It had been months since I’d been outside. Maybe even years. Time inside Central seemed to move in a way that was impossible to record. The lack of windows and the complete restriction against leaving the building made the days blur together. The restriction was predicated on the fear that one of us might be kidnapped in an attempt for someone to extract the information from us. The reality was the powers that be were afraid of us selling the information to the highest bidder.

I hadn’t been worried about the former, and I wouldn’t have done the latter, but if I had ever left the confines of the building and slipped through the barbed wire, I’m not quite sure if I would have ever gone back. There is something about a taste of freedom—even a freedom you didn’t realize you’d been craving- that is impossible to let go of.

Now, armed with the knowledge of what laid outside and the life possibly within my reach, I knew I would never go back. I also was even more determined than ever to discover what had transpired against me while I was inside. I hadn’t undergone the same treatment as the women there, but I was certain there were things done to me I had no clue about. It went beyond my memories, and I was convinced it had started at my birth, if not before.

As I gazed up at the blue sky and down at the green grass below my boots, I wondered, not for the first time since leaving Central, what would’ve happened to me had I never meant Quinn. She was the catalyst of all of this for me. She was the reason I saw a need for change and stopped blindly following orders. I wanted to believe something else could have broken the spell, that I could have been strong enough to leave without her, but I doubted it. It was Quinn’s courage, her determination, and her bright expressive eyes that broke me out of my daze and made me question my identity and role at Central. I didn’t believe in fate, but I did believe I’d needed to meet her. And now that we were outside Central, I had to stick to my promise and ensure their safety.

We’d needed to leave, but part of me worried we’d jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. We had no idea where we really were, or who these people were. Inside I was panicking, but I refused to show that on the outside. I didn’t want to worry Quinn more than she was already. She had been through so much, yet she was still doing what she had to for her daughter. Which is why I would do what I had to for both of them.

“What kind of housing would your group prefer?” Ramona asked Quinn the question before turning to Addison. “I presume you really are all together and didn’t just happen to arrive here at the same time thanks to sharing a ride.”

I snapped out of my internal musings and thought over Ramona’s words. There was something humorous about her words, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I tried to hide it, but I was tired enough that it was louder than I would have liked.

“I wouldn’t have expected you’d be the one with the sense of humor.” Ramona grinned.

I shrugged, pulling myself together. “What can I say?”

Quinn raised her chin. “I don’t know what our options are, but Bailey and I need to stay with Kayla. I refuse to accept any setup that does not allow for that.”

“And I will be staying with them.” Mason chimed in.

“So will I,” I quickly added. I hadn’t really thought before I said it, but there’s no way I was letting Quinn and Bailey out of my sight until I knew I could trust these people—which might never happen.

“Addison stays with us too.” Kayla nodded at Addison.

Addison smiled. “Thank you, Kayla.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t you stay with us?”

“I guess that just leaves me.” Denver said with an unreadable expression. He was harder to read than almost anyone I’d ever met.

“Oh.” Addison’s face reddened. “Of course you are welcome to stay with us too, but I guess we assumed you had your own place to stay here.”

Denver shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I stay here and there. Like I said I don’t stay here long because you never know who’s going to need me out there.”

Ramona waited a moment for Denver’s words to settle in. “We have an empty cabin that will fit you all. Can the child sleep in a regular bed?”

“Yes,” Quinn nodded. “She may be sleeping with me at first.”

“Very well.” Ramona smiled. “I will leave that up to you.” Then she turned. “Denver, please find Jeeves and the others and have them prepare the cabin.”

“Aye, aye.” He saluted with his hand and headed down the grass hill.

Ramona pointed at me. “While they prepare the cabin, the two of us need to speak.”

“You need to speak with me?” I put a hand to my chest.

“Yes, I need to speak with you.” She eyed me as if I was crazy for questioning her.

I debated what to do before landing on a decision. “Mason and Kayla, will you stay with Quinn?”

“Of course,” they said simultaneous, both giving me similar expressions to Ramona—in other words looking at me like I was crazy.

“You know I won’t be letting Quinn or Bailey out of my sight.” Kayla picked up Bailey. Bailey squealed in delight.

I didn’t want to walk off with Ramona, but if there was anything I could learn, I had to do it. We needed any and all information we could get, even if I had no clue why she was signaling me out. I turned to Ramona. “I assume this won’t take long?”

“No.” She leaned heavily on her cane. “It won’t. Walk with me.”

I had a moment of doubt as she started away from the group, but putting off this talk wasn’t going to help anyone. I would keep it to a few minutes and get back to Quinn’s side.

