12 April 2012
~ Trying to Read A Closed Book ~ She awoke suddenly at the bottom of a cliff with the sea lapping over her aching limbs. Pain was evading every bone in her body, and her head began to spin as she felt a drop of blood trickle down her face. Her eyes were filled with tears, and the wind numbed her weakened senses. The cry of the seagulls echoed through Holly Walker's mind, and she heard a faint whirring noise in the distance gradually getting louder. "We've found her!" A voice shouted above the noise. Holly's eyes trembled as she peeled open her eyelids, the mist before her taking shape and helicopter rotars appearing more vivid. She felt a sharp blast of wind attacking her cheeks and locks of her golden hair violently whipping around her neck, as more voices called down to her and a pair of strong hands holding onto her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Are you alright?" a gruff voice asked her. She let her eyes meet a shade of blue and shook her head dumbly. No, she wasn't alright, and she had no idea why. The same man chuckled. "I should have known. Who is alright after falling off a cliff? A superhero?" Holly froze. A superhero. That word meant something to her, somewhere at the back of her subconscious. She desperately searched through her mind and rattled her memory, but she kept coming up short. No, she told herself. She couldn't give up on that small glimmer of hope that might be able to explain everything that had just happened to her. She needed to know the truth. "Come on, let's get you fixed," the male voice continued, interrupting her thoughts. "You're like a broken jig-saw puzzle." "Wait," Holly pleaded, her vocal chords straining in protest. "D-Do I know you?" "Me?" the man asked, amused. "Well, probably on a co-worker relationship." "C-Co-worker?" Holly trembled, her mind slowly putting together where she had heard that tone before. That voice. "Well, in my opinion. But I'm almost positive that your boyfriend would think otherwise." "Boyfriend?" Holly squeaked, her eyes becoming stronger and widening harshly with surprise. A boyfriend. . . Holly had a boyfriend? Since when? "You don't remember," the man murmured to himself, his eyes glazing over into a daydream. His grip seemed to relax on Holly, but she still felt her upper arms and shoulders throbbing. He wasn't even holding onto her that hard! What had happened that made her feel so weak? So confused? So forgetful? She felt a sharp fiery pain attack her ribcage without warning, and let a small, painful grunt escape her lips. That alerted the man's attention and brought him back to reality, his eyes blinking a few times and a dark smirk taking place around his mouth. "I can't believe my luck!" he laughed menacingly as he clapped his hands in glee. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out!" "Who's face?" Holly asked, slowly feeling uncomfortable and weary around the man as she noticed a small glimmer in his eye. "Finds out what?" "You!" the man replied cheerily, "you don't remember a thing! And Phillip is going to get his just desserts!" "Phillip?" Holly asked, the volume in her voice diminishing with thought. Phillip. . . She knew a Phillip. Wait a second. . . "Anyway," the man smiled, coughing once to control himself. "No matter if you remember him or not. Actually. . . It does, but, just stay confused for a few more minutes, alright?" Holly felt her eyes rolling and a pain in her head shortly afterwards. She couldn't exactly do anything else could she? The man stood up from the ground and turned his back on Holly, pulling something out of his pocket and holding it against his ear. The seagulls she had heard earlier were still sqawking loudly, and she watched as they started to circle in the sky above her. She smelt the salty air from the sea and sounds of the waves crashing to the shore as she rubbed her eyes tiredly, waiting for the mysterious man to return. She saw him standing with a hand on his hip as he faced the ocean, when suddenly - He fell to the ground. Holly watched in horror as another figure stood above him, his fists tightened and his body language stiff. He looked down on the other man who had discovered her, and she didn't know what to do. Her first thought was to run, but she was paralysed where she lay. All she could do was watch in fear and hope that this new threat didn't notice her. Unfortunately, her luck had ran out. The figure turned towards Holly, and she noticed the hard stare in his eyes and the cold expression on his face. She felt herself freeze and her heartbeat start to increase and thump in her chest. It felt so loud that the man walking towards her could probably hear it. Holly closed her eyes tightly and silently prayed to herself, her body restricted from so much agony that she couldn't run away. Run away from what, though? she asked herself. Her death? She felt something beside her and she let a tear run down her cheek because she was in so much fear. She had never felt so scared in all her life. "H-Holly?" Her eyes opened at the sound of her name and the trembling voice behind it. A blonde headed young man with shaggy hair and green eyes greeted Holly once her vision had refocused. "W-What do you want with me?" she sobbed at him, "I don't have any money!" "What?" the boy asked, his tone in complete shock. "Holly, it's me, Phillip." "Phillip?" Holly asked, her mind realising that this could be the Phillip that the other man had been referring to earlier. "I don't know a Phillip. . ." The boy, Phillip, stared at her in response. "Don't joke with me, Holly," he said. "Now is not the time to be joking with me." "Joking?" Holly asked in confusion, "will someone just take me to the damn hospital already?" "Look at me," Phillip demanded, pulling Holly's face towards his by the chin rather desperately. "Please think, you know me. Please tell me I'm not too late!" "Late for what?" Holly parroted once again, her eyes beginning to become lost in his. She pushed herself to remember - she so desperately wanted to rememeber - but she couldn't. She couldn't remember Phillip, or how she had fell off of a cliff, but she just wanted to go home. She wanted to feel better and maybe remember some more later, after she had been taken care of. Because she didn't like the seriousness in this boy's voice, and she didn't like the tears forming in his eyes either. "I am too late," Phillip breathed as he scanned Holly's face in disappointment. "They said this would happen. If I had only been here a few moments ago I could have saved you. . ." "Saved me from what?" Phillip let Holly's face go gently and found his eyes drift to the ground in shame. He slowly returned to her and looked straight into her pupils, debating on the right words to say. As he opened his mouth to speak, he noticed the helicopter flying above the two of them. The rotars were so noisey, but Holly could only hear the next words Phillip said more clearly than anything else. "Losing your memory forever." He whispered.
~ Copyright © 2011 Rachel Dalziel ~
Trying To Read A Closed Book • Opuss № I