her arms and glared.
“You usually don’t for a while.” The woman took the girl in her lap and gave her a warm hug. “Now don’t make that face anymore. You and the toad can have so many more adventures now!”

Air rushed like sand into my lungs, and explosions racked my eardrums and sent them ringing. A plethora of smells invaded my nostrils, including gunpowder and blood. My eyes shot open and the searing light attacked them. I collapsed to the ground and started coughing up mouthfuls of fluid from my lungs. My head and heart were pounding like crazy, and my stomach was tied up in a knot. I heaved and vomited a puddle of bile onto the baby-blue, waxed tiles.
My arm was tugged and I heard someone shouting at me, but it all blended with the rest of the stimuli that was coming at me, so I barely noticed. I was jerked up off the ground and forced to look into a pair of terrified gray eyes. 
“Come on, we’ve got to leave now!”
I didn’t know how, or why, or where, or when. I just stared, dazed by everything. My arm was thrown around a neck and my waist held tight, and I was helped along through the chaotic world around me. I caught glimpses of crumbled concrete, broken glass, wires, and puddles of blood. None of it made sense in my mind. There was just too much.   
The chaos died down, and fell to the distance. Soon my feet no longer slipped around on waxed floor, or grated on rough concrete, but into soft, cool dust that crept up between my toes. The air became cool, and the light diminished. I Looked up above me and caught sight of the stars. The stars seemed to sing of sweet freedom. 
A warm blanket draped over me. I pulled it close to my chilled, bare body.
“Hold on a minute, I will get something proper for you to wear.” I nodded. I couldn’t see who it was that said that, because my eyes were still adjusting to the darkness. The voice was male. It was soft and warm, so I wasn’t afraid of him.
He tossed me some rough-feeling clothes. “Here. Get dressed. I won’t look.”
I stared down at them, and pulled them apart, trying to make sense of them. For some reason, it wasn’t registering, and my arms were barely strong enough to hold them up to look at them.
“Um. Can you help me? I don’t...know how. I can’t.” I had to force the words out. My mouth felt so awkward, and I didn’t have enough breath to properly fuel the words.
There was a moment of awkward silence. I still couldn’t see anything. I had no idea what his face looked like, or what expression he was making.
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my—well. I guess I can. I’ve never dressed someone else before though.” 
My brain was so heavy and my face was so hot. This felt like some sort of lucid dream. I weakly handed him the pile.
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything weird,” he promised. “Lift your arms up.”
I barely accomplished it, but I somehow managed to. He slipped my arms into the sleeves, and the shirt over my head, and I instantly felt a lot better. He helped me into the pants next. 
“Hold on, I’ll find you a string or something to hold these up. You’re so freakin tiny.”
He threaded the string through the loops and pulled it taught enough to help the pants stay on. I felt so much more relaxed, having my body covered. I pulled the blanket around me once more.
“So what’s your name?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't spit it out. I had to think for a minute. That’s when I realized...my memory was completely blank. There was nothing there. At all. 
“I...I...can’t remember.” Speaking was so difficult. It was like I had forgotten how to do it. “I feel like I should...I just...can’t.”
“Poor girl,” he sighed. “We’ll come up with something for you. Don’t worry.” 
My eyes finally adjusted enough to make out his face. He was only a few inches taller than me. He was very lean, and more limbs than anything. His face was long and his nose was upturned a little. He was pretty young, probably not over 20 years old.
“What’s your name?” I forced out. I rubbed my itchy nose with the edge of the blanket.
“Kian.”
“Where are we?”
“That’s a really good question, actually,” He chuckled nervously. “Somewhere in the desert.”
“What am I doing here?”
“Um. Also a good question.” He sat on a boulder quite near me, and laced his hands together. “I have no clue. But I couldn’t just leave you to die. Also, you were hooked up to some cruel machine, which seemed worse than death, honestly.”
“Machine?”
“Yeah, you should know more about it than I do. But I have a feeling you don’t.” He ran his fingers through his messy hair.
“I don’t.”
“Yeah, I’m just as clueless as you are, then.” 
