"You've never tried chocolate cake?" I asked with disbelief, suppressing the urge to chuckle.
Monty and Jasper both shook their head seeing as their mouths were full of the said dessert, causing their mops of hair to move with them. My laughter finally escaped as I watched the two boys stare at me like it was completely normal. We were eating dinner in the dining room, and as usual, everyone was having light chatter with the accompaniment of a piano playing in the background.
"How on earth did you two last out there all by yourself?" I asked with a toothless smile, amazed at how these two doofus' managed to survive outside the mountain with the threat of the outsiders.
The Asian boy swallowed his chomp of cake before waving his fork in the air as he spoke. "Technically, we didn't last on our own."
"Yeah," Jasper joined in with a matter-of-fact tone, his mouth still half-full of food. "There was a hundred of us to begin with. We had our friends by our side. And Clarke."
I nodded, familiar with what they were saying. The story of how they had all ended up in Mount Weather recently had spread around in no time, seeing as there wasn't many of us, so I knew what any other person would in here. And this 'Clarke' girl seemed to be someone these boys looked up to a lot. I had never met her, but I had heard much about her.
"I still find it odd that you've never left this mountain in your eighteen years of living," Jasper noted, sharing a confused expression with his best friend.
I shrugged, beginning to pick at my food. Talking about my past was a bit of a sore subject for me, and as much as I got on with both Monty and Jasper, they were sometimes a little oblivious to when I didn't want to talk about something.
"I can't exactly leave, can I?" I spoke halfheartedly. "I mean, I'm not immune to radiation like you both are." They nodded in agreement, still eating, so I continued. "I don't think I would want to leave here, to be honest. The outsiders don't seem like the friendliest of people."
Jasper and Monty shared a look that resembled 'oh, trust me, we know', and so I didn't say anything else.
"But if you could leave in order to get away from your sister, I'm sure that you would," Monty joked to lighten the mood, and it worked because I snickered at his comment.
"Very true," I agreed with a smile on my face.
My sister hated me, and I didn't even know why. It was just me, her, and our parents. Ever since I recovered from my accident (in which I acquired a terrible head injury, causing me to lose my memory), she was never very welcoming. My parents said that we never used to get on before the incident either, and I couldn't exactly argue with them because I didn't remember anything or any one of them. You would at least think that my sister would decide to treat me like an actual sibling after my accident, but apparently not.
"Speak of the devil," Jasper mumbled with his fork still in his mouth, and both Monty and I followed the lanky boy's line of sight.
"She does not look happy," Monty commented, and I rolled my eyes as the blonde teen approached us with a scowl permanently fixed on her face.
"No she does not," I muttered under my breath, before plastering a fake smile on my lips as she stood before us. "Hey, Jennifer. What's up?"
Her arms were crossed over her chest as she glared down at me; seriously, what did I ever do to her?
"Mum said that your medical checkup is now, and she wants you to make it on time, so you need to leave now," she spoke through gritted teeth, as if she wished to be doing anything right now but delivering me this message.
My medical checkups occurred twice every week, and they had been going on since the past month, when my accident happened. They were compulsory apparently, in order for me to have a speedy and healthy recovery. It usually just consisted of me getting my vitals checked and asked questions that I never knew the answers to.
"Okay, thanks." I smiled at her, only to receive an eye-roll in return before she stormed off to God knows where.
I knew she was my sister and all, but I honestly didn't feel like we were even related. We were literally nothing alike, I saw no similarities in features between us, and she was a nuisance. Then again, everybody probably thinks that about their siblings, right?
"How you put up with her is beyond me," Jasper commented casually, eliciting a chuckle from myself.
I began to stand up and dust myself off as I nodded. "I guess I'll see you guys later?"
"We'll be in our room," Monty said with a nod. "Good luck with your checkup. I hope you remember something!"
I laughed, already turning around and walking away. "I hope I remember something too!" I called back with an amused tone, my voice managing to be heard over the chatter of everyone and the piano music.
It was humouring, because I never did.
***
The white-washed room and colourful blinking monitors was something I had grown used to now. At first, it sent chills down my spine because of how unsettling everything felt, but just as everything in this mountain, I soon got used to it. The bed I was sat on was hard beneath me, and I could feel the cool metal through my thin-cotton trousers, making me shiver slightly. As always, my thoughts were a million miles away, probably because I had no interest in these checkups anymore. It was a bit obvious I was okay now, aside from the whole 'not having memories' part, so why the checkups?
