Chapter 94 The Machine
1104words
Mom claimed it was because they were trying to keep their identity a secret. Well, they were doing a poor job at it if me, my family, Kayn's family, and Rake, knew of them.
The short distance we dashed in the rain left us soaked from head to toe when we made it to the entrance, guarded by top-notch security demanding our IDs.
Surprisingly, despite the dripping mess, they let us in. A lady by the front desk was nice enough to hand us each a warm, clean and fluffy towel, which was soothing to my cold skin.
We scarcely sat down in the waiting room, when she offered us coffee and cookies. We thank her, quietly and wide-eyed slurped on our hot drinks.
About ten minutes passed when I broke the silence. "So, how are they going to run tests on me?"
"Janice explained that—" As if Mom's mention of her name was a summon, the one and only Janice rounded the corner with a scarily too-gleeful smile.
"I'm so glad to see you both made it," she exclaimed, peering at me. "I didn't think you would come."
"Changed my mind, I guess," I muttered in response. I wouldn't have if Kayn didn't persuade me. Truth be told, I wanted to know too what they had on me, and my best friend's sister. If she ever talked to me again.
Which was another feat I'd had to work at since I needed to get her to talk to me in order to get her to talk to Rake. That is if he wasn't lying.
A big part of me hoped that wasn't the case. He might know a way to help Hector and Martha.
I may not be a huge Hector fan but darn it. No one deserved to be ripped apart like that.
Janice led Mom to an office, instructing her to wait, as she beckoned me to follow her down a long, thin hallway, toward an open room.
It was entirely empty, its walls and floors stark white, with a steel table and two chairs placed in the center.
"Please, make yourself comfortable," she instructed. "My assistant will be with you shortly."
I pulled a face as she walked off, thinking it would be impossible to get comfortable in a room like this.
I breathed out a heavy sigh, wishing I could get into that office she left Mom in. The one with her name on the door.
The exact one that clearly held rows upon rows of file cabinets, a computer, and desk drawers to rummage through.
"You must be Carly, Sarah's daughter, correct?" A tall woman dressed in overalls walked in, carrying a device that suspiciously resembled a lie detector machine.
"Yeah, that would be me," I spoke hesitantly. "What is that?"
"I'm Katherine," she introduced herself, placing down the machine on top of the steel table. "This machine helps you remember things," she responded cryptically. "Don't worry, I promise it won't hurt you."
"Okay," I couldn't hold back the reluctance in my tone.
Katherine disappeared from the room for a few heartbeats, returning with a clipboard and a pen, sinking down onto the seat across from me.
"Alright, so Janice tells me you had an accident where you lost your memory?"
I nodded.
"I just want to confirm, that according to your mother, you've experienced an attack from a Kraken?"
I tried so hard not to snort a laugh, thinking how insane it sounded out loud. But, knowing how real that creature was. "According to her, yes."
"You don't remember the incident, correct?"
"No," I answered short.
"Alright, so what I'm going to do is stick these to your head. It's similar to an electroencephalogram, EEG for short—like when they track your brain wave patterns. You know what that is, right?"
"I have an idea of what it is, yes," I nodded.
"Good. So this is similar," she continued. "Except, this isn't going to test you. It's going to send waves to your brain that will stimulate the cells in your brain and will lead to kicking out that pesky thing blocking your memory."
"Is it safe?" I asked nervously. "It won't leave any bad side effects or something?"
"It's been used for years and no one has ever reported any side effects," she smiled. "I promise you, we won't be using it on you if it is dangerous."
I had no idea how I felt about this. I considered getting up and leaving.
Katherine unnoticed the reluctance in my features. "I'll tell you what, I'll use it on myself first to demonstrate to you how safe it is."
She stuck the wires to her forehead using small, white circular stickers and clicked on the machine. "All I do now is sit back and wait."
The machine quietly hummed on as Katherine casually sat back with a smile, waiting. "I just remembered I forgot to sign documents, which I'm going to get in trouble for," she teased, and I sputtered a laugh.
"Okay, I'll do it." I sat back. Out of curiosity, I asked, "How long does it take for the effects to set in?"
"Sometimes, immediately," she answered, sticking the wires to my forehead. "In some cases, it can take a few days. If you don't remember anything after a month, we'd like to do a second trial. Some people's brains are a bit more stubborn than others."
Great. I'd have to come back because there was no way I'd admit what I remembered.
I watched Katherine work in silence, that stiff smile of hers not faltering one bit. "There. Done. Now you just sit back and relax." She threw a thumb over her shoulder. "I'm going to be on the second floor for the next thirty minutes. If you have a phone with you, you're allowed to use it while you wait. It's recommended to keep your brain active during the process. If you don't have, I can bring you a few puzzles—"
"I have it with me," I said, withdrawing my phone from my hoodie's pocket and holding it up for her to see.
"Great. See you in half an hour."
With that, she rushed out of the room. I wondered if it had something to do with those documents she forgot to sign.
Breathing out a sigh, I clicked on my phone's screen to browse the web.
