“Hey, wake up.” He gently shook her shoulder, surprised that she was hard to wake up. Her head snapped up, glancing around in a panic before realizing where she was. A deep sigh resonated through her body.
“Are they coming?” She asked, and he nodded. Listening carefully, they heard several footsteps coming down the hall towards them. Muffled conversations told them that their captors were close.
“What do you think they want?” She asked, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands. He had no answer for her. Soon enough, the door was unlocked and four men walked inside. Both captive regarded them with suspicion and fear.
The man in charge, who wore a dirty apron and a chef’s hat, slowed his pace as he came closer to them. His hands were up in front of him, a universal sign of vulnerability.
“We aren’t going to hurt you.” He said, looking at both of them in turn. “All we want to do is help you remember everything.”
“Remember what?” The girl asked. Feeling a flash of protectiveness go through him, he stepped in between the girl and the cook. The cook was obviously surprised at the gesture. Good, he thought. Keep them guessing.
“You two are both members of our crew. You both got nasty bumps on the head and are suffering from amnesia.” Unconsciously, the girl and himself reached up to touch the bandages wrapped around their heads. He had been wondering where such an injury had come from, but he still didn’t believe the cook’s story.
“Don’t think you can brainwash us that easily.” He spat.
The cook sighed. “I thought it would come to this…” With a nod to one of the other men, a man with sunglasses and a strange green and red hat, the rest of the captors advanced towards the two captives.
“Dammit…” He muttered, turning his head this way and that in an effort to keep up with where everyone was.
A hand grabbed his arm and he tried to yank it away, but they had obviously been expecting this. As limbs quickly began to drag him towards the floor and away from the girl, he heard her whimper again.
“Leave her alone!” He yelled, now pinned to the floor with his arms trapped behind him. He struggled against the three men that held him down, unable to see the girl through the bodies. Her cries were getting farther away. They were taking her instead of him.
“We’re only trying to help, Captain.” One of the men said. Shaking his head, he snarled and twisted his body once again, intent on breaking free from their hold. The door shut and the lock turned, completely separating him from the girl.
“Let her go!” He yelled once more before being struck from the side and everything went black.
“Please, don’t hurt me!” She shouted, struggling against the two men’s firm grips on her wrists. They were dragging her down a long hallway; the walls were metal and so was the floor. What kind of place was this?
“Summer-chan, just calm down. We’re almost there.” The one on her left pleaded, lessening the hold on her arm just enough to let her know that he didn’t, in fact, want to be hurting her. Her hyperventilation hadn’t stopped but she no longer yelled out.
“Where are you taking me?” She demanded as they opened a door. They gestured for her to go in. Hesitantly, she did. Inside was a large cafeteria-type room. There were lots of other men sitting at the tables in the back. They were all staring at her.
“W-what is this?” She asked, unable to look away from their sad and curious gazes. A touch on her shoulder guided her into a chair facing the company. As soon as she was seated, they tied her hands behind the chair and the panic started again.
“Wait! Tell me what’s going on!” There were tears forming in her eyes, the stress and foreignness of the situation breaking her down.
“Summer-chan, you need to stop panicking. This is just so you won’t hurt yourself, ok?”
“Who is Summer?” She shrieked, pulling against her bonds. Suddenly, a large someone in a bright orange suit moved in front of her. Looking up, her eyes widened.
“Summer, we just want you to get your memories back.” It was a bear. An actual life-sized bear. And it was talking.
“You...it...bear…” She muttered to herself, mouth open like a fish out of water. “AHHHHHHHH!” She screamed, pushing as far away from the animal as she could in her bound position. “Don’t eat me! I don’t want to die!”
“I’m sorry.” The bear lowered his head. The man with the penguin hat shook his head, his hand covering his face.
“Bepo, I think it would be best if you leave the room. She’s only panicking further.” Nodding sadly, the bear left the room. Her hyperventilating was now two-fold. Sweat dripped from her forehead onto her shirt.
