Memories of a Nameless Girl

"Kim? What? Who's that?" Hannah inquired, when I brought up the short, bright copper haired haired girl, who had vanished after our trip outside the dome yesterday.

"Kim. You know? Our roommate." Panic manifested itself in the sweat drops on my forehead.

"Just kidding. I'm messing with you. I don't know. Weren't you the last one with her?" She answered earnestly, and sneered. "Layla, you should stop taking everything so seriously, you look terrified."

"I haven't seen her since we got back."

"Huh? Kim isn't the type to not return to the dorm to sleep. She always sleeps here." Hannah seemingly doubted me.

"It's strange isn't it?" I murmured confused, after the events of yesterday. In the light, reflecting my image onto the mirror, I realised that my face was pale from lack of sleep, and my expression that I wore, was anything but amicable.

"Ahh, but it's probably nothing serious. Maybe she spent the night at Darren's place?" I jokingly tattled on, in an attempt at lightening the mood.

Hannah burst into laughter instantaneously. "I can't imagine Miss Prim and Proper doing something like that." She sputtered. "She got so mad when her brother did it. This is hilarious!"

Inside myself, a portion of me felt a little angered towards Hannah for being unable to read the mood. The other fraction felt reassured that Kim would turn up at our first class as if it were nothing, and confirm that yesterday was just her being emotional.

I could feel the atmosphere of the room shift, when Kim did not attend. Will, our class's biggest scumbag whined like a baby, having their favourite toy being taken away from them. I scowled at him in disgust. He didn't have rights over her. No one did. Once again we were in Health Inspection Classes, in the bright, empty, white room with the Bubbles. My mind was blank, faint from sleep deprivation, so I clambered in without removing my white shirt. The inky liquid inside made its way up my body, soaking my clothes, staining them pitch black. I shut the lid, and allowed myself to relax. But I couldn't. Feverishly flashing back to Kim's ominous words yesterday, I could all but relax. What meaning did her words hold? Why did she warn me about the Dome?

"Miss Layla White, my name is AIIB (Artificial Intelligence Inspection Bot), I would like to conduct a few inspections on you, would that be possible?" In the same monotonous voice, the same phrase repeated in the Bubble.

"Yes."

"Ok. Can you cover yourself in this liquid? With this I can scan your body thoroughly for any external, internal injuries, harmful bacteria and viruses."

"Yes." I respond, but I cannot allow myself to completely let go of my consciousness, or to allow this process to naturally take over my body. Something about this process today unsettles me, making my heart feel uneasy. I panic a little, my lips jittering, nape breaking out in cold sweat.

"Please calm down, Miss Layla White, we cannot complete this inspection, if you are getting too emotional. Allow yourself to relax, and let us take control. You will be in good hands." The monotonous voice drilled deeper into my brain.

"Okay. I will relax." I mumbled, my breath hitching a little, as I forced myself to take deep breaths and calm down.

"That's the way. You are doing well. Now I want you to drown in the depth of your consciousness, and fall into a deep slumber, so we can properly examine you."

"Yes..." My voice trailed off, as I allowed my brain to stop functioning and my thoughts slowed to a stop.

"It's a fence. In farming, a fence protects livestock from predators, but also serves to prevent the livestock from escaping." Her words suddenly resonated sharply.

"Could you please clear your head, Miss Layla White?" It repeated once more.

"As I was reading this, somehow, I have the feeling that our society is becoming more and more like the one in the novel." The image of Darren, his vigilant emerald eyes speedily scanning the book was recalled.

"Clear your head, Miss Layla White!" It rang like a broken alarm clock.

"If you think about it, the numbers don't match up. Usually under 30 people graduate from the 150 enrolled at the beginning. So the other 120 had to go somewhere right? Currently we only have around 110 registered businesses in the dome, that's not nearly enough for everyone who's dropped out." This time it was Finn that I recalled, his prepubescent self with the high pitched voice.

"Layla White!" The once dark bubble was illuminated in a bright red. Frantic beeping noises, like that of an electrocardiogram when a patient's stopped beating, resounded in the small enclosed space along with the shrieks of the directional voice screaming, system error, system error!

The murky, opaque black liquid flooded over me violently in waves, causing me to drown. My throat felt tight, from the fluid. I coughed, trying to scream for help, terror enveloping me. Water was entering my lungs. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to. Not like this. With one last burst of strength, I howled. "Help me!"

