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CHAPTER 9: In Her Eyes

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Police and paramedics were still rummaging through and around the vicinity of the hospital, abiding by their specific tasks dutifully.

Dane, among the ones who were not blending with the majority, busy crowd, leaned there from a nearby lamppost, arms crossed with his deep-set of eyes observing the two girls—who were both escorted to their respective ambulances for a quick and thorough check-up—nearby. His gaze, however, was more drawn to the smaller gal—Amanda. His attention was secretly studying the features among her face and overall figure.

Her asymmetrical pixie cut was the sure trademark of her appearance. Her small lips were naturally in a soft frown that could barely be noticed if one was not observant enough. Her doll-like eyes had a consistent, sleepy look to it that complimented the dreary aura that she strangely possessed. Amanda, ever so feminine-looking, was seemingly like a gloomy person with the fire just trapped inside, waiting to be unleashed, should someone tried to rub her the wrong way. No doubt, however, that Dane perceived this girl as one that could also hold her own when it was necessary.

"Silvers!"

He heard a voice coming from his right. His head cocked, eyes met the chief who was approaching in.

"Sir!" Dane greeted with formality, standing up straight before giving the chief a salute in which the latter returned with the same gesture.

"What happened?" the chief questioned, eyeing the two girls from the distance.

"Samara—she just got attacked again."

Despite the tough expression that the older man possessed, Dane could notice that weary look in his eyes.

"Damn, the lass can't even catch a decent 'mount of break, huh?" the chief commented, "that girl with her...? that's Amanda, right? What she doin' over there?"

The young cop took a glance from behind him before facing the chief again. "She got attacked too. Looks like she was finally out of her coma or something."

"Yeah. She sure did. You got any leads? Any vital intel? Cookie crumbs that might lead us to that fucker?"

"Nah. The hospital's visitor log couldn't be found, though."

"You kiddin'?"

"Dead serious, sir. No trace of it at all. Really strange if 'ya tell me," the young cop ultimately confirmed. "What about 'ya, chief? Found anything important?"

"Empty-handed, son."

"Even about... the crash?"

The older man shot him a knowing look which made the shiver on his arms barely tingle.

"Not one bit, except for blown wheels that we saw before, still."

Dane nodded understandingly, uncrossing his arms. "I know her accident wasn't really an accident... it's just my... guts telling me."

"We'll never know yet, son."

The two men stood there on their spots, spectating the ensuing crowd of medics, police, and the just-recently-arrived news media with their camera flashes on. Silence lingered between them for a moment before Dane had to break it.

"So, what are we going to do with Samara?"

He observed the chief bending his hips lightly from the side, arms crossed with one hand resting under his jawline, eyes lost in thinking.

"I'll inform 'young' that she'll have to stay in an apartment unit for the night—the apartment 'round here. I'll pay the expenses." The chief assuringly recommended with confidence, "it's best to get her away to somewhere safe'n secured for a few days. Tell two of your troops to guard her door tonight."

"What about the damages from her cabin?"

"Got it covered."

"And what about the elegant, young lady with her? Amanda?"

"You keep your eyes on her for now. Sharp'n vigilant. You don't mind if she'd stay at your apartment for the time being?"

"Whoa, wait. Why so?"

"Clearly, this entire team I composed of you all be small in numbers. we ain't got enough of our likes to keep a close eye on her. We still gotta let a handful of us patrol the streets at night, y'know."

"But... I'm not even sure, chief."

"You a fine man with an absolute sense of compassion and duty. Folks 'round here would agree if you were to ask them. Besides," the chief un-crossed his arms, patting Dane on the shoulder, "trust you enough to hold such responsibility. After all, I didn't consider you as a son of my own for nothin'."

Reluctantly, Dane nodded his head, looking back at the chief with a firm, dutiful gaze. "Okay," his eyes traveled upon the gloomy-looking gal from afar, "I'll do it. I'll keep my firm watch on her, for now."

