Chapter 23 part 1 for you guys. 2 chapters left! Contains: yelling, there might be more Chapter 23. My Broken Memory (Cooki) I went off with Ash and Xander when Ash suddenly fell to the floor. “Are you ok?” I asked. It looked like he was in pain. Then it suddenly stopped. “I'm fine, but the others aren't. They have been found and we need to go help them.” He got up and started walking with Xander, but I hesitated to move. He quietly moved and stood in front of me with his hand outstretched. “Come on, there's no time to waste.” He smiled at me while I took his hand and all three of us set off to find the others. I started to hear people struggling right around the corner. I stopped the boys and looked. They were being held hostage. Wonder noticed me and I shushed her before she could say anything. I turned around and saw that Xander and Ash weren't there. I looked back and saw they were next to the others. Crap. It's up to me I guess. I slowly crept away to find something to create a distraction. I found a toy store, picked up a chapstick and headed back. When I got back there were more employees guarding them. Great. I threw the chapstick far away to buy me some time. Once the chapstick hit the floor the employees turned and ran toward it. I hurried over to untie them but once I got over there they all looked scared. I turned around and saw my dad standing there. “Well hello.” My Dad said. He had Liz standing next to him. “You can help your friends, but on one condition.” He walked over to me and whispered in my ear. “You stay and the others leave.” He said, I froze. “No way! I need Wonder!” Liz yelled from across the room. “Find. You and Wonder stay, and the rest can leave.” I clenched my fists. Rage surging through my body. There's no way he just offered me that. Before I could respond he stood up. I grabbed his wrist and threw him to the floor, then bent down and whispered, “Over my dead body.” I stood up straight while he stayed there frozen on the floor in shock. Then someone from behind pulled my hair with an insane amount of force, I started to forget a bit of why I was there. “Let go of me!” I yelled and threshed under Liz’s grip. “Not until I get Wonder! Besides, your father needs you to.” I stopped very confused. “Why though?” Liz looked at my dad then me, she paused for a moment. “I don't know.” She lost her grip and I immediately got her hand off me. “Then why did you make a deal with him?” Liz looked up. “Because he promised me Wonder…” Liz stopped speaking after that. I looked back and my friends were farther across the room, but they were still tied up. Idiots. Someone could've seen them. I snuck away while Liz started to yell at my dad who finally got up, off the floor. “No need to fight I guess. The emotional breakdown saved us.” I said. I was sort of out of breath. “Yeah, but you threw him to the ground.” I looked up. “So?” Zion responded. “I never knew you were so strong. You just looked weak all the time I guess.” I stood up fully. “Well, I guess just being older makes me stronger huh?” Everyone looked around confused. “You're older than Zion?” Wonder asked. I nodded. “I'm older, but he’s just taller than me, so.” I looked up, Zion was a bit mad, but he quickly changed his mood. “Let's go before they realize.” Zion said. We all agreed and followed him to the main area. “Where are we going again?” I asked. Zion turned around and stared at me. “You can remember how to fight, but don't remember where we're going? What level of stupid are you?” Zion had to bend down a bit to be eye level with me. “I don't know. And I'm not stupid.” “I thought you had a photogenic memory.” “Oh yeah. Whoops.” I laughed awkwardly. The lights flickered off. I suddenly felt a hand take mine. I looked up to my left and smiled, It was Ash. I held on tighter, reassuring him I was there and won't let go. Ash has some trauma from the past that he wont tell me. I guess the lights triggered him, though I don't know why they didn't before. I saw something in the corner of my right eye. A figure. A stranger in the distance. I don't think the others noticed so I ignored it. We kept walking for almost an hour in circles with Zion claiming he knows where we're going. I stopped to take a break. “Zion. We've been wandering for hours.” I said. “Don't worry, I know where to go.” He stopped to figure out which way to go. I started to think of ideas on how to get out when one came to me.
