“We finished altering her appearance sir,” a voice whispered, “ I think she might be waking up.” Footsteps echoed loudly across the floor.

“You’re sure you did the surgery correct? We need to make sure no one recognizes her,” another more manly voice spoke.

“Yes sir we did everything we could,” the first answered.

“Very well then,” the man said, “Let’s leave her here.” I woke up paralyzed, the feeling of numbness making all my limbs hang limply at my side. A sharp stinging revival pain washed throughout my body. I felt my fingers twitch first which quickly spread to my whole body as I sat up straighter to survey my surroundings. Walls white as a chilly blizzard enclosed the tiny room. A cold shiver crept up my spine as I felt the freezing metal against my back. My skin started to stick to the steel, so I tried to stand up. Clank; my wrists were trapped in steel cuffs attached to the side of the chair. Why am I here? Panic clutched my heart as I tried to search throughout my mind for memories only to find a black wall standing there blocking me from view.

I didn’t know who I was, my memories seemed to have traveled into a black void only to never come out. I attempted once more to find something, but I was only met by darkness. The echo of rapid breathing cut through the air. My heart was beating faster than a cheetah could run. What happened? Why can I not remember? The answer flashed into my mind in bright colored lights. Amnesia is what it spelled out illuminating the darkness.

The answer was so obvious, but so unrealistic. How could I have amnesia? I didn’t get enough time to ponder why because the wall opened revealing a door that had been invisible to me at that period only now to be in front of my face. A man stood between the doorway, but the light behind him cast shadows covering any facial features. He stalked forward in an elegant manner signaling me that this man came from an upper class. As his face came into view the crooked smile became a vivid feature in my mind. He appeared to be in his late 20’s quite young considering the air of importance enveloping him. His forest green eyes locked right on to me.

“Are you going to confess or am I going to have force it out?” his words were heart ripping sending more shivers through my body. What was he talking about? When I didn’t respond, he just shook his head then proceeded to snap his fingers. Responding almost immediately, soldiers poured through the door grabbing my arms and legs. 

One with buzz cut blonde hair swung his arm into my abdomen almost causing me to vomit. Another punched me across the face leaving a bruise. The sour blood flowed in my mouth causing me to pucker. “Are you going to be more responsive now?” the wealthy man questioned. I was still in pain, so when I tried to speak it came out as a crackly cough.

“What are you talking about?” I managed to whisper wincing while doing so.

“Don’t play naive,” he spat, “Tell me why you killed the empress.” 

“Who?” my question was answered with another punch in my stomach.

“Put her in the cell,” he ordered while the soldiers dragged me away. I was confused questions about who I was flowed through my mind. Did I really kill someone? Was I a murderer? Who was the empress? I was carried through a hall covered in glass walls similar to a maze with blue fluorescent lights covering the edges. At one point I saw a red blinking light hiding under one of the glass corners. 

I was being watched wherever I walked, talked, or even breathed showing no chance of escape. Not that I was planning on it I couldn’t break out even if I wanted to. The soldiers carried me through the mirror maze until we came to a set of metal doors. I couldn’t decipher what type of metal it was, but it must have a lot of strength. One of the guards undid out the badge pinned to his chest. A green light flickered on as the guard pushed it into a slit next to the door. With a whoosh I was pushed inside a black room with no windows or light. I fell to my side crumpling to the ground in a fetal position.

Not being able to see was maddening and my eyes couldn’t adjust to the darkness. I was wheezing still having trouble breathing from being hit several times. I could tell my eye was swelling up and when I touched it felt like a marshmallow attached to my face. Tears stung my eyes as I clamped down hard on my side trying to get a deep breath. I didn’t know why I was here or who held me here, but I wasn’t getting anything accomplished by crying. Once my breathing had calmed down to a normal pace I tried to sit up wincing from the pain.

I somehow managed to get myself in a kneeling position my hand squeezing my leg. I attempted to push myself onto my feet, but I ended up falling hard on my knees. I can do this. It’s not that hard. After several more failed attempts I managed to get my wobbly knees underneath me. With sluggish steps, I paced around the cell searching for an end to it. My arm was outstretched like a metal shield protecting me from whatever monster I was about to battle.

Minutes soon became hours as I kept trudging on through the darkness. Was I even moving? My legs were about to collapse beneath me, so I let them. I fell to the floor with exhaustion letting my eyes close as I went unconscious. Light slipped underneath my eyelids causing me to open them. The door to my prison had been opened. The room was no longer black but white with a strange textured floor. A memory flashed into my head.

I was looking through a window above a dark room only it wasn’t pitch black to me. Inside was a figure trying to walk only they weren’t moving through their movements suggested otherwise. I turned to see a woman wearing a bone white lab coat with thin rimmed glasses on her nose. She scribbled something down on a board then locked her eyes with mine. I spun back to the window with the prisoner paying close attention to the floor. The black rubbery floor was moving backward whenever the figure took a step forward. “Do you think he’ll find out?” I had asked only my voice sounded different. 

I must have been a child for my voice was high and scratchy making a little whiny sound whenever I spoke. “No one has ever figured out our little secret nor do I think they ever will,” the woman said. I could practically hear the annoyance in the way she talked.

