Who am I?

Chase and Lena are getting close, but Chase is no closer to finding clues as to who he really is. His only lead is a female voice inside his head, but is this just a trick of his imagination?

3

Who am I?  

 

 

 

It was four o’clock in the afternoon, the wind whistled outside the apartment windows and dark clouds threatened the birds that flew through them. “It’s gonna be a bad one,” Allison had said dipping the tea bag in the steaming water.

     “Guess the weatherman was right"for once,” Lena nibbled her oatmeal cookie.

     Allison turned to look at Lena, “Do you really think it’s a good idea to leave Daniel alone with that weirdo?” She made a face like she tasted something sour, “I mean we don’t know anything about him. For all we know he could be a murderer.”

     Lena rolled her eyes, “You’re so dramatic.”

     She rose on arm up and carried her teacup to the table, “I just don’t like it.”

     “It’s Daniel,” said Lena, “he’s perfectly capable to handle himself against a scrawny teenager.”

     Allison snorted, “There’s nothing ‘scrawny’ about him.”

     Lena had to agree with her best friend; Chase had quite the muscles. In fact, he looked like a guy who would pull girls into Abercrombie and Fitch just to look at his body and"if they were lucky"have a conversation with him.

     She thought about him lying on the couch, his arms folded across his chest and his little pouty face as he stared at her, his muscles flexing, his dark hair brushing the tops of his eyelashes. His eyes pulled her in, the color of a frozen lake in the middle of December.

     She could feel his touch on her arm; the soft warmth of his skin that ran chills up and down her body, so gentle unlike anything she’d ever felt. She couldn’t remember a time someone was so gentle with her, if anyone ever had been. Of course there was, she shook the ridiculous thought away, my mother was. And yet the memories felt so distant to her now, like a movie she’d watched but only remembered bits and pieces of. The absence of her mother was painful for her and even more so when she realized the memories of her were starting to fade from Lena’s memory.

     Daniel came in then saying, “He won’t say anything. He keeps saying he doesn’t remember anything.”

    “Do you believe him?” asked Lena.

     “It’s hard to tell,” he sighed.

     The room went silent, a small thickness in the air.

     “What about Post-Traumatic Amnesia?” chimed Allison her eyes wide.

     There was a pause before Lena added, “That would explain why he can’t recall anything that happened the other night but still knows things like his name.”

     “Yes, that’s true,” Daniel ran his fingers over the scruff on his chin.

     There was silence. “So,” Lena said at last, “how is he doing?”

     She could see Daniel’s shoulders stiffen though his voice was light, “Remarkably fine. His stitches can come out by Wednesday.”

     “Seriously?” Allison nearly choked on her tea. “That’s so soon, though. I thought His head injury was more . . . serious. For God’s sake, he was just dying yesterday!”

     There was silence.

     “Maybe he isn’t human after all,” Allison sipped her tea and sat with the others. “‘A boy nearly dead recovers in less than a week’.” She said it as if she was reading it from a newspaper. 

     “Does that mean anything?” Lena whispered to Daniel, while Allison mulled over possible Titles for the New York Times.

     Daniel was silent, though his thoughts screamed behind silent eyes. Lena couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Daniel, he’d never acted like that before.

     What’s going on with you? Lena kept her gaze on him, burning him with her eyes.

 

It was dark; it was the kind of dark a person hated being in during the day, even on the cloudiest of them all.

     Daniel had shut the curtains after he’d brought Chase into the bedroom to talk more privately, so only streams of sun poked their way through the heavy fabric.

     “Explain how you’re recovering so quickly,” Daniel had challenged him after Chase refused to give information.

     “Luck I guess,” Chase had sighed. “Look I told you, I don’t remember anything"I don’t know anything.”

     Chase leaned his head against the wall and cringed. Daniel had left him alone to try and think about anything he could remember that was ‘potentially important’. Chase scoffed, but there’s nothing to remember.

     He sucked in a lung full of air as the burning was on his back again. He arched his back and gritted his teeth to try and lessen the pain, but it only did for a moment. The pain had been there since he’d waken up on that person’s couch. He let out a staggering breath and opened his eyes.