The lid of my Bubble was hurled open by Darren, who in a rage of fury, rushed over. My vision blurry from the flashing lights, slowly returned as he pulled me out of the Bubble, and began hitting my back. I fell to my knees, weak from the experience, as I painstakingly coughed up the murky waters of the Bubble. After all of the liquid was purged from my limp body, I sat shivering in the middle of an empty classroom. On the other side of my Bubble was my towel and backpack, but my arms and legs, with their current strength, could not make that journey.

"Darren..." I stuttered, my voice raspy. I pointed towards the Bubble "Towel... on the other side." He stood up and collected my things, wrapping my towel around me.

"Stupid teacher!" He growled, intense with anger. "If he had been doing his job, then this wouldn't have happened."

"Darren... It's alright. I'm still alive." Although I shared his anger, with good reason, his frightening expression made me uneasy.

He sighed. "Go back to your dorm room and rest. You've been through enough shit today."

I nodded.

"I will complain to Mrs Williams about this incident. Get that pathetic teacher fired." I could hear him grumbling to himself.

"It's fine really. I mean it's not worth it, she probably trusts him better anyways." I mentioned, feeling slightly responsible.

"It's not that simple, Layla." He mumbled clearly pissed off. "Why did the Bubble malfunction? When we were first introduced to them, we signed a contract stating that they were 100% risk free. That's a serious breach of contract in regards to all of us." He proceeded to kick the bubble.

"You're right." I whispered, the atmosphere, eerily reminiscent of the dream I had. My weariness had washed away in mere moments. "I'll go with you."

"No. Go back to your room and rest." He said firmly.

"But..."

"No."

I was in no position to argue with him, so gathering all my belongings, clutching my heavy backpack, with a towel draped around my shoulders, I trudged back to my dorm room, and fell into a deep slumber.

That afternoon I had a strange dream. A girl with short red hair standing in a deserted town, resembling District 7, my childhood home, appeared. I cried out to her, because she had some familiarity, but there was no response to avail. The sky was dark, clouded hiding the full moon, representing my thoughts. What was her name? It seemed that I had forgotten. Her face? It was nothing but a blur. Her voice too, could not be heard. Throughout the entirety of the dream the sound of heavy footsteps, splashing in puddles of muddy water, amongst the eternal hounding of the rain could be heard in the background. Her soft lips, in the middle of her blurred face, made out the words: I love you, Layla. A bitter tear slid down her cheek. She then proceeded to make out more words, that I couldn't figure out.

Why was I left with such a nostalgic, sad feeling? I do not understand.

I woke up to the sound of Hannah, calling me to wake up for dinner.

"Come on slowpoke. We're all waiting for you. You're the last one". She said carefreely pointing towards Felicity standing in the doorway.

"No way..." I yawned grumpily, there's still, K-kk..." My voice trembled as it came to a halt. I couldn't say those words, because I had all but forgotten them. An image of the red haired nameless girl flashed in my head. How could I forget her name, after all the time we spent together?

"You know? That short, red-haired girl with us?"

"What? Who's that?" Hannah inquired, a genuine puzzled look reflecting on her face. "It's only the three of us here, and has been for a long time."

"No, no. I remember. It's the 4 of us. There was someone else." I desperately reasoned, exasperated.

"That was ages ago. Remember Elizabeth? She left a whole semester ago, to get her business that she's always wanted." She chuckled. "Are you alright? Did you hit your head or something?"

"There was someone else. She was with us just yesterday. I remember." I started frantically digging around the oak closet, half of which was used as a bookshelf. "Her favourite book was How to Calculus, by Mike Greenwood. None of us read maths textbooks." I said raiding the bookshelf, my eyes concentrated solely on finding the book, but it was nowhere to be found. I searched for her tomboyish clothes, and personal belongings, but none could be salvaged. They all disappeared without a trace.

"She's the top student of our grade." I continued in a futile attempt to retrieve Hannah's memory.

Hannah's face only became more bewildered. "But Felicity is the top student. That can't be." She grabbed her small pack and headed towards Felicity. "Rest for a bit, Layla. I'll bring you dinner later." Were her final words, before she left.

I sat on the floor, atop a mountain of scattered belongings, in the dark room, lost and utterly defeated. There was no evidence that a red haired girl had ever existed, yet in my head I was ever so sure of it. The question was, why was everyone else's memories of her erased? Why were their memories altered? And why did she have to disappear?