"Is there anybody out there?
Can you pull me from this ocean of despair?
I'm drowning in the pain,
Breaking down again,
Looking for a lifeline.
You know a heart of gold,
Won't take you all the way.
And in a world so cold,
It's hard to keep the faith.
I'm never gonna fade away!"
Chapter One
IMMI
White clouds surrounded me. The ground felt so soft; like velvet. You could easily fall on the floor and not have a single bruise or scratch on you. Walking around, I could see the streets filled with happy people. No-one looked sad or angry. It felt like home here. I belonged here... but at the same time, something felt missing.
“Immi...” I heard a voice whispering. Looking around, there was nothing there. How odd... “Immi...” There it goes again!
The voice seemed to be repeating itself over and over again. Trying to find the source, I listened to my right where it seemed to be the loudest. I ran, following the voice as a guide. It kept getting louder and louder; even though it was only a fraction louder than a whisper.
Running towards a church, I looked at it in amazement. It towered over me. It's brick walls which looked old, shone with light and radiance. They looked untouched. The stained glass was bright and inviting. It was like this place was welcoming me home...
Walking over to the large, pine doors, I opened them carefully. Even though they looked like they could break at any second they swung open like a new door would. Smooth and without a problem.
I slowly walked down the aisle, which was marble. It felt cold against my bare feet but wasn't cold enough to sting. The inside of the church was even more magnificent than the outside. The rows of chairs seated looked nicely polished and much too perfect. Sliding my hands against the seats, they felt perfect. It was almost like this place was the definition of perfect. Even the atmosphere was perfect: I felt safe and warm. Like this place protected me.
“Immi...” I heard the voice again and followed it until I was in front of a book, which was sitting peacefully on the altar. It was sat right below a cross with two statues of angels next to it. One on either side. It was an old one book, I could see by the texture and how it had worn. Before I could even touch the book it flipped open. I watched as it flickered through the pages until it slowed and stopped on one.
The paper looked delicate and fragile. Slowly touching it, it felt soft but rough at the same time. I looked at the top of the page. 'Angel Blood & Its Effects' but before I could even read on or start to, a bright light cast across the room and I was sucked into the book.
Coughing, I sat up before arching my back in pain. A white hot searing pain was exploding in my back. I bit down on my lip, hard, to stop myself from screaming out. I couldn't focus on anything else; this pain was too immense. It felt like something was trying to claw its way out!
“Immi!” Who was this Immi? I didn't understand. All I wanted was this pain to go.
“Emily, shut it.” Someone snarled at the first person, Emily. I recognised the names... but where from? “Just let the doctors deal with her. Don't let them take her blood; you know the rule.” Those two voices stopped before I let out a scream; one that I didn't even recognise!
After that, everything was a blur and faded into black. All I could think was to remember to thank the person who stopped that blinding pain in my back...
“Imogen? Oh, deary, wake up.” I heard a soft voice ask, and I opened my eyes. Still confused; who was Immi? Or Imogen? Who were the other two voices? This certainly wasn't one of them! I was sure.
The first thing I noticed was white. Everything was white but it didn't seem to unease me one bit. The colour seemed to relax me. I had a feeling that most people would feel frightened if they saw themself in a room full of white.... The next thing I noticed was the woman sat next to me. She wasn't young but not old either... maybe in her thirties? Was that it? It sounded right to me...
“Oh, she's awake. I'll get the doctor for you.” I heard another new voice. I looked to see a woman in some sort of bland clothing... that was weird. I watched as she exited the room.
“Imogen, we'll get you out of here. I'm taking you back home. I'll make sure that Caroline and Emily get an acceptable punishment. Their behaviour!” There were those names again. This woman looked so similar but yet I didn't recognise her.
“I'm sorry, ma'am.” I said, the words sounding right. “Who are you?”
“Imogen, don't be silly. You know who I am.”
“B-but... I don't.” Something was telling me that I should know who she was – but it felt like I was trying to cross a broken bridge. No matter how hard you tried to cross it, you just couldn't. Not unless someone fixed it. This bridge that was in my mind? It was broken, completely.
“Ah, I'm glad to see you're awake. Thought you'd never wake up.” The man told me. His hair was greying and he wore tiny glasses. They didn't do anything for him, they made his eyes look smaller than they were. His nose looked larger with them on. I noticed by the way that he was standing that his back was bent over slightly. Recognising that as a bad posture surprised me.
