Memory

Jamal and Pam followed Volga and Carla to a police station which was at twenty minutes from where they were. Outside, there were groups of people who were sitting, here and there, chatting and joking, obviously rejoiced that their tough war against Konny was finally over. When the four people passed next to them, they all stood up to welcome them with applauds and accompanying them with cheers until they entered in.

Jamal thought that such a reaction was not necessary and was glad that it didn't last long but once they got inside, they again got covered by another round of applause. Everywhere they passed they would find another group to repeat the same thing and it continued like that until they finally reached the room where they were holding the people newly released from Konny's control.

In the room, there were two cells for provisional detention on both sides of the room and the large number of people who were filling them was whether handcuffed or just tied with ropes. They were looking dizzy and lost as their sights were rounding all over the room without specific direction as if they were trying to figure out where they were and why they were there.

The ambiance was quite awkward as despite the fact that there were so many people inside, the room was very calm and silent.

At the opposite side, just straight forward him, Jamal saw Phil behind a wooden desk, sitting on an armchair with his head resting on his two hands looking relaxed while leaning his weight on the backrest, which made the chair tilting a little backward and he was laying his feet on the desk one over another.

" You have taken your time " he shouted as he saw them walking toward him.

" What is happening to them? " Jamal ignored his comment and he directly asked while pointing to the cells.

" I don't know, " Phil shrugged without any concern, " they have been like that since they woke up minutes ago ".

Volga turned around to examine the prisoners again and then, she asked, " Is this the total number of Konny's soldiers? "

" Of course not, those cells would have never been able to hold them in totality, " Phil responded while shaking his head, " I had to apply a little composition, " he took off his feet from the desk, put them down, and crossed his hands on his belly. " Taking note of Mr. Jamal's remark I have separated them into two groups, " he paused and pointed to the cells, " these people are those we have considered as criminals or potential criminals. And those we have identified as our comrades I have decided to hold them somewhere else, in the dormitory sector to be more precise ".

" Have you tried to interact with them in some ways? " Jamal asked curiously.

Phil shook his head negatively, " I told my men to just watch and not to try entering in contact with them, I preferred to not take any risk and wait for you to come ".

Jamal nodded, thought for a short moment then said to him, " alright, can I have the keys of the cells? "

Everyone stared at him trying to figure out what idea he had in his mind.

Phil considered him for a short moment, then shrugged, thinking that, anyway, that man knew what was doing. He pulled a drawer, put his hand in pulled it out with a keychain, and handed it to him hesitantly.

Jamal took the keys and walked toward one of the cells.

" I don't think it's a good idea to do what you are about to do? " Carla commented while running to stay behind him ready to intervene whenever something went wrong.

" Don't sweat, it's cool, " Jamal said to reassure them while inserting the key in the lock.

He was expecting those people to react a minimum when he would open the cell but they didn't. The only reaction they had was that, instead of looking around randomly, they all turned their attention on Jamal, staring at him curiously while he was walking in.

They were so many in there that he had to be careful to not step on someone's limb. His attention was caught by a young black man, who seemed to be no more than 20 years old and whose sight was particularly intense more than the others. He walked toward him and once he was enough close he tried to make someplace before he squatted just in front of his face.

" Hey, you're good? How do you feel? " Jamal started asking with a soft voice.

The young man didn't reply immediately but stared at him silently for a long time, Jamal nodded and tried something else, " what's your name? "

As he, again, took his time to reply while bowing the head, Jamal thought that he would remain quiet, but to his surprise, the young man mumbled something to him. Jamal had to lean the head to hear clearly as he revealed his name. " Andre... Andre Parks ".

" Andre Parks, huh? " Jamal repeated while nodding, he wanted to interrogate him more but the young man had been unexpectedly faster to ask his questions. " Why are you holding me here? What did I do? " he asked in a low voice.

Jamal took a glance back at his friends to be sure that they could listen to their discussion, and after Volga confirmed that it was okay with a nod, he brought back his attention to the young man, " Do you remember what you were doing before you woke up here, Andre? "

" I... " Andre closed his eyes and frowned while trying to find, deep in his mind, a piece of souvenir of what happened before, " I... don't remember, " he sighed and shook his head while opening his eyes.

" Alright, no need to force it, " Jamal said as he didn't want to stress him too much. [ He may be conscious but his mind might have not completely recovered ] he supposed.

" Let's do this, just tell me, what do you remember? " Jamal changed strategy, but though, he had tried to make the question simpler, the answer he got was unexpected and quite worrying.

" Nothing " the young man replied. He raised his head to look straight at Jamal's eyes, while looking worried when he repeated, " except my name, I remember nothing ".

Jamal had his eyes opened in shock. " Nothing? " he repeated as if he didn't hear well but Andre nodded to confirm.

He was speechless, the only thing he could do was to take look at his friends and check out whether they did hear the same thing as him. Their bewildered opened eyes and their dumbfounded expressions on their faces confirmed to him that he didn't mishear.

