Chapter 4
The Lab

I woke up. I was inside some sort of chamber. I tried moving my arms, but they were fixed to my sides. I tried screaming, but I couldn't speak. I couldn't move at all. I saw people wearing white coats, running around. One stopped in front of me, and looked through the glass of the chamber. When he looked into my eyes, I saw fear in his. He ran off again, shouting something I couldn't understand through the thick glass. A few moments later, six white-coats gathered around me. One of them, the one who looked the oldest, said something and the one nearest to me pressed a button on my chamber. I heard a loud hissing noise, then the glass slid up. I remained strapped to the inside of the chamber, though. One of them asked me: "How... do you feel?"

I tried to speak, but no sound came out of my mouth.

"Right, talking might be difficult... Open your mouth if you feel terrible."

I opened my mouth again, and a tiny squeak came out.

"A sound! Wonderful."

"Did the experiment work?"

"Did you solve the room?"

I nodded slowly. Who were these people? Did they trap me in the room? Are they the reason I can't remember? Are they the reason I don't know who I am anymore? I wanted to ask them all the questions flying through my head, but I still was unable to speak.

Then, the old guy started talking.

"You probably have a lot of questions. They will all be answered eventually, but be patient now. Put him to sleep and bring him to his room."

The others hurried away, one pulled out a syringe, plucked it into my neck and inserted the fluid. I struggled to stay awake, but my conciousness slipped away once again...

I woke up in a room. I was laying in a bed, with a heavy blanket laying on top of me. A girl, probably around 15-16 years old, was sitting beside me, looking at me.

"You woke up!"

"Where... am I?", I asked. Even though it was difficult and caused my throat to hurt, I was glad I could speak again.

"In the most complex and advanced building on earth."

"Who... are you?"

"I- You don't remember me?"

"I don't remember anything... other than that stupid white room."

"Oh... My name is Rose."

"Hello, Rose." I smiled. "Nice to meet you."

She stayed silent. In her eyes, I could spot sadness, fear and a hint of anger.

"Are you okay?", I asked.

"What? Oh, yeah. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"We used to be so close. Inseperable. But now, you don't even remember me anymore..."

"Well, it's not my fault I lost my memories!"

"It is! You agreed to this experiment! You knew the risks!"

"I- what?"

"They told you you might lose some memories, and yet you agreed! I told you not to and you did!"

"Well, sorry, but I can't reverse it! Could you do me a favor and at least tell me who I am?"

She sighed. "Your name is Micheal Dundgren, mostly just called Mike. You are 15 years old, used to live with your parents until they died in the car crash which caused you to be sent here so the scientists can take care of your injuries. That was a year ago. You've been living here since. A week ago, Gabriel Stoneward, you always called him Gabe, asked you if you wanted to take part in their experiment. You agreed."

"And... who are you?"

"My name is Rose Miller, I am 16 years old and used to be your girlfriend. We first met in a park near your former home, where you helped me find my cat who ran off after I accidentally stepped on his tail. You found him and calmed him down, which surprised me, since he doesn't like strangers. Since then, we met everyday, until we fell in love with each other."

"That sounds... nice."

"It was beautiful... but now... it's all gone." she started crying. "It was so perfect..."

I sat up. "I'm sure we'll find a way to get my memories back. If I managed to remember all the resets, I can also remember you!" I turned to her and hugged her. "Not everything is gone. I am still here, and we can start things over. It won't feel the same anymore, that's correct, but it's better than if I died, right?"

"I- I don't know." She stood up and walked to the door. "I... I need some time for myself now. I need to think about what to do now."

"Take as much time as you need. I'll be here when... if you return."

Rose walked out of the room, still crying. I felt bad. I didn't want to hurt her, but if I really knew the risks and still took them... I had to talk to someone. I stood up and decided to search for this Gabriel Stoneward Guy. I didn't know how he looked like, but I was sure that I'd find him somehow. A woman in a white coat was walking through the corridor, so I asked her.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Gabriel Stoneward."

"Micheal! Why are you out of bed? You have to rest!"

"I need to talk to Dr. Stoneward!"

"Since when do you- Go back to bed, I'll send him to you."

"Thank you."

I went back, a bit startled by how motherly she acted. I sat down on my bed, looking out of the window. The Area around the building looked empty, dead. It was a desert. I could see Rose standing near the road. She appeared to be talking to someone, but no one stood near her. The door to my room opened and the old guy from when I woke up in the chamber entered it.

"Mike. You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes. This... white room thing. What was that?"

"It was an experiment testing how the human mind would react to a seemingly endless loop."

"Why can't I remember anything from before that experiment?"

"You... don't remember anything?"

"No. All the Information about my life comes from Rose." I pointed outside

"That's quite... interesting."

"Do you have any way to fix that? I need my life back! My Identity! I don't know who I am, what I like, I don't know my girlfriend! I don't know anything about myself!"

"We can run some tests to find out why it happened. Otherwise, you could try using stuff from your life. Do you know where you keep your diary?"

I laughed dry. "Oh, yeah, just below my game of Memory"

Dr. Stoneward looked confused

"Obviously I don't know where I keep it! I forgot everything in my entire fucking life!"

"Right. Well, then let's run the tests. Come with me please." He opened the door again and looked at me. I stood up and looked outside again, searching for Rose. She didn't stand at the road anymore. Then, I followed Dr. Stoneward to the lab I first woke up in. He told me to sit down, then he attached some cables to my head.

"Now let's see what went wrong..."

He pressed some buttons, his face slowly filling with concern.

"No, that... No, it can't be..."

"What can't be? What's wrong?"

"It looks like you didn't forget your life. You locked it away. The memories are there, but... you can no longer access them. It's like a computer. Most files can easily be accessed, but some are locked. You have to unlock them to access them."

"Well how do I unlock them?"

"I... don't know."