“What do you mean?” I was confused. Not that I hadn't been since I woke up. Especially the first time. After reminding myself of that, my back started to ache.
“Oh, of course. My names Doctor Reeves. I've been looking after you since you came to the hospital.” He smiled and picked up some sort of... chart?
“Hospital? What do you mean?”
“You've been asleep for four days, well, you woke up yesterday but the pain in your back caused us to have to inject you with some morphine.” He kept looking at the chart.
“Doctor Reeves,” the woman who'd been here since I woke up, spoke up. “Imogen doesn't remember who I am. Is that common?”
“In this case, I expected it.” I froze, I was Imogen? How could someone not remember their name?! “The amount of trauma that Imogen suffered is probably the reason. She's a miracle case – she should have died with the amount of blood she lost when the paramedics reached her. We're not sure how severe the amnesia she's suffering is though.”
“I was an important person in her life and she doesn't remember me. Doesn't that tell you how severe it is?”
“No. Well...” Their voices trailed off, talking about me. I zoned out and let my thoughts fly out. If this woman was so important, then why couldn't I remember anything? Why couldn't I even remember my own name? I had no idea who I was – I could be anyone...
“Imogen, listen.” The woman snapped at me. She sharply turned her head back to Doctor Reeves.
“Yes, ma'am.” I replied, almost instantly. Like it was a natural response. She looked shocked – thank Go-goodness it wasn't me. I felt like I had to listen to her and obey her; it would be disrespectful not to...
“What injuries has she suffered?” I still had no idea what the woman was called. It felt weird, I should know... right?
Harmony. Something whispered in the back of my mind. It somehow suited her.
“Nothing too bad. The only thing we could find that caused the huge amount of blood loss is the scar on her back. It's also the one causing her the most pain.”
“My back?” I squeaked. The woman looked slightly alarmed by what the doctor was saying.
“It's unusual. It's a thick scar that's in the form of an upside down 'V' shape. We've no idea how she managed to get it. It doesn't look like a knife cut it, the most logical explanation we can come up with is that she was burnt. What's even more unusual is that you seem to be missing a bone – or your body seems to have something missing at the top of the 'V' formation on your back.” I frowned. Something felt off... a piece of bone? Flashes of feathers appeared before my eyes. I heard the woman gasp and her face had horror written all over it. It quickly turned to anger before turning back to a calm expression.
“When can she be discharged?” The woman asked. I decided I wasn't going to put a name to a face that I wasn't even sure of. Even if I thought it was Harmony.
“We'll need to take some blood tests and see how she is. Maybe tomorrow?” The doctor asked before putting the chart back from where he'd gotten it from. He talked as if this was a casual, regular thing they did.
“No blood tests.” The woman snarled. She seemed defensive about the fact that someone was going to take my blood... why?
“Miss-”
“No.” She looked at Doctor Reeves with an intense stare and a scowl upon her face. I noticed that his eyes widened in fear. I was shocked. This woman was scary but she wasn't that frightening! “I want Imogen discharged today. No exceptions. No excuses. Today.” Her voice was laced with venom at this point.
“Y-Yes. Of course, miss.” Wow. She really knew how to get her way – the poor man just ran off! He'd left me with her. Great. Left with someone who seemed to have intense mood swings.
She turned to me, and I noticed that she'd calmed down. Her nostrils weren't flaring. Odd. I knew what her facial expressions were like but I didn't know her name? How was that possible!
“Imogen, do you remember me at all?” She asked and I could see that this was a serious conversation.
“No, ma'am.” Something told me I should respond to her with 'ma'am'. I don't know why...
“Shoot.” S he muttered under her breath. “I'm going to take you somewhere safe. There are going to be two other girls there, you'll probably recognise their voices. They were here when you woke yesterday. I'll introduce you to them when you get there.” Before I could open my mouth, she started to talk again. "You might recognise their faces. You know both of them... well." Her mouth tipped.
I nodded. “Ma'am, what may I call you?” The words were tumbling out of my mouth – I knew how to talk to this woman. With utter and complete politeness. I didn't know why though!
She sighed. “Harmony. My name's Harmony. It's what you called me even though I insisted you not to.” She turned to look at the door before looking back at me. “Imogen, I promise you that we'll return you back to normal. We'll get your memory back before we go home and we'll avenge the person who damned you here. They won't get away with this crime!”
I looked at her, feeling a little lost. Normal? Wasn't I already normal? What was she on about?