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Description
I was doing it again… watching my star.
Daniel was beside me, fiddling with the camera, trying to see the man.
I'd told him about it, still staring at the place where I'd thought I'd seen the man, and he'd gently taken the camera from me, slipping his hand over mine and lifting my fingers one by one. It felt good, but the feeling was lost on me, because I saw another flash of a shadow, further away, and I jumped. Daniel paused, and then removed the camera from my hands.
"Just lie down," he told me gently, and his focused moved to the camera.
I did as he asked, and he kept flicking back and forth between the photos, holding the camera closer to his face every time. He couldn't see it…
"Daniel…" I whispered, sitting up slowly.
He set the camera down beside him and turned to me. "Yeah?"
"About… about this afternoon… in the parking lot…" I looked away, out at the driveway.
"What about it?"
"I swear I heard a scream… and I… I saw something too…" I looked at him.
"What? Why didn't you tell me! I didn't cause it di-"
"No! Daniel, I didn't see a memory… I just saw… something. There were men standing in the middle of the parking lot, a lot of men, and they… there was something between them… a woman, I think. One of the men jumped forward… and I saw blood. It was so… so real. She screamed… that's what I heard… I – it was… I don't know. It wasn't a memory… I would've remembered that."
"But… if it wasn't a memory, how did you see it?"
"I don't know…" I looked back to my star. "I really don't know…"
Daniel paused, and I felt his gaze on my cheek.
"Maybe… maybe we should tell your uncle…" He whispered quietly.
I hesitated with my answer. I wanted to scream 'no' at the top of my lungs, I wanted to hit him for even suggesting it… but some part of me thought he was right; Some little, quiet, hidden part of me, finally speaking out. I listened to it.
"Yeah… when he gets back…" I thought about it for a moment. "I'll tell him after dinner."
I turned to look at him, seeing his smiling face staring back at me. Not a big smile, just a small one… sweet, even. I resisted the urge to raise my eyebrow, and turned away quickly.
I watched the stars, wishing I could forget my past, forget what I'd seen… forget my memories, and for a while, just a while, I accomplished it. No bad memories entrapped me, nothing horrible poisoned my brain. All I saw was Daniel's smiling face, my uncle laughing, Ed smiling as I climbed in through his bedroom window.
Ed… My first friend, my big brother… My saviour…
"Oh, Ed…" I whispered, pulling my knees up. A memory flooded into my mind, and for once, I didn't try to resist.

"Ed?" I tapped on his window gently, watching behind me every few seconds.
I wasn't safe out here.
"Tara?" he whispered, pulling open his curtains. He stood before me in his boxer shorts, tan from a life in the sun, muscular from working out and rubbing his eyes because I'd woken him up. After all, it was early in the morning. Dawn was hours away.
"Ed," I said, looking behind me once again. I'd only just run away, there was a chance he'd followed me.
Ed made a weird shape with his mouth, the corners curving up. His eyes brightened, and I felt myself wanting to do the same… I just… couldn't.
To me, it looked dangerous, like a snarl. I flinched away.
The weird shape of his mouth disappeared, and he reached to the top of his window, pushing out the fly screen.
"Come on," he said, looking out behind me. "Climb in."
He stepped away, manoeuvring the fly screen inside his room, and waited as I climbed in.
His face made that weird shape again, and placed the fly screen by his window.
I stepped towards the large shape in the middle of his room.
"Is this your bed?" I whispered, eyeing the door cautiously.
"Yep." He stepped closer to me, reaching for my shoulder, and I jumped away, bumping against the edge of the bed. I wanted to cry out at the pain, but the voice advised me against it.
"Must be quiet," it said. "Noise brings punishment."
"Tara, are you okay?" Ed asked, and then shook his head. "Of course you're not… sorry. Here," he said, holding out a pile of folded clothes he must have grabbed from somewhere.
I stared at his outstretched hand, then reached forward, wincing at the pain, and took the clothing.
"Put those on while I get you something to eat," he told me, then he carefully opened the door and slipped out.
I pulled the too-big shirt over my head and the pants over my own blood caked ones, then sat on the bed waiting for Ed to come back.
A few minutes later I heard the yelling. I approached the door slowly, trying to hear what was going on, and heard the sound of someone being beaten, another person crying, and a familiar voice yelling.
"You dare take my food without asking? You let her out, didn't you? You set her free, and now she's off gallivanting around doing God-only-knows what with my things."
There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh – a noise I'd become more than acquainted with – and the muffled crying became heaving sobs, and gasps of pain echoed through the door.