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Amanda sat there by the back of the ambulance in utter silence. Her eyes would occasionally wander around her busy environment for an unknown reason, and before she realized it, she was getting enticed in a daze again and again. Her mind was still feeling hazy in a slight sense, and she couldn't do anything else but stare at nothing but thin air in a trance-like state.

This was, obviously, brought by the scuffle she had in the hospital. Her body still felt sore from having it repeatedly slammed against the concrete walls; pouncing on the masked stranger was a decision that she sort of regret, but still, she was thankful that she did what she did. Otherwise, the girl with the brown hair would have ended up dead, had she not did anything at all.

When the girl had crossed her mind, Amanda looked around the crowd in search of her. When she found the young brunette sitting by another ambulance nearby, she made the duty to get off from her spot and approach her.

"Hey," she greeted the young brunette who gave a single nod as a reply in return.

"Amanda, right?" the grouchy-looking girl asked before she resumed tapping on her smartphone screen.

"Uhm, yes. That's me," Amanda reluctantly replied, rubbing her shoulder afterward.

"Samara."

"How are you... doing?"

"Good. Still kicking like a damn bomb. Was about to ask you the same thing. You're feeling good?"

Amanda nodded.

Silence lingered between her and Samara afterward. Her gaze, without deliberate intention, traveled upon the phone that the young brunette was kept occupied with; her focus was on the running Facebook app within the glowing screen.

"Dammit, Frederick's right," she heard Samara mumbled under her breath, seemingly unaware that she was being observed, "the account's really gone..."

Amanda's weary eyes wandered among the wide-open view of the small town around her, straying her attention elsewhere aside from the other girl's personal business.

Her eyes just silently marveled at the place around her. She felt so strange just by studying each intricate detail of her surroundings. She was unfamiliar with the place—just as much as she felt confused upon waking up in the hospital. It was an overall weird feeling. The lingering question from her mind kept bugging her; she had no idea what she was doing in a place such as this unfamiliar town.

"Hey, are you sure you're alright?"

She was slightly startled upon hearing the young brunette's question. She glanced over to Samara for a second. "No, yeah, it's just that..." she was not even able to complete her sentence as her eyes continued wandering around her environment in awe.

"Do you live around here?"

This time, Amanda firmly diverted her attention back to Samara; the latter's question came off more as an incredulous interrogation rather than a genuinely curious one, but Amanda did not heed any unnecessary attention to it.

"I-I don't know..." she trailed off, eyes reckoning, "I don't even know this place..."

She noticed the brown-haired girl blinked for a couple of times, the latter's expression in a deadpan as if what she just said was the most ridiculous thing to be ever heard. It made her uncomfortable. It made her hand involuntarily rubbed her opposite shoulder once again.

"Miss Morrison?"

A random policeman in his uniform approached the young brunette.

"What?"

"The chief ordered that you'll be staying in an apartment unit for the time being. He's asking me to fetch you so you can be escorted to your destination."

"Okay. Hang on for a second."

Amanda stayed there on her spot. She was, without notice, approached by Samara.

"Your phone, please?" The young brunette demanded.

"What? Why are you---"

"Please, just hand over your phone for a moment, yeah?"

Caught off-guard, and therefore irked, by the brashness of Samara, Amanda handed her phone. She watched with perplexed eyes as the young brunette continued tapping on the screen with fast hands. When the latter was finished, Amanda received her mobile device back unscathed.

"What did you---"

"I saved my number to your contacts."

"What? Why---"

"Don't hesitate to pick up the call when I ring you."

Before Amanda was even able to get her chance of prying off Samara with her questions, she found herself watching the brown-haired girl disappear from her view.

With a defeated sigh, she decided to go back to the ambulance that she was escorted to. As she squeezed her way through the public, she heard a voice calling out from ahead of her.

"Hey!"