“Well, I would have known. I know the room can’t go on forever. I would have assumed that I was in the moving cell,” I huffed as my chest filled up with pride thinking I was smarter than dumb criminals.

“You say that now, but I’m sure you’d be just as clueless as they are,” she continued. The memory stopped there, and I sat stunned that I’d actually remembered something. This was the moving room I’d been talking about, and they’d been monitoring me this entire time. I glanced upward catching a glint from the crystal glass window above me. A purposeful cough took my attention as a young man stood right in front of me. He was tall just shy of six feet with wavy tawny brown hair. His eyes were ocean blue piercing right into my soul. His gaze swept over me a deep sadness in his eyes that he was hiding behind his unreadable expression.

Unlike the captain before this man had a cape sweeping the floor behind me. His formal uniform had a decorative set of pins all down his shirt pocket. “Get up,” he ordered only his tone was more gentle not as demanding as I would have imagined. I wearily got onto my feet feeling some of my exhaustion from before returning.  He started walking out of the cell, and I decided to follow like a puppy on a leash. Once I set on foot outside the room two guards instantaneously accompanied my side. We strode down another hall of glass until we came to a halt in front of black doors.

“I want all the security cameras off. I need to speak to the prisoner in private,” as the words left the man’s lips the guards marched away. He scanned one of his numerous badges to the panel next to the door. He held it open for me as I stepped inside the metal room. I sat in one of the steel chairs as he took the one across from me. I noticed that the green light under the cameras was now off. We sat in silence for a moment making me uncomfortable. “So you’re the murderer of the empress,” his face remained flat, but I could hear the crack of tears in them.

I shook my head, “ I don’t know who this empress is or was, but I don’t believe that I killed her.” He leaned forward hands on his chin studying me with intelligent eyes.

“You don’t know who the empress is?” he asked not entirely convinced by my story.

“No sir, I’ve never heard of her or of her title,” I continued keeping my face unreadable which helped me remain calm.

“If you’re trying to play naive then I have other methods of getting answers. Would you rather have a voltage chair or the whipping grounds?” his words were frigid like a blizzard attacking me from outside. He didn’t believe me, and I could tell from his tone that he wanted me dead in the most painful way possible.

“Please you have to believe me!  I don’t even know who I am let alone some empress!” I pleaded.

“She wasn’t just some empress, she was my sister! How dare you speak of her that way!” he yelled with pure rage his eyes full of hatred. I sat stunned by the fact that this almighty empress lady might actually have a family still mourning for her. 

“I’m so sorry to hear of your loss,” I whispered trying to comfort him, “ I didn’t realize she was that close to you.” I wish I knew something more helpful. I wish that I had at least remembered if I really did murderer her or not. That way I could be more useful. His anger seemed to pass as he sank into his chair holding a hand over his forehead. If I didn’t know any better I could have sworn I saw tears on his face. 

“So, you don’t remember anything?” he asked shattering the silence that had been enveloping us. I nodded not wanting to make the position I was in any worse. “And you said you don’t know who you are?” he proceeded with an annoyed look.

“Yes, sir,” I answered. He groaned casting his eyes up at the ceiling.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he muttered, “ Listen, I’m expecting you to cooperate. You can do that right?” I nodded hesitantly not exactly sure what to expect of him. “I can get you out of here. That is if, you do exactly as I say and right as I say it,” he continued.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked surprised by his words.

“I don’t entirely know, but I think I believe your story. I know exactly what happens to the criminals here, and from what I’ve heard you don’t deserve any of it,” he answered looking right into my eyes.

“Thank you so much,” I sighed a wave of relief washing over me. It was nice to meet one decent person in this facility. He gestured for me to get onto my feet, so I followed. He strode over to the door with me close to his heels. He opened the door to, what I counted to be, 20 soldiers blocking the exit.

“What is it men?” he questioned a look of uncertainty on his face. In response, one of the soldiers smacked him across the face while a few others grabbed him pulling cuffs over his wrists. I don’t know what came over me, but I decided to retaliate. I kicked the guard who had hit him under the chin pushing upward. I was amazed at how well that had worked. He fell to the floor unconscious while the other guards stared at me awestruck. At this moment the man kicked one of them in the shin causing him to release the handcuffs. 

This snapped all the guards back into reality as they quickly tried to grab at us. In pure instinct, I kept punching and kicking any of them who came close enough. We stood back to back fighting almost in synchronization. Soon the majority of them had ended up on the floor making just enough room for us to sprint through. A high-pitched wail sounded bringing at least one hundred guards barreling down the hallway behind us.

“Come on!” he yelled yanking my wrist pulling farther through the glass hallways. We sprinted as fast as we could adrenaline pulsing through my veins. I followed him as we turned down several hallways until we came to a set of black double doors. He pulled out a new little card swiping through the pad. The doors opened to what seemed to be a garage filled with a huge aircraft with weapons lined across the wall. We headed to scooter shaped crafts with a neon glow beneath them.

The vehicles floated in midair and were chained to a post on the wall. He started unhooking the chain for two of them. I could hear the pounding footsteps getting ever closer to the room we were inside. The doors flung open filled with soldiers as far as the eye could see. The man held the two scooters in his fists and shoved one in my hand.

