I D E N T I T Y

Twists and Turns

I shiver from the cool, crisp autumn air. I shove my hands into my coat pocket to make sure that my belongings are still there. After I make sure that I still have an envelope, a single dusty newspaper clipping, and a certain photograph secured in my pocket, my eyes scan the streets around me wearily as I quickly try to find 666 Rockridge St.

After seeing all those creepy things I kept in my floorboard and the horrifying memories they unlocked...I couldn't take anymore questions without answers. Especially these kind of questions. For an example:

What does the symbol X mean?

Who are these beat up teenagers in this photograph?

Why was I with them?

What did the person mean by "I was almost ready"?

Am I a terrible person?

Am I criminal?

And most importantly, what did I do?

I shake the gut wrenching questions from my mind. I'll find the answers soon enough. I will get the truth. I just really hope Rachel doesn't find out where I've gone...she seemed so angry and even frightened in my memory when she saw this stuff. She would most definitely stop me if she knew what I was doing.

But I have to do this. This is the key to everything, I can feel it. It's connected to my coma, the notes, the figure following me, and maybe, but hopefully not, Steve. And maybe even Kevin.

Kevin

I really, really, really hope he doesn't try to follow me here. I tried to make the note I left as vague as possible so he wouldn't be able to find me. It's not that I don't enjoy his company, normally I would love to have him here with me, it's just that...I have to do this alone. I need to find out what happened in my past. I need to figure who I was back then.

Not who Steve says I was, not who Rachel or Allie says I was, but who I actually was. Only I can figure that out.

I'm done waiting for answers, it's time to go grab them and finally solve this mystery once in for all. Because I have a feeling this goes way farther than just a coma.

I walk down an alleyway, my footsteps echoing throughout the nearly empty streets. The part of town I'm in is almost abandoned. Most people only come here to either vandalize, drink, or smoke...at least that's what it looks like.

This definitely wouldn't be my first choice for where to look for something, but my instincts told me to go here. Deep down I remember everything from my past, and now it's starting to bubble up to the surface.

I stop at the end of the alley and look left and right.

Which way now? I ask the hidden memories inside of me. But they stubbornly refuse to tell me.

Great. Now I'm lost.

I sigh and pull out the worn photograph out of my pocket. I study the picture: A large, abandoned looking building with me and a few others standing nearby. I scan it for details.

My eyes shoot down to the bottom right corner, a bright red fire hydrant stands there. Now all I need to do is find a red fire hydrant and I'll be at my destination.

Easy, right?

Wrong.

"Why are there so many darn fire hydrants?!" I whisper to myself in disbelief. Seriously though, who needs this many?

I've found a blue one, a yellow one, a pink one with red specks, I've even found a rainbow one, but still no—wait a minute.

I sprint back to the pink one with red specks.