She cocked her head out front, her gaze landing upon yet another cop waiting by the ambulance. Her forehead crooked from the policeman waving at her as if beckoning her to come closer in which she did.

"Uhm, hello?" She greeted with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey there!" The cop greeted back with a flashy grin.

Amanda studied the man in front of her from the head down to the toes, reading his vibe. Surely, the Adonis gave off a friendly and approachable energy, but she found herself not reciprocating the vibe albeit the cop's companionable approach.

"Ya' look tense?" The cop pointed out with eyebrows quirking and lips smirking with amusement, crossing his arms while bending his hip slightly to the side as if entertained by a child doing innocently mischievous acts.

"I'm-I'm good, thank you," Amanda replied, rubbing her shoulder yet again while looking away timidly.

"You're Amanda—Amanda Hasner, am I right?"

"How do you know my name?"

"I'm Dane Silvers, your big and mighty bodyguard."

The young cop bowed dramatically. Amanda found herself blinking her eyes for numerous of times, shooting the young cop a weird look in the process.

"I'm sorry, I think I might be missing something out. Come again?" The small gal said politely despite the growing annoyance in her.

The young cop, whose name was 'Dane', composed himself with formality this time, toning down his cheery face into a more reserved one. "The chief gave me orders to keep a close eye on ya' for now—I mean, considering you were attacked and all...?"

Her face softened into a more neutral one. She nodded, shooting a curt smile at the young cop in front of her. "Uhm, where will I stay for tonight?"

She noticed the man scratching the back of his neck, his eyes glancing up at her in bashfulness. "Uh, yeah, about that. It's really weird and heck, but, the chief instructed me to let ya' stay at my apartment nearby. For the time being."

The small gal nodded slowly, her puzzled gaze not peeling off of Dane.

"I mean, if you're not comfortable, I guess I'll just have to rent a---"

"No, it's fine," she formally replied, cutting off Dane from his sentence, "I just need a safe place to stay in for the night—as to how long as your superior told you to. Shall we go?"

With a complying nod, Dane approached Amanda. As he was about to place a hand behind her so as to escort her protectively, the small gal blocked his looming arm with hers.

"I'm fine," Amanda stated with a blank-like tone, "I can walk on my own."

the man raised both of his arms up in a low-to-mid level as if surrendering. "Okay," he said, "reserved lady. Modesty, okay... got the hint." he trailed off, the faint embarrassment in his tone and body language apparent.

Despite that, Amanda did not mind. She was not comfortable with any people getting a bit too close to her—let alone a stranger. Whatever the reason why she felt the automatic instinct to not let people get too close and cross her personal space? That, she does not know; apparently, the bizarre feeling of being unfamiliar with herself might have something to do with it. Might be.

She followed the man in uniform as they both approached a police cruiser. The young cop opened the door to the passenger side. With a nod of formality, Amanda cautiously entered the car and sat there in silence. Her head looked down below to her knees, but despite that, her senses could detect Dane entering the car from the driver's side.

Together, they both sat there in reciprocating quietness. The awkward feeling was floating around the air persistently, and as if things didn't get better for her, Amanda found herself rubbing her shoulder yet again for the nth amount of time. She could feel the tense atmosphere, and if she was to be asked, it didn't make her feel easeful on her seat.

Likewise, as much as it was tempting, on the other hand, she chose not to start a conversation with the young cop just so the tension between them would eventually disperse on its own.

"Hey there," she heard the man spoke, "Ya' sure you're alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Amanda denied while avoiding Dane's eyes, "you don't need to worry about me."

"Seems like the opposite way around, though. Come on, don't be nervous to loosen up a bit, you're safe now."

She briefly glanced over to her left, meeting Dane's gaze, those eyes stared back at her with sincerity. It made her skin crawl—made her uneasy, not in a good way, but not so in a bad way either. It just simply made her feel flustered.

"So, uhm... Dane, right?"