Instead of walking down the hill as Denver had done, Ramona walked across the grassy field and between two of the cabins. I walked at her side, glancing back at the group a few times. Before long they were out of view. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” Ramona continued to hobble along.

I was growing tired of being told that, but I saw no reason to argue. I’d already made the decision to follow her. I couldn’t just turn back.

A few minutes later we reached the end of the overgrown field and stopped in front of what appeared to be an outdoor theater.

She sat down on a bench that overlooked the lake. “This, my friend, is the old amphitheater.”

“They put on plays here?” I tried to imagine a time when anyone had the luxury of doing something like that.

She nodded. “Yes. Quite a nice view of the lake, isn’t it?”

“Very nice.” The water was calm, and every so often a bird flew over.

“I will cut to the chase, as I know you were eager to return to your friends.” She set her cane down on the bench beside her. She patted the open spot on her other side. “Please sit down.”

I listened, settling in after leaving some space between us.

“You have no idea who you are.” Her words were brash—and unapologetic.

“Do you know?” I threw a question back, hoping I’d learn something.

She laughed a dry, low laugh. “No honey. The only one who truly knows that is you.”

“But you just said—”

“I know what I just said,” She interrupted. “I know what I said, and I stand by it. You have no idea who you really are, but the only way you’re going to find out is by finding yourself.”

“I hope you’re not implying I need to go somewhere else in search of these answers.” Leaving Quinn and Bailey wasn’t an option.

“No.” She shook her head. “Not yet. You’ll have a choice of whether to leave later, but for now you’re right where you’re supposed to be.”

“I’m supposed to be here?” I still wasn’t entirely sure where here was, but it was worth asking.

“Yes. She and the child need you. Do you know who the father is?” she asked.

“How do you know I’m not the father?” I tried to keep my expression neutral.

“Because I don’t believe you’d all be here if you were.”

She was right of course. “I don’t know who the father is exactly, but he is dead.” I would take Quinn and Kayla’s word on that.

“That is what I assumed. And it is why you are here with them. Something had to make you leave.”

“Make me leave?” I thought over her words. “You know…”

“That you worked at Central?” She leaned toward me. “Of course I do. I don’t need to see a white lab coat to recognize one of you. You scream of a man who’s had his memories suppressed, who is tasting freedom for the first time and doesn’t quite know what to do with it. A man who is questioning his moral beliefs.”

“It sounds like you know a lot about Central.” I searched her eyes for more details. Was I supposed to read more into her words?

She kicked around some dirt with her sandal. I had never seen anyone wearing open toed shoes. Boots and dress shoes were the only options I had ever seen. We fell into a silence, and I decided to use it as an opportunity to change the subject.

“Denver says this place used to be a camp for children?”

She nodded. “Yes for many years.”

“How long have you been here?”

“For a long time now. Most of us here have been here for years. We get newcomers every so often, and every so often someone leaves, but otherwise not much changes here.”

“What is this place now exactly?” I chose my words carefully. “What kind of community is it?” Community is the word Denver had used.

“Home.” She picked up her cane and rose to her feet. “At least a version of home. It’s as close to a real one that exists anymore in this country.”

“You think homes exist in other countries?” From what I’d been told, the whole world was facing the same challenges we were. It was the reason we’d sealed off our borders early on in an attempt to stop the spread.

“You have a lot to learn, but you don’t need to learn it all now.” She started down the rows of benches.

I followed closely behind. “Why did you need to speak with me alone? Surely the motivation couldn’t have been to simply tell me I don’t really know who I am.”

“It was to make sure you understood your duty.” She stopped walking and turned to face me.

“My duty? You mean to protect Quinn and Bailey?”

“That as well as to figure out your past. Until you do, you are dangerous to all of us.”

“Just me?” I tried to stomp down my anger at her insinuation that I was a danger. “What about Denver? Mason? Are they dangerous too?”

“You are all dangerous. I’m dangerous. It is impossible to truly know anybody. That’s the way it’s always been. Nothing has really changed in regards to that.”

“What are we supposed to do here?”

“First you need to remember how to live. That little girl needs to learn how to live; she has never experienced any taste of freedom.”

“Neither have any of us.” I knew Quinn and Kayla hadn’t. I at least remembered none. Mason maybe in theory, but I got the sense Addison may have had a worse experience than any of us. I knew nothing about her, only that she came in with Denver and she cared for Kayla. I didn’t need to know more unless she wanted me to.

