Chapter Two: Doc
Daniel led me through what he called the compound. It was just endless corridors with a few open areas and there were people dotted around but there weren’t that many, but honestly I didn’t know what I had expected. I still didn’t understand what was going on, Daniel had said that the world wasn’t a safe place but what did that mean exactly? And who else lived at this compound? And he still hadn’t told me what that creature was that I was stuck in a room in. But yet, I couldn’t bring myself to ask him all these questions as he lead me through endless corridors, his hand tightly wrapped around my wrist so I get lost or distracted. So I didn’t exactly get the grand tour as Daniel was focused on getting me to this Doc person. He finally stopped outside a white painted door and turned to me.
“This is the medical centre of the compound.” He informed me before knocking hard on the door twice. He pushed it open and walked inside the room dragging me in with him. Inside the room, the walls were a pristine white and the smell that emanated from the room stung my nose. There were hospital beds against the walls on the left and right of me and a path right through the middle. Daniel dragged me down the centre of the room to the back. “Doc!” He hollered as continued.
A tall woman with striking red hair appeared out of nowhere with a serious expression on her face and a pair of glasses perched precariously on her nose. She was dressed in simple black trousers, black shirt and a white lab coat over the top. When she saw us she scowled. I’m guessing this was Doc.
“What have you two gotten up to now?” She asked in a bored tone. I felt confused but slightly amused, what? Did we usually get into trouble that often? I wish I could remember!
“Actually, it’s just Sasha.” Daniel sighed letting go of my wrist. Wow he sighed a lot. “She’s lost her memory.”
Doc looked at me with doubt clear on her face. “Are you sure she just isn’t pulling your leg?” She crossed her arms. Why does everyone doubt that I’m telling the truth?! What kind of a person am I or was I?
“That’s what I thought but she is also not acting like herself and she went into the black room.” Daniel explained almost willing Doc to believe us.
Doc’s eyebrows went up at that. “She went into the black room?”
“Um.” I suddenly spoke up making them both look at me. “What’s the black room?” I paused and then quickly added. “Was that what that room is called, the one with that thing in it?”
“Yes.” Daniel answered simply and then gestured at me but spoke to the Doc. “You see what I mean? The Sasha before wouldn’t act as dumb as she is nor would she even ask a question she would demand the answer.” I scowled at the dumb comment but didn’t reply. “And,” Daniel continued. “She would have hit me for that ‘dumb’ comment that I just said.”
“I still might,” I muttered glaring daggers in his direction.
“Hmm, I see what you mean.” Doc said before sighing. “Okay Sasha,” She directed her attention towards me. “I want you to come and sit up on this bed for a second okay?” She patted one of the hospital beds. I did as she asked and hopped up onto it and waited. Doc stood in front of me then with a pen light and shone it into my eyes. I winced and closed my eyes. “No Sasha you need to keep your eyes open, this will only take a couple seconds.” Doc scolded me. I nodded and opened my eyes again and when she shone the light into my eyes for the second time I had to resist closing them. True to her word it didn’t last very long but I was still blinking away dots that appeared after the light was gone.
“Okay, I’m going to ask you a few questions okay?” Doc told me as she picked up a clip board from the end of the bed. I nodded. “What’s your full name, including your middle name?”
“Sasha Louise Grey.” I answered instantly.
“Okay, what year is it?”
“Um,.” I hesitated. “I haven’t got a clue.” I told her sheepishly.
“What is the latest year you remember?”
“That’s the thing, I can’t remember any.”
“Okay moving on, how old are you?” Doc asked making a note on the clip board.
“Um seventeen, I think.” I guessed.
“Was that a guess or do you know for sure?” Doc asked with a frown.
“A guess.” I told her simply.
“So you have no idea of your age.” She surmised.
“Yeah.” I sounded dejected.
“What month is it?” She asked.
“I don’t know.” I replied feeling rather annoyed at myself. “I can’t remember anything!” I huffed and crossed my arms like a toddler having a small tantrum. “It’s like this big void in my head, and every time I try to remember something there is just nothing there.”
“Does it hurt when you try to remember?” Doc asked. I shook my head.
“No, it’s like the memories were never there in the first place.” I sighed. “I don’t even know what I look like.” I confessed.
“Really?” Doc asked sounding surprised.
“Uh huh, I have no idea, well besides I can see by just looking at my arms that I’m pale.” I shrugged.
“I’ll be right back.” Doc said and then walked to the back of the room and going through another door, leaving me alone with Daniel who had just been standing in the middle of the room like a lemon.
“So it looks like you really have lost your memories, huh?” Daniel spoke as he headed towards me.