     The room wasn’t exactly huge, but it was big for an apartment master. The full bed rested against the back wall next to the sliding double windows, a small white dresser rested beside him on the opposite wall just squeezing beside the door and a lamp sat, a bit dusty, on a side table a foot from the closet. It was warm, though, the warmest Chase could remember feeling"not that he remembered much of anything though.

     He got up and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the white walls, thoughts swirling around in his head like an angry bees nest. He knew as much as those people in the other room did. He told them that several times, but they still wouldn’t believe him. It was very frustrating.

     I know what you are.

     His head snapped to the side, his eyes suddenly wide and alert. The voice was coming from inside the bedroom, but there was no one there. “What?” said Chase, trying to focus.

     I know what you are, Chase Caverly.

     The voice was inside his head. He shook his head and laughed nervously, “Great, now I’m hearing voices.”

    You’re lost and confused. These people want answers that you cannot give them, or give yourself"yet.

     The voice was female, he noted, like ringing bells. The voice made him want to listen, to trust what it was telling him.

     If you want to know the answers, Chase Caverly, I can help you. But you must want it"want it more than anything.

     “I do,” whispered Chase. “I want to know why I can’t remember.”

     Then you will know"soon. It’s not safe now, Chase Caverly. When you are ready to know, I will return. Until then farewell, we’ll be watching.

     “What? No please"”

     “Chase?” a muffled voice called through the door, a familiar voice.

     He tried to hear the voice again but there was nothing, it was gone. Leaning his elbows on his ripped jeans he said, “Come in.”

     The girl with the brown hair came in, her hair in smooth ringlets all around her"perhaps she had showered, he’d guessed to himself. Chase could feel the tension in his body evaporate almost immediately once he saw her face. The beautiful ivory of her flawless skin, the gentle curves of her pink lips, the way her hazel eyes glistened even in the darkness.

     She shut the door soundlessly behind her and looked at him, brow rose, “Were you talking to someone?”

     “What"no,” he planted his feet off the edge of the bed and looked at her. She was the one that saved him, the one that put her own life in danger rescuing him"a complete stranger.

     She didn’t move to the door. She just stood there looking awkward. “Daniel asked me to talk to you,” she explained.

     Chase sighed, “I don’t remember anything.”

     “I know,” she said lightly. “We think you might have a small case of amnesia from the incident"kind of like your brain is blocking it out, like a defense mechanism.” Chase was silent. She continued, “He thinks it should come back on its own, though.”

     “When?” said Chase.

     “That’s the thing,” her voice was light, “we don’t know.”

     Chase’s gaze fell to the floor, “So I’m just supposed to sit here and wait? What if it takes months? Am I just supposed to twiddle my fingers and hope for the best?” he stood up and started pacing.

     “I’m sorry,” Lena sat in his place her voice sincere. There was a silence before she broke it, “We understand if you don’t want to stay here.”

     Chase turned to her but she was staring at the floor. He wanted to go to her, comfort her and tell her it was okay, but his feet betrayed him. He stood there and watched her, the soft brown waves curled behind her small ears, her long lashes casting shadows on her eyes"

     “Agh!” the burning was back making his teeth grind against themselves.

    

     Lena was beside him holding his up, “What’s wrong"is it your head?” She led him to the bed.

     “No"my back,” his voice was low. He was trying to compose himself.

     “Let me see"”

     “No, stop"” he didn’t know what was causing the burning but he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be anything pretty. Before he could stop her the shirt was already over his shoulders. A loud gasp came from behind him"it came from her. He turned to face her instantly, breaking her gaze from whatever horror was on his back.

     A hand was over her mouth and her eyes wide with horror clear as day inside of them. Her hand dropped and she looked at him, the fear in her eyes replaced by sympathy, or perhaps it was pity, Chase couldn’t tell.

     He could feel his face flush as he turned his face away, “I’m sorry.” He dared not ask what it was that scared her so much.

     There was a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t be.” Lena started turning his back towards her. After a moment of resist and the reassuring smile she flashed at him, he obeyed.

     The cold touch of her fingers sent a shiver along Chase’s body, but he didn’t flinch away. The coolness of her fingertips made the burning go away. A small grin appeared on his pained face.

     Lena ran her fingers along the two long, white marks on Chase’s back between his two shoulder blades. They were smooth to the touch and felt extremely delicate. She thought he would flinch away when she touched them but Chase never moved.