“What are you doing here?” I reached up and felt my bare head. The smooth skin was so strange. Shouldn’t I have hair, like he does?
“Blowing up. Stealing. Takin’ down the bad guys.”
“Why?”
“Ummm cause it’s fun, I guess. And they’re bad. So.”
My mind raced to the blood I had seen before.”Do you kill people?”
“Not my favorite part, But yeah. We kill people. But they are bad people, so it's okay.”
Was it though? That just sounded like an excuse to me.
“Are you going to kill me?”
Kian let out a looong sigh. “Psh. So many questions. No, I’m not gonna kill you. Ch’arr is going to literally kill me for it, though.”
“Who’s that?”
Kian lifted his head back and let out a loud laugh. “You’ll figure it out pretty quick.”
An ear-shattering blast erupted from the building, shooting smoke and fire out the windows and doors. Shouts and screams ensued. As the smoke cleared, three silhouettes appeared, seemingly riding on the backs of the flames. In terms of size, there was small, medium and large. The silhouettes were distinct. Still, I couldn't make out their faces.
A gust of wind rushed into my face and a heavy thud startled me, and the next thing I knew I was looking right into a pair of horrible red eyes. Red like blood. They were searing into my soul.
“Who the hell is this?” The stranger hissed.
“Yeah, and why are they wearing my clothes?” Someone else shouted in disdain.
“Well. Um. About that.”
“What did I tell you about taking hostages?” His eyes did not waver. They seemed to bore deeper and deeper into my skull.
“It’s not a hostage this time I swear.”
The stranger unsheathed a long, bloody blade, and pressed it to my neck. I crawled backwards,trying to avoid it, but he stepped forward.
“What is she then?” He narrowed his eyes. His face was the kind that looked like it was sculpted permanently into a horrible expression. It was so angular, strong, and square. He reminded me of a gargoyle. His hair was was carelessly thrown back with a flimsy rubber band. He towered at least a foot over my head, and he looked like he could crush my skull under his boot if he wanted to. So this was Ch’arr, the guy Kian was talking about. He was right. I figured it out pretty quickly.
“They had her hooked up to some machine, with hoses and wires up in every hole and crevice you can think of. It took me 10 minutes to cut her out of it. I had to get through 20 guards and a full blown security system to get to her.”
“So she’s another experiment?” Someone asked.
“No.”Ch’arr said. He lowered his sword. “This is something new.” He resheathed it and finally turned his gaze to Kian. “Good job this time.”
Kian looked surprised, but completely relieved. So he really did think Ch’arr was going to kill him. I’m sure Ch’arr would have, too.
“What’s your name?” Ch’arr barked, turning his eyes to me again.
“N-nothing!” That was all I could manage to force out; but I felt like I had better say something, or get my head cut off.
He raised an eyebrow. “Nothing, huh?”
“Y-es. ‘N’ for short.” I nervously twisted the edge of the blanket between my fingers. 
There was a long, aganous pause.
“Wow. You’re serious.”
I nodded. I glanced at Kian, and he gave me a discreet thumbs-up.
“Why are you bald?” Someone blurted. My eyes darted in that direction, and I locked eyes with a gaunt, bright-eyed kid, probably Kian’s age, in a sleeveless denim jacket and a navy bandana rolled and tied across his forehead.
“I-I don’t know—“
“For Wuotan’s sake, D’are, would you shut the hell up for once?” Ch’arr snapped.
D’are scowled and glared, but he kept quiet.
“You’re with us for now,” Ch’arr growled, darting his eyes to me. “Don’t get in the way.” He picked up a large rucksack and threw it over his shoulder. “Let’s go, team!”
Everyone grabbed a bag or something else to carry, and began walking out into the night. I hesitated, unsure of whether or not I should follow. I tried to stand up, but instantly collapsed. I tried again, took two steps, then fell again. I scuffed my knees and palms, and they stung. 
Why am I so useless? 
All I could do was watch them get farther away. I wanted to shout at them, but I had a feeling they wouldn’t care if I came or not. That was a lonely feeling. 