Footsteps faded, and the sobbing quieted, leaving the sound of pain filled breathing in the hallway outside Ed's door.
"Ed…" I whispered, stepping back as I opened the door.
He lay just outside the door, a crushed packet of biscuits not far from him, hand on his chest, breathing heavily.
Bruises were already forming on his bare chest, and blood poured from a gash on his forehead.
"Ed!" I stage whispered, rushing towards him, tears forming in my eyes.
His breathing faltered and I knew then, somehow, that he wasn't going to make it.
I knelt beside him, placed a hand on his chest, careful not to touch any bruises, and wiped his hair away from his face.
"No… no, Ed, please… Don't leave me!" I wiped the tears from my eyes, replacing them with Ed's blood that had rubbed on to my hand.
"Tara… You-" he breathed in sharply, gasping, then continued. "You need to get out… he – he's coming… Run…"
His eyes closed, and he stopped moving.
"Ed!" I screamed. I slapped his face, trying to get him to wake up.
His eyes fluttered open. "I love you, Tara. Run… I'll be fine."
I knew I shouldn't have, but I believed him. I started to get up, ready to run back out his window, when hands reached down to grasp my shirt.
"Tara?" A distant voice asked. I paused in my flailing, and then started again.
I screamed, struggling, as the hands lifted me off my feet, and I did what my instinct told me – I lifted my arms, kicking out everywhere, connecting with something hard, and slipped out of the shirt.
"Tara!" someone yelled as I ran for Ed's room. I stopped despite myself, and turned. The authority in that voice made me.
My father stood behind me, next to Ed, who'd gone scarily still, Ed's crumpled shirt in his hands.
"Tara, where do you think you're going?" anger flashed across his face as he stepped towards me.
I stepped back into Ed's room, away from my torturer, and glared at him.
"Well, answer me!"
"Far away from you!" I screamed, slamming the door as he ran for me.
I sprinted for the window, diving out, just as the door opened behind me.
"I will find you, Tara! You can't run from me forever!" My father's voice echoed through my head as I ran from my prison, far out into the bush that surrounded our house.
As I slumped by a rock, tears still streaming down my face, I curled into a ball.
"I love you, Ed. You were the best brother ever," I whispered, and then the world went black.

Description
I was doing it again… watching my star.
Daniel was beside me, fiddling with the camera, trying to see the man.
I'd told him about it, still staring at the place where I'd thought I'd seen the man, and he'd gently taken the camera from me, slipping his hand over mine and lifting my fingers one by one. It felt good, but the feeling was lost on me, because I saw another flash of a shadow, further away, and I jumped. Daniel paused, and then removed the camera from my hands.
"Just lie down," he told me gently, and his focused moved to the camera.
I did as he asked, and he kept flicking back and forth between the photos, holding the camera closer to his face every time. He couldn't see it…
"Daniel…" I whispered, sitting up slowly.
He set the camera down beside him and turned to me. "Yeah?"
"About… about this afternoon… in the parking lot…" I looked away, out at the driveway.
"What about it?"
"I swear I heard a scream… and I… I saw something too…" I looked at him.
"What? Why didn't you tell me! I didn't cause it di-"
"No! Daniel, I didn't see a memory… I just saw… something. There were men standing in the middle of the parking lot, a lot of men, and they… there was something between them… a woman, I think. One of the men jumped forward… and I saw blood. It was so… so real. She screamed… that's what I heard… I – it was… I don't know. It wasn't a memory… I would've remembered that."
"But… if it wasn't a memory, how did you see it?"
"I don't know…" I looked back to my star. "I really don't know…"
Daniel paused, and I felt his gaze on my cheek.
"Maybe… maybe we should tell your uncle…" He whispered quietly.
I hesitated with my answer. I wanted to scream 'no' at the top of my lungs, I wanted to hit him for even suggesting it… but some part of me thought he was right; Some little, quiet, hidden part of me, finally speaking out. I listened to it.
"Yeah… when he gets back…" I thought about it for a moment. "I'll tell him after dinner."
I turned to look at him, seeing his smiling face staring back at me. Not a big smile, just a small one… sweet, even. I resisted the urge to raise my eyebrow, and turned away quickly.
I watched the stars, wishing I could forget my past, forget what I'd seen… forget my memories, and for a while, just a while, I accomplished it. No bad memories entrapped me, nothing horrible poisoned my brain. All I saw was Daniel's smiling face, my uncle laughing, Ed smiling as I climbed in through his bedroom window.