     She was mesmerized by them not horrified; they were sort of beautiful, in a way. 

     Lena pressed the tips of her fingers against the scars a second time, her fingers flowing with the muscular curves of his back. She was so mesmerized by them she hardly noticed the fluttering sensation in her stomach.

     The scars were warm like he’d been out in the sun all day. She couldn’t imagine what about his scars would give her butterflies. It’s not his scars, she realized. It was him.

     Lena’s fingers retreated to her side.

     Chase turned, slowly, to face Lena once more. He looked like he wanted to say something, apologize maybe? “I wanted to thank you,” he began, “for saving me.”

     Lena said nothing.

     “I can’t believe you did it"I mean obviously I have to, otherwise I wouldn’t be here, but"” he sighed, “I never thought anyone would do that"risk their life trying to save me. I don’t remember much, but I don’t think I had a lot of friends.”

     “Don’t thank me,” Lena interrupted. “I did what I had to do, as a human being.”

     The words came out harsh, harsher than Lena had intended. But it got the point across to Chase. He nodded to himself and looked at her face; the bruise by her chin, the cut on her bottom lip. His stomach churned making him feel sick. “Why didn’t you bring me to the hospital? You wouldn’t’ve gotten hurt if you just"”

     “What happens to me is none of your concern,” she snapped. The words came out in a fast blur, “I did what I did to keep you safe. If I’d taken you to the hospital and those creeps knew you were alive, they would’ve finished the job"for real. How do you think that would’ve made me feel? Knowing you died because"”

     She stopped herself with a deep breath and a slap on her thighs. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to calm herself.

     “I’m sorry,” Chase murmured. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wish you didn’t get hurt because of me.”

     “For you,” she peeked through her long lashes, “it was more than worth it.” 

     Chase grinned, “Even for a pervert?”

     Lena couldn’t help but laugh. Her smile was so wide it showed all her pearly white teeth and Chase couldn’t help but stare and laugh along, and once he laughed he couldn’t seem to stop; it was like the first time he’d laughed in ages, but he was sure he was just exaggerating"wasn’t he?

     Chase lifted the dark t-shirt off the bed and started to slide it back over his head when Lena said, “Daniel said you can borrow some clothes; he said they might fit. He also said the smell of blood is filling up the living room.”

     His brow furrowed, “Is that your way of telling me to shower?”

     Lena shrugged, “Maybe.” She grinned and lifted herself from the bed explaining he could take whatever clothes he needed from the dresser and that he was free to take a shower for however long he wanted. She didn’t bother showing his where it was because, well, he’d already known that area pretty well.

     She drew the blinds, letting the cloud-covered sky pour in whatever sunlight it could and slipped out the door shutting it gently behind her.

    

Lena sat there feeling the engine vibrate under her feet, the yelling and honking of rush hour coming from every direction.

     “Come on,” Lena watched the traffic light with burning eyes. The bumper to bumper traffic was always the worst at five-thirty; she left Daniel’s apartment early to try and beat it but failed miserably.

     The light turned green and the line of cars started moving, slowly but surely. In New York it was a miracle if traffic moved an inch during rush hour so she was pleasantly surprised.

     She made it a good two blocks before arriving at her apartment. She circled the block twice before finding the smallest parking space possible, but somehow she managed to squeeze in. Slipping through the car door she ran to the sidewalk.

     Thank God Allison has a Honda, she thought smiling, Daniel’s pickup would’ve been impossible.

     Lena knew her dad wasn’t going to be home"during the day he was a working lawyer, nothing major, but it was enough to afford the apartment and all the liquor he could drink. She jingled the keys into the door and pushed it in with her shoulder, the door letting out an ear-deafening squeak. The door swung open to reveal the medium-sized apartment. The cleaning lady had been there; the beer bottles were gone and there were no dirty dishes, everything was sparkly clean.

     She sighed and kicked back the door. She headed for the bathroom and ran the water until it was all steamy. Undressing she looked at the blotches on her back from the night before. They were pink raised and ugly. That’s an understatement, she frowned and turned away. She hated looking at the marks her dad gave her, even when she deserved them. They were ugly and left jagged scars on her back; the ones on her arms and legs were less visible so she chose to ignore them the best she could.

