The Transcended: They call him Lucius

Part 1: Memories ~ Chapter 1

***Content warning***
The story you are about to read is intended for mature readers due to sexual themes (nothing explicit), detailed gore, extreme violence and abuse, gaslighting, selfharm, suicidal thoughts, suicide, ritualistic human sacrifice, and cannibalism. There is mention of suggested/threatened sexual abuse, but none happens.

~*~

November 2018

~*~

Amy reluctantly lowered herself into the therapist's armchair. She felt queasy and swallowed back the acid that had found its way up. I don't want to do this, she thought. Those memories are blocked for a reason.

"Please try to relax," Doctor Langston said calmly.

Doctor Langston had been working on her locked mind for the past couple of weeks, ever since the Special Forces had managed to liberate her. The moment Amy had realised that she had been rescued, that she was finally free again, her mind had broken. It had placed a lock on every memory of the past decade—they were simply too much for her to bear. However, in order to put her captor behind bars for good, a testimony was needed, making it essential for her to regain her memory. As the standard methods had proved fruitless in helping her remember, Amy had reluctantly agreed to hypnotherapy.

"You're safe here."

The man who had stolen a decade of her life was a genius, no doubt there. He left no evidence at his crime scenes: no fingerprints or hairs, not even a single strand of DNA could be found of him. This made Amy's testimony that much more important, though even without it they claimed to have gathered enough evidence at his house to lock him up for a few years. However, a few years would not cover the sum of all his crimes—several lifetimes would come much closer.

"Just take a deep breath, slowly, and release..."

Though apprehensive, Amy did as she was told. She wanted the guy to be locked away for as long as possible, and she clung to that desire in an attempt to calm herself. Following the therapist's instructions, she inhaled, closed her eyes, and tried to relax as she let the air slowly pass her lips. While repeating the deep breathing exercise, she focussed on the oldest memory to have escaped the blockade. They hoped to follow the trail of that memory into the dark part of her mind where the most important memories resided.

-

"Amy!"

She spun around. A man in a police uniform was calling out to her.

Tom Everdin, he was my boss...

At first, she could only see Tom in the blackness of her mind theatre. As she walked up to him the surroundings slowly appeared. They were in a wooded area on a hill, concealed between the trees; in the valley below stood a spacious farmhouse.

"I know I don't need to tell you this again, but please: be careful. This is probably the most dangerous undercover operation we've ever done if it all turns out to be true."

She nodded and saluted her chief. "Don't worry, sir. You know my cover is good: he has accepted me as a friend, and he thinks I'm just like him. If I have to believe his subtle hints, it won't be pretty inside that house, but it will give us exactly what we need to finally take him down. With you all out here keeping him surrounded, I'm certain that even if it goes wrong, it will still end well." She winked and smiled at him. "I trust you, now you need to trust me."

-

With wide-open eyes, Amy jerked up from the chair. "No, I don't want to continue this!" she exclaimed and ran to the door.