Moving his hand across a beat-up mattress, Atlas opened his eyes at the unfamiliar texture. Through the haze of sleep, he could make out a room with concrete-lined walls.

Where am I?

His brain ran through the possibilities and none of them were promising. The last thing he remembered was being caught by those threatening combat boots. Panic beat in his heart. He had to escape. He forced his body to cooperate as he groggily lifted his head. Pain shot through his spine. He pulled himself onto his elbows and reached to ease the discomfort in his neck. His eyes widened as warm blood trailed down his hand. He pressed down on the wound and gritted his teeth.

What did they do to me?

Atlas' blood went cold. 

Hope.

He had been so disoriented that her well-being hadn't crossed his mind. Guilt gripped at his heart as he jumped to his feet. He walked around the blue curtain that separated the room. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Hope's sleeping form on a mattress identical to his. He rushed over to her side and knelt down on the ground. He watched as her eyes moved behind their pale lids.

Gingerly, he moved his hand on top of hers. Her skin was soft and warm. It reminded him of a warm summer day. Atlas smiled as he looked down at the sleeping girl. Closing his eyes, he begrudged stood up. He needed an escape plan for when she woke up. They wouldn't keep them here again. Curiosity piqued his interest. He stumbled across the room to the other curtain that lay beside Hope. 

Moving it out of his way, he stared at the disheveled and empty mattress. His mind was racing again as he assumed the worst.

Will. Where did they take him?

"Good, You're awake!" a deep voice spoke from somewhere behind him. The sudden appearance startled Atlas. He whipped around to face the attacker. Instinctively, he reached into his back pocket for his trusty scissors but found nothing. Nothing but lint and empty promises. Atlas moved in front of Hope and assumed a protective stance. 

I'll use my fists if I have to. He can't have her.

"What do you want? Where is Will?" Atlas spat the words as he glared at a middle-aged man with dark brown hair and deep chocolate eyes. Atlas felt his world spin and his vision getting blurry. He wasn't sure if the ground was moving or if he was spinning in place. The intruder's face shifted from a smile to confusion. Just as quickly, the flood of emotion was replaced with apprehension. 

"Ah, the boy! He is with the others getting settled in. You're home now, Admiral Witton!"

Those words elicited a reaction from Atlas' subconscious. Immediately he reached for his bloody neck once again. It was still spewing the thick liquid as he fell to his knees. Atlas squeezed his eye shut as images flashed behind his eyelids. It was the man in front of him. This man was imprinted into his brain hundreds of times. The image that burned the most was an image of the man wearing a mask. Atlas reached for it as if to find the source, but he felt his grip whiff past the memory. Snapping to reality, he was vaguely aware of the man touching his shoulder. 

Atlas wanted to shrug him off, but he was too weak. Something in him knew he needed help and that he should accept it. He couldn't remember how, where, or even who, but he knew this man. This man was an ally. Atlas would have to trust him. Blinking the dizziness away, Atlas shook his head.

"Are you alright, Admiral?" genuine concern was plastered on the older man's face. Atlas had been right to trust him.

Atlas didn't respond. Nausea was building inside him and encouraging him not to speak. He simply reached out a hand and the gentleman helped him slowly get to his feet. Atlas made sure to keep the pressure on his pulsing wound as he regained his balance.

"Who are you? I can't remember your name." Atlas questioned. He was more curious than ever. Memories scratched at the back of his skull like rats in a pantry. The pounding headache he had incurred was not much help to the cause.

"Colin. Colin Thatcher. I'm the primary doctor for the Resistance."

Colin looked at Atlas with sympathy, "I can tell you're having some memory loss. It should back now that we have removed the micro CPU." His voice was triumphant as he spoke.

Atlas slowly moved his hand from the wound on his neck. He inspected the dried blood that covered it. Colin, however, didn't seem to notice the movement as he continued to talk, a bit distracted.

"We had to remove the CPU to allow your memory to return in its own time. Not to mention the trackers embedded in the tiny circuit board," he let out a nervous laugh, "We already made that mistake in Washingto- Good heavens!"

After his ramblings, he watched as Atlas attempted to wipe the crusted residue onto his jeans. Colin rushed over and hissed at Atlas to stay still. Doing as he was told, Atlas stood ridged as the man examined the opening. The man stood a full head shorter than Atlas as he went onto his tiptoes to see the gash. Sizzling pain man Atlas jerk from the man. He sucked air through his teeth as he stood and let the man work.

