3 the start
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Why do I have a code name?
Who am I?
What am I?
My heart thumped frantically in my chest, the only reply I could get. Rachel sacrificed herself to save me- but why? Why do the men in suits want us? What does this mean? Why do I have codes?
Weren't these... birthmarks?
Does this mean my parents had been lying to me all along? Or do they really not know whats going on?
"Over there!"
Shouts from the distance caught my attention and pulled me from my thoughts. I turned around and scanned the ground, seeing some men in suits some distance away. They may be far now, but it wouldn't be long before they caught up to me, I mused. I stood up, grabbed my things and prepared to head home. I didn't want to head home originally, but I now suspect my parents might be involved.
Climbing down the tree, I headed in the opposite direction of the men in suits, and ran for home. Pressing against my stomach, I felt the fibres of my school uniform press into my stomach as I reached the woods behind my house. With a horrifying realization, I felt it missing- the tissue with my blood! With that, they would know I was there, and with my blood, they would be able to identify my place of residence, and nowhere would be safe! Once I scan in my ID bracelet, they would know where I was! I cursed my idiocy and rolled my eyes.
Just a few ways from home, I felt something was wrong. The normal sounds that could be heard from the house were missing. There was a bird I named Charlie who would always be heard singing at this time, at the oak tree right behind our house, which should be right in front of me right now- but all there is is silence. Even the wind chimes placed at the front and back doors emitted no sound. Climbing up another tree, I manoeuvred through the branches until I reached the top. What I saw horrified me.
Charlie was pinned to the oak tree, his neck twisted at an awkward angle with a long shard of glass in his chest, I presume to belong to the wind chime at the front door. The blood on the insides of the windows caught my attention and I leapt from the treetop, uncaring about the enemy or dangers and ran to the house. I yanked the broken backdoor open, only to see my mother's head right in front of me. Her long black hair was incredibly tangled, smeared with blood and her green-brown eyes-one of them smashed and the other eyeball on the floor. I yelped and bit my tongue to keep from screaming, and fell backwards shaking uncontrollably.
"Hey! Are you alright?" A boy yelled and ran over, as I turned towards him, shaking.
"Wh- Who are y- you?" I asked, my voice stuttering.
"I just happened to be nearby, I'm Jebal." His soft brown eyes looked at me with concern as he put a hand out to steady me. "You might also need to hide somewhere, there are men in suits everywhere asking if anyone saw you-"
"M-My mother-" I pointed a finger at the head rolling on the floor with blood as Jebal turned white and suddenly looked around us.
"Are the people who did these gone?" He asked with a serious expression on his face as I shook my head.
"I don't know. I saw blood from the treetops and rushed here as soon as I could but-"
"Calm down- what's your name?"
"K-Keiko," I took a deep breath and gave him a shaky grin. He pulled me to my feet and steadied me, putting my arm around his shoulder.
"The men in suits, did you see them nearby?" I asked as Jebal nodded.
"They don't seem like good people, why are they after you?"
"I-I don't know. I just got home to this, and my mother is suddenly dead-"
"Keiko breathe," Jebal said, turning me to face him, as his placed his hands on the sides of my face. "What do you need to do now?"
"I need to see if my father's alive," I pulled away from him as he nodded.
"Can I come with you?"
"..Please," I tugged on his sleeve as he headed in first, and I followed. Bloody footprints led from the corridor to the kitchen, and there I saw the rest of my mother's body, mutilated, and in chunks on the floor. Jebal put a hand to his mouth, making retching sounds as I patted his back. An emotion began to fill up inside of me, one I was unaware of, that I had never known. I squeezed my palm together tightly and stepped into the living room, where it seemed like it had been thrashed completely. I scanned the room and found my mother's ID bracelet in the midst of shattered glass, still attached to her right arm. Gingerly, I picked it up and a video message, an anagram of my mother played:
"Keiko, this is your mother. I might not survive to tell you the whole truth- or story, but know that during the time you were with us, we loved you as our own." Mother wiped a tear from her cheek and continued-
"You must beware of the men in suits, and the Kakihiko Operations, and never, use your ID bracelet anymore. If you are seeing this, it means you have broken the rules your father and I gave you, to never go to Lucky Or Not. But these aren't important right now. Now, you must head to- AHHH-" The kitchen lights began flickering as she quickly reinforced the house's defences with her bracelet. I could see the shadows in the windows flickering, and the figure of a man.
"They are coming for me now, but they know nothing of you, for you have been erased from most records, I made sure of that- " she turned her head frantically from left to right.
"Find your father, and make sure that they do not get to him, and tell him it's time for you to know. The key is with you, as it is always, and only you can open the door to your own memories."
"You must get back the memories they erased from you, that is the only way for you to survive-"
My mother smiled one last final time before the video shook and started turning black and white.
"I should have listened to them," I fell to my knees, broken in mind and spirit as tears began falling from my eyes.
"If I did, mother would still be alive, Rachel wouldn't be kidnapped- "
"Hey hey," Jebal crouched down to my face and wiped my tears with his hand.
"It will be fine. I'll help you. Didn't your mom mentioned something about lost memories?"
"Yea but that's impossible. I have all my memories-" I blinked as Jebal took my hands and pulled me up.
"Let's not rush for now. We have to find your dad and warn him first-"
"Dad! He should be at the cafe right now! But I have to change first, there's too much blood on my clothes," Jebal grimaced as he nodded in agreement. He followed me to my room where it seemed completely untouched, unlike the rest of the house. I grabbed a couple clothes and stuffed them into my school bag, pouring out the redundant stuff like my textbooks and left them on the table. I made Jebal turn around as I changed, and tapped him on the shoulder when I was done.
"Alright, lead the way Keiko," He said as I slung my bag onto my shoulder, giving him a shaky smile and signed for him to follow me. I remembered a shortcut to the cafe, that my parents used, and headed to the garage. Jebal looked at me curiously as I pressed a stone in the wall and it slid open to reveal a sleek grey motorbike.
Jebal whistled as he sat on the seat behind me, running his hands on the sides of the motorbike.
"If you don't hold on to me, you'll regret this," I told him as he quickly placed his arms around my waist. I started the engine and drove onto the highway but not before pressing the camouflage button my mother had installed years back.
"Where did you buy this? It looks like an ancient model- but it's specs are so good! Did you build this yourself?" Jebal asked, seemingly excited.
"No, m-my mother did. Contrary to popular beliefs where only men can be engineers, my mother was a research freak. She loved tinkering with lots of gadgets, and inventing new stuff-" I choked, unable to continue.
"That's bloody brilliant!" Jebal said, realising that it was the wrong topic to start on.
"Yea..." I looked at him and smiled sadly as Jebal kept silent after that. Soon, we quickly got off the highway and into familiar streets and I switched off camo mode as we arrived, at our destination.
"Are you ready?" Jebal asked, looking at me worriedly.
"No, but I will be," I breathed in, and out again.
"Let's go."
