Meeting Him (II)

Looking up, reptilian golden eyes with gold hair stared back at her with interest. The man's pretty face partially covered by a black and white bone mask had a hint of confusion in wondering why she was here sitting by herself in the playground. The man wore simple loose red and black clothing with a snake design that ran up his pants.

"Who?" Snow asked. The man in front of her had a hint of uneasiness around him. The most peculiar part about him was the silence that she was given. Curiosity piqued her, wondering who this person was.

"Don't you know who I am?"

"No." Even if she wanted to remember, she couldn't.

"You serious? Wait, I think this was that time." The man said with a nod of his head, recalling something that she didn't know. "My name is Levian. I am your friend."

Too many people that Snow did not know, and names that she was thrown around with. All she knew was that this man Levian had temporarily cured her of her headache that wouldn't go away.

Levian had a bottle of water in his hand. He handed it to her.

Snow gratefully took it. "Thanks."

"Did something happen?" Levian asked. He was observing her.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are because my memory of the past memories are gone." Snow took a few deep gulps, letting the cool drink run down her throat. She let out a satisfied sigh, placing the bottle next to her. "I needed that."

Levian reached up to his face, pulling away his mask.

Snow silently watched. He wasn't a bad-looking man, and the arrogant smile reminded her of Mr. Rogers, which for some reason, bothered her. Why was this man wearing a mask? Who was he? So many questions that she wanted to ask, but she didn't know-how. She ran away from the so-called friends because the pain from the voices intensified the longer she stayed. Now she was in front of another stranger.

She was frustrated and empty. Her hand gripped into a fist, annoyed that she couldn't get answers without a painful screeching from the voices, but now she was temporarily freed. Why? She didn't know.

"You hungry?" Levian asked. He was curiously watching her, breaking her attention.

Snow could tell that Levian was a bit tense, almost as if he was ready to fight. Was he really her friend? She had an odd gut feeling that there was something more, but she didn't know what. It bothered her.

"Yes." Snow slowly said, realizing that her stomach was growling at her.

"Then follow me." Levian motioned her.

At first, when he moved further away, the voices in her head intensified. Even the shadows around her came closer, screeching about their angst. With a bolt, she stood up, trailing behind Levian like a duckling.

Stepping out into the sidewalk, they crossed the busy streets. Tall skyscrapers dwarfed over them as the wind slightly howled in between the buildings. The cool wind blew and ruffled Snow's white hair, her golden eyes squinting. Her hand raised up, she didn't realize she had run away far. She remembered the famous waffle restaurant on the corner of the street, still filled with people.

Loud noises of the busy street life were highly active during traffic hours. People rushed around, and the city life in the high afternoon. A soft humming of noises constantly plagued her. Between the people were shadow figures that watched her every movement, some even following a bit behind her.

A large group was forming, but they never got close.

Luckily for Snow, just being in Levian's vicinity was a hidden blessing to quell the noises of the voices in her head, which she was grateful for.

As they continued, Snow noticed a few things she found strange. Interestingly, crowding in the streets was pockets of odd people, wearing armor and weapons slung to their side or chest. Was this normal? She remembered seeing this same scene awhile back, and now looking down at herself, she was wearing armor.

Out of instinct, she recalled her armor away, which she was fascinated by how she could do that.

"Those guys, what are they?" Snow pointed at the group of people that were walking by.

"Players. Did you forget about them as well?" Levian asked, then he mumbled something else under his breath.

"Yes."

"Well, don't worry about it," Levian said. He then stopped, which Snow almost bumped into him.

"What's wrong?" Snow had her hand on his back.

"Nothing." Levian was looking over a direction to his right.

Snow followed his gaze, noticing Dairen, who was shouting and pointing fingers with a group of people. There were a handful of skeletons following him closely behind.

Levian grabbed Snow's hand, yanking her to his side. They changed directions. Snow looked back over her shoulder, wondering why they were going in a different direction.

"Is everything alright?" Snow asked.

"We got in trouble."

"Like?"

"Someone is tailing us."

"Someone is?"

"No time to explain. I'll tell you when we find a safer place."

Levian picked up his speed. They were half-power walking and jogging. They continued through the city, pushing through busy streets. Eventually, Snow and Levian ended up in front of a costly high-class hotel over fifty stories tall.

"Hello, Mr. Sanders." The front doormen greeted them, opening the door for them to enter.

"Thank you, Gary." Levian nodded.

"Would this pretty lady be your friend?"

"Something like that." Levian brushed it off. They stepped through the door.

"I'm quite glad to see that you have a lady friend. It's been quite pleasing to see you have company."

"Thanks, Gary." Levian didn't say anything anymore.

Snow smiled. She didn't try to correct anything because she didn't know what was true or not. So far, Levian hadn't harmed her. Though she needed to figure out how to quell the noises that constantly plagued her.

"Mr. Sanders." A beautiful reception smiled. She was wearing a pretty white blouse and black pencil skirt. "Welcome back."

The receptionist's eyes slightly twitches when she saw Snow hand grasped by Levian. The beautiful smile slightly slipped, but she quickly fixed it. "Would you like your usual meal to be brought up?"

"Yes. Sandy. Please. Make it for two, but make the second one add an apple juice."

"I understand, Mr. Sanders. We will have it up shortly in twenty minutes."

"Thanks, hun." Levian winked at her. They were heading toward the elevator.

Snow was impressed at the modernistic lobby. Everything was perfectly kept clean and fresh. At first, she thought she had entered a hotel, but that wasn't the case at all. It was a mix between both a hotel and an expensive apartment, and the name of the building was Starlink Vinings.

There was only one such building in Atlantis's entirety and to enter into such an expensive place. To afford even one was considered expensive, and the button that Levian pressed reached the very top floor. There were only four rooms, and Snow knew they were all suites. How does she know this? She couldn't quite remember. It was as if the information came to her in a burst.

Using a key card, the door beeped open.

Snow couldn't help but be impressed at the amount of money Levian could throw away to live in such a luxurious place. Upon entering, they were greeted with a very open living room. In the middle were pearly white tables and sofas decorated with tiger skin. On the right was an open island kitchen, neatly furnished.

To Snow's left, there were double doors that led straight to the main room. But what was most outstanding about the whole place was that there were large windows that looked down upon the whole city.

Snow couldn't help but gape with awe. Breaking apart from Levian's hold, she headed straight toward the window, looking down upon the busy afternoon.

"Make yourself comfortable," Levian said nonchalantly. He went toward the kitchen to grab two glasses that he filled with wine.

Bringing it over, he sat down on one of the sofas and placed the drink on the table. He silently watched and waited for Snow to be done with her observation before he spoke up.

Snow turned around, heading toward the sofa. The quietness of the place brought a strange peace in her mind, allowing her to settle down. She sat down, allowing her body to sink in.

"How long have you been here?"

"Just a year."

Snow flopped her head to the back of the sofa. "What was I to you?"

"A really good friend," Levian said with certainty, which Snow couldn't help but feel a bit at ease to hear. "We had gone through one life together, fighting monsters, destroying the corrupted, and even…" His voice drifted off into his own world.

"Really?" Snow looked over. The way he spoke was very warm, allowing her to become a lot calmer.

"Yes, but it's a lost time." Levian quickly said as if it wasn't a big deal. "You don't need to remember it anyways. It's impossible."

Snow couldn't help but curiously wonder what he meant. Out of all the people, he was the only one who didn't want her to remember anything. His cryptic words made her wonder what else he was hiding.

Then in the corner of her eyes, something caught her attention. She turned toward the right.