"I don't detect her presence anywhere..." Tycara said to Seth, who was currently
examining the altar. "These candles here mean the ritual was complete, but," He crouched
down to get a better look at them, "Judging by how far down their burnt, it was a long while
ago."
The young woman let out a sigh of exasperation. "If she was put through so much pain
from the ritual, wouldn't she be resting in one of the chambers? I can feel the residue of
her energy, but she is certainly gone."
Seth shrugged. "This place has been buried underground for years. Even if it did have
adequate places for her to rest, it might have been Erin's will that lead her to escape out
of her. Since she has the ability to summon a snake golem made from dirt, it's likely she
just transported herself to a random place."
Tycara ruffled her hair before walking over to him. "So, is this going to be like
'where's Waldo'? Both me and Isaka suck at that game..."
Seth shook his head. "Nah, even if Erin joined with the goddess, she is still Erin in
some shape or form. The ritual probably led to her being disillusioned, confused, and not to
mention her body must be reacting horribly. Since she didn't come straight back to Abby's
house, she'll probably contact us as soon as she becomes aware."
Tycara pouted. "This is a lot worse than 'where's Waldo', huh?"
"...basically."
*****
The young woman in question was currently in a feverish state. So much... pain... all
she could remember was stumbling around and then falling. She tried to open her eyes, but
she was so sluggish. Her body refused to move for her.
As she struggled to at least open her eyes, she realized that she was lying in a bed.
An extremely warm bed, thanks to her body overheating. Finally, her eyelids started to
flutter open, but the brightness of the room, made her shut them before trying again.
"Ah, are you waking up?" Had she enough strength, she would have moved her head
towards the voice... all she could do was move her eyes.
Was that a woman sitting next to the bed? Her voice sounded feminine enough... Trying
still to gain control over her body, she opened her mouth to speak - all that came out was a
dry croak.
"Oh, wait, here..." The woman picked up a glass and extended a straw to her mouth. She
sucked and wondered if water always tasted that good. "There we go..." The woman laid a hand
on the other's feverish forehead before letting out a sigh. "You're a mess, but your
temperature isn't high enough to warrant a hospital visit..."
She eyed the glass of water and the woman once again directed the straw to her mouth.
Once she was finished drinking, the woman asked, "So, what's your name? I don't commonly
come across sick, passed out girls while returning from shopping, so..."
The young woman lying on the bed opened her mouth, before slowly closing it. "I...
I... can't remember...!" She racked her brain for the answer, but couldn't find it. She
couldn't remember her own name.
As tears started to well in her eyes, the woman at her side tried to calm her down.
"It's alright, don't worry! You just woke up in a strange place and you're sick... it's
understandable that you can't remember..." She gently stroked some of her hair out of her
face. "Just go to sleep, alright? I promise everything will be better once you wake up."
Without warning, her eyes fluttered shut and she entered a dark haze of sleep once
again.
*****
This time when she awoke, the room was less blurry. She willed her sore and aching
body to sit up and she held her throbbing head. She could remember this time; she knew what
her name was.
"Are you feeling better?" She looked up to see a woman walking towards her. This time,
she could actually make out what she looked like. She was a twenty-something with strangely
teal eyes and even stranger colored red hair. Tendrils of it her coming out of the baseball
cap she had so messily tucked her hair in.
"I... my name is... Erin..." The sounds felt foreign coming off her tongue, as though
her name was unfamiliar. Erin couldn't remember what had happened (she could, however,
remember strange things, like how she spilled orange juice all over herself when she was 17
and at a friend's sleepover) but she knew that something important, possibly life changing
did happen.
Too bad she couldn't remember for the life of her. She was snapped out of her stupor
when the other woman spoke. "Alright, I'm Faye and I found you in a field on my way back
home..." The red head gingerly took Erin's hand in her own and shook it a few times. Her
teal eyes were busy studying her face. Erin felt strange. Something was off about Faye...
"Where am I...?" Erin asked trying to jog her memory. "Ah, well this is my house
that's near my flower shop... but don't worry about that. Let me go grab you something to
eat," With that, Faye stood and walked out of the room, presumably to the kitchen.