Ed… My first friend, my big brother… My saviour…
"Oh, Ed…" I whispered, pulling my knees up. A memory flooded into my mind, and for once, I didn't try to resist.

"Ed?" I tapped on his window gently, watching behind me every few seconds.
I wasn't safe out here.
"Tara?" he whispered, pulling open his curtains. He stood before me in his boxer shorts, tan from a life in the sun, muscular from working out and rubbing his eyes because I'd woken him up. After all, it was early in the morning. Dawn was hours away.
"Ed," I said, looking behind me once again. I'd only just run away, there was a chance he'd followed me.
Ed made a weird shape with his mouth, the corners curving up. His eyes brightened, and I felt myself wanting to do the same… I just… couldn't.
To me, it looked dangerous, like a snarl. I flinched away.
The weird shape of his mouth disappeared, and he reached to the top of his window, pushing out the fly screen.
"Come on," he said, looking out behind me. "Climb in."
He stepped away, manoeuvring the fly screen inside his room, and waited as I climbed in.
His face made that weird shape again, and placed the fly screen by his window.
I stepped towards the large shape in the middle of his room.
"Is this your bed?" I whispered, eyeing the door cautiously.
"Yep." He stepped closer to me, reaching for my shoulder, and I jumped away, bumping against the edge of the bed. I wanted to cry out at the pain, but the voice advised me against it.
"Must be quiet," it said. "Noise brings punishment."
"Tara, are you okay?" Ed asked, and then shook his head. "Of course you're not… sorry. Here," he said, holding out a pile of folded clothes he must have grabbed from somewhere.
I stared at his outstretched hand, then reached forward, wincing at the pain, and took the clothing.
"Put those on while I get you something to eat," he told me, then he carefully opened the door and slipped out.
I pulled the too-big shirt over my head and the pants over my own blood caked ones, then sat on the bed waiting for Ed to come back.
A few minutes later I heard the yelling. I approached the door slowly, trying to hear what was going on, and heard the sound of someone being beaten, another person crying, and a familiar voice yelling.
"You dare take my food without asking? You let her out, didn't you? You set her free, and now she's off gallivanting around doing God-only-knows what with my things."
There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh – a noise I'd become more than acquainted with – and the muffled crying became heaving sobs, and gasps of pain echoed through the door.
Footsteps faded, and the sobbing quieted, leaving the sound of pain filled breathing in the hallway outside Ed's door.
"Ed…" I whispered, stepping back as I opened the door.
He lay just outside the door, a crushed packet of biscuits not far from him, hand on his chest, breathing heavily.
Bruises were already forming on his bare chest, and blood poured from a gash on his forehead.
"Ed!" I stage whispered, rushing towards him, tears forming in my eyes.
His breathing faltered and I knew then, somehow, that he wasn't going to make it.
I knelt beside him, placed a hand on his chest, careful not to touch any bruises, and wiped his hair away from his face.
"No… no, Ed, please… Don't leave me!" I wiped the tears from my eyes, replacing them with Ed's blood that had rubbed on to my hand.
"Tara… You-" he breathed in sharply, gasping, then continued. "You need to get out… he – he's coming… Run…"
His eyes closed, and he stopped moving.
"Ed!" I screamed. I slapped his face, trying to get him to wake up.
His eyes fluttered open. "I love you, Tara. Run… I'll be fine."
I knew I shouldn't have, but I believed him. I started to get up, ready to run back out his window, when hands reached down to grasp my shirt.
"Tara?" A distant voice asked. I paused in my flailing, and then started again.
I screamed, struggling, as the hands lifted me off my feet, and I did what my instinct told me – I lifted my arms, kicking out everywhere, connecting with something hard, and slipped out of the shirt.
"Tara!" someone yelled as I ran for Ed's room. I stopped despite myself, and turned. The authority in that voice made me.
My father stood behind me, next to Ed, who'd gone scarily still, Ed's crumpled shirt in his hands.
"Tara, where do you think you're going?" anger flashed across his face as he stepped towards me.
I stepped back into Ed's room, away from my torturer, and glared at him.
"Well, answer me!"
"Far away from you!" I screamed, slamming the door as he ran for me.
I sprinted for the window, diving out, just as the door opened behind me.
"I will find you, Tara! You can't run from me forever!" My father's voice echoed through my head as I ran from my prison, far out into the bush that surrounded our house.
As I slumped by a rock, tears still streaming down my face, I curled into a ball.
"I love you, Ed. You were the best brother ever," I whispered, and then the world went black.