The man in the back of the group stopped. He turned around. He was a giant of a man. Over his shoulder, He carried an axe-like weapon that weighed more than I did. His face was almost...how should i describe it...editorial? Like something you would see in a cologne ad. But three times the size. Yet his face was somehow gentle for a man whose thumb was bigger than my neck.
He walked over to me, which only took him a few steps. I looked up at him, but trying to meet his eyes was like trying to see the roof of a skyscraper. He offered his hand.
“Do you need help, meyla?” His voice was deep. So deep...like his lungs were chasms in the bottom of the sea. His tone was soothing, however.
“I...can’t walk.”
He offered his hand.
“B-but he said to not get in the way…”
“He won’t say anything if it's me, so don’t worry,” he chuckled. His laugh sounded like a waterfall.
I nodded slowly, and grasped his hand.
“WAHHH!!” He whisked me through the air, throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of flour. He left my stomach behind, somewhere on the ground.
“Y-you should warn people before you d-do that,” I gasped.
“Really? My bad.”
He was completely silent after that. He kept to the back of the pack, always looking around and behind for enemies. He was incredibly focused. So I didn’t say anything. Instead, I just listened to the banter among the others.
“One more raid and I will beat my highest streak!” The one who spoke was a buff, tall man who was packed with all sorts of weapons from head to toe. A rifle on his back, several rounds of ammo for it, two pistols, a huge canon type of thing, and some sort of high-tech laser gun were a few of them. There was probably a lot of stuff in the bags he was carrying, too. I guessed that explosives were the majority of it.
Dare snorted, polishing his brass knuckles. He was pretty short compared to the other guy, and he appeared to have a deformed spine, so he struggled to keep up with him. He seemed accustomed to it though, and he was pretty stubborn about it. “Well I will have you know that I have collected exactly 6,073 teeth. Wanna see?”
“No way, you little freak!” The other guy gave an expression of extreme disgust. I couldn’t help but chuckle, just a little.
“Approximately 25% are molars, 30% canines, and 45% incisors!”
“What the hell are you, the tooth fairy?!”
“No way! I’m too stingy for that. I prefer to steal them without consent.”
“You’re freakier than a dentist!” He shoved D’are, nearly toppling the kid over, who quickly recovered.
“Thanks! I’ll take that as a compliment. The girls like ‘em freaky.” He turned to me and gave a very obvious, comical wink.  I might have reacted if I wasn’t tired out of my mind.
“W-well guys like ‘em freaky, too you know?!” Kian piped up all of a sudden.
“Who the hell cares???”” The gun guy’s voice cracked severely. “Go do your kinky shit together FAR, FAR, away from me okay???”
“Ugh, gross, Junn, why do you have to make it weird?” D’are jeered. He started wiping his hands on his pants as if he had touched something dirty.
“I’M the one making things weird???” Junn pulled his hair in disdain. “ME????”
So this guy’s name was Junn, huh? It took me forever to figure that out. I had been listening to that conversation through the night, and finally the edges of the sun's rays were beginning to peek out from behind the rugged horizon. I learned that Junn was a very animated, amusing person. Watching him was like watching a slapstick humor cartoon.
In the light of the sunrise, I could finally see the world around us. There wasn’t much, however. It was basically a bunch of rocks and dirt. That included Skyscraper-worthy rocks, but you get my point. For some reason when Kian said “desert” I pictured nothing but sand dunes far as the eye could see. This was a different kind of desert, though.
Ch’arr, who had been at the head of the group through the night, turned about and made a signal.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief. I guess that meant something good?
Ch’arr pointed to a certain rock with an overhanging that looked like it be good for keeping out light and rain. “We’ll camp over there.”
“Camp?” I mumbled. “Does that mean sleep?” I rubbed my heavy eyelids.
The giant chuckled. “Yes, indeed.”
“I just remembered,” I yawned. “I need to ask what your name is.”
“Mmm. You can call me Brody.”
“Is that your real name?” 
He took me down from his shoulders and placed me on a nice shady spot. He began to unpack some bedding and roll it out. “Well. My full name is Brohhndylle, but no one can ever remember that.”
