06:20 PM As they pull into the driveway, Charley starts to undo the seatbelt but struggles with unlocking it. Her attempt at freeing herself from the restraint is stopped short with Archie's question. She looks out at the house, then at him, and, with a sigh, answers, "SANDMAN did." Her words are slow and heavy, "All of the kids in the program were. Well, not named, but cataloged." Charley tugs at the seatbelt in frustration a few more times before continuing, "I was subject C-001. I later graduated to being called Charley."
06:21 PM Not wanting to see Archie's expression, she closes her eyes. "I don't know. It was not good there, Dad. When I wasn't with a Doctor, I was alone. Alone in a room, with a bed, a TV and nothing more. At least at first."
She stops to look back at the house covered in purples and pinks from the dusk evening light. Then whispers to herself, "It was easy to be mixed up." She looks at Archie, hearing the car keys jingle, and him shift in his seat.
06:22 PM "Dad, maybe Fi and Foe are just imaginary. It was easy to be mixed up at Granite Peak. That program, it was about being your best. And to do that, they told me I needed to forget things and people. That those memories would prevent me from reaching my full potential. But I didn't want to! I didn't want to forget. But with the medicine and being alone, I started to. So when Fi first came, whispering in my ear stories about her life in ancient Assyria, it didn't seem weird. She taught me how to keep safe what they wanted me to forget. And Foe he's a blacksmith, so he knows about being strong."
Charley smiles, remembering more, "Oh, and he had stories too! Of his life in England, how he knew the real Robin Hood. Who he said was nothing like Errol Flynn." Her smile fades, "They seemed real. All of it seemed very real. But what was, and what wasn't at, Granite Peak?" Charley shakes her head. "And if they aren't, does that mean? What I thought, I didn't forget about my life before, that it's imagined too?"
06:23 PM She looks at the now dark house, illuminated by the glimmer of summer fireflies and the warm light from inside. "But it doesn't matter now. Things are good. I'm happy. So maybe my past should be left there. Like History B, the more you acknowledge it, the more power it has. It was a mistake talking to Abeille about my dream! She's an unknown. Marshall was right; I said too much. And it's left me vulnerable." Her resolve and voice grow stronger as she tugs at her seatbelt in a last-ditch effort to escape it.
"I just need to focus on our mission of saving the world! (tug) That's what I can do! (tug) That's who I am! (tug) Oh, I'm hungry; what's mom made for dinner?"
And with a "click," the seatbelt drops to her side.