Chapter Thirty-One

Caleb

"Caleb?"

The whispered word pulled me out of a deep sleep. I blinked myself into reality, opening my eyes to see two blurry faces staring down at me. I opened my mouth to speak, but was overwhelmed by a thick, sweeping pain that swallowed my body and flooded my head, making it pound. I grunted as the wave passed, leaving me cold.

Gradually, the faces before me swam into focus—a sharp, defined focus. I saw every thread of hair, every grain of skin, every fleck of color in the eyes. It was strangely disconcerting, and I knew instantly that the sensation was new to me. What my sight was like before—whenever that was—I had no idea, but this was incredibly different.

One of the figures was familiar, and her name escaped my lips in a scratchy breath. "Miracle."

She smiled, and I couldn't help but smile as well. She was so stunningly perfect.

"Hello, Caleb," she responded in a voice that I could hear with astounding acuteness. I hung onto her words, to the fact that she was speaking to me.

I pushed myself into a sitting position, and looked around, hearing my neck crack as I did so. I was lying on a plain white cot in what looked like a hospital room, though I knew I wasn't in a hospital. And that was one of the few things I knew for sure.

The man beside Miracle leaned toward me, examining me with wild brown eyes shielded by thick, wire-rimmed glasses. He frowned, tapping his chin, and reached toward my face. I flinched back immediately.

"Good, good," he murmured, "reflexes seem to be in order."

I frowned at him. "And who are you?"

The man didn't seem to hear me, so Miracle hastily answered, "This is Dr. Leary. He—ah—helped you."

"Helped me with what?" I questioned warily.

Miracle's lips pulled down into a pout. "Do you know where you are, Caleb?" she asked gently.

I closed my eyes for a second, remembering, then said, "The Capitol?"

Miracle beamed. "Very good," she praised, then hesitated. "You see...you were in a terrible car accident. You've been unconscious for nearly three days." At the horrified expression that I knew was on my face, she held up a hand. "Don't worry, though. Dr. Leary fixed you right back up, good as new."

When I glanced at him, the doctor was examining me with a furrowed brow. "You've had some memory loss, I'm afraid," he told me in his sly, breathy tone. His eyes seemed unable to focus on one place for more than a second. "However, I have been able to save your body. There is no external damage visible."

"Well...thank you," I said, narrowing my eyes. Something in my gut told me that I wasn't supposed to trust this man; something itched at the corner of my brain, but I couldn't take hold of it.

Shaking my head, I swung my legs over the side of the hospital bed and tried to stand, but was instantly overcome by a whirling feeling of dizziness. My head felt like it was turning inside out, and my body didn't feel like it was the right size. Everything was nauseating and confusing and off.

Dimly, I felt the gentle pressure of a hand on my arm, guiding me back into a sitting position.

"Not so fast," Miracle soothed, coming around to sit beside me as my state returned to normal. "You've just woken up, after all." She patted my arm.

"Right," I murmured, thoroughly distracted by her touch. My skin felt bare after her fingertips left it.

"He's healing quickly, though," Leary informed absently. He peered at me through his spectacles. "Much quicker than usual." He and Miracle shared a pointed look. I didn't think much of it.

"Caleb," Miracle said suddenly, forcing my attention to her flawless face. "What do you remember? Tell me everything."

I wavered for a second. My mind felt strangely empty, as if part of it was missing. It was hard to dredge up things to say, but I had to, I wanted to, in order to please Miracle. "I remember," I began slowly, "my name. I remember that I'm in the Capitol, in the residence building. I remember that there's a ceremony on...Saturday. An initiation ceremony." I paused.

Miracle leaned closer, her eyes flashing with cunning excitement. "Anything else?"

Frowning, I licked my lips. There was something else, something important... My eyes widened as it came back to me, and I smiled proudly, knowing Miracle would be happy with my answer. She watched me expectantly.

"I remember," I announced, "that I am Superior."

○●○●○●○

I stared at my face in the mirror. Miracle and Dr. Leary had brought me to a different room and left me there several minutes before, promising that someone would be in to check on me shortly. I didn't think I needed anyone to check on me, but they insisted.

The room was on the second floor, and right across the hall from Miracle's own residence. It was large and extravagant, with fancy furniture and sweeping gold curtains. I noticed every detail, but didn't bother examining them. Rather, my attention was drawn immediately to the ornate gold mirror hanging over the fireplace.

As soon as Miracle and Leary were gone, I all but sprinted across the room to the mirror. My steps were large, and I covered the distance quickly.

In the reflective glass was a face I knew, but only barely. It had my eyes, my nose, my mouth, but it was different, somehow. Different from how it was before—before what? The accident, which I couldn't remember, had left irritating gaps in my memory.

There was no before, I reminded myself, grasping for the one thing I thought knew for certain. I was Superior, I had always been Superior; that was my existence, and there was nothing else. Despite the faint nagging of my brain, I forced myself to believe in that. It was the one thing I could remember fully, so it had to be true. Right?

Narrowing my eyes, I stared into the mirror, examining my reflection. After a while, I decided that everything was okay—it had to be—and backed away from the wall. My stomach was surprisingly empty, all of a sudden, so I raided through the suite, trying to find food. There was none.