Erin sat there and tried to move. Her body hurt. It felt like the flu or something
struck her down... like a train. It really irked her that she could remember what the flu
was or what a train was, but couldn't even think of her last name or where she lived or what
happened.
"Oh and you were asleep for... two days I think. You would wake up delirious and then
just pass out again," Faye said, walking into the room with two plates piled with food. She
sat down in a chair next to the bed and set the plates down on the nightstand. "I don't know
what you like so I just assembled a random assortment for you."
Erin looked at all the food and blushed. "Thank you... I'm sorry; I must be a huge
burden and-" She was cut off as Faye held a sandwich out to her. "It's fine. I'm sure you
would have done the same for me."
She smiled slightly and reached for the sandwich Faye was holding. Erin then
remembered she was in no condition to move as pain shot up her arm. She winced and Faye set
the sandwich back down. "Here, you need to be comfortable..." The red head put some pillows
up against the headboard and Erin leaned her back against it.
Faye held the sandwich for her and she awkwardly took a bite. Erin was surprised at
the sticky substance now in her mouth. She tried to talk, but it came out as a muffled
garble. Faye laughed. "It's just peanut butter and bananas. You remember what those are,
right?" Erin nodded and swallowed. The taste of food made her realize how hungry she was.
Within the next 20 minutes, Erin managed to devour all the food. From cakes to carrots
and fajitas to fritters, she devoured everything. After she finished, she looked at the
empty plates and her face turned red like a tomato. Faye just laughed. "At least you're
eating. I guess that makes up for two days of not eating..."
She picked up a napkin and started to tenderly wiped Erin's mouth. She leaned in and
cupped her chin while doing it. It made Erin extremely uncomfortable, but she wasn't sure
why. There was something about Faye... well, she couldn't put her finger on it.
The red head smiled, but she didn't pull away after setting the napkin down. "You've
made a little bit of a mess, my little serpent." With that, she pulled away and started to
pick up the plates. Erin sat there stupidly until something hit her.
"Wh... what did you call me...?" Erin asked, giving Faye a perplexed look. The red
head looked up, an expression of total shock on her face... as though she had been caught
doing something she shouldn't have. The look disappeared as soon as it came, so Erin wasn't
even sure if it had happened.
"Oh... I figured it fits you since... have you looked in a mirror recently?" Faye
asked, covering up with a smile. Erin was starting to freak out. Looked at herself lately?
What did she look like? Could she remember that?
And Faye was scaring her... not that Faye seemed dangerous... but there was something
about the young woman that made Erin want to stay away. Or go burrow a hole and hide. She
wasn't quite sure. "Can I go to the bathroom...?"
Faye nodded and tilted her head towards the door. "Down the hallway, first right. Can
you manage or do you want me to carry you?" A spark of something mischievous appeared in her
teal eyes. Erin shook her head. There was something strange going on and it wasn't her
partial amnesia.
She finally got herself to the bathroom and flicked on the lights. At least she
remembered what a light switch was... When Erin took a look at herself in the mirror, she
was shocked. Part of it was because she wasn't exactly sure how she looked, but most of it
was because she certainly did not look anything like her reflection.
In front of her was the face of a sickly girl, but she still as beautiful as... she
sort of remembered. It was how some of her more familiar features appeared that scared her.
She remembered having long hair, but she was positive that it had only gone halfway down her
back - not all the way to her waist and... and... it was a dark color, almost black but with
a strange tint of green.
That was the same hair color as... as... who had she seen who looked like that? Erin
stared and delicately brought a hand to her face. It felt fine, but... her eyes. Even if
Faye's little pet name still bothered her, she could see where the other woman got it. Erin
thought she had warm hazel eyes, not...
Well, creepy yellow eyes with slits for pupils didn't strike her as normal. She let
out a groan and slid to her knees. Erin racked her brain, with her hand still on the counter
and her head resting up against the cabinets. Something happened... she didn't always look
like that, but she couldn't put her finger on what she had looked like before.
"...what's wrong with me...? What happened?!" She started to breath deeply before
standing up. Having a panic attack wouldn't help... Even though she was disillusioned, Erin
at least felt... whole. If that made any sense. It didn't to her, but it was comforting.