"Y/L/N."
I zoned back into reality when my doctor spoke, and responded with, "Pardon?"
He was stood opposite me, holding a clipboard that probably contained something important, but he wasn't paying attention to it. Instead, his eyes were drawn to me, studying me like I was some rare specimen he had never encountered before, when we both knew that wasn't true because he had been my doctor my whole life, or at least I was told he had been.
"Y/L/N," he repeated, lowering his clipboard as if he were waiting for some reaction. The only reaction he was getting was confusion.
"Is that somebody's name or...?" I asked, chewing on my lower lip as I tried to recall what he was asking. If he was even asking anything for that matter.
No response. Only an elongated silence before he began to scribble something on his clipboard. I knew he was trying to help, but he honestly gave me the creeps. I felt more like his subject than his patient, and I knew that wasn't right.
Suddenly, the door to our room opened up, letting in a small gust of cool air. In walked in a doctor I was familiar with, as apparently she had helped me get back onto my feet whilst I was in my accident.
"Doctor Tsing," my own doctor acknowledged, standing straight and nodding. "How can I help you?"
Doctor Tsing smiled my way before looking to my doctor. "How is she doing? Any progress?"
My doctor said nothing, only handed Tsing his clipboard. She took it expectantly and her eyes raked its contents, eager to see the results. Her smile curled into a small frown as she read, and I wondered if it was bad as she was making it out to be. I honestly felt fine.
"Is everything okay?" I asked hesitantly.
She looked up when she heard me speak, and her smile reappeared. Lowering the clipboard, she nodded, saying, "Everything is perfect. You are making great progress."
I smiled brightly. "Awesome! Does that mean there's no more checkups?"
She glanced at my doctor, who seemed to be able to understand what she was saying without verbally speaking, as he stepped out of the room and waited outside the door, probably for her.
"We'll get back to Mrs– uh, your mother about that," she explained, offering a twitching smile. "You're done for today, though."
I shrugged and jumped off the bed just as she left the room, pulling the door close behind her. I didn't think she realised that the door hadn't fully clicked though, because when I glanced her way, she seemed in some heated argument with my doctor; I decided not to intrude. I just needed to get my things and leave.
I headed to the counter by the door, grabbing my jacket from the top. As I was pulling it on, my eyes caught sight of a sheet of paper that was obviously from my medical file because it said my name in block capitals at the top. Except, it read something a little different than what I was expecting.
Y/L/N, Y/N – Experimentation Progress
My eyes widened as I caught a quick glimpse at the top. Experiment? I was part of an experiment?!
Faults in the experiment resulted in memory loss for the individual. Below is the progress for–
"Y/N? Are you okay in there?"
I jumped at the sound of Tsing's voice, and scrambled to the door, only to see both doctors watching me with concern. As much as my head was rattling with this newfound information, I couldn't let them know that I suspected anything of them, so I grinned at them enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I was just putting on my jacket. Thanks again for helping me, though!"
With one last wave their way, I turned on my heel and walked away casually. Only when I was a fair distance away from them did I jump into a sprint back to the elevator. Nobody was in there when I entered, which I was grateful for because it meant that nobody would see me having a mini panic attack.
Y/L/N... The doctor said Y/L/N, only for me to read that as a surname for myself on my medical record, which also says that I am part of a faulty experiment... Yep, nothing weird about that. Maybe this had something to do with my memory loss? My accident? Was I involved in an experiment and they tried to cover it up? Maybe my parents would know, unless they were in on it, too. No, that wouldn't be right. They were my parents. Well, from what I had been told.
All of these questions were hurting my brain, physically. I was starting to get a migraine if I didn't stop, but I couldn't. Not when I was discovering something new. I didn't know who I could trust about this. What if everyone was in on it together?
Well, technically, the Sky People wouldn't be on it... I could trust them.
"Uh, are you going to step out?"
I looked up to see a boy round about my age, waiting there awkwardly. I recognised him from someone I had passed in the halls every so often, and even then he would stare at me like I was an alien. Knowing of my experimentation value now, I wouldn't even question his opinion.