     As soon as Lena’s skin touched the warm water relief washed over her. She let the water run down the front of her body, keeping her raw skin away from the hot water. She sang the lyrics of her favorite song as her muscles started to relax.

 

Wiping his wet hair with a fresh towel Chase came back to the room to find a pair of blue jeans and a black long-sleeved thermal, along with a pair of socks and boxers, laid out for him. The cloth was warm under his pruned fingers.

     He lifted the thermal over his head and drew the boxers and jeans up to his waist. He felt warm, comfortable even. The feeling seemed foreign to him but he couldn’t think of why it would. Eventually he just ignored it. He’d done enough thinking, so much thinking it had actually physically exhausted him. He threw the damp towel in a corner with his dirty clothes and walked to the living room.

     The two people"Daniel and Allison, he corrected himself"were sitting on the long couch where he’d been forced to stay for days. They were watching the television, some program that Chase didn’t know. It involved people running on a coarse and them getting hurt the further they went.

     They find this amusing? Chase sat on the loveseat and watched with them, trying to see the amusement in the idiotic television show.

 

Lena looked at herself in the smudge-covered mirror; she wore a pair of thick black leggings and an evergreen colored V-neck sweater with sleeves that covered her fingers. She zipped up a pair of flat boots and roped her hair into a single braid in the back of her head. Looking in the mirror Lena had to admit that she cleaned up pretty nice.

     She wondered if Chase would notice, then quickly abandoned the thought. Who cares what he thinks? Sighing Lena heard knocking at the door. Was it Allison? Maybe it was Daniel, won’t know ‘til I open it.

     Lena started for the door.

 

It was awkward and quiet in the small apartment; it just the three of them; Daniel, Allison and himself. Chase knew neither of them trusted him, not that he blamed them or expected anything less; a shady stranger hanging out in their apartment after miraculously recovering from a nearly fatal head injury. It didn’t exactly scream ‘you can trust me’.

     Getting off the couch at last Chase started for the front door. Daniel called after him but Chase ignored him; they made it perfectly clear that he was free to come and go as he pleased.

     He sat on the curb between two cars and put his head in his hands. He couldn’t stop thinking about the brunette"Lena, he corrected himself once more.

     When he’d woken up"if she wasn’t pissed off to all Hell"he’d of thought she was an angel. He chuckled to himself when he realized how stupid that sounded, even in his own mind. But he couldn’t help but think about her. He couldn’t think of a reason as to why a girl would go to such great lengths to protect him. It didn’t make any sense. No person was that good.

     Twelfth Avenue, brick building.

     He looked around but saw no one.

     Twelfth Avenue, brick building, the voice repeated. It was the voice from earlier"the one who told him it could help him remember. Chase didn’t understand what it meant, or what she wanted him to do.

     Twelfth Avenue, brick building, Chase Caverly, go! The voice hissed.

     Without realizing it he’d smashed in the window of the car next to him. He ripped the wires from the controls and started the car with sparks flying. His eyes looked forward unblinking, it was as if he wasn’t in control of himself; like he was watching someone else doing it.

     He raced down the crowded New York street in the stolen car, but he wasn’t thinking about that. A single question buzzed in his head; what was at Twelfth Avenue?

 

A crack echoed in her ears. Lying on her side she gasped for breath. Her hand searched blindly for help that wasn’t there, the grey wall stained with a small blotch of blood. Blood from what, she hadn’t known"her head maybe?

     The figures from the doorway came at her. It was the same men who’d attacked Chase, she realized, only the bald man wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

     They must’ve seen me", a hand grabbed her throat, fingernails digging into her windpipe. She scratched at his hands trying with all her might, but he lifted her off the floor now, letting her feet dangle underneath her. It was the man with the tattoos, choking her to death. The other"the one with the long, slick black hair"ran passed both of them into the kitchen.

     “W"what"” the man smacked her back against the wall; knocking the last bit of air out of her. He looked into her eyes; the terror seemed to excite him. He smiled crookedly, showing yellow teeth. She looked closer"they were sharp. Like the triangle teeth little kids would draw on their cartoon monsters.