As she turned to leave the bathroom (last thing she wanted was Faye to offer to carry
her again - the woman made her anxious) Erin's eye caught on another anomaly. She peered out
of the corner of her eye and spied something on the left side of her neck.
She let one hand tenderly touch the spot. Why in the world was there a strange tattoo
on her neck? She leaned towards the mirror, trying to make out the pattern. All it looked
like was a bunch of swirls and jagged edges to make a strange mark. It was something she
would expect to see on a shirt, not her neck.
Erin bit her lip nervously. It was hazy, but... she was... she was bitten there,
by...? And they did it because...? She just turned off the light and stumbled out into the
hallway, only to run right into Faye. The older woman let out a small laugh before catching
her in an awkward hug.
It was... rather intimate. Erin started to feel that same prickling that warned her to
watch out. "Are you alright, Erin? ...did you see something you didn’t like?" She looked up
at Faye, still cradled in her arms. "I... didn't use to look like this. Something...
something happened to me... and that's why I'm like this, but I can't remember it...!"
Faye let out a sigh and helped her back to the room. "It's okay. Like I said earlier,
you should remember over time. I mean, it's just partial memory loss, right?" Erin nodded
dumbly, feeling some of the pain ease out of her muscles. Perhaps piecing together this
puzzle was making her body more responsive...
Faye helped her beneath the covers and brushed a stray tendril of hair out of Erin's
face. The younger girl would have disregarded such an action if it weren't for the fact that
Faye's hand lingered on her cheek before gently caressing it.
When Erin gave her a questioning look, Faye just giggled. "Sleep well." Part of her
didn't want to sleep with those strange teal eyes staring down at her. Regardless, Faye took
her hand back and Erin let her eyes closed. She was... so tired... Soon, she had drifted
back into sleep, with Faye still peering over her.
"My sweet little serpent..." The red head murmured, letting her finger gently run over
Erin's lips. "You really don't remember a thing, do you?"
*****
The next time Erin woke up, she found a note on the nightstand. She assumed it was
Faye's writing seeing as it said, 'I run a flower shop just next door so I will be gone
until later in the evening. If anything is wrong, you can call me!' Underneath the writing
were a set of numbers. Erin racked her brain until she remembered exactly how a telephone
worked.
Then the note continued by telling Erin she could eat all the leftovers in the fridge.
And watch TV. She slowly got on her feet, careful to steady herself. Her body seemed to
respond much better. As Erin walked out into the hallway and towards what she assumed was
the kitchen, she realized something strange. She felt oddly calm.
Earlier, she'd been distraught and frantic, but now she was relaxed. Dare she say it,
Erin thought it was because Faye wasn't there. Why would the red head worry her so much?
Faye had saved her and thinking like this wasn't very nice... She began to feel guilty as
she opened the fridge and saw various dishes with instructions on how to heat them up.
Erin quietly prepared the food (happy Faye wrote down instructions for the microwave)
and then proceeded to the couch in the living room. There was another note. Erin was
starting to feel like she was on a scavenger hunt and the note explained how to use the
remote. It also said it was okay for her to eat on the couch.
As she watched television and devoured her food, Erin focused on getting her mind back
on track. She knew something happened to her, but it was all so hazy. She was barely paying
attention to the TV at this point. She...graduated from high school and she'd gone off to
college.
That was a good start, but when she came back to visit... Something happened. And
there were snakes, lots of them. Erin was deathly afraid of them, but... She wasn't scared
thinking about them. "What happened?" She brushed some of her unfamiliar dark green hair out
of her eyes. This was just dandy. All she needed was some more randomness to happen or for
her to walk in on a lesbian couple-
Lesbian couple?! Erin shot up from the couch. That was right! She'd gotten into a mess
with snakes (and some strange lady) and she was rescued by a lesbian couple and taken to a
house and... and... She plopped back down with a sigh. If only she could remember their
names or what they looked like... Woe to the one who couldn't remember anything.
So what happened after they rescued her? They obviously didn't do a good job seeing
as- Erin almost jumped up again. She was kidnapped, wasn't she? But why and whom? She put
the empty dishes in the sink before settling back down on the couch. The lesbian couple...
they were cute together. A human and... a demon was it? She kind of remembered what they
looked like.
She drifted off into sleep, not really caring too much for what was on the TV.
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