5 Ivy

Ivy dropped down to Ben's side quickly. He was drooling, laying on his back and his eyes were rolled back into his head. It looked like he was having a seizure, the way his body was jerking around. There was some random girl standing over him, shouting his name over and over again. Ivy kept Ben on his back, holding him down however she could and trying to keep him from hitting himself.

"Ben! Ben!" She yelled. He wasn't responding. The girl standing over the two suddenly dropped to her knees, pushing Ivy off of him and starting what appeared to be CPR. Ben's head lolled side to side, and Ivy was having a hard time containing herself from not pushing this girl off of him. Ivy didn't trust this stranger. Why was she with Ben?

Ben thrashed about, shoving the girl to the side, and suddenly Ivy realized what was going on. He was having a flashback, just like she had had earlier in the alleyway. And if he was having a flashback, that meant he was retrieving information. Information they desperately needed.

"Leave him!" Ivy yelled at the girl, who was frantically trying to hold him still.

"Are you kidding me? He's dying!" She shouted back, clearly frustrated as Ivy started to push her off.

"He's having a flashback. Leave him!" Ivy said urgently. The girl continued to fight her, which wasn't making thing easy for Ivy.

The girl fighting her was much taller and lankier, and clearly strong too. Ivy was extremely short, impish, and built almost like a child would be. Fighting this stranger wasn't going to be easy. Not to mention the girl was clearly trained.

The two girls grappled back and forth. Surprisingly, Ivy was able to hold her own, at least long enough for Ben to groan and roll over on his side.

"Ben!" Ivy exclaimed, kneeling down at his side and ignoring the stranger.

"Ivy?" He mumbled.

"Are you okay? What did you see?" She pestered him. He didn't answer, leaning over on his side and dry-heaving, which quickly turned to vomit. Ivy felt her own stomach turn at the sight, but she refused to leave his side. She needed answers.

"Just give him a minute. He just had a seizure," the stranger mumbled in annoyance. Ivy pursed her lips and glared at her. She wasn't liking this girl much.

"Who are you?" Ivy demanded. "And why are you here?"

"Ivy, relax. This is Lea. She's going to help us," Ben explained for her, sitting up and placing a calming hand on her shoulder. Ivy glanced back and forth between the two, yet said nothing.

"I need to talk to you," she announced. "Privately. And not here."

Ben followed her without a second thought as she led him back towards the city. Lea trailed along behind them, much to Ivy's annoyance. Ben was carrying a backpack on his shoulder which Ivy recognized as the backpack from their 'home.'

"Here," she said as she led him in. "We'll be a moment." Ivy curtly nodded at Lea, who was rolling her eyes.

"I have a lot to tell you," Ben started as they placed themselves in the alleyway.

"Me too. You go first," Ivy urged him. The fortune teller - Lily - had already visited him. She wanted to know what their new friend had said. To her surprise, Ben quickly launched into a full story that occurred here in the alleyway with a little girl, and an ethical voice that had spoken to him, as well as the notebook Lily had told Ivy about. He then went on to tell her what he had seen in his little seizure/vision. Ivy nodded along eagerly and her eyes widened at the last memory.

"I think that's it. What did you have to tell me?" Ben wondered. Ivy recounted her adventure with the fortune teller, why they were in the alleyway, her vision, and the cards, which she was pulling out now. She had already taken a look, but had no idea what they meant.

"So this person, Lily, is trying to help us? And we need to 'level up' to get our memories back, whatever that means. And who are They? Did Lily tell you anything about Them?" Ben asked. Ivy shook her head.

"No. It seemed like she couldn't talk about Them, whoever they are. But whoever these people are, they took our memories, which means we have to find them to get them back. Anyways, take a look at these cards," Ivy said, pulling them out.

She had counted the cards, and found there were one hundred. The first one had a familiar image. It was the very alleyway they were standing in. It had the number zero firmly imprinted in the corner. The next card showed a large sky scraper with the letters 'HQ' branded on a sign above it. This card had the number one in the corner. The rest were blanks, aside from numbers in the top corners. Then there was the last card, one hundred, which had one image firmly imprinted on it. It was chilling, as it displayed two figures - supposedly Ivy and Ben - on their backs on an operation table.

"That's the same one as our memory, isn't it?" Ben gasped. Ivy nodded grimly.

"That operation table - that must've been when our minds were wiped. It only makes sense that we will get them back the same way," she explained her thinking. Ben nodded. "So what do you think Lily meant when she said 'level up?'" Ivy asked. Ben seemed a lot smarter than she was. Or, he at least seemed to know what was going on, a little.

"I don't really know. The cards don't make sense to me either. Why are the rest blank except for the last one? I don't understand. And levelling up... I don't really know either. I think for now, we just need to follow along with what Lily told us. She's going to send messages through the notebook I guess, and if she comes to help us again we'll see what more information we can get," he answered.

The two looked at each other wearily, the reality of their situation setting in. This was turning out to be a lot more complex than she ever could've imagined.

"Lily told you to follow Lea, right? So we should go out there and let her take us... wherever," Ivy suggested. Ben nodded.

Lea was sitting on the sidewalk, her head slumped against the summer heat, which was hitting them like a blast furnace.

"About time, you guys took forever," Lea groaned. Ivy rolled her eyes and wanted to spit something back at her, but felt the heat take all her energy. "So, are you losers coming with me or what?"

"Lead the way," Ben answered for the two of them. Lea rolled her eyes again but started to walk down the street.

Hopefully, Lily was trying to help them after all, but Ivy didn't feel a reason to doubt her. Whoever this Lily person was, Ivy was certain she'd known her in her past life. That they were close. But she couldn't quite put her finger on who she was, and that seemed to sadden and frustrate her more than ever. Whoever Lily was, she must've been important.