“Summer-chan, listen to me.” The penguin hat man said, crouching in front of her and forcing eye contact. Her choked sobs were her only answer, but she did look him in the eyes. “None of us are going to hurt you. Understand? Nod if you understand.”
She nodded, only half listening but beginning to calm down.
“Good. We are only trying to help you remember everything from before, alright?” Her gaze had drifted left, but he turned her head back to his. “Alright?” He repeated, and she nodded once again.
“Ok. We’re gonna try some things that may or may not work. To be honest, none of us really knows what we’re doing, so just let us know if something is hurting and we’ll stop, ok?”
Swallowing several times to clear her throat, she nodded. “Ok.” She said shakily.
The older cook, who stood behind her, placed a hand gently onto her shoulder. He gave a gentle squeeze and a small smile. “That’a girl.”
Coming from this man, it was strangely comforting. She managed a wobbly smile in return before turning to the penguin man.
“What are you gonna do?”
He grabbed a flashlight from a table nearby and returned to crouch in front of her.
“First, we’re gonna give you an exam to make sure you’re alright.” She nodded, thinking that she could trust this man.
“Ok, I’m ready.”
“Nnngg…” He groggily shook his head to clear away the sleep, trying to regain his sense of self. He felt...constricted. His limbs wouldn’t move when he tried to lift them.
“He’s awake.” A voice called, and a shuffling of feet and clothing followed. It was cold. So, he was still in that hospital room, he thought. He tried opening his eyes.
The light above him was blinding. A raging headache quickly formed, but he was determined to be fully aware as quick as possible.
“Don’t try to struggle or the ropes will start to rub against your arms.” One of the men said. He didn’t respond, just focused on getting his bearings back.
A distant scream came from somewhere far from the room and he pushed against the bonds once again. Instantly, the other men were on their feet in a ready position should he try anything.
“What are you doing to her?” He growled, glaring at the nearest man with pure venom. He put his hands up defensively.
“We’re just trying to help her get her memories back, Captain. And you too. We want the real you back.”
“Yeah, you’ve gotta come back to us, Captain.” Another chimed in.
“I’m not your captain.” He spat, and he was just a little surprised to see true sorrow in their eyes.
“Well, not right now you’re not.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” She asked, eyeing the small chimes the penguin man held in his hand. Currently, he was chanting from sort of ancient book all the while shaking the high-pitched chimes in a steady rhythm. It was all a bit dizzying, to be honest.
“Shh, we’ve gotta get the ritual right.” He resumed chanting once again in a monotone voice. She looked unconvinced, but kept silent as he seemed to finish up the chanting gibberish.
“Oh, gods of memory and thoughts, bestow upon Summer-chan that which has been lost to her! We beg you, hear our plea!” He shouted into the air with arms wide.
Nothing happened for several minutes while the crew seemed to wait for...well, she really wasn’t sure. Did they expect some being of higher power to come magically appearing in the air and wiggling their fingers to make everything better?
“Did you do it right?” Someone from the back asked. The penguin man scratched his head and looked at the book again.
“I did everything it said.” Flipping several pages, he called to another man. “Parker, man, are you sure we did it right?”
Someone from the middle of the crowd came pushing through, taking the book from his hands and inspecting it closely. Suddenly, his face cleared, a second later turning a dark shade of red.
“Umm...I might’ve given you the wrong book.” He muttered, trying to hide his face behind the leather cover. The penguin man snatched it from his hands.
“Whaddya mean the wrong book? What is this one for then?” He turned it upside down, as if that would help him read the ancient text written on the front. Parker snatched it back, smoothing the front down to check it wasn’t bent.
“Its...for human sacrifice…” He muttered.
“Gah!” His eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. Then suddenly he started waving his arms in the air. “I take everything back! She’s not a sacrifice! Don’t take her soul to the underworld, great gods out there!”
“U-underworld?” She questioned, unsure what exactly was going on but not liking the sound of it.
“Baka! Try something else!” The men shouted. The older cook sighed and shook his head. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure if she could trust them with her life.
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