“Yeah, but I knew that already.” I replied as he hopped up on the bed next me.
“Of course you did.” He teased. I rolled my eyes and decided not to respond. We sat in silence for a little while before he suddenly spoke. “Is that blood?” He jumped of the bed and pointed at my middle. I looked down and pulled my shirt, which was blue by the way, and winced.
“Yeah I think it is…” I trailed off and then I remembered about the ‘black room’ as Daniel called it. “Oh that creature in the black room, or whatever you called it, tried crawling up my body so I kicked it and took its hands off me.” I paused and then added in an absentminded way, “He must have drawn blood.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Daniel was angry again.
“I didn’t notice, I’m a bit preoccupied with the fact that I don’t where I am or anything really!” I replied, raising my voice slightly.
Daniel just sighed for like the thousandth time since I met him; well not met him I supposed, but you know what I mean. “Fine but let’s have Doc look at it when she returns.”
“Okay.” I agreed. “But while we wait can you tell me more about this place and what you meant by this world wasn’t safe?” I asked him and slightly tilted my head to the side.
“This like I said before is the Compound.” Daniel started with a sigh and sat back down next to me. “I’d rather not get into why the world isn’t safe right now so I’ll tell you that later.” He continued. “Anyway, here in the compound is where everyone lives.”
“Everyone lives here? As in the whole of the world’s population?” I asked amazement clear in my voice, that many people lived in this place? Was it bigger than it seemed?
“Not quite,” Daniel chuckled. “But yes a lot of people do live here and we are a community, our goal is to survive. And we, as in you and me, are the trouble makers,”
“What do you mean?” I asked feeling confused. I was a trouble maker? Well, Doc did seem to be annoyed when she saw us.
“Well no, trouble maker isn’t the right term I guess,” Daniel back tracked. “But we’re reckless, and therefore we get hurt a lot.”
“Which is why I don’t like seeing you two, together in my room.” Doc startled me as she suddenly appeared. “You two are a nightmare, you come in here practically every day with some new injury or you’ve torn stitches or something. I hate you guys.”
“Talking about injuries.” Daniel pointed to my stomach. “Turns out she didn’t come out of the black room completely unscathed.”
Doc scowled at me. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t notice it.” I shrugged. “And speaking of that thing what the hell was it?”
“Nobody knows, we just call it the creature.” Doc shrugged as she lifted up my shirt to look at my wound. “It’s not too bad, I’ll clean it up, disinfect it and then bandage it up and you should be good to go.”
As Doc got to work on that, Daniel asked her about my memory, “So what’s the verdict on her memory loss, Doc?” I hissed in pain as she pressed the sterilising wipe onto the cuts. It stung, a lot.
“Well, it’s obvious she’s got amnesia but there doesn’t seem to have been any head trauma so I don’t what caused or when her memories could come back.” She sighed. “But it’s what she can remember that worries. It’s only her name. I’ve never known somebody to only remember one thing and not anything else. Usually it’s either only a couple of years missing or everything or just one person not everything bar their own name.” Doc paused as she put the wipe down and picked up a bandage. “Okay put your arms up.” She instructed me. I did as ordered and held my arms up so she could get the bandage around my stomach easily. “Because we don’t know what has caused her amnesia, I don’t know when her memory will return of it ever will.” Doc continued.
“Wait so I may never remember anything from before?” I asked feeling alarmed. That’s awful, I might never remember anything, and I’d have to relearn everything!
“Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing.” Doc told me gently as she finished with the bandage. I put my arms and shirt back down. “We just have to wait and see what happens.” She shrugged. “Oh and Daniel, I know that you weren’t great friends with her before despite the trouble you got into together, but I want you to stay by her side seeing as she is awfully vulnerable at the moment because she doesn’t know how anything works around here, and I doubt she remembers how to defend herself otherwise she would have beaten the shit out of that creature.”
Wait Daniel and I weren’t good friends? Well that would explain why he was a jerk to me after he saved me, I guess. Daniel sighed and ran a hand through his dark wavy locks.
“Fine.” He finally said. “But don’t expect me to be patient.” He glared at me. Where did nice Daniel form a few moments ago, go? I just nodded. “Good, come on, I’ll take you to your room so you can shower and change into clean clothes.”
“Okay.” I hopped down off the bed as Daniel brushed past me and headed towards the door. Before I followed him I turned to Doc. “Thank you for your help.” I smiled at her. I then hurried after Daniel before he could get annoyed at me for being slow.
As I was about to leave the room I could have sworn I heard Doc mutter: “I hope, for Daniel’s sanity that you regain your memories soon.”