“Very true statement.” Ramona started walking again.

I wanted to go back, but I still had questions. “Who is Denver? Is he really Denver? Why did everyone in Central think he was a Dr. Nevers?”

“That is for Denver to tell you himself.”

“So his real name is Denver?” I asked for clarification.

“Is there such a thing as a real name? Are they not just a temporary way to identify us? Like numbers?” She whirled around again to look at me.

“I never liked to use the numbers…” I explained myself on that matter yet again.

She smiled warmly. “I know.”

“I don’t really care what anyone thinks of me as long as you don’t try to keep me from Quinn. I need to protect both of them.”

“You will.” Ramona put a hand on my shoulder. “This isn’t going to be easy for either of them. It may be easier for the child as she’s so young I can’t be sure what she remembers. You have to trust me enough if you want to protect them. I can help you.”

“I don’t know if I’m capable of trusting anyone.” I wasn’t sure what made it impossible for me to hold back with Ramona. I told her the truth, whether I wanted to or not.

“Yes you can. You are here. You have already taken the greatest chance of your life. By your confusion and the confusion of your traveling companions, I will assume Denver did not tell you where he was taking you.”

“All we knew was we were leaving Central.”

“And you are out of Central, are you not?” Her hand remained on my shoulder.

“Yes.” I glanced back out at the lake. “We are.”

“Denver stuck to his word. He earned as much of your trust as possible. I already told you it’s impossible to completely trust anyone beyond ourselves.”

“Who are you?” I needed to know.

“Let me start by telling you what we are not.” She removed her hand and stepped back. “We do not work for Central nor any government. We do not supply traders, clubs, nor any other group.”

“That is helpful information, but I—”

“I wasn’t finished,” she continued. “We are an independent community trying to hold on to what makes people human.”

“What makes us human?”

“You know exactly what I mean.” She pressed her hand into my chest right over where my heart was. “You know that in here. It’s why you left Central, and it’s why you are here now. You could have left your group many times, yet you are still here.”

“Our feelings for others? That’s what makes us human?”

She started down the hill again. “Don’t tell me today. Later.”

“So what do I do now?”

“You move into a cabin. You have breakfast and meet the others.”

“Is there anything else you need to tell me?” I wasn’t quite ready for the conversation to end. I needed something concrete to hold onto. Some real information to work with.

“Are you afraid I’ll pull you away again?” She chuckled.

“Yes.”

“There’s no reason to worry. I said much of what I needed to say.”

“Much of? Why not tell me the rest?” I wrung my hands.

“Because you are not ready to hear the rest yet.” She spoke far more calmly than I felt. “I wanted you to know that I’m here if you develop questions as your suppressed memories come back.”

“What makes you so sure they are going to come back?” I wanted them to. I needed them to, but that didn’t mean I was confident they all would.

“Because it’s already starting. Your humanity, your heart, the real you is breaking through. Whatever the animals did to you isn’t strong enough to withstand your enlightenment.”

“Animals, is that what you call them?”

“They lack what makes us human, so yes I will call them animals. Do you disagree? When you think of the things they did to those children? To those women? To you? Do you think that is the work of humans? Is that what man should do to one another?”

She was right, and I found myself nodding, trying to protect myself from the onslaught of emotions flowing through me.

“From the birth of the human race there have always been those that were not human in the truest sense of the word. But those stories of monsters is for another day.”

She leaned heavily on her cane. “Now do this old lady a favor and walk me back to the mess hall. I’m ready for some breakfast.”

I nodded, still partially in a daze. I linked my arm with hers, and we started a slow walk back to the circle of cabins. Thoughts and questions whirled through my head, but my predominant feeling was anxiety to get back to Quinn and Bailey. We’d been gone for far too long.

“What is your weapon of choice?” Ramona asked just as the cabins came back into view.

“Weapon of choice?” I tried to follow.

“We have archery, fencing, and riflery here. Their original purpose was amusement or an introduction to a new hobby, but these skills are still useful in our world.”

“Wait.” I realized she wasn’t only making small talk. “Are you…?” I trailed off.

“You don’t have to make any sort decision now. You will have plenty of time to try everything out.”

“I’m sorry, but I might be a bit confused. Are you implying you want me to train in the use of weapons?”

She grinned from ear to ear. “My hunch about you was right. You are truly one of the special ones.”

The scent of something warm, sweet, yet also spicy filled the air as we neared the mess hall. “What is that?”

“Sausage. You’ve never had it before, have you?”

“No. We never had anything like that.”

“Then you are in for a treat.”