Sighing, I sank down onto the perfectly made bed and gazed at the wall. When Miracle and Leary came back, I'd make sure to ask them about food. Surely, someone who was just in a car accident deserved some form of sustenance.

I sat there for a while, staring, and becoming increasingly confused with every second. The longer I was still, the more intense my senses seemed to become. The room seemed brighter, more detailed. Every sound, even that of silence, became a deafening roar in my ears. I noticed a distinct scent to the room, like dust and cotton, and imagined that I could feel every fiber of the comforter beneath my fingertips.

My head buzzed again, bursting with energy. I blinked twice, but the sensations didn't go away. Had they always been like that—painfully strong and overwhelming? Or could something have gone wrong when Leary "fixed" me? I made a mental note to ask Miracle about it.

Just then, the door to my room was thrown open, revealing a man and woman standing on the other side. They were both Superiors, like me, and wore pinstriped pantsuits. The woman had flowing black hair that cascaded down her back, and large gray eyes. I recognized her from somewhere, and my brain immediately associated her with a heavy feeling of dislike.

The man, though, was slightly more confusing. I could have sworn I had seen him before, but the second I tried to access the memory, a wall cut across my mind. It was as if something was physically blocking me from remembering him, whoever he was. But there was something familiar about his green eyes, so similar to my own.

"Hello, Caleb," said the woman, smiling sweetly. "I'm Charisma, since I doubt you'd remember."

Charisma. The name stirred up a strange hatred in my gut, but I hid it from my face. Something told me that my emotions were not something to share.

"Nice to meet you again, Charisma," I replied smoothly, though I was almost certain that this was not our first encounter. I turned to the male Superior, who watched me with a frown as I stood.

"I'm Champion," he stated, before I could ask.

"Nice to meet you again," I repeated. "Even though..." I stopped just short of saying, your name isn't Champion. I wasn't sure where the thought came from, or why. I wasn't even sure if it was correct. "Even though I don't remember you," I amended.

"We're here to help you with anything you need." Charisma stepped further into the room, sweeping her hair over her shoulder. "All you have to do is ask."

I hesitated, then shrugged. "Actually, I'm kind of hungry."

"Then we'll take you down to the kitchen," Champion said right away.

"Not wearing that, we won't." Charisma eyed my gray sweatpants and thin t-shirt like they were contaminated. I tried to tell her that I'd been wearing them since I woke up, but she held up a hand. "There should be some proper clothes in the closet. Go change." She pointed to her left, where there was a sliding white door. Shaking my head, I stepped inside.

I emerged five minutes later in a pinstriped suit similar to the one Champion was wearing. Its material was stiff and coarse, but something about it felt right. I lifted my head a little higher and even smiled a bit as Champion and Charisma led me down the hall and into a large room filled with several small, circular tables. Superiors sat at each, chatting and eating. Some wore sunglasses, while others were bare-faced. None of them looked up as we entered.

The kitchen adjoined the room, and there I grabbed a bagel and packet of cream cheese from the stack sitting on the counter. Charisma and Champion didn't take anything, but sat and watched me as I ate back at a table in the dining room. Vaguely, I wondered if their attentiveness should be uncomfortable—because it wasn't. It was as if I was used to the attention.

After I finished my bagel, I sat staring at the dark wood beneath my finger tips. I could hear every conversation going on in the room, and had to focus to tune them out.

"Tell me what I was like before," I said to my guides, once I could think clearly.

The pair glanced at each other in surprise, seemingly at a lost for words. Finally, Charisma swallowed.

"You were—ah—you were very social," she offered. "Everyone liked you a lot. And Miracle always said you were special."

At the part about Miracle, I swelled inside, proud that she had said those words about me. But externally, I merely nodded, wondering at the strangeness in Charisma's voice. Champion, meanwhile, had said nothing, and didn't seem like he was going to, either.

"Well, I think that's enough of an excursion for now," Charisma said quickly. She laughed a little bit, but it was forced. I smiled inwardly, feeling some satisfaction at having thrown her off. Somehow, it didn't seem like that happened to her very often.

"Yes," Champion agreed. "You only just woke up, after all. Miracle wouldn't like it if we damaged you." He laughed as well, a familiar sound that, try as I might, I couldn't seem to place.

I didn't crack a smile. "Okay."

They stood, and I followed them out of the room. Just as we reached the door, however, someone stepped in front of us. She was another Superior, with doll-like features and creamy brown skin. She looked up at me with an unreadable expression, but it wasn't unkind.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I have to cut in," she said calmly, everything about her devastatingly familiar. "I need to speak with Caleb."

"Sorry, but no," Charisma sneered, disgust evident on her face. Champion, too, eyed the newcomer with distaste.

"You have no authorization," he drawled. The woman shrugged.

"As far as you know." She reached over and grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the room.

"You can't do that, Perfecta," Charisma said testily. That name struck a chord in my mind, and I felt a headache suddenly coming on. Perfecta. Perfecta. Who was she?

"Watch me," Perfecta sneered. "Come on, Caleb." She released me and stalked off down the hall. And despite warning glares from Champion and Charisma, I followed, because somehow, inexplicably, I knew her.

~~~~~~

A/N: Hurray for lame chapters written up super quickly after a day of procrastinating! :D I'm having to re-write, like, everything now, 'cause I'm changing the story so much from the original draft -_____-. But anyway, at least it's up xD.