“That’s a pretty name though.” I tucked my feet under me and made a little tent around me with the blanket I had. 
“Yes. That’s why my mother called me that.” I watched his hands closely as he straightened out the blankets. He seemed to care about little things like that, even though the size of his hands made him very clumsy about it. 
“What does it mean?”
“You’re a very interesting one. No one has ever asked me. But it means ‘Stag on a hill.’” He pulled out a tin can without a label and started to cut it open with a small knife. I was worried he might cut himself, but he had probably done it a hundred times before. “And what of your name? What is your real one?”
“I don’t remember it. I think I have been sleeping for a very long time, and ended up forgetting a lot.” That was the only feasible reason I could come up with. 
“That’s quite concerning, little meyla…”
“What does ‘meyla’ mean?”
“It means ‘Little girl’. Everyone knows this.”
I felt kind of dumb, but at least I asked.
He peeled the top of the can back and handed it to me. “Eat.”
I took it and looked down inside. It was small sausages in water. Not the most appetizing, but as soon as I saw it my stomach growled monstrously, and I realized just how hungry I was. 
“You can sleep next to me when the time comes,” Brody offered. “They won’t try anything if you’re near me.”
The way he said that gave me the chills. What did he think the other guys would do to me? It made me not want to trust him, either, but I didn’t have much of a choice.
Brody left to converse with the rest of the pack, who had huddled together in the middle of the camp. They were talking very softly, so I couldn’t hear what they were talking about. I had a vague idea though, considering everyone kept looking at me.
I downed a few sausages. I couldn't stomach a whole lot, but I forced them down with teary eyes. I knew better than to even think about complaining, because this was probably as good as it was going to get in this kind of environment. I found a somewhat large rock to lay my head on, and I curled tightly within my blanket.
Something was jabbed between my shoulder blades, and I awoke with a jolt. I rolled over, and opened my eyes to a white light. The source of the light was a pulsing orb that floated over the camp. The orb was making a deafening, low hum. Hundreds of whispers circled the camp. There were so many voices, and they were all around me, but no one else in the camp was awake. There was so much talking at once that I couldn’t understand a word. But as I gazed into the light of the orb, one thing became clear: I had to follow it somewhere.
The orb shrunk to the size of my fist and began dancing and floating in one general direction, so I began to follow. I followed it into a hole in a rock. Within the hole was a hallway of some sorts: a wall of rock on either side that twisted and turned in unusual ways. The space was tighter in some areas than others. At first, the ground was dry and dusty, and the walls were bare. Then, gradually, I started seeing signs of life. At first it was a spot of moss or a grasshopper every now and again. Then I began to see trees, and bushes. The frequency of the bushes and trees increased until I was in a thick forest. Then, I began to notice the white sheets hanging from branches, like they were drying on a clothesline. First there was one or two at a time. Then three. Then five at a time. The frequency and amount just continually increased until I was in a strange canopy of sheets that were fluttering all around me. I could barely tell I was in a forest anymore. I noticed a spot of blood on one of the sheets, quite close to the ground. It was a small spot, but it was fresh: still wet. I disregarded it, as I was mainly focused on not losing track of the light, for I knew I was going to get completely lost if I wasn’t careful; but before I knew it, there was splashes of blood everywhere, and I was too afraid to turn back. I began to regret everything. A few more feet and I was walking in tall, bloody grass. The area from my knees down was covered in grass cuts and smudges of blood; yet I felt this overpowering desire to keep going. Was I going to die? I wanted to shout for help, but when I tried to speak, I had no voice. All I could do was keep walking. I was exhausted. My legs stung from the cuts, and my muscles ached from how far I had walked, and continued to walk.
Just when I was about to collapse, the light orb lead me to a clearing, with a knotted, black tree in the center, with a door hollowed out of it. The light flew into the door, and hovered there, waiting for me. Reluctantly, I crawled inside. The light flew in and hovered over me. It grew very large again, close to the size it was right before we left camp. I looked around, and all around me was wooden walls. I looked down, and the dismembered head of a black goat stared at me with glazed-over, yellow eyes. It was in the center of another white sheet. On the sheet, was written in giant letters, with blood:
“This is the place where the wicked come to find rest.”
