Untitled- Chapter 1

The sound of the two cars ramming together was a cross between a crash and a thud. This sound, along with her mother’s scream, was the last thing that Melissa Trombley heard before tumbling head-first out of the car window. She proceeded to topple down the steep hill that lined the highway and into a ditch.
Fortunately, her years of dance and cheerleading had granted her body unusual flexibility, and she managed to roll down the hill with only a few minor scrapes and bruises.
At the bottom of the ditch, however, her head hit the edge of a sharp rock, which sent a sudden jolting pain through her skull. Blood oozed out of the cut and onto the ground around her; she could see the red liquid roll down the blades of grass. Her eyes swelled with tears and she moaned with agony, clutching her wound.
Mom! Dad! Tanner! she thought. Oh God, where are they?
She racked her memory, wondering how she could’ve fallen out of the window. Her family made a point of wearing a seatbelt for every car trip and surely, even though she had the back window fully open and her head tilted outside, it should’ve stopped her from being flung clear of the vehicle. The buckle must have not been fully latched or something, she thought bitterly. Stupid old van. She rolled over and sobbed. I hope I don’t die… and I hope mom, dad and Tanner are okay. She swallowed, dampening her dry throat, then opened her mouth and attempted a scream. It only came out as a faint, croaky sound and she cursed silently.
The tears continued to pour from her eyes and she sniffed miserably. Her head was still sore and she began to fill dizzy. She groaned again as her vision started to swim, and she closed her eyes in a desperate attempt to ease the pain. Through the brush and undergrowth, she could hear angry voices and sobs coming from the road above her. I hope they find me soon was her last thought before slipping into unconsciousness.

