“BIANA!” I cry. She’s covered in her own blood on the floor. I try to stop the bleeding by tearing off pieces of my cloak. Who could have done this? How could the Neverseen have gotten in here? “Show me Elwin Heslage!” I tell my imparter.
“Lori? What’s wrong? Do you need help?” He says through the screen.
“It’s not me, it’s Biana.”
“I’ll be there in a minute. Where are you?”
“Everglen.”
“They attacked her in her own home?”
“Yes. Please hurry, she’s bleeding, a lot.” He hangs up the imparter, and just a minute later he’s rushing around, trying to find us. “WE’RE IN HERE!” I shout, hoping he’ll find us. I can’t leave her to go get him. Elwin runs into the room, and gasps at the sight of us. My hands are covered in her blood.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know! I was asleep over there, and when I woke up, she…”
“This wasn’t an accident.”
“The way she was attacked doesn’t look like anyone we’ve seen before.”
“Looks like we have a mystery attacker on our hands.” Elwin treated Biana, and she ended up being fine, just really scared. And she wouldn't put any weight on her left leg.
“It- it must have been a telepath, because I don’t remember anything. I was getting ready, and now I’m here, with new scars. And it feels like they took the memories of the actual attack.” Biana says, after she wakes up.
“But, that doesn’t add up. Why attack you, when I’m so close? It would have been so easy for them to just finish me off, since I was asleep. And they had to have seen me. And how did they get in at all?”
“I don’t know.” These attacks kept happening, a couple times a week. We ended up referring to them as the MA, or Mystery Attacker. They always used the same fighting style, always in a place the Neverseen shouldn’t have been able to get, no matter how tight we made security. It was always one of my friends, and always when they were with me, and I would have been ridiculously easy to get to, far easier than them. And nobody ever had any memory of the attacks. They were minding their business, and woke up in the healing center, feeling like they were missing memories. And nobody could wrap their heads around how it was happening. So we went to Fintan. After explaining the situation, he smiles.
“I think I recognize what they’re doing, but it was very early in development when I was there.” He says. “I’ll tell you one thing, for a price. I want all of my favorite meals to be served to me.”
“Alright. What do you know?”
“Your Mystery Attacker isn't a part of the Neverseen.” I look at Stina, and the pale look of shock she had says that he isn’t lying.
“If it’s not the Neverseen doing it, then how would you know about it?” I ask.
“That’s all I’m telling you. And there’s nothing you can bribe me with to make my change my mind. I expect the first meal at dinner time.”
“Talking to him is always a total bust.” I complain after we leave. “He has to know more.”
“Probably, but I don’t think it would have been relevant. You know how often they change their plans.” Biana says.
“I wish we knew more.”
“Don’t we always?” The attacks persisted, moving to the adults close to me. Somehow, Dex had avoided getting attacked, but that only made his parents increase his security. Soon, it would be time for the Foxfire Spring Dance. Dex had convinced me to go, despite my worry about everything happening. We’re dancing, when my mind gets cold. I retreat to the warm nook. Then I hear Dex humming our song, and he sounds terrified. I try to battle my way back to my head, and discover that Gethen is in here.
Get out of my head! I mentally scream at him.
You’re not supposed to be here! He screams back.
What are you doing in my head?
GO AWAY!
NO! YOU’RE IN MY HEAD! How did you get in here?
You wouldn’t remember. He says, triggering a memory. He was going to kill everyone if I didn’t let him in my head. I thought it was just to look for information on the Black Swan, and I didn’t really know too much, so I let him, so he wouldn’t kill anyone.
You found a way to control me?
ShOoT I wasn’t supposed to trigger that! Dex is still humming, terrified.
GET OUT!!!! This time I actually force him away. And when I open my eyes… I’m holding a dagger. Dex is backed into a corner, desperately humming, and I’m wearing… an obscurer? But it’s not on right, so he can see that it’s me. I notice a gash on his shoulder, look at the dagger in my hand, and put the pieces together. I was about to attack them. Gethen was in my head, controlling me, and I had no idea. Have I been the Mystery Attacker this whole time? I drop the dagger, retreating to the corner, Fintan’s words echoing in my head. Your Mystery Attacker isn’t a part of the Neverseen.