"Get away from him." a weak voice called. Atlas felt the hands at his neck go still. 

Atlas spun around to see Hope squinting at the short man. The terrified man lifted his hands in surrender as Hope moved her hand closer to the man's back. Atlas was quick to intervene when he saw the scale in her hand. It was primed and aimed between Colin's shoulder blades. 

"Hope. Drop it." Atlas pleaded. He couldn't help but smile at her terrifying grit. She was an interesting woman. 

Hope glared at Atlas as she waited for an explanation. Atlas sighed. He knew she was too stubborn to just 'drop it'.

"He's a friend. We- We're safe now." he amended, praying that it was enough to convince her. He had no plan B if that fails. He didn't know half the explanation himself.

Seeing Atlas' conviction must have prompted the firey girl to listen. She lowered her blade and tossed it onto the metal tray that sat beside her. Colin turned around slowly as he lowered his hands. He gave a weak smile, but the lingering fear was clearly displayed on his face. He tucked his head down low and went to work on Atlas' wound. 

Once a generous amount of gauze and peroxide had been applied, he moved to check the vitals of both patients. He informed them that they were cleared and free to leave if they felt up to it. Atlas watched the man duck past another blue curtain which he assumed was the way out. Hope eagerly questioned Atlas for everything he knew. It wasn't much, but he rehashed everything he could remember. They both decided that more research would be needed to assess the situation. It was time to get some answers.

The pair stepped from behind the curtain and let it fall closed behind them. Hope's eyes grew wide as they examined the place. It was a huge warehouse with hundreds of rooms. Atlas felt his eyes moving fast to keep up with the people rushing around. To his astonishment he realized something.

They're all male.

Suddenly, from a group of kids kicking around a ball, Will ran up to them. The boy's hair was caked in sweat as he grinned at them. He bent low to catch his breath.

"You're. Awake!" he beamed at them as wiped at his sweat.

Hope seemed to visibly relax. She had confessed to Atlas that she was wary of the situation. The only thing he could offer her was that he remembered Colin and he trusted him. Her lips curled up as she spoke to Will.

"You seem to be having fun."

Will nodded his head and looked like he was about to speak when a boy called his name from the group of kids. He was dribbling the soccer ball flawlessly around the others. Will spun around to look at him before turning back to Atlas and Hope. Walking away from them, he waved and yelled, "See you at dinner!" before vanishing into the sweaty pack.

As promised, dinner came. Atlas and Hope had been informed by Colin when the food was ready. Everyone at the large wooden table wore smiles on their faces. They were calling it a celebration meal.

Celebrating us?

Atlas hadn't spoken the words out loud for fear that he would sound vain. He was interested to know more about this place and the lively people. They had a fiery spirit about them. He liked it.

The delicious food was a drastic change from the never-ending protein bars they had consumed. Atlas could feel his mouth-watering as the smell wafted to his nose. He wasted no time in devouring his meal. Looking over to Hope he was impressed to see her plate already cleaned. They made eye contact and Atlas felt his lips curl up. Her angled face was radiating happiness. 

I could get used to this.

Reaching under the table, Atlas grabbed Hope's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. It was for reassurance and to make sure that she was real. He was pleased when she gave a light squeeze in return. A sharp tapping sound commanded everyone's attention to the center of the table. Colin was tapping his plate with his fork.

"Let us raise a toast!"

As prompted, everyone lifted their hands and cups into the air. Atlas released Hope's hand to get his own glass and follow suit. 

"To Admiral Witton and Hope on their return!"

Everyone repeated the phrase in unison as they downed their beverages. Everyone was clinking the glassware together as they cheered and laughed. It was like a party. Atlas and Hope looked to each other in surprise. Atlas had thought they were celebrating them, but he never imagined a toast in their honor.

Admiral Witton? Is that me?

Colin had referred to him as Admiral Witton earlier, but too many new things had happened to process the information. Hope tapped Atlas on the shoulder and grinned at him. She reached up and brushed her thumb across his cheek. The small motion made Atlas shiver. She had wiped stray food off of his face. He flushed sheepishly at his messy appearance. This made Hope giggle as she lowered her hand. From across the table, a man with blond hair whistled and called the pair.

"Save molesting your fiance for the bedroom!" The man let out a deep-bellied laugh as he downed more of his drink, which was no doubt alcohol. Others joined in on the laughter.

Hope and Atlas jerked their heads to stare at each other.

Fiance?