" Don't tell me... " he didn't even finish that thought which just crossed his mind and suddenly stood up, took a look around at all those people who were staring at him then shouted " who else is in the same as him? Who else, among you, remember nothing more but your names? "

One by one they started to raise their hands up. It could be seen that some of them were handcuffed while others were just tied with ropes.

The people kept responding until they all had their hands up.

" shit... " Jamal cursed. He suddenly turned his attention to the second cell at the opposite side, while his friends imitated him, and they were even more shocked to see the same picture. Everyone had their hands up.

Jamal started to slowly walk out of the cell to join his friends.

" What does it mean? " Carla immediately inquired.

All eyes were on him but the only thing he could do was to shake his head, completely ignorant of that phenomenon. " I don't know, that must be some side effect of the cancellation of Konny's powers. Anyway, let's just release them for the moment, we will try to figure this out later ".

" Wait, what? No, " Phil severely opposed, " we can't just release them like that, what if it's a trap? "

" When I was talking to that young man, Andre Parks, he didn't seem to be lying to me, " Jamal said, he moved his eyes toward Volga, " what about you? "

The woman turned around to stare at the prisoners, she considered them for a moment before she said " for me too, they don't look like they are lying, they are just lost ".

Phil looked at them as if they were talking in another language, " are you kidding me? You want me to believe that? As if you were some lies detectors. No, the risk is too high, I won't put the life of my daugh... I mean the lives of men in danger just because of your suppositions ".

" Well, it's not like I can't do it myself, " Jamal said calmly, " but just answer to this question, how do you explain that at the moment they woke up they all simultaneously came up with that same strategy that they would all fake the losses of all their memories? "

Phil looked at him speechlessly, unable to respond and Jamal clapped once in his hands, " you see? You don't reply because you know it's not possible. You said it yourself that they have been silent the whole time since they woke up ".

" Well, you can do as you please, " Phil finally gave up after a short moment of hesitation, " but I will still ask my men to keep an eye on them ".

When he started walking toward his desk at the back of the room to sit back on his chair Pam asked him, " you're not coming with us to go check out the situation of our comrades finally released from Konny's control? "

" I'm too tired. It has been a long day full of emotions. You may have still the energy to walk around but I'm an old man, I can't do like you, " he said while he was pushing slightly his back on the backrest of the chair. He added while waving the hand, " you can go with them if you want, you're smarter than me and those guys seem to like you more, am I wrong? "

" True, " Volga, Jamal, and Carla said at the same time while nodding.

" You see? " the old man said with a weak chuckle, " now go, and don't forget to send me some guys to help me releasing all these people, got it? " he said while waving his hand toward the cells.

The four of them started to leave the room and as Pam was the last one to walk out Phil shouted at her to wait for a second. When she turned around, she saw him playing with his fingers, looking nervous, like a child who wanted to confess something to his parents. " You know that I don't hate you and I've never considered that all the things that happened were your fault, huh? " he said with a soft voice, " I would have never handed you to her. You know that I would rather die than letting someone lay a hand on you or hurt you, don't you? "

" Yeah, I know, " Pam replied while doing her best to hold her tears since it was the first time in a long time she heard him confessing things like that.

Phil raised his head to face her and eyes on eyes he told her, " I love you baby and I want you to know that I'm really proud of you ".

" It's been a while since you didn't call me baby, " she chuckled, trying to tease him a little.

" Well... it would have been inconvenient for me to continue calling you like that considering my position of leader of the army, moreover, I thought you didn't like it when I call you like that, " he explained while rubbing his beard, looking embarrassed.

Pam laughed slightly, " see you later... dad, " then she left the room.

Outside, when she closed the door behind her she leaned her back on it and started sliding down the door until her butt touched the floor. She brought her knees near her chest and after she buried her head in her arms, she finally released the tears she was holding.

•••

" Are you okay? " Jamal asked Pam when she caught up with them.

" Hmm? Oh yeah, don't worry I'm fine, " she said while rubbing her eyes a little.

" Are you sure? You seem like you have been cr- " Volga smothered Jamal's words by hitting him on his belly with her elbow. " We have made a detour to go inform the guys that your father needed them so that we could wait for you at the same time " Volga instead said with a smile.

" Alright thank you, " Pam replied, she passed between them and took the lead while calling them, " come on, let's go ".

They headed to the dormitories and every room they had visited the case was the same, all the people didn't remember anything except their names. Volga suggested calling for their close friends among the army, who had not been under Konny's control, to come and discuss with them but it was useless as they still couldn't remember anything.

Their mood post-victory, which was joyful until then, started to slowly change and turn into a sad ambiance as the people who thought being able to finally reunite with their friends, or even members of their families, saw their hopes being ruined.

The four people saw a young girl leaving a room while crying because her older brother couldn't remember her. It was the last room they were visiting.

" What do we do now? " Carla asked, " we can't even explain that phenomenon ".