* * *

Ethan squinted, staring intently at the small piece of machinery that lay on the table before him. He picked it up and flipped it over gently in his palm. Seeming satisfied, he carried the chip-like gadget over to a much larger machine that looked as though it belonged in a hospital. He opened a tiny compartment on the side of the larger machine and inserted the smaller component into it. He held his breath as he slid it in, and it fit. Smiling broadly, he closed the compartment, and then flicked a switch elsewhere on the large machine. It murmured to life. The man stood up straight, still grinning, and wiped his brow. The contraption was complete! Suddenly, a bright white light filled the room and he spun around quickly to find his son standing in the doorway. Until this moment, the only light that aided the man came from a few flickering candles scattered around the room and on the table.
“Couldn’t you have at least knocked before turning the light on?” Ethan blinked and rubbed his eyes irritably. “You know I work so much better by candlelight. I’m in a good mood, though. I just finished modifying the generator. Now what is it?”
Todd dipped his head slightly. “Congratulations on the generator, and I’m sorry to barge in like this, but I believe we have a critical situation on our hands.”
“Our hands?” Ethan interrupted, smiling. “Or is it a situation that you got yourself into and now plan on getting me involved in?”
Todd grinned sheepishly. “While I was out running with Lupe, I found a girl lying about a hundred meters or so from the highway- at the bottom of that steep hill. There had been an accident, and her head was badly injured. She was losing a lot of blood.” Ethan’s face was hard. Todd hesitated for a moment, but continued. “I brought her back here,” he admitted. “I couldn’t leave her lying there. You know how remote this area is; it would’ve taken ages for the paramedics to get to the scene. And even if they had gotten there in time, they would’ve still had to look for her. She was lying hidden in some bushes and trees; I only found her because Lupe picked up her scent.”
“But by now they’d be looking for her and her family or boyfriend or whoever was in the car with her will be worried sick,” Ethan reminded him coldly.
“But by now she could be dead!” Todd insisted. However, he began to realize that he made a rash decision in bringing the wounded girl back to their home. “She was already unconscious, and the blood…” He paused. “I’m sorry; I know I shouldn’t have brought her here. But I couldn’t just leave her, and I know how you would feel if I had carried her back to the road.”
Ethan grunted. “Where is she now? How is she doing?”
“She’s in the guest room down the hall. I bandaged her wound and left her sleeping on the bed.”
“Is the door open?”
“Yes.”
“Bloody hell!” Ethan muttered. “She could be wandering all over the house for all we know! You didn’t even have the sense to make sure she stayed put?”
“She was unconscious when I left her, which was only a few minutes ago,” Todd said defensively. “And besides, what good would it do for her to feel trapped?”
“Well, waking up and finding her wound dressed should give some reassurance that she’s in the company of kindly people, I would think,” Ethan sniffed. “But there’s another issue: how can we let her go home and tell her family and the police and the media that a stranger took her to a mansion without an address in the middle of the forest? The media and all those confounded government agencies will be over here interviewing and inspecting and trespassing and whatever else they do, and of course we’ll be found out!”
“Now who’s placing their problems on the two of us?” Todd inquired coolly.
Ethan chuckled. “Yes, yes, well, what goes around comes around I guess,” he muttered. He thought for a moment, and then his face lit up. “I know!” he exclaimed, smiling at his son eagerly. “Do you remember that memory-erasing device I built a few months ago? I still haven’t had a chance to try it. This would be the perfect opportunity!”
Todd stared at him, dumbfounded. “You’re going to erase her memory, dump her in the middle of the forest, and let her wander around until the police find her, at which point she won’t even be able to tell them her name? That’s the worst idea you’ve come up with yet! Maybe you should go to a mental asylum,” he scoffed.
Ethan scowled. “And perhaps you should improve your memory! Don’t you remember what I told you about it? I can specifically select which memories are kept and which are discarded. But we will have to do it quickly; very soon it will be on the news, and the fact that she is missing will bring about a large search-and-rescue team, no doubt.” He frowned and massaged his temples gently. “Yes, we’ll have to act very quickly indeed. But it will take me a little while to make sure the device is in total working order. I don’t want to erase her entire memory by accident. In the meantime, I would appreciate it if you-”
“Excuse me.”
Both Todd and Ethan turned to look at the doorway. It was Melissa. Her head was wrapped in a clean bandage, but aside from that- and aside from some scrapes and bruises along her arms and legs, the mud that was smeared in various places on her limbs, face, and clothes, the fact that her golden blonde hair was messy and a few twigs were tangled in it, and that she appeared exhausted- she seemed fine. Todd and Ethan exchanged worried glances, both wondering how much of their conversation had been overheard by the girl.
“Can you tell me where I am and who you are, please? And where the washroom is?” She stifled a yawn; her expression bore a dazed look, allowing Todd and Ethan to relax.
“Of course,” Todd said, smiling. “My name is Todd, and this is my father, Ethan. And you are?”
“Melissa.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Melissa.” Todd offered his hand, which Melissa took lightly and shook, flashing him a weak smile. Then she shook Ethan’s hand and murmured a greeting.
“This is our home,” Ethan explained. “And as you can tell, my son bandaged that wound on your head. It was a nasty cut. Were you in a car accident?” As if he didn’t already know.
“Yes,” Melissa replied. “I’m not even sure what happened. I… I think my dad was arguing with my mom about the radio channel, and I remember Tanner, my brother, telling him to look at the road, but then my dad looked back at him and the car slid into the other lane…” She shook her head. “I was leaning out the window- I don’t like looking at the scenery through glass- and then the car suddenly jerked to a stop and my mom screamed and I tumbled down that hill and…” More tears swelled up in her eyes, and she struggled to fight them back. She was talking very quickly now. “I’m sorry; I don’t know what I’m crying about. I’m safe, and I’m sure my family is too and…”
“It’s alright,” Todd assured her. “You’re still in shock, that’s all. The washroom is just down the hall to your left. The door’s open, I think, so you should have no trouble finding it.”
Melissa stopped sniffling and nodded, then turned and walked down the hallway. Both Todd and Ethan listened to her footsteps fade before talking again.
“What were you going to say before?” Todd asked, quieter this time.
Ethan smiled. “Just that I think it would be best if you spent some time with Melissa while I work out the kinks in the memory-eraser. Calm her nerves down a bit. Comfort her. You’re good at that.” Todd grinned at the compliment. Ethan continued. “I shouldn’t be more than an hour or two. You can tell her whatever you want; she won’t remember it in a couple of hours, anyways. Give her a tour of the mansion, get her some food, do whatever you can to get her mind off of the accident.”
“I most certainly will,” Todd replied. He closed the door behind him and was gone. Ethan sighed. ‘Time to get to work again,’ he thought.