Transfusion

Chapter 19

I wasn't sure how long I slept in the passenger seat of Elias's car, but when I woke up, the sun had already risen. 

I heard the familiar sounds of ocean waves crashing against the shore, and the squawk of seagulls as they circled above. 

So Elias had taken us to the beach. Speaking of him, I appeared to be alone in the car, but when I looked outside I saw him sitting on a large piece of driftwood on a stretch of empty beach, the waves frothing before him. 

I squeezed my eyes shut thinking about everything that happened last night. There was bound to be questions, after everything Elias had seen; I should get it over with.

I walked up to him silently, but he didn't show any surprise when I sat down beside him.

"So I missed the sunrise, huh?"

Elias's eyes never left the blue waves as it curled in and out, like he was entranced by them. I was reminded of the tattoo on his arm.

Finally, he turned to me, "Cut the bullshit. I want to know what happened back there."

As much as I wanted to keep my secret from him, he had already seen too much, there was no way I could fool him into believing otherwise. Funny, I always thought that if I were ever going to tell someone in the Collective about my ability, it would have been Leon.

There was no point in beating around the bush, "I have an ability that allows me to stop time... okay maybe not stop time but freeze frame it? At least that's what I call it, I really don't know any of the logistics..." I knew I was rambling but I couldn't help it, I began speaking but Elias just sat next to me silently, watching me.

He looked like he was mulling it over in his head, but he didn't look shocked.

"How come you aren't laughing at me or freaking out right now?"

"It's not exactly impossible, I've seen stranger things." He was taking it really well. "How long have you had this ability?"

"I don't remember," I said trying not to freak out, "I don't remember my childhood, or if I was part of a family, or even if I had parents who loved me." It was hard not to become hysterical after admitting all of this out loud. "There's just a blank, gaping hole up until the initiation ceremony. All I knew was that I needed to get protection from someone, and how to use my ability." I took slow deep breaths to calm myself, and willed the tears that were threatening to fall down my face to go away.

I could tell Elias felt bad for me, his face was somber as he listened and awkwardly he patted my back, probably trying to comfort me. In a way, that simple human touch helped, it made be feel just a little bit less alone in all of this.

I don't know how I felt about the fact that Elias now knew more about me than any other person that I had associated with after my memory was taken. Though admittedly, it felt nice to finally get it off my chest.

"Someone is chasing you because of what you can do, right? Do you think it could have been that shooter from the pizza place?"

"Maybe."

He ran his hands through his hair, and sighed, "This whole situation is really messy. What you've told me is detrimental enough to catch Management's attention."

Icy fear gripped me, "You won't tell them, will you?"

He didn't answer, instead asking another question. "Why did you want to come to the research facility?"

I wanted to beg him to keep my secret, but I swallowed the urge. I needed Elias to trust me first, so I pulled out the crumpled papers safely tucked inside my jacket, and handed it to him.

If I was going to tell him, I might as well spill it all. "While getting information for the Aero case, Reina came to me when she saw that my name was listed in one of the scientist's files. I thought it might lead to information on my memory loss, so I came here, and... now I know." 

Even now, thinking about it left me sick to my stomach. I had only skimmed some of the experiment trials I had supposedly taken part of, but many struck me as cruel and unethical. I didn't have any scars or memories to prove I had gone through such horrors but I knew it happened. My ability might have been a result of one of them.

He read the papers, and I could tell he understood. When he looked up, his eyes almost blazed with indignation, "This is fucked up, no human should have to suffer through this." When his gaze landed on me, it softened, "What they did to you wasn't right."

I didn't expect his words to help, but they did. Hearing Elias saying it so directly, made me realize that I should stop feeling sorry for myself and instead be angry at those scientists for using me. They had to have forced me into this, right? There was no way I volunteered willingly.

When Elias saw me shiver, he offered me his jacket, and I accepted it gratefully. It smelled just like he did, and when I realized how close we were sitting,  I didn't scoot back.

"I never thanked you for saving my hand."

"I owe you that much." I said lightly, not wanting to think about what would have happened if I had hadn't pulled away his hand in time.

I don't know how long we sat there before the male next to me spoke up again. 

"Don't worry, I'll keep your secret."