At first, I feel nothing. I'm numb from head to toe. Then, pain shoots through me. I wish to cry out, but my lips refuse to cooperate. My limbs won't move, my eyes won't open. I'm stuck in an endless pit of darkness, sharp needles of pain pricking my nerves.

Then, slowly, I peel my eyelids open. It's as though glue has been attached to them, and I'm ever so carefully separating the flesh. At first, I'm met with blinding white, which stings like a ball of fire. Slowly, my eyes adjust, and I'm staring at a cracked white ceiling.

It takes a while, but I slowly move my head. I wince at the pain, attempting to grit my teeth. However, I can't. Something has been shoved down my throat, drawing each breath for me. I attempt to reach for it, to yank the irritating material from my mouth, but my hand won't budge. So, I settle on glancing down.

I lay on a bed, a hard one at that. A thin blanket covers my form, and a bandage is tightly wound around my right wrist. My eyes widen as panic takes over me. I don't know where I am or how I got here. My head drops back onto the pillow and I squeeze my eyes shut, panic clawing at my lungs, which causes something to frantically beep.

The last thing I remember is- nothing. Not even a single name. I'm a blank slate.

Suddenly, the door to the room flies against the wall. I jump, tears stinging my eyes from the pain, which is being to lessen. A girl with straight cobalt hair approaches me. Her icy eyes light up, a smile stretching across her plump lips.

"I'm so glad you're awake!" She smiles, clapping her tan hands together. Two others gather behind her, one checking the monitors beside me. The insistent beeping comes to a halt, relieving my ears of the noise.

I attempt to respond to the girl, but remember that something is still lodged in my throat.

The girl shakes her head. "Silly me, I forgot about the tube in your throat. Don't be alarmed, it helped you breathe while you were in a coma. Hailee, please remove the tube."

A girl with raven hair nods, stepping towards me. She instructs me on how to inhale and exhale and I obey, not having another option. Before I know it, the tube slips out of my throat, leaving me gagging for air. My throat feels raw and stings badly.

Hailee smiles, handing me a plastics ic cup. "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."

Glancing into her icy eyes, I have no idea if I can trust her. Yet, who can I trust at the moment? So, I tentatively reach for the cup, sighing in relief as the pain continues to lessen. By now, I'm left with a light tingling sensation like that of when my foot falls asleep.

My fingers wrap around the plastic and I push myself upwards, bringing the cup to my dry lips. The cool water races down my parched throat. I greedily down the liquid before handing the cup back to Hailee, who tosses it into a trash can behind her.

"How are you feeling?" The blue-haired girl queries, scrutinizing me with her eyes. Then, she sighs and shakes her head once again. "Your throat will be sore for a few minutes."

"W-what happened?" I croak, wincing at the burning in my throat.

She grimaces, gaze travelling towards the ground. "The government stole you away from us and tried to kill you."

I furrow my eyebrows, heart pounding. "W-why?"

She sighs. "Because, you were- special. You had something they didn't like. But now, you're back home."

This is too much information to process. "Home?" My voice sounds scratchy, but it's becoming easier to speak.

She nods, cobalt strands falling into her eyes. "I take it you don't remember us?"

My head shakes back and forth, and something flashes in Hailee's eyes as she stands beside the other girl.

"That's a shame. We used to be really close," the blue-haired girl sighs. Emotion gathers in her eyes and her posture slumps. "Well, I'm sure we'll boost your memory in no time. But I'm Leane."

Hailee smiles, showing her dimples. "And I'm Hailee."

A short girl nearly identical to Hailee stands beside her. The only difference is her hair barely brushes her shoulders. "And I'm Monica."

Something flutters within me. How can I know these people and not remember them? How can I not remember my home? "What's my name?" The question comes out as a hoarse whisper.

Monica smiles. Another difference between her and Hailee is that she doesn't have dimples. "Summer."

"Summer," I test out, the name almost sounding- off. "That's my name?"

They all nod simultaneously.

"When can I get up?" I ask, glancing around at the cramped room. It's stuffy in here and smells like disinfectant.

"We'll unhook you now. You should be fine and the pain should fade quickly," Leane answers.

Hailee and Monica walk over to me, carefully removing the tubes and wires from my arms. It slightly stings, but I don't allow my discomfort to show. Instead, I stare straight ahead, millions of questions swimming in my head.

My most prominent emotion is longing. Well, if that is an emotion. I just want to remember. I want to remember every little detail of my life, of who I am- or was. I long to remember the three people beside me, their personalities and how we've met.

Finally, the two girls grab my arms and help me off the bed. We move slowly, my muscles readjusting to being able to move. Before my bare feet touch the cold cement, socks and shoes are placed onto them.

"Thanks," I whisper, wincing as I'm pulled to my feet. I nearly fall forward, but strong arms support me on either side. Then, I attempt to take a step, the first step I'm going to remember taking.

I'm glad to have such supportive people by my side at a time like this. A smile stretches across my lips as I move forward, getting used to my limbs once again.

------
I can't believe it! The first chapter of the second book!!! Sorry if it's a little short. But ahhhhh Autumn whyyy. But at least she's alive. I mean, did you think I could really kill her?

And to anyone wondering, this is a sequel to Removed so if you happened to read this, it will make way more sense if you go and read Removed first.

Any predictions guys? ;)

And to all those who wanted Cody's pov, it's coming up!

Should her chapters be titled Summer or Autumn?

QOTD: If you woke up with no memory of who you are or what happened, would you trust the first people you saw?

Credit to _Aestheticallymused_ for the cover above, the second place cover in the cover contest! Thanks girlie!!

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-Sarah