“What have I done?” Tears are streaming down my face.
“Lori?” Dex takes a cautious step towards me.
“NO! I don’t want to hurt you.”
“What happened?”
“It was me.”
“You’re…”
“I’m the Mystery Attacker.” I can’t stand the look of shock and betrayal on his face.
“Why?”
“Gethen. He- he controlled me. He would get in m- my head, and make m- me attack you all.”
“Then it’s not your fault.”
“I LET IT HAPPEN! I could feel every time he took control. I would just hide deeper in my mind, instead of trying to take back control.”
“You didn’t know what was happening.”
“I should have put the pieces together a long time ago. Every time, whoever was attacked was with me. I have ther telepathic powers to take away their memories of it, I just don’t know how to use them. But Gethen does. I was his little puppet.”
“You’re more than that.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. You are. And I need you to believe that.” He’s crying too.
“Tell it to that gash on your shoulder that I left. Tell that to everyone I attacked and left scarred and injured.”
“You weren’t yourself. And that was all you did. For every single attack, you never killed anyone.”
“How do you know that that wasn’t next? That you wouldn’t have been the first?”
“I don’t, but I do know that you would never willingly hurt anyone.” He starts walking towards me.
“Stop! They should lock me up in Exile.”
“You’re back. I don’t think they’ll use you like that again.”
“How do you know that?”
“Well, for everything the Neverseen are, they aren’t dumb. Now that you know what was happening, you’ll stop them before they can take control in the first place. And they have to know that. And they might not even be able to get back in.”
“We don’t know for sure, so we’re acting like it could happen at any moment.”
“Lori-”
“I’m not taking any chances. Lock me up, and put an ability restrictor on me.”
“No. I told you, I’m never making one of those again.”
“But-”
“No buts. I’ll never make another one, and especially not one to put on you.”
“I can’t live with myself. I- I…” suddenly I’m dizzy. “It’s my fault.” My head hurts, and the words keep bouncing around in my head. My fault. My fault. My fault.
“Lori, don’t go down that path. If you let yourself break, nobody can bring you back. Lori! Look at me!” Dex is shouting.
“Y- you’re right. We ha- have to get away from here.” The music at the dance is too loud. The lights, too bright. The room, too crowded. We end up in the healing center, where Elwin is trying to mix up something that will help with my headache. It’s softer now, but I can’t ignore it forever. My fau… my fau… “Dex, I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.”
“I’ll call Mr. Forkle. He’ll know what to do.” I lean back in my cot, even after Mr. Forkle gets here. Dex explains what we found out. At maybe one of the worst times possible, I get memories of me, attacking my friends. It’s like watching them if I was just in the room. I was doing something perfectly normal, then my mind went cold, and I retreated. Then I would pull someone into another room, put on an obscurer, and attack them. Right before they passed out, I would go into their minds and steal their memories of the attack and the moments before. My fault! My fault! My fault!
“Lori, look at me. Look. At. Me.”
“I- I’m here. But I don’t know for how long.”
“That’s ok. We… we decided the best way to save you is to take all your memories of the attacks. I wish there was another way, but you’d either have to be locked up, or would go crazy. And I need you.”
“I don’t deserve to not know what happened.”
“But I’ll always need you, so please. Let us do this.”
“Alright. But what will I do? There’s no way to guarantee that they won’t trigger again, no matter how obscure the word is.”
“We’re actually trying a new way of wahsing it, where there isn’t a specific trigger. Hopefully that will erase them for good.”
“Ok. We’ll try.” He gets up, and the words come back, stronger than before. My fault! My fault! My fault! “Wait, can you stay with me? You make it easier.”
“Yeah. I’ll do whatever you need.” He climbs in the cot with me. I can’t stop crying. I can’t believe that it’s been me. All this time. How will everyone react? Especially the ones that I attacked. A man leaps in, and starts talking to Mr. Forkle. I assume he’s the washer.
