Chapter 46
Kaysi -
"Look, Kaysi, it's ultimately your choice if you want to restore your memories or not. Our memories are who make us," Becky said while she held her head down as if she was ashamed or feeling conflicted about something.
"Becky tell me the truth what would you do in my situation?"
"Before you make that decision, I need you to know that restoring your memory if this doesn't work has consequences."
"What do you mean by consequences? Do you mean I won't be able to restore my memories safely?"
"Not exactly; if you restore your memories, the trauma could cause you to relapse, thus causing you to lose all your memory again or more maybe permanently. Depending on the severity of the previous trauma will determine how much you lose at the time. You've already had a previous brain injury. Your mind could have been protecting you when you forgot before."
"You may be right about that. So, I have to choose whether I want to restore my memories slowly and naturally. Rather, I want to regain them all to restore my sense of self. Becky, you have been my closest friend. Do you feel as though I'm (different) since I've lost my memories?"
"To be quite honest with you sometimes... And other times, you act like your same old self. I just think it's hard on some of us. We are not quite sure how you felt emotionally when your memories were being made. We are kind of afraid to push something or trigger something that may have been traumatic for you."
"I would like some context. How so?"
For instance, when you discovered that Baby was a person, you were very taken aback. However, she was just the family pet for ten years, starting when you were a young girl. You couldn't recall her identity or the part she could have played in your life. Not to mention the day she revealed herself as your Guardian angel. I am certain that I would want my memories restored if I could. How else will I be able to recall all of my successes, all of the connections I made, all of my flaws, and all of my joyful times in life? I treasure and cherish every memory I have.
"Then it's decided that regardless of what happens, I wish to regain my memory. So what are the steps that we need to take to get my memory back?"
"To restore your memory, you must find an object or a person of significant value, something that you hold dear."
"How will she know what that is without restoring her memory? Micah said, with a puzzled look on her face.
"That is for you to determine. I sense you will know when you find it."
"Elder!" a guard barged in. We seem to be having a problem. The bandits are back in the town and heading this way! We need to take you somewhere else for safety!"
"With the Bandits on the way, what can we do to help?"
"I think it would be smart if you held back here. You can keep the bandits distracted for a short amount of time so we can get away." The guard said as he left with the Elder.
Becky sighed. "This is one of the worst times for Josh and Evan to be gone. They acted like guard dogs."
Micah rolled her eyes. "You're just worried about Josh; we're just going to have to make do with the people that we have here."
We waited a few minutes waiting for the bandits to come through and ambush us. We all stood there with our weapons ready. It felt like too much time had gone by. I started to feel uneasiness."
"We should step outside and see what's going on. Too much time has gone by. The way the guard made it sound that the guards were right behind. Could they have gotten to them?"
"Your instincts are normally right, so let's double-check things. Becky agreed."
James, but the quiet and shy voice that I could barely hear spoke. "If I may imply I personally think that we should look for Josh and Evan as well they're taking quite some time."
Micah elbowed him. It was nice to see you talking. "You really must be worried about your friend."
"Evan tends to get in a lot of trouble. And so does his brother Josh. Hate to say it, but they might have killed each other." James said with an awkward half-smile.
"Was that a joke, James?" Micah laughed. "That was cute. Alright, let us go then and look for all of them."
"Where are the guards that normally keep their posts outside this Hut? Did they leave to go with the old lady?"
Micah said, looking around. "For that matter, where are the bandits."
"Baby and I can find some of the villagers and find the safe house. Maybe they went over there, wherever that may be."
"Okay, thanks, Duke. You can call us on the Soursense whenever you figure out where they may be.
"In the meantime, we will go looking around the town ourselves to see if we can get some answers. Also, could you check if Josh or Evan is anywhere around? Maybe they found the elder and got her to safety."
"Kaysi? If Duke and Baby are looking for three people, maybe we should split to cover more ground. You and I can go looking for them, and Micah and James can group up and look as well, just to be on the safe side. Two people per group."
"If you guys think it's a good idea, then that's what we'll do. Come on, Becky, let's go check some things out. We can cover the side of the forest. Duke and Baby are going into town. Micah and James, you both can look on the village outskirts."
"Okay, Kaysi and Becky, be safe." Micah waved as she walked away.
"So you decided to come with me to scout the outskirts of the woods because you want to find Josh, right?"
"You caught me there." She laughed.
"Do you think it's a smart idea for me to go face Evan right now? He seems so mad at me about something. I know if we find Josh, we are bound to see Evan."
"I don't think that is the problem. As you may already know, you and him have a history together, and he seems to be hurt by something in the past. So don't worry, it has nothing to do with you. Don't beat yourself up like you must pay if you have some debt."
Just then, the Soursense rang. We had only been out searching for a short amount of time.
"Hello?" I answered as Becky put her ear up against the phone, trying to hear."
It was Baby and Duke on the phone, and they had made it inside the village.
"We talked around with a lot of the people. And didn't find any information, at least not until we found the Elder's granddaughter Zayiah and her brother Cailian. They took us to where the only safe house on the island was. The elder was not there."
"After talking to a bunch of people around the town we found out that the guard took the Elder towards the outside of town towards the bandits' hideout."
"So you don't think that means....?" Becky whispered, talking to me.
"Yes, Becky." Baby said as she could hear her voice. "We think that the guard might have betrayed The Village."
"What do you know why?" Becky questioned.
"JOSH!" I shouted as I dropped the phone. I ran over to his side, and he was at the end of the forest clearing. He was lying face down. He had a bunch of cuts from what looked like a sword and a lot of missing blood.