Chapter Thirteen

Sarah

Sarah patted the bear as she got up. She yawned and stretched her joints, feeling completely healed.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when she woke up.

The ground all around her was damp from the morning dew, which made her glad that Big Bear was there to cuddle to stay warm and dry.

She noticed Carson was sleeping, with his back against a boulder, not too far away.

Sarah undressed before getting into the cool water. The cool water washed over her, relaxing her sore joints.

Big Bear was soft and warm to cuddle with at night, but she was still no replacement for a nice soft bed. She still had to wake up on the hard ground, which was a killer on her joints. Although her joints did seem to heal almost immediately after getting up.

In her mind, Carson's words floated as she washed her body as best she could, without actually having any soap.

Carson told her that 20 years had passed since the Nova Wave hit. Sarah wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she didn't believe he would lie to her about something like that.

This means 20 years have gone by since the last time I walked this earth. But why was I able to wake up in the first place? Shouldn't my time have expired after 2 years have gone by, like the rest of the soul gears?

Carson had told her his theory of someone messing with her mind, but the memories of that man shooting her right before the Nova Wave hit felt real to her.

Then there was the white room to consider and the choice she had to make for her to be reborn.

A huge splash knocked Sarah out of her thoughts. A tidal wave went over her head, crashing against the edge of the lake, before flowing onto the shore, almost sending Sarah out of the lake with it.

Sarah swam back to the surface, spitting out a mouthful of water as she did so.

"Big Bear, you got me all wet," Sarah said, grinning.

The bear gave her a look that said, uh, wasn't you already wet, don't go blaming me for that.

"Surprise attack," Sarah said suddenly.

She sent a wave of water towards the bear with her arm. The wave soared over the bear's head before submerging it underneath the water.

"Hahaha, silly bear, that's what you get for challenging me."

The bear poked its head out of the water, giving Sarah a savage grin.

"Now I know what your thinking, should I retaliate and," Sarah didn't get to finish before the bear swung its massive arm, creating a tidal wave that towered over Sarah,

Sarah braced herself as the water slammed into her like a battering ram. It took all she had to not get swept up by the water and get sent out of the lake.

"Ok, that was pretty good, but can you handle this," Sarah said as she shot both arms out, creating a tidal wave that matched the bears in size and speed.

Right before the wave could hit the bear, the bear's claws flashed, cutting away the center of the wave in half, letting the water flow past her harmlessly.

"Hey, that's cheating," Sarah complained.

The bear gave her a look that said: you're just jealous.

"Well then take my signature attack, multi-wave attack," Sarah said, sending wave after wave towards Big Bear.

Big Bear decided to respond by sending its own waves against hers.

They did this for a while before big Bear froze mid-swing, her eyes going wide, staring at something behind Sarah.

Sarah heard someone clear their throat behind her and turned to look.

Carson was standing directly behind her, staring daggers down at them. He was drenched from head to foot, with water dripping down from the tips of his hair, splattering against the ground.

"She started it," Sarah said, pointing at Big Bear, at the same time as Big Bear pointed towards her, letting out a huff.

Carson pinched the bridge of his nose, looking annoyed at them, but Sarah saw the corners of his lips smile, so she knew he wasn't that upset with them.

"When you kids are done playing, Sarah, we need to discuss a few things," Carson said, turning to leave.

"Or you can come in and join us for a game of tag, the waters fine," Sarah said, trying to get the man to lighten up and have some fun.

Sarah wasn't sure why, but being reborn into a much younger, stronger body, made her want to act out and break away from the shackles of adulthood.

Once she became an adult in her previous life, responsibilities kicked in. It seemed to make life stale like the world became shades of grey, instead of the vibrant beauty it once was when she was little.

"No, that's alright. I think I'll pass, just come talk to me when you're done. We need to decide where we're going from here," Carson said as he walked away.

He picked up his cloak off the ground and wring it out, sending water splashing to the ground. After that, he tossed it over his shoulder, heading towards the fire.

"Is that your way of saying you prefer me in a dress?" Sarah called after him.

"Yes," was the only reply he gave her as he sat by the fire, facing away from them.

Sarah snorted before plunging underneath the water.

She sprang out of the water right behind Big Bear, her hand shot forward, and touched the back of the bear's head.

"Tag your it," Sarah said, laughing.

The bear gave her a confused look, not quite understanding the rules of the game.

Sarah explained the rules to the bear, but before she could react, the bear's paw blurred as it slammed against Sarah's face hard.

Sarah shot out of the lake like a bullet, her back slammed against a tree several yards away, her body bounced off the tree, and she landed face first in the dirt.

Sarah laid there for a while, seeing stars circle around her head.

The attack didn't hurt her, but the unexpected hit rattled her brain, making everything spin.