"Yeah, sorry," I mumbled, walking out and slipping past him.
I felt his eyes burning through my back as he judged me, but I tried to ignore it as I speed-walked to the Sky People's room. I needed someone to talk to, and ever since I was undergoing recovery and the Sky People had joined us in the mountain, I found that they were trustworthy. At least the few I knew anyway.
Upon sight of their room, I saw two guards standing outside, chatting mindlessly. They were said to be there so that the Sky People could feel a sense of safety, but I thought that it was more to show them who the boss was so that they don't act out, like apparently their friend Clarke had. When they noticed me approaching, they shot me smiles before stepping to the side to let me in.
Some classical music was playing quietly on a radio inside, and many of the teens were milling about, laughing and chatting about whatever. A few whom I recognised though never actually spoke to me smiled my way, otherwise I was barely noticed. My eyes scanned the familiar room, searching for a brown or black mop of hair that I recognised.
"Y/N! Over here!"
In the back corner, sat opposite each other on the bottom bunks of their bunk beds were Monty, along with Harper and Miller – two other Sky People that I got on with.
Harper was a sweet girl with a heart of gold, but I learnt not to be fooled by appearance because she was a complete badass when it came to taking care of herself. Miller was someone who I thought was a pretty simple guy, but as I got to know him, I learnt that he had his own troubles, too. He was kind to me, and I appreciated it because he was a good friend to have when you figured you were losing your mind, literally.
The only one missing was Jasper, and as I headed over, taking a seat by Miller, I asked.
"Where's Jasper?"
Miller snickered as Monty rolled his eyes, a light scoff coming from his direction.
"He's with Maya," Harper filled me in, sending a condescending look to the the grumpy engineer.
"As always...," Monty grumbled under his breath, but we all heard, and Miller and Harper chuckled at his sudden change in mannerism.
I knew that Jasper had taken a liking to Maya, and despite not knowing the girl very well, I knew she was nice enough, and I could see why they were both fond of each other. Judging from the way Monty was taking it however, made me think that he had been spending a little too much time with her, and his best friend was beginning to get a little jealous.
"Dude, you need to quit sulking whenever it comes to mentioning–"
"Don't say her name," Monty cut Miller off, earning an eye-roll from the other delinquent.
"So, how was your checkup, Y/N?" Harper asked kindly, ignoring the two boys' meaningless chatter.
At the reminder of what I had just discovered, and the predicament I was now in, I chewed on my lower lip visibly. My silence wasn't taken lightly, as Harper's smile curled into a frown, and the two boys were no longer pulling faces at each other, but rather directing their attention to me.
"What is it, Y/N?" Monty asked, concern laced in his tone of voice. "Is everything okay?"
I licked my lips and glanced at Miller, motioning to the radio beside his head subtly. He seemed to get the hint as he turned the dial on the radio, increasing the volume of the song that had now changed to a lighter, jazzier type of song.
"Pretend there's nothing wrong," I said, my voice being drowned out by the radio, but loud enough for them to hear. A grin matched my words as I tried to prove my point. I knew that they had cameras in here, and the last thing I needed was for my plan to be overheard.
Smiles graced their lips and laughter filled the air, making us appear like four friends who were having the time of the lives. Inside though, my heart was racing too fast for me to even keep up.
"Can you tell us what's wrong now?" Miller asked, and I sensed the worry in his voice, but the smile on his lips camouflaged it.
My smile turned into more of a grimace as I tried to formulate the words clearly. I gulped down the lump in my throat before speaking. "I was at my checkup, and well, when my doctor was outside, I was putting on my jacket, and, um, I saw something." I paused, scratching my neck nervously. My eyes were glued to the floor due to my nerves getting the best of me, but when I felt a hand take mine, I looked up.
"We've got your back, Y/N," Miller said, an honest smile on his lips as he squeezed my hand reassuringly.
I looked to the others, and Harper also leaned forward and patted my knee reassuringly. Monty gave me a quick thumbs up, and this time, the smile on my lips wasn't forced, but in fact very real. The support from my friends gave me the courage I needed to suck up a deep breath and speak.