“Guys! Why don't we call the police? They can get us out of here!” I grabbed my phone and dialled 911. “Shh! It's ringing!” I yelled at the others who wouldn't stop talking excitedly. “911 what's your emergency?” A girl came on the line. “Hi, me and my friends-” She cut me off. “Ma’am are you there?” She asked as if she couldn't hear me. “Yes, I'm here.” “Hello? You keep cutting out. Do you need help?” She can't hear me. “Yes, me and my friends are tra–” “Must be a prank phone call.” She then hung up. “So?” Wonder jumped excitedly at my side. “She hung up. She couldn't even hear me.” I was about to hang up when a distorted voice came on the line. I put it on speaker for everyone to hear. “They can't reach you here.” I looked at everyone else. Then they hung up. “Great, so we can't call anyone.” I angrily put my phone away, “Let's just continue to get lost and never make it out.” I walked past Zion, but stopped,“Guys, who is that?” I pointed to the figure in front of us. Eclipse started running toward it with her arms wide open. “TREVOR!” Eclipse hugged him, everyone sighed with relief. As everyone went to say hi to Trevor, I fell behind the rest of the group. I started to think about our journey while being here. We started off as three friends and added three more along the way. The more I think about it, we also added two monsters to the group. It's been quite the journey. And now, well, we have a chance to escape, well if Zion can get a sense of direction that is. We decided to take a break after wandering around a bit longer, but for some reason we couldn't find a store. “Wow Zion, your sense of direction really is bad.” I said, he just glared at me, “Look, we have been wandering for hours.” I said, Zion ignored me. I tried to remember something, but for some reason I couldn't. My memory isn't working when It comes to important stuff that could save my life. I brushed it off but I was a little confused. Why can't I remember? I thought to myself, It's never just randomly done this- I stopped thinking, remembering Liz gripping my hair, pulling it really hard, giving me a headache. I can't remember what it's called, but now my brain isnt working properly when it comes to memory. Weird. I looked over to my left and noticed some stairs I've never noticed before. Or I have noticed them I just don't remember. I stared at the stairs, then looked away for a second — just a second — and when I turned back, they were gone. “What the...?” I blinked and rubbed my eyes. “Did anyone else see the stairs?” “What stairs?” Eclipse asked, confused. “They were right there!” I pointed at the empty wall. Everyone looked at me like I’d lost it. Even Ash seemed unsure. “You okay?” he asked carefully. “No, I’m not okay,” I muttered. “I saw stairs. I felt them. They were real.” Zion raised an eyebrow. “You sure Liz didn’t mess with more than just your memory?” “I’m not crazy,” I snapped, but my voice trembled. “They were real.” And that’s when it happened. Everything around us flickered — like reality itself glitched. For a split second, we were somewhere else. The walls were pure white. No windows. No doors. Just... emptiness. And silence. Then, just as suddenly, we were back in the hallway. Everyone froze. No one spoke. “Did... did that just happen?” Wonder asked quietly. Xander nodded, face pale. “Okay, nope. I’m out. That was some Matrix level weird.” “We need to leave. Now,” Zion said, panicked. But as we turned to run, the hallway didn’t end. It just kept going. Like it was stretching as we moved. “Wasn’t this hallway shorter before?” Eclipse asked, breath quickening. “It was,” I said, “Something’s changed.” The lights began to flicker again, but slower this time. A steady pulse. Like a heartbeat. And then a voice — my voice — echoed from ahead of us. “You’re not supposed to be here yet.” Everyone stopped. “What... was that?” Ash whispered. I stepped forward, slowly. The hallway seemed to ripple under my feet. “I think...” I swallowed hard, “I think we’re inside a memory.” I thought about it more carefully. “We’re inside a memory,” I said, my voice echoing off the endless walls. The others looked at me like I’d just dropped a bomb — but no one denied it. “Whose memory?” Zion asked, though I think we all knew the answer. Mine. The hallway ahead twisted slightly, like heat rising off pavement, and at the end, a door appeared. Not a normal door — this one looked like it was made of light, like it was being remembered into existence. Ash stepped beside me. “You don’t have to go in alone.” “I think I do,” I said, though I hated it. “If this is my memory… maybe I’m the only one who can walk through it.” Wonder grabbed my arm. “What if you get stuck?” “I already am.”