Sarah flipped around onto her back when she noticed a huge shadow looming over her.

Big Bear was towering over her, looking down at her curiously. When the bear saw that Sarah was fine, it licked her face.

Sarah pushed the bear's face away from hers, wrinkling her nose.

"Big Bear, your breath stinks," Sarah said, giggling.

Sarah heard a sigh of relief off to the side of her and turned her head to look.

Carson was halfway to her. More than likely, he was worried that she was hurt by the collision she had with the tree.

Sarah stuck her arm straight out into the air.

"Help me up?" She asked before Carson could turn around and leave.

She saw him hesitate for a few seconds before he sighed and headed in her direction.

She watched as Carson picked up her clothes on the way over to her.

She couldn't believe it when he told her that he was 49 years old, but he explained that when people contracted with a soul gear, they seemed to stop aging, or if they did age, they hadn't shown any signs of it yet.

She felt a warm, calloused hand grasp hers, waking her up from her thoughts.

Carson pulled her to her feet and walked behind her.

He gently parted her hair from her back.

Sarah's heart started beating rapidly, not expecting something like that from Carson.

Carson ran his hands down her back, which sent waves of heat throughout her body.

"Your wounds look to be healed almost completely now, all that's left is a thin white scar, but that will more than likely disappear as well," Carson said in a business-like tone.

"Oh," Sarah said breathlessly, not entirely sure why her body was reacting the way it was.

"But your skin is warm to the touch, and your breathing is irregular, so you may still have internal damage. Here, get dressed and take a break by the fire," Carson said, handing her the clothes he had in his hand.

Sarah took the clothes and rushed into the woods, and when she was sure she was out of sight from the man, she dropped her clothes and leaned her arm against a tree to support herself.

What the hell is wrong with me? Why is my body so hot, and why does it feel like I swallowed a lump of molten metal that got stuck in my chest on its way down.

Her fingers dug into the tree, ripping a huge chunk of bark out. "Dammit," Sarah cursed when she realized the problem. It's teenage hormones, she groaned, not knowing how to handle female hormones.

If it were male hormones, it would be a different story; all she would have to do is hide that certain body part that seemed to grow for no reason, at all times of the day.

Sarah sat by the fire opposite Carson; her face was red and flushed with a sheen of sweat.

She had hoped that Carson hadn't heard what she ended up doing in the woods to alleviate her burning desires. Still, there was an awkward silence between them that seemed to drag on for eternity.

Carson ended up breaking the silence by tossing a stick in the fire; the fire popped and crackled by the sudden intrusion.

He breathed deeply before looking directly into her eyes.

"Sarah, you say you have memories, memories of a past life, right?" Carson asked slowly like he was lost in thought.

Sarah nodded her head, feeling relieved that Carson was just deep in thought and not silent for 'other reasons.'

"Carson, I know what your thinking, but I don't think the memories were implanted," Sarah began before Carson could say what was on his mind.

"I know you don't; that's why I'm going to explain to you how you can figure out whether or not you have false memories or not," Carson said in a soft and gentle voice like he was talking to someone that had just been through a tragedy.

Sarah remained silent. She didn't want to rudely deny the man's claim before hearing him out, not when he had been so kind to her so far.

"Alright listen closely, when someone tampers with the mind as they did in your case.

Giving you a completely new memory of a different life, there is always one thing that is consistent with the procedure. And that is," he held up a hand for emphasis, pointer finger sticking out.

"The earliest memory you will remember will always be a tragic one. Tragedy helps them solidify the impact of the memory into your cerebral cortex, making the memory all that more real to the individual," Carson said like he was teaching a class of children.

Sarah froze when she heard what Carson had just said. Her face paled in horror at the possibility of what he just said.

For the earliest memory she had, her parents were murdered, right before her very own eyes. She stabbed the man with a kitchen knife, ending his life, but it was too late to save his parents.

"I can see by the look on your face that something like that has happened then?" Carson asked mechanically, his face impassive.

Sarah nodded, still unsure of whether or not that was good enough proof to go off of.

"And I can see from the look you're giving me that you still don't fully buy what I'm saying, do you?"

Sarah shook her head, not trusting herself to speak at the moment.

Her world was being shaken to its core. If she were not Dave Letterman, then who was she, and why would someone destroy her mind like that by giving her false memories of some random man.

"Ok, I need you to tell me about the tragedy. I know this is difficult for you right now, but I need you to understand all this," Carson said decisively.

"It was nighttime. I was in my room reading a book when I heard the front door being kicked in," Sarah wrapped her arms around her shoulders. The memory of that night haunted her, even to this day.

"I remember hiding under my bed, being so scared it was hard to breathe.