     Her brow raised and she could feel herself stop breathing. Everything slowed down. She looked at her attacker for the first time"really looked at him. There were snake tattoos that ran up his arms under his shirt, the head of the snake resting on his neck, staring her down like prey. His eyes were dark, completely dark, with nothing but whites on the far corners of his eyes to show that he had an iris. They were sinister and disturbing to say the least. He licked his lips showing a slit in his dark brown tongue, making it serpent-like.

     “What t-the Hell"are you?” demanded Lena.

     The man smiled, “Well we’re certainly not human.”

   His face twisted its shape for a few moments, showing something scaly and slimy"a vision of a snake on his skin; the tattoo on his neck moving. Her eyes widened and she kicked her feet fiercely, but it didn’t do anything except give him a better show. The man in the other room yelled at him, but Lena couldn’t hear.

     “Yeah, why not?” the man hissed in Lena’s ear, leaning in. “Not like she’ll need ‘em after today.”

     The man yelled again; this time Lena could make it out; “Don’t kill her without me!”

     The man that held her life looked at her and smiled, showing all his teeth. He leaned over to her and at once she felt a slimy, warming sensation on her collar bone that almost immediately turned into a burning sensation. Tears threatened to roll down her cheeks, but they wouldn’t come. Everything was getting fuzzy. Minutes seemed like hours to Lena as she watched the last moments of her life.

     Finally as she started to see black, the hands from her throat disappeared.

     She dropped to her knees and gasped for air, trying to crawl as far away from the men as she could. But there was no use in trying; they were going to kill her, and then finish Chase off.

     Chase, the tears came now. Chase, the boy she’d rescued, the boy she risked her life to protect. They knew where he was now, and it was only a matter of time before they finished him off too.

     The men grabbed her and pinned her to the floor, grabbing at her clothes.

     Chase, why did she save him? A total stranger"it wouldn’t have made her life any different if she’d just minded her own damn business, and now she was about to die for it. He needs to get away, was all she could think about.

     The men laughed menacingly in her ear, just like the way they had in the ally. Men, she thought, they’re hardly human. She felt cold fingers on her waist that made her shiver. Her eyes were closed and tears were running uncontrollably down her face. Lena didn’t care about her life anymore; the pain would be over soon enough.

     “Cale never said she was such a looker,” one laughed.

   “Get off!” cried Lena kicking one of the men in the face, sending him back on his feet from being purely taken off guard. A hand slapped her hard across the face, but she didn’t feel it.

     “You wanna be feisty? Good,” the man with the tattoos came close to her, “I like to hunt.” Lena cringed and wiggled as she felt moist lips touch her neck.

    All at once everything broke apart moving in blurred colors and muffled voices around her. At once the hands were off her but the coldness wouldn’t go away; she could still feel the fingers on her skin. She managed to sit up and see what was going on.

     Chase, her breath caught. What was he doing here? Why was he in her apartment? How did he even know where she"

     “What are you doing?” Chase yelled at her, “Get the Hell out of here!”

     Before Lena knew what she was doing, she found herself behind her father’s bedroom door, rummaging through his drawers. Where is it? Sweat dripped from her forehead, her collar still burning. She hoped she wouldn’t be too late.

 

Chase was at a standoff with the man with the tattoo; the one with the long black hair lay on the broken table in the middle of the kitchen, a piece of wood plunged deep into his side. There was a pool around his motionless body, but the slow rise and drop of his chest told Chase he wasn’t dead just yet.

     “Surprised to see me?” said Chase, the whites of his knuckles clenched tightly to a large kitchen knife. “I don’t remember much,” he admitted, “but I’d recognize your ugly mugs anywhere.”

     “Hardly,” the man shrugged, “I told Cale it was nearly impossible to kill a demon like you.”

     Chase paused but only for a brief moment. Why did that hurt him so badly? It was just a word. He was human, not a demon.

     The man smiled widely, “You don’t remember anything do you, debtor?” He didn’t have to wait for a response to know the answer. “Like me and my little friend over there, you’re just another derelict"a demon.”

     He stood still and raised his arms up, tilting his head to the ceiling. The bright green snake tattoo on his arm seemed to move, no"it was slithering up his body. Chase staggered back a step but held his composure. “What the Hell?” he breathed. He could only watch.