The light shot into the gaping mouth of the goat head, and began to chant in a language I did not know.
I had enough. I turned on my heels and began to run. I didn't care where to, I just needed to get out of there ASAP. I could hear the thundering of hooves behind me, and each hoof step shook the earth. Tears were streaming down my face, I didn’t dare to look back.
The ground dropped from under me and for a split second, I saw the chasm below me I had just willingly thrown myself into. Just before i fell, the talons of some monster clenched around my waist up and pulled me out. I could hear the thunderous growling in my ears. Was it going to eat me?
I began kicking and kicking whatever was behind me with my elbows.
“Let me go!!” I screamed, finally finding my voice.
“What the hell?!” A very normal sounding voice shouted right in my ear.
I pried out of his grasp, but fell over on the ground. I was about to kick him between the legs and make a run for it, but I soon realized what was happening. This was Junn, and there was no monster goat. I looked over the edge of the chasm in shock. He had just saved my life.
Suddenly the whole pack was there and staring at me like I was crazy.
“What happened?” Ch’arr demanded.
“She just tried to off herself!” Junn bursted.
Everyone looked at me all at once. They stared, and didn’t say anything. I felt my face grow red hot. “I-I didn’t...I mean, I was….there was a…” I realized I was going to sound crazy no matter what I said.
I shot up, pushed past them and ran straight back to camp to hide under my blanket.
I hate myself so much. Why did I do that?? How was I supposed to know that I sleepwalk? Are they gonna kill me now? Do I seem suspicious now? What the hell is wrong with me? What Just happened? It seemed so real…
“Enn…” Kian pulled the edge of the blanket up and peered inside. I tried to hide my teary face with my hands. “Are you okay?”
“...I don’t know,” I sniffled.
“Are you really that depressed?”
“N-NO!” I stiffened. “That’s not it…”
“Then why did you try to jump off a cliff?”
“I Didn’t! I just...I didnt know it was there…” it wasn’t a lie.
“Oh. Well.” Kian covered his gently blushing face. “That’s fair. I’m sorry for assuming the worst. But. Uh. Tell me...was it like...you...were being chased?”
My heart came up in my throat. “Y-yes…” I rasped.
He chuckled and patted my head. “I get those too. I used to get them all the time actually. Everyone thought I was crazy, including myself. But it hasn’t happened to me in a while.”
“R-really?!” I gasped, pulling my head out from under the blanket.
“What is it, then?”
“It’s a sleep disorder. It has something to do with mind and body sleep dissonance...but anyways, the most common dream I would have would be where I was trapped in a maze with an evil clown doll.” He shivered. “I hate clowns...and dolls...and evil stuff.”
“So it’s a dream?”
Kian shrugged. “Yeah.”
“But it had to have been real...I felt the pain...and the blood…”
His face paled and he looked suddenly pitiful. “I know. I will let the others know you have what I do and we will all watch you closer okay?”
My neck and ears grew hot. Am I really that useless??
“I don’t need all that. I’m fine on my own.”
“Honey, you just nearly walked off a cliff,” he stated flatly.
I couldn't help but cringe. I think he said it sarcastically, but "honey" just wasn’t doing it for me.
“Heeeeeyyyyyy!!” D’are jumped out of nowhere, nearly sending me jumping out of my skin. D’are clasped his hand on Kian’s shoulder, and Kian turned beet red. “What are you doing, hogging this cutie all to yourself?”
“Sh-she’s not that cute!” Kian stuttered. “And you know I’m not like that!”
“Geez dude, where are your manners? You’re not supposed to say that kinda stuff around girls, much less to their face. Besides, I think she’s suuuuper cute.” He gave me a charismatic wink and puckered his lips up like a kiss. Made me wanna vomit for some reason.
“You’re just saying that because she’s the only girl here.” Kian seemed super depressed all of a sudden. In fact, studying his face, I could have sworn he was about to cry. “It doesn’t really matter to you who they are, does it?”