"As I was putting on my jacket, I saw a sheet from my medical record. It said Y/N. But the last name was Y/L/N." The others' expressions showed me that they were surprised, but they allowed me to finish. "That same checkup, my doctor said that same name, and I had never heard of it. I still haven't, but according to my file, that's my surname, not Price."
"Maybe there's a valid explanation," Harper tried to reason, her voice going a pitch higher, making me think that she didn't believe herself. "Your parents could have changed your surname when they were younger. You never know."
"Yeah," Miller agreed unsurely. "It's just a surname. There must be an explanation for it."
I couldn't help my expression as I frowned, biting my lower lip. Monty was the only one who hadn't responded, and I noticed that he was staring at me curiously.
"I don't think that's the only thing she saw, guys," he spoke eerily, before directing his next words at me. "Is it?"
I shook my head with distaste. "Beside my name, it said 'experimentation progress'. I only got chance to read a bit more before they called me, but I saw that it said that there were faults in this experiment, and this resulted in memory loss. For me."
Saying it out loud only showed me how real this was, and how weird it was to imagine myself being part of an experiment that went wrong. Did I even give permission for this experiment? What was its purpose? And why did they try to hide it from me?
"Wow," Miller was the first to speak, obviously not expecting that.
"Yeah, wow," I agreed with a sigh.
"Do they know that you suspect anything?" Monty asked curiously.
I shook my head, rubbing my forearm nervously. "No. But the fact that they tried to hide it from me is making me question this whole thing. If they can lie about that, what else could they be lying about?"
Nobody responded. They all remained quiet as they shared glances. I could tell that they were unsure what to say, how to react. It wasn't exactly something normal, was it?
"I need to find out more," I said, sighing with defeat. I placed my hand on my forehead, wondering if what I was about to say would be something I meant. "I think I need to do some snooping."
As soon as I said this, all three of them spoke at once, putting out their opinion to why that wasn't a good idea.
"They could be watching you–"
"They may think you know something–"
"What if you get caught–"
"Guys!" I said with a raised voice, cutting them off from their protests. "I have to do this. It's the only way to find out the truth."
"Y/N, it isn't safe," Harper was the first to speak. "For all you know, they may be watching you. Keeping an eye on you. If you get caught, they will know you know, and God knows what could happen from there."
Monty and Miller nodded in agreement, and I chewed on my lip again, understanding what I was getting myself into.
"I won't get caught," I promised, and it came out a lot more confident than I thought it would. "I just– I need to know more. You guys understand that, right?"
They exchanged looks, coming to some sort of agreement just by staring at each other. I remained confused as they seemed to be communicating via eye contact, and only when they looked my way did they speak.
"At least let one of us snoop for you," Monty pleaded. "We're pros, and it won't look fishy if its us who gets caught. You on the other hand–"
"No way," I cut him off immediately. "I'm not letting you guys go down for something that isn't even to do with you."
They sighed impatiently as Miller rolled his eyes and snickered. "Y/N, I'm a thief. That's what I'm known for. I won't get caught."
I opened my mouth to protest, but Monty frowned slightly, his eyes begging me now. "Please," he pushed for the final time. "Just let us try."
I clenched my jaw slightly as I pondered what he was saying. They honestly weren't going to give in if I didn't say yes, and we had been listening to this song for way too long. I had to leave if this were to look anything but fishy.
"Fine," I agreed reluctantly, earning relieved smiles from them. "But you have to wait two days before you think to snoop. It can't happen straight away when I've just had my checkup. Promise me that."
They all nodded in agreement. "We promise."
I released a heavy, unsteady breath as I stood up. "Okay. I'll see you guys tomorrow, I guess. Goodnight."
They said their goodnight's and goodbye's as I waved goodbye to them, and I plastered a fake smile on my lips as I headed to the door, where I spotted the same two guards again. Thankfully, they weren't paying attention to our little conversation back there, and only when I trailed past them did they smile my way in acknowledgment. I nodded in return, before making my way down the hall.
There was no way in hell I wasn't getting that file by myself.
//
The official first chapter is here! I'm currently unwell so I'm not writing much of an author's note, but I hope you guys enjoy! I would love to hear your theories :)
Also, I was supposed to post this last night, but Wattpad was acting weird and almost deleted it rather than publishing it?? But here it is!