Antonio - Ashlee Price Page 0,4

start over like Abby said.

Abby. I can still hear her voice in my head and feel her sadness in my chest.

Maybe it's because of her plea that I'm having second thoughts. Or maybe it's because even though I've been trying to deny it, I'm actually afraid of leaving this town that's been my bubble and facing the danger and uncertainty waiting for me out there.

What if I never find out who I am? What am I going to do? What if the people who tried to kill me before try again - and succeed this time, vulnerable as I am? Will I die never knowing who I am, without ever remembering my past and without hope of any future, without ever having lived?

My hands clench into fists on my lap. Is my life worth nothing?

My turbulent thoughts come to a halt as a chorus of distant screams reaches my ears, followed by a loud crash. Mitch stops the truck at once. His fingers grip the wheel as his gaze goes past the window towards the woods.

"What was that?" I ask him curiously because I feel like he has a good idea.

He turns the truck around. "That was near the river. At the Jensens', most likely. They might need my help."

Then he stops the truck, glances at his watch and looks at me.

"We're almost at the bus stop. If you get off and start walking, you should still be able to get on the next bus. Your choice."

I don't even think. "I'm coming with you."

"Okay."

Mitch steps on the gas. Clouds of dust erupt from under the tires.

I grip the seatbelt stretched across my chest and hold my breath. My thoughts race against the truck.

The Jensens? I have no clue who they are. Mitch and Abby always address their guests and patients by their first names. Mitch said they live by the river. Does that mean someone is drowning? Then why the crash? A landslide?

It seems only seconds before Mitch pulls into the driveway of a bungalow with a red roof. A woman with a baby on her hip and an expression of alarm on her face rushes to greet him.

"Mitch!"

"What happened, Grace?" he asks her as he hops out of the truck.

"The tree house in the back collapsed. The kids..."

Mitch doesn't wait to hear more. He runs towards the back of the house. I follow him. I know I'm probably not welcome, but I might be needed. And I can't just sit inside a truck when there's danger and panic hanging in the air.

Strange, I think as I run down the path as fast as I can with my recent injuries, adrenaline pulsing through my veins. I feel like I've been in this situation before.

Stay in the van.

The voice in my head comes out of nowhere. A memory? I can't come up with a face to match it. Or a name.

I push it aside with a frown. Now isn't the time to be remembering things. There are people in danger. Children. I have to help Mitch save them.

Finally, I see the tree house. Or at least, what used to be a tree house. It's just a messy pile of logs now, more like a pyre. A few men are scrambling to get every piece off to save the children trapped underneath. So far, I can see two of them. The women are tending to the crying children with scrapes and bruises, the lucky ones who must have managed to jump off before the tree house fell apart.

Mitch rushes over to help. I start to follow him but stop when I catch something shiny from the corner of my eye - a golden ribbon tangled in a bush on the slope leading down to...

My eyes grow wide. The river! A little girl must have fallen into it!

As I make my way down in haste, I glance at the river. I can't see the bottom, so it must be more than two feet deep. The current doesn't look like it's moving that fast, but that could be only on the surface. What if the little girl has already been swept away? What if she's already...?

Suddenly, I hear a splash. It's only for a second, but I see a hand emerge from the water.

I run. Without taking any of my clothes off, I jump into the river. It's deeper than I thought, the water reaching up to my chest. I start to swim in the direction of where I saw the girl's hand. The