Then I heard my mother scream and remembered heading to the kitchen and grabbing a kitchen knife, before heading to my parent's bedroom," Sarah took in a deep breath before continuing.

"Then what I saw, I will never forget, my father was lying on the bedroom floor, in a puddle of his blood. Mother was on the bed with a man wearing a black ski mask on top of her. I remember the scared look on my mother's face as the man was choking her.

I saw him lift a knife above her, about to stab her. My body just reacted. The next thing I know, the man is on top of my mother bleeding out, with the knife in his hand plunged into my mother's chest," Sarah said, rocking back and forth, unaware she was doing so.

Ok, so your parents died, what happened after that? Someone must have taken you in, right?

Sarah nodded; the memory of living with her grandparents afterward was fresh in her mind.

"Yeah, my grandparents took me in, from my fathers' side," Sarah replied mechanically.

"Alright, that's good, now can you tell me something about your grandparents, any little detail will do, their favorite food, color, what clothes they liked to wear, maybe the music they liked to listen to, any small detail will do," Carson said imploringly.

Sarah wracked her brain, trying to remember details about her grandparents.

Why can't I remember what foods they liked, or what clothes they liked to wear?

She never once remembered her grandparents changing what they wore and couldn't remember eating while she was there.

Sarah's world around her was crumbling now. She lived with her grandparents for over a decade. She couldn't remember any small detail she could tell Carson, so she could deny the whole thing.

"I...I don't remember, it was too long ago. They died when I was 18."

"Ok, can you tell me how they died then?" Carson pushed.

"They were old, they just died, that's how things work," Sarah replied weakly.

"At the same time, you know how unlikely that is?" Carson pointed out.

"I don't know," Sarah said in a hollow voice, tears rolled down her cheeks, as despair started to consume her.

What if he's right, what if I'm not who I think I am, what if I was a victim of some guy who liked playing with the minds of a young woman.

"I remember going to school," Sarah said, her voice pleading, for Carson to be wrong.

"Do you remember any of your teacher's names, or maybe a girl you were crushing on, or how about what the school had for lunch?"

"No," Sarah said, barely in a whisper.

She buried her head into her knees, covering her face with her arms, while silently sobbing.

Carson

Carson watched the poor girl break down in front of him.

His heart ached for the girl, but he thought it would be best if she learned the truth sooner rather than later.

He went over to Sarah and sat by her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her against him in an embrace.

The girl didn't fight it; she just silently sat there sobbing.

He rubbed his thumb against her shoulder, giving as much comfort as he knew how.

Carson didn't lie when he promised to find and cut open the man that hurt the girl. Now he was willing to make it his life's mission to do so.

After a while, the girl broke out of her stupor and asked a question. "Carson...what am I supposed to do? I have nowhere to go..no memories of my own...I'm lost," the girl said, with her head still buried in her knees.

Carson squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. "Come home with me," he felt the girl freeze at his words and hurried to explain himself.

"My wife and I have always wanted a daughter, but all I could give her was Adam," Carson said reassuringly.

"Adams a good kid, but I know my wife still regrets not having a daughter of her own."

He sometimes would catch his wife staring into the distance, in the late evening, while staring at a baby dress they bought, thinking they would be having a girl.

"Why?" Sarah asked quietly, after a while of silence.

"Why do I want you as a daughter? You mean, that's simple Sarah, cause I've been following you for a lot longer than you know, and I know you're a good kid, who's had It rough," Carson said, telling her the truth.

He knew his wife would accept Sarah almost immediately, and Adam always wanted a sibling, so there was no problem there.

Sarah lifted her head, looking at him curiously.

"You've been following me? For how long?" The girl asked out of curiosity.

"About the time you kicked down a door to a house on a hill," Carson answered honestly.

Sarah's eyes widened in surprise.

"But that was from the very beginning! I had only woken up that morning," Sarah said, sounding less depressed by the minute.

Good, she recovers quickly, not only physically but mentally as well. She's strong, far stronger than she has any right to be.

"How did you do it? I didn't see you at all?" She asked, her tears now completely forgotten.

Carson smirked. "No, you wouldn't have, not from me," Carson said, becoming invisible right in front of her.

The girl's eyes widened as she looked through him. She stretched out a hand and touched his chest experimentally.

He became visible again and cleared his throat.

"So, what do you think?...about the offer I made, that is?" Carson asked again.

Sarah nodded her head, "ok, if you think your family would be ok with my presence, that is," Sarah replied sheepishly.

"They will," Carson smiled wolfishly, showing his sharp teeth. "Now we have a lot of work to do. I want us to stay here for the next two weeks, so I can cram as much knowledge of how things work in the city as I can...oh, and let's not forget the hellish training in between lessons," Carson said, his smile widening, looking feral.

"What the hell did I just sign myself up to," Sarah muttered under her breath