“How do you work these?!” I was panicked beyond belief.

“Twist the right handle backward to go forward. The more you twist the faster it goes. Left side is the brakes,” he explained calmly already hovering in the air. I quickly jumped onto mine and did as instructed. The warm breeze pushed my shoulder length hair out of my face as I flew forward. The tiny flying scooter was shockingly fast making all the surroundings swirl into a blur of colors. All I could see is that the man was in front of me the wind affecting him just as much. I pulled the gas back even farther speeding up right behind him.

For a moment all I could feel was joy riding up this high feeling the fresh breeze filling up my lungs. My fear of getting caught had been pushed to the back of my mind as I glided just under the clouds. Roaring engines reminded me that we were still being chased. I glanced behind me to see some of their blimps powering up, the scooters being hopped on, and weapons coming off the wall. I twisted the handle as hard as I could hoping to satisfy my fear. I looked at the man to see what we should do now. He shifted his weight forward almost falling over the handles causing him to make an extreme dive toward the ground below. I tried to do the same, but I made the scooter go just a foot lower than I was.

I could see them closing in, so I tried again still getting the same result. I was feeling desperate running out of options. Fear wrapped its claws around my mind making me lose all sense of my surroundings. I seemed to be trapped in a dark cave with only me and my thoughts inside. I couldn’t move, feeling the numbness all over again. I heard a muffled voice try to talk to me. I tried to reach for it to get to hear what they were trying to say. It seemed hopeless, but I kept trying hoping to get out of this scary pit.

The voice kept calling out to me, so I kept following it. I realized that the voice was coming from a memory an old memory that I’d forgotten. I was washed over fear not as bad as this before, but pretty close. I was on a balcony standing on the marble railing. Below me was a little boy calling to me. He looked really familiar kind of like the man that was saving my life now. 

“Jump, Adalina, jump!” he called below.

“Amel, I’m scared!” I cried seeming even younger than my last memory.

“Just jump, you can trust me!” Amel yelled cupping his hands around his mouth. I bit my lip scared of the thought of my appending death. I lifted my arms up to my side and I leaped from the balcony. I felt the wind race past me as the ground came closer. I snapped out of my mind as I heard a much older voice call to jump. I looked down to see the man (was he Amel) calling below.

“Jump!” he called out holding out his hands to me. I looked behind to see the guards almost within arm's reach of me. I didn’t have time to decide anything else if I wanted to die peacefully. Leaping from the safety of my scooter, I felt weightlessness as I fell down below. I closed my eyes not wanting to see the ground be just inches away from me. At least I would die knowing who I was. Adalina, such a pretty name to belong to me.

I felt my body come to a stop probably from hitting the ground. Wait, the earth wasn’t that close. The wind rushed past me once more I could feel the wind-feeling in the gaps between my hair. I cautiously opened my eyes to see I was on a scooter with the man. I was alive, and more importantly, I was out of our captor's reach. I sat stunned at how fast this little scooter could go especially with two people on it. I risked another look behind us to see they were still trailing us. This chase seemed to never end no matter how much we tried to escape.

“Hold on,” he said leaning the scooter into a nosedive. I gripped tightly to his stomach since he was the only thing to hold to. The gale stung my eyes forming tears. I shut my eyes tightly to remain calm at the dizzying sight. Seconds seemed to become hours until finally, we came to a speeding halt. He took my wrist forcefully pulling me off the scooter. We were in a gleaming city with skyscrapers a mile high at least. We ran in the shadows for who knows how long.

He took me to a crumbling building that hadn’t been used in years. The roof had almost caved into the floors below. We sprinted inside then silently hide in shadows crouching down below the shattered window kneeling on broken glass. We waited in silence until the sirens had long passed us.

“How’d you do that?” he turned to me a questioning look on his face.

“Do what?” I asked.

“That fight back there. Where did you learn to do that? You fought like a true soldier would or even….” he paused. I could practically hear the rest of the sentence from his expression.

“I-I don’t know, it just felt natural almost like I’ve done that before,” I cut in not wanting to upset him even more than I already have. 

“Why’d you freeze back there? You almost got yourself killed,” he said. I blushed a little embarrassed now.

“I was scared I guess I just couldn’t move,” I started, “Then I saw one of my old memories.”

“What was it about?” he asked.

“I was on a balcony and a boy who told me to jump. He said my name,” I explained, “He called me Adalina. I think that’s what my name is, but I still don’t know who I was.” He stared at me frozen his mouth wide open. “What is it?” I questioned.

He shook his head saying, “It’s nothing just I thought that…..” 

“You can tell me,” I said intending to offer some level of support. He needs to be able to trust me.

“It’s just that Adalina was my sister’s name,” he said, “Do you know who the boy was?” 

“No, but I think his name was Amel,” I answered. I was met with another stunned look.

“No it can’t be,” he mumbled, “Amel, that’s me. They said you were dead.”

“What? I’m confused,” I said my mind reeling.

“You’re, you’re my sister Adalina,” he explained, “You’re the empress.”