Chapter Nineteen

Vera had thought getting a good night's rest would make things better, or at least less confusing, but she was wrong. Very, very wrong.

All morning it seemed like everyone was avoiding her. Halsten had left the house early to run errands and her father had claimed he wasn't feeling well and hadn't left his room. When she arrived at the dig site (she had taken the buggy by herself, despite Halsten repeatedly telling her not to, and nothing bad had happened so she felt completely justified) Dr. Peters was nowhere to be found and no one knew where he might be.

Another odd thing she noticed was the unnecessary attention she was getting from Kareem. For the past few weeks they had only said a few words to each other in passing, but as soon as she had arrived at the excavation that morning he had followed her around like a lost puppy. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and realized he was staring at her.

"Okay, what is going on?" she asked.

He looked puzzled, shrugging at her. "I'm not sure what you mean, Vera."

She held up her hand and started ticking off the things that were different or downright weird. "First, you and Dr. Peters had an argument yesterday and now he's missing. He hasn't missed a single day of work since we started this excavation. Second, everyone seems to be avoiding me. Third, since when are you fluent in English? I thought you were still learning? Fourth, I keep seeing things. And fifth, why are you following me around and acting all friendly? It's strange."

He stared at her for a long time before answering. "I'm not sure I can answer all of your questions, but as for the third; I have always been good at learning languages and I pick them up very quickly. And if I am bothering you with my presence I will leave. I was trying to be helpful, but I can see my efforts aren't wanted."

He walked away looking dejected and Vera felt awful for being so unkind.

"Wait!" she called, following after him. "I apologize, Kareem. I've been a bit out of sorts these past few days. I didn't intend to take it out on you. That was rude of me."

He nodded, but still looked a bit insulted.

She smiled at him and said, "Since no one else is around, I suppose we should try and get some work done. What do you say?"

He returned her smile after a moment shaking his head and saying, "If that is what you wish."

Another severe headache exploded behind her eyes and Vera swayed on her feet.

That same eerie voice whispered, Remember, Vera! Only this time it seemed more insistent, as if the fact she wasn't remembering was causing the invisible voice trouble.

"Vera? Are you feeling unwell?" Kareem's voice echoed.

As the pain began to dull Vera managed a small nod. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a small headache."

"It didn't seem to be small. Should I call for a physician?"

He was looking at her with concern and something else she couldn't place. She assumed it was pity or some other useless notion. It aggravated her.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "It's fine. Really. Let's just get to work."

He relented after seeing the determined look on her face and they made their way over to the newest discovery. She was excited to see it, since she hadn't been there the day it was found. To be honest she couldn't remember where she had been or why she had missed it and that was another thing that was bothering her. It felt like there were chunks of time she was missing. Things she couldn't remember.

Shaking her head, Vera returned to the task at hand. Kareem was explaining where they had found the artifact and how they were cataloging it. Although she had had reservations about his behavior earlier in the day, he was nothing but friendly and professional once they began working. They actually seemed to have a lot in common.

By the time late afternoon rolled around Dr. Peters still hadn't made an appearance. Vera had begun to worry about him, so she decided to take the buggy to his house for a visit. Kareem offered to go with her, but she declined. Despite the fact they seemed to be getting along well she still had a bad feeling around him – like he was hiding something. Her headache also seemed to get worse the longer he was around.

The whispers in her head had become an almost constant background noise, and she had to wonder if she was going crazy. It would certainly explain the gaps in her memory and why she kept seeing white rooms that weren't actually there.

By the time she had arrived at Dr. Peters house she had convinced herself she was fine. Dr. Peters' butler answered the door on the third knock and Vera smiled at him politely.

"I would like to see Dr. Peters, please. My name is Vera Kirke. I work with him at the archeological dig," she said, introducing herself. It felt odd, introducing herself to him, almost like déjà vu.

He glared at her, looking almost offended she would deem herself worthy to be in his presence.

"I suppose you can wait in the sitting room," he snapped in response. "Dr. Peters is feeling unwell, so he may not be able to visit with you at all."

Vera frowned at his unpleasant tone, but only nodded in response. She sat down on one of the chairs, noticing it was stained and that sand seemed to be shoved deep into the chair's gaps and stitches. Whoever sat there last must not have cared for dirtying the furniture.

"Good evening," Dr. Peters greeted her as he entered the sitting room. "I hope you're doing well."

"I seem to be doing better than you, Dr. Peters," she replied. "Today was the first day you've ever missed work at the dig site. Are you ill?"

He smiled at her kindly. "No, no. Nothing like that. I've recently had some friends I cared for deeply to pass away. It's very heartbreaking."

Vera felt a bit dizzy and her headache drummed to the beat of her heart. The voice was also whispering in her head, but she couldn't quite make out what it was saying. Something was telling her to pay close attention to what he was saying.

"I'm very sorry about your friends, Dr. Peters," she managed to croak out.

The look he gave her made her feel even more miserable, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

"So am I, dear girl. So am I. But right now I am more worried about you," he said, holding her hand between both of his palms. "How are you doing?"

Vera blinked several times as the room began to blur around her.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Peters," she gasped out. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"But you do, Vera. You know exactly what I am referring to. If you could only remember it would fix everything.'

She stood up to pace, but immediately sat back down when the dizziness made her feel faint.

"I don't! I don't know why any of this is happening! Why don't you just tell me what I've forgotten? Wouldn't that solve everything?"

He sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't tell you. If I do he will kill me."

Vera's head snapped up in his direction. "What? Who is going to kill you?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that either."

"But if your life is in danger you must go to the authorities! I have my buggy outside! We can leave at once!"

He stopped her as she staggered toward the door.

"No, Vera. The authorities can't help us with this. I'm afraid you and I are on our own."

She shook her head, but regretted it when it made her nauseated.

"What about Halsten, or my father? They could help, right?"

Dr. Peters hugged her gently. "I'm afraid they can't help us either."

As she began to speak again he shushed her and said, "I will take you home, Vera. You need rest. And once you feel better try to remember, please."

All the work she had done to convince herself she wasn't crazy completely disappeared as the scenery around her began to flash between the white room and desert sand. Only this time there was a beautiful, golden-haired girl in the room with her and she kept repeating the same mantra Vera had heard in her mind for the past two days. Remember, Vera! You must remember!

...

Okay, so this chapter killed me. It took me ages to write and I still hate it. I plan on going back and rewriting it later, but I promised you guys an update, so here it is. Please remember to comment and vote if you get time. Thanks for reading!