Dane raised his eyebrows along with an awkward smirk protruding from his lips. "Yeah, why?"

"I was just wondering, how did you manage to get to us? I don't remember anyone around the hospital calling the cops when... things just went down."

His expression softened. "One of my troops who was patrolling around the area here happened to see the hospital without any lights on. This town has a curfew going on, and he's one of the guys assigned to patrol the streets at night. The hospital around here was supposed to be open twenty-four hours, so it was a red flag for him when he saw the lights were out. News got around the station real quick, and that's where we came into the picture."

"Oh. Okay."

Silence lingered between them again. Amanda felt the uneasiness from her body loosened up a little bit. From his confidently assertive personality to his friendly manner, Amanda realized, in a sensible perspective, that Dane had no intention of harming her nor any hints of malice in him; he was just a random, middle-twenties-looking guy with a vibe of an everyday companionable, neighborhood man.

"Ya' feeling good? Amanda?"

"Good."

Silence, and Dane broke it once again.

"Are ya' sure you're alright, Amanda?"

"I said I'm fine---" she released a short sigh, collecting her composure after realizing the unexpected snap from her tone, "I just—I'm just trying to keep my mind calm, it's all."

She cocked an eyebrow when she noticed the man raised his arm up, forming his hand into a fist before he gently extended it toward her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uh... a fist bump? Ya' know...? fist bump? A friendly gesture that bros usually do?"

"... we're not even best of friends to begin with...?"

"I mean, I just want to make 'ya not feel uneasy, in your case at least?"

Amanda nodded slowly, mouth almost agape. At this point, she was just downright stupefied from the man's unusual behavior. In the end, despite feeling baffled, she reluctantly bumped fist with the young cop, reverting her gaze back ahead of them shortly afterward.

"That wasn't so bad? Or that's just me...?"

Amanda shook her head. "It's... alright? To say the least."

"Hey."

She found herself facing the young cop for another time; Dane himself adjusted from his seat and turned to face the small gal. She stared back intently at his gaze. She could vaguely see any sort of emotions, but in spite of that, she could feel it. She could really feel it—the sincerity that he possessed.

"I'm sorry if I came off weird to ya' or anything similar upon our first meeting a few minutes ago," he began, "even till now, I guess. Maybe... maybe you're just not quite used to being social or something—I mean, technically, I'm a stranger, so..." he trailed off, his eyes diverting back to the crowd in front of them, "but hey, believe me when I say that you can trust me. Whatever the cost, it's my job to protect ya', especially at these current state of yours."

Amanda did not speak a word. She just sat there, understanding everything the cop was telling her.

"Some lunatic just attacked ya' and the girl you were with—Samara—in the hospital where it was supposed to be peaceful and away from danger. And your best bet yet to make sure you're safe is me... and I'm ready to do whatever I can to guarantee that you're secured and out of harm's way."

And that was, although still with a hint of uncertainty latched onto her, enough to make her loosen up and release a breath of air that was trapped inside her lungs for quite some time.

Amanda felt the genuineness from his words of affirmation. She was almost on the verge of handing her life to a masked psycho by protecting a girl that she never met before, and now here she was in a bad shape and without anyone by her side.

Taking into consideration of what Dane told her, staying by his side was her best bet yet in order to make sure that she's safe and sound. Who else would keep an eye on her? In this town that she never recognized before? Dane was the only person that she could currently rely on for protection—capable of keeping a close eye on her.

"Thank you, Dane," she mustered the courage to speak.

"Don't mention it, tough lady."

They were silent once again. The atmosphere shifted from strange awkwardness to a more comforting one now. Amanda could feel that; the tension from the air around them was diminishing slowly as time went by. She gradually no longer felt her chest tightened and instead, it was loosening up progressively.

"To be honest, I don't really know how I got confined to this hospital in the first place." Out of nowhere, and to her surprise, Amanda broke the silence—opening up to a stranger, let alone.

