Resurgent

Chapter 10

"Stop messing around. This isn't funny, Tris." Arrogant Boy says.

I hunch over my knees and press my hands to my head, forcing myself to concentrate. What is the last thing I remember? My mind is blank. I keep returning to when I woke up where I am now, but cannot recall anything before that moment. I lift my head up and stare wide-eyed at the frightened unfamiliar faces in front of me. They all know me, but I have no idea who they are.

"You guys, she really doesn't remember us." Blonde Girl reports in a monotone lull.

"No. Of course she does." This time it's Handsome Man, or Tobias as he said before, that speaks. "Tris, you know who I am." He places his hands on either side of my face and looks me square in the eyes. "I'm Tobias, you know, guy who argues with you a lot but can occasionally be nice? We were going to move in together but you weren't ready? I love you and you love me?"

My heart and mind races as I strain to remember him. He said he loves me. He must be important to me somehow.

"I'm so sorry." With dismay, I let out a huge sigh when I can't recall anything. "I...I don't know...I wish that I did but I can't think of...I'm sorry."

"She's getting overwhelmed; back off for now, Tobias," the sturdy brunette guy kindly commands.

"Matthew, why doesn't she know who we are?" Tobias asks the intelligent man with black hair, who walks over to me.

"Don't panic, okay?" Matthew tells me, ignoring the question of the handsome man. "I need to a few wires in you but they'll only sting at first."

He goes to the computer and grabs the wires that are connected behind it. "A few" was a huge understatement. I watch as he inserts one needle after another all in my arms and legs. He attaches five on my head, which make a clicking noise when pressed on. Pausing before inserting the last one, he gives me a sympathetic look and apologizes as he sticks it into my chest, directly over my heart. I cry out in pain as the needle slides in. I take in quick, deep breaths as I press my hands into my chest. It feels as if I've just been shot. I squeeze my eyes shut until the pain finally subsides. When I open them, I see Matthew's jaw drop as he observes the computer screen.

"Cara, Caleb...come look at this." He says as he motions them over.

"What? What is it?" I inquire, trying to see around the people blocking the screen. They ignore me, instead whispering and pointing at things on the monitor. The girl, who I'm assuming is Cara, rushes over to the refrigerator containing vials of colored liquid. She shifts through all of them and returns with a neon green one.

"Be brave, Tris." Tobias says as he places his hand on my shoulder. I pause as a memory flashes in my mind. In it, I'm sitting in a chair similar to the one I'm in now. Tobias is telling me to be brave, that the first time is always the hardest. He's sticking something in my neck when the memory fades away. Confused, I look up at him.

"When did you stick a needle in my neck?" I ask. He tilts his head and narrows his eyebrows. "You put something in my neck and told me to be brave. When was that?"

"That was...that was a long time ago, in Dauntless before your first simulation. Wait, you remember now?" He looks at me anxiously.

"No. I...I just had the image of you doing that. What is Dauntless?"

He turns away in grief.

"Okay, we know what happened with her." Arrogant Boy, who I think is named Caleb, tells Tobias. "She wasn't coming in for her appointments, so we weren't able to regularly check her brain function, which didn't seem like a big deal because she had remembered everything so well. Unfortunately, we didn't catch how dependent she was on the Rememberance Serum. By taking her off of it instantly, her brain was slowly forgetting things...starting with childhood memories, which wouldn't be recalled often. But then today, when she blacked out, her brain forgot everything."