“Oof, exposing me like that, are you?” D’are slapped his forehead with his palm; but he continued to tease. “You must like her a whole lot then. So jealous of you for the cool guy who ‘isn’t all that interested in girls.’ Who’s too good for romance now, huh?” 
I felt all the blood drain out of my face. Oh no. What the heck did I find myself in the middle of??
All the while D’are was smiling, laughing, winking, nudging, ruffling Kian’s hair, Kian looked ready to rip D’are’s head off. I was pretty sure I could see steam coming out of Kian’s ears. D’are had a solid rock for a skull, didn’t he?
I felt like I had to say something but I had no memory of being in any situations like this. I had no idea what I was supposed to say.
“Enn. That was it, right?” Ch’arr took his hands and parted D’are and Kian like the Red Sea. Thank goodness. I was saved! 
“Um. Yes.” 
“Lets talk. Over there.” He pointed to a boulder several yards away. He said that like he was inviting me to the gallows.
I stood up, keeping the blanket around my shoulders, and quietly followed Ch’arr to the spot. He was walking slow, kindly accommodating for my short legs. I had been with this pack for less than 12 hours, but I felt like I had figured them all out already, except for Ch’arr. Everyone else was easy to read; But when I looked at Ch’arr, all I saw was a stone-cold statue.
Once we arrived at the destination, he leaned up against the boulder and pulled out a cigarette. “So it has been brought to my attention that you are suffering from amnesia. Is that true?” He whipped out a lighter and lit the cigarette in his mouth.
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that. Amnesia is often the result of a head injury, correct? I think it would be more accurate to say that I have been in a coma for a long time.” I nervously wrung my hands, and avoided looking him in the eyes. I could feel his blood-red eyes shooting right through me, though.
“Interesting. What makes you say that?” He slid the lighter back into the depths of his trench coat.
“From what they are telling me, I was attached to a machine. I don’t remember it at all. So, that would be classified as Anterograde amnesia, correct? And I have no recollection of being hit on the head. I don’t remember anything before that, either. and that would be classified as retrograde amnesia. So it can’t be something physiological.” I had no idea where all this smart-sounding information was coming from. I hadn't even thought that deeply about it until now. This was just me trying to save my own skin. I wasn’t lying, though. 
“Hm. That’s...a very interesting answer. Do you not remember anything at all? Who you are? Memories of childhood?”
I took a moment or two to think about it. There was that one dream I had before I woke up. About the daughter and mother. “I remember a little bit of my childhood. But It’s very distant. I don’t remember my name, though.”
“Well, you better start remembering fast. I’ve been on the Lotus Eater’s tracks for three years, now, and they have never done anything like what Kian described to me. You must be a hidden part of some other project they are working on. I need to know what that is.” He deeply inhaled the cigarette smoke, and let it back out in one even stream. “That’s why I have decided to not kill you, for now. Be grateful.”
I couldn't tell if that was a threat or not, but it definitely encouraged me to stay on his good side.
“Do you know who we are?”
“No.”
“Me and my pack are all criminals. We are murderers, thieves, traitors, and more. Are you ready to deal with that?”
“It doesn’t look like I have a choice,” I stated grimly. My hands were cold and clammy. Goosebumps covered my arms. How did my life end up in the hands of a band of criminals?
“Wise answer. Well.  We are what a lot of people call ‘the bad guys.’ We are enemies of the crown as well as the underground. We are The Werewolves.”
That sounded like a cool introduction to an action movie.
“So...you have an objective right?” Ch’arr didn’t seem like the kind of person who did reckless things for fun.
“I guess you could say we are vigilantes. Right now our prime objective is taking down the G-trafficking system. It’s something the crown won’t do anything about because it boosts the economy.”
“...G-trafficking?”
His face turned alarmingly dark. “The practice of selling people.”
“Oh.” I wanted to say ‘what for,’ but I had a feeling that question was off limits. It didn’t sound like something I would stand for, either, so I didn’t object.
He tossed the cigarette butt on the ground and stamped it out with his boot. He turned his back to me and started walking back toward camp, where everyone was packing up. “Let’s get moving. It’ll be dark soon.”