"What?" The young cop uttered, seemingly surprised by the revelation, "ya' don't have an idea?"

"No..." she trailed off,

"Ya' really don't know how you ended up here? Dead serious? In this town? Don't tell me ya' are not that familiar with your name too?"

"I know my name, I mean, just recently though..." she explained with the best she could despite the vagueness of her memories, "I don't even know this place at all... I don't even know who I am, other than just me being 'Amanda'— by the name alone, and..."

"Do ya'... know something else? Friends and family? Whatever?"

"Well, I'm... I'm basically on my own, I can remember that. My single mother passed away... it's a long time ago. As for friends—"

She found herself froze at the last sentence. Did she really have friends? She could not remember if she ever had any, or perhaps she did have friends but her memories we're vastly fogged up to even recall about them?

She was uncertain about both sides of the coin. What else does she know about herself? Other than merely just her name? She was a girl in her early, youthful twenties, yes she remembered that; having the age of twenty-two—she could recall that. She had a nice childhood, yes, another thing that she remembered.

Even remembering a detail as distinctive as recalling the fact that she grew up in an environment without a parental figure—she could recollect those specific details too.

There were certain things that her mind could not comprehend, however. What school she went to, what was her occupation if she had one? She could recap some of the basics, but that was just that. Otherwise, she could not grasp the specific details about certain information about her.

Likewise, she wanted to know the reason why and how she ended up in a place she had never recognized before? Who was she prior to all of this?

Amanda just couldn't find a logical explanation about what's happening around her, and she didn't want to dig further for answers—not for now. Her mind was still hazy; a jumbling mess in other words, and she just wanted to give it a deep rest for the time being.

"Amanda?"

She didn't realized how much she was dwelling in her thoughts already, not until Dane had to call her attention out.

She glanced over to the young cop, shaking her head.

"It's nothing. Nevermind..." She said.

"I understand."

She released an empty sigh. How she just wished to not wake up feeling all of these confusing feelings—the torment she felt just by trying to remember things that she had forgotten.

"I just can't seem to remember plenty of things. It's like I have some sort of memory loss or something... No matter how hard I try to think and recall anything else that might relate to me, it just won't work. I feel like my head would just throb a lot more if I keep overthinking things, you know...? Even trying to think a rational reason why I ended up here...? It feels like I'm lost..."

Her gaze wandered upon Dane, looking back at his sympathetic gaze. She could see it within his eyes—the urge to say something. The confusion. The awe—it's written all over his eyes. And when he casually looked away, Amanda knew he wanted to say something.

"Dane?"

"Hm?"

"Is there something you want to say?"

The young cop took a moment to look at Amanda. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, and his expression faltered into the blue. He broke his gaze away from her for another time, releasing a sigh from his nostrils.

"Nothing. It's nothing." It was all he could answer.

Amanda looked down, nodding. "Okay."

"Hey."

Despite not looking directly at him, she noticed, through her peripheral vision, the young cop glanced upon her.

"Don't pressure it, alright?" He said, "as long as I'm here looking out for ya', you're going to be fine. Take a step back, breathe in and out, and rest. Ya' need it."

"Thank you, Dane."

"So... shall we go now?"

Her gaze shifted to the view of the crowd from the transparent windshield. Amanda woke up alone and scared. Despite the seriousness of her circumstance, she found this odd, affirming comfort from the busy people in front of her. She didn't want to go yet. It was ironic how she never had an ounce of an idea about this town that she was currently in, and somehow, she discovered newfound solace, in the form of a crowd full of strangers, in front of her.

Maybe it was brought by the terror she felt back in the hospital? Maybe it was the sense of helplessness and vulnerability of waking up alone one day without a clue of where or who she was? She'll never know just yet, or maybe never.

"Can we..." she hesitantly began, "can we stay for a little while longer? Here? If you don't mind?"

With a warm, reassuring smile, Dane answered, "Sure."