" I think I have an idea about what has caused that sudden amnesia, " Jamal confessed, " the reason is most probably Konny's power, being controlled by her for such a long time may have caused them to lose all that they knew about themselves ".

" Yes, that sounds logical " Pam nodded, " but why only their names remain? "

" Because it's the most fundamental thing of one's identity. As I have pointed that the real power of Konny was not exactly mind control but manipulation of one's desire. I now remember that Lina once told me that once people are excessively captivated by the desire of obtaining something or someone, they are capable to do whatever it takes to please that someone or to do whatever it takes to obtain that something and that rule is particularly efficient when it comes to sexual desires. That what made me think that my hypothesis was true ".

As he finished talking and they all nodded silently, Pam couldn't help but ask, " by the way I forgot, who is Lina? "

" She is the so amazing woman who has won Jamal's heart, " Volga immediately responded while patting his back to tease him.

" Anyway, " he coughed twice while trying to hide his embarrassment, " what is also important to know here is that a too strong desire can cause someone to lose sight of what they once were or had and, even sometimes, cause them some changes of behavior. Those people didn't forget their names because it's the core of one's identity which is quite difficult to forget as for that it needs a great shock or trauma ".

" Hmm, I understand, that's why those guys who used to be dangerous criminals, before being brainwashed, seem so inoffensive now " Volga pointed out.

" I think I have an idea of that, too, " Carla raised her hand and said, she cleared her voice and continued, " Amir, the man who was taking care of me when I was young, once told me that no one is born evil but it's actually the experiences of life, and how people reacted to them, which would determine what type of person they would be. So considering the fact that they have forgotten all about their lives and so all the experiences they went through, they must be now in a stage of purity, if I dare say. So what the experiences they would live from now on would let us know if they are good or bad people ".

Everyone stared at her for a moment and then nodded affirmatively.

" So until here, what are sure now is that we don't know if they would ever recover their memories, right? " Pam added.

" Yeah, that's right. But Dom is actually a psychologist so I think, once we will go to Stainfall, he may be able to tell us if they would ever recover or if we will have to observe what their experiences of life will turn them into, " Volga concluded.

When they all nodded affirmatively, Pam once again asked, " By the way, who is Dom? "

" He is the so exceptional man who has won Volga's heart, " Jamal immediately answered with a smirk while patting Volga's back as to take his revenge.

" Ah OK I see " Pam laughed. " So what to do next? " she asked after she calmed down.

" There is one last room we have to visit, " Jamal said with a serious face, " where we can finally verify whether I'm wrong or right ". Once he said that Volga and Carla understood right away what he meant.

" Let's go," they both said.

•••

When Sania opened her eyes the first thing she saw was the face of Nelson. He looked very tired with some slight wrinkles around his eyes as if he didn't sleep for days but despite that pitiful face he was still smiling at her. He helped her to sit upon the bed, " how do you feel? "

She didn't have the time to answer that someone pushed the door.

Jamal, Volga, and Carla accompanied by another woman entered the room.

Nelson turned his head and his eyes moved from Carla to Volga and finally Jamal, at the moment their eyes crossed, his face changed. It was a mix of shock, despair, fear, and relief. He jumped from his chair and looked at Jamal, and for a moment, not a single word could come out from his mouth.

" How...? " he only could mumble, before Jamal continued.

" How am I still alive? That's what you want to ask? " he spread his arms, " well, didn't I already tell you that you tend to underestimate me too much? Did you really think that I could die so easily? "

Nelson couldn't reply, his sight moved to Volga and Carla, his face was enough to illustrate how much regret and pain he was feeling. He looked at them all and finally found the strength to pronounce those words he wanted to express for quite a while, " I'm so sorry, I'm truly sorry. I don't know what happened, I couldn't even realize what I was doing... "

" Enough, no need to apologize so much, we already know what happened, " Carla stopped him softly, " we already know that Konny was manipulating you. It's not your fault if you fell into her trap ".

" You... You knew? " Nelson asked astonished.

" Yeah, but now we have killed her you're free from her control, " Volga added, " she thought being smart to use you to attain us but we have been smarter than her ".

" She's dead? " Nelson repeated.

" Yes, definitely and, by the way, even if she was not completely controlling you we still understand that you were not totally conscious and that it was not your intention to hurt us, so you don't have to feel responsible for that ".

He bowed his head and stayed quiet. " Well, it seems like they didn't lose their memory, " the woman who was with them said.

" In his case you're right as we already know that he was not completely under Konny's influence, " Jamal said, he turned his attention to Sania who was quietly staring at them since they came in.

" So, how are you? Do you recognize me or anyone here? " he asked her calmly.

Sania didn't respond immediately, she firstly looked at Nelson, then considered everyone present in the room while looking confused before she said, " why the hell are you asking me that? Of course I recognize you. I recognize all you... except that woman, I don't know her, " she said while pointing to Pam.