     The snake slipped up the man’s neck and seemed to crawl inside his mouth. There was a low choking sound from the man’s throat and a groan that slowly turned into a low hissing sound. His head snapped back to look at Chase, a devious smile. His skin turned mixtures of white and green, his teeth melting into two individual fangs. His body twitched as each patch of skin was replaced by shinning scales.

     What? Chase felt vomit find its way up his throat but he quickly swallowed it back down. He shuddered and turned when he heard Lena running back down the tiny hallway. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes almost popping out of her head. There was something black in her hand"a gun. Where’d she get a gun? Chase thought almost in disbelief. That explained why she ducked inside when he’d told her to run.

     Chase looked back to find the man that stood in front of him was gone; a snake as tall as the apartment toward over them both, bowing its head to the ceilings so not to go through them. The venom glistened over the long, thin fangs of the creature as it turned to face Lena.

     With a shaky hand Lena brought the gun up and aimed her hand unsteady and her eyes closed. With a ring the first bullet flew.

     She slowly opened them"nothing. The creature still hissed, almost as if it was laughing. It took her a second to realized that she’d missed and hit a spot centimeters away from its scaly head.

     “Crap,” she aimed the gun but froze when she saw the slithering creature inch its way towards her.

     With a few steps Chase raced towards the creature, slicing a huge gash into its belly. The creature let out a scream that nearly sounded human as it writhed back in its own puddle of blood, staining beautiful white scales.

     Chase stood in front of Lena then the bloody kitchen knife still gripped in sticky fingers, Lena looking over his shoulder with both fear and nausea threatening to take over. With a shaky wrist she aimed again, and this time she got it.

     The bullet screamed as it flew through the air and into the creature’s skull, hitting the wall on the other side. Chase leaned in front of Lena, pinning her against the wall, his hands on either side of her as he shielded her from the spattering blood. The body of the creature fell with a force that shook the entire floor.

     Chase looked back. The corpse lay on the floor, the room filled with blotches of sticky blood. He looked over to the where the body of the other man was"he was gone.

     Probably long gone, he exhaled and turned to Lena who had her eyes shut tight. He grinned slightly and brushed a hand under her chin. “Hey,” he muttered, “You’re safe.”

     Lena opened her eyes slowly and made a move as if to move back. Was he too close to her? Looking down he could tell she felt uncomfortable. Letting his grin fade some he moved away from her, feeling the warmth of her body disappear.

     He looked at her, “Are you okay?”

     She took a deep breath and nodded slowly, dropping the gun. Chase noticed her bottom lip trembling. Was she holding back tears? There was no doubt she was in shock"he still couldn’t believe what happened, either. He turned away and looked back at the corpse"the skin had burned away to just bone.

     ‘Like me and my little friend over there, you’re just another demon’, he thought of those words again. They were demons? Well what else would someone call those things? He shook his head. None of it made any sense to him.

     Obviously they weren’t human, but could demons really exist? He knelt beside the pile of bones. Chase didn’t remember anything"just about anything"but he would definitely remember being a demon"wouldn’t he?

     Chase shook his head, his fists pinned to his sides. He couldn’t even protect Lena; she had to save him from being killed once again. He grunted, what kind of a man needs a girl to always save his a*s? Is this what that creepy voice in my head wanted to tell me? I’m a freak? He gritted his teeth knowing how idiotic he sounded. ‘The voice in my head’, he scoffed, makes me sound like a crazy person.  

     A warm hand rested on his shoulder. Chase knew it was Lena but he couldn’t help the sudden jerk of his body. He didn’t want to be touched, to be spoken to; he just wanted to be alone.

     He just wanted to know who he was.

    

    

 

     

Author's Note

Wrote the second half tonight. I haven't gotten a chance to read it over like I wanted to but for those who read the first half I hope it all makes sense. Please give me HONEST feedback so i know what to look for when i go over it again.

Reviews

[raj24]

i am liking it....and eagerly waiting to know more about Chase....and the guys who were trying to kill him...its a nice read and its getting interesting.. Lena as a character is looking strong..:)..keep up the good work Summer :)

Raj

[Summer Rose]

Thank you ^.^ not sure how it all pulled together since I've been away for so long, but I'm glad it makes enough sense! I'm gonna be reading it over soon and fixing little mistakes for the final chapter in my computer, but I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)