“Remember, I’m only taking your memories of the attacks, and whenever you were takling about them. You won’t even remember this conversation. And there isn’t a trigger, so hopefully they won’t come back.” He says.
“Ok.” I say.
oOo
The memory flashes, and I remember another conversation I had with the whole group.
“Guys, what’s going on? I know you’re hiding something from me.” I tell them. I’ve been in the healing center for a few hours, and there are weird gaps in my memory.
“What? We’re not hiding anything.” Linh says.
“Yes, you are. There’s some sort of secret that you guys just didn’t let me in on. It has to do with the gaps in my memory, doesn’t it?”
“We already told you. The Neverseen attacked you, and stole some of your memories, and we have no idea why. They weren’t anything important.” Fitz says.
“Did they attack you guys too?”
“No, just you.”
“Then why do you all look or act like you got hurt recently, and why can’t I remember any attacks? You three have scars that weren’t there before,” I point to Marella, Linh, and Tam, “you aren’t putting any weight on your left leg,” I point to Biana, “and you two wince every time you move your arms.” I point to Dex and Fitz. “I know something’s going on. Why won’t you tell me?”
“What if I told you that it’s like why the councillors use chaches?” Dex says, choosing his words carefully.
“World shattering secrets? I already know a few of those. Why would you have to take them away?”
“Not world shattering. Sanity shattering.”
“Wh- what? Did I do something?”
“I- I can’t say anything else.”
“Dex, please tell me. What did I do?”
“Please stop asking me that.” He looks away.
“If you won’t tell me, I’ll find out on my own.”
“Don’t. We need you here.”
“If I did it, I should know what it was. I won’t let it break me.”
“But it almost did. And I can’t let you take that risk.”
“But-”
“I had to sit with you while we waited for the washer. It took everything you had in you to just hold on long enough for him to take everything away. And your mind was such a dark place for a minute, that he almost couldn’t. I’m not going to let you remember. And we probably have to erase this conversation now.”
“Why? What did I do?”
“Please. Stop. Asking. That. Biana, can you hail the washer?”
“Wait, don’t take my memories!”
“It’s too dangerous. I’m really sorry we had to do it this way.”
“Why?”
“Can’t you see? The truth would break you. And we need you to be strong. I need you.”
“So what, I just go through my life, not knowing whatever happened. I put it together once, I will again. You’ll just always erase my memories?”
“I don’t know! There is one thing we could do… but… no. That’s only for a real emergency.”
“What? What is it?”
“I can’t even tell you.”
“I won’t remember it anyways.”
“Well… fine. I… I think I found a way to get out of this universe. It sounds crazy, but if something really bad happens…”
“We can’t do that. I need to stop the Neverseen.”
“I know. But… if it’s too hard to keep it a secret, getting into a new universe will help. Hopefully.” The washer leaps in, and before I can even protest one final time, he’s taking my memories.
oOo
Dex pulls me into a little closet.
“What are we doing in here? We have to go.” I say. We’re leaving for a new universe and a fresh start in 10 minutes.
“I… I have to do something, and it will probably be really weird. I told you that we’re leaving this universe because it’s too late to save everyone. That’s… not exactly true.”
“Wh- what do you mean?”
“This will make sense if you get your other memories back, but the real reason we’re leaving is because the council found out what you did, and they sent out an order that will lock you in Exile. And I can’t let that happen, so we’re running away. I need you to listen, even though this won’t make much sense. IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT. He was controlling you. Don’t let yourself break.”
“Dex, what are you talking about? Why did the council sentence me to Exile? What did I do? When was this?”
“I can’t explain. We don’t have time.” He opens the door. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes, but-”
“Then just let me do this. I don’t like it any more than you do. I feel awful about it. But it’s the only way.” He’s starting to cry. “Please. Just trust me on this one, and stop asking questions.”
“Ok.”  I say.
“Thank you. Now let’s go.” I take a deep breath, and the washer erases my memories.