“Ok, Summer-chan. This time it’ll work for sure.” Shachi double checked that she was secured tied onto the chair, tightening the ropes around her torso for good measure. Satisfied it was tight, he straightened and gave her a thumbs up.
She was completely strapped to the spinning chair, even her arms, so she couldn’t gesture back. Not that she would be doing so if she could. Her speculative eyes swept over the bonds once more.
“I’m starting to believe you’re just making this stuff up now…” He waved his hands in front of him, denying her statement.
“No, no, no! This is an exact science! There’ve been studies about these kinds of things from credible doctors and stuff. It’s guaranteed to work. Just give it a chance.” He stepped up, placing his hands on the back of the chair.
“...Right.” She responded, hesitantly nodding to indicate she was ready. Shachi and Blake took hold of the sides of the chair.
“Alright, ready? One...two...three!” The two began spinning the chair clockwise as fast as they could. The speed picked up as they spun, and soon Summer’s face was just a passing blur. The men stepped back, allowing the rest to take its course.
“I...don’t...feel...so...good…” She muttered, trying to lower her head in her lap but failing from the forces acting upon her.
“Hang in there, Summer-chan!” Shachi encouraged. Though hanging on was all she really could do at this point.
The chair slowly brought itself to a halt, now holding a swaying Summer. She looked a little green in the face, and Blake came over with a trash can in case she got sick. Immediately, her hand grabbed onto the lid, fingers clamping onto the bucket as if it were her only lifeline to reality. Which, in a sense, it was.
“Summer-chan, do you remember anything?” Blake asked. She didn’t respond, just kept her head inside the bucket. Horrible retching sounds echoed from inside and she heaved out whatever she had eaten that day. Her throat burned from the stomach acid. Instinctively, she began gagging and coughing out the excess fluid.
“I’m gonna take that as a no…” Scratching his head, he slowly backed away from the chair, melting into the crowd behind him.
Shachi approached with a smile and placed one hand on her shoulder in comfort. “Sorry, Summer-chan. I thought for sure this would work. Are you ready to try something else?”
Her sickened moan, head still inside the trash can, was the only answer.
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“So the change in temperatures is supposed to shock into remembering her memories?” Blake asked, peering into the book that Shachi was reading. It was another of Parker’s guidebooks on treating unusual conditions. Many of the illustrations must have been centuries old, judging by the yellowing pages and smudged ink. The engineer handled it with great care, as if it were a holy book.
“What does this say, Parker?” He called, waving him over. He looked over Shachi’s shoulder and looked at the page.
“It’s trying to say that the hot water will awaken the memories in her again, causing them to start to flow in her body. Then the cold water will freeze them in place again.” He traced his finger over the worn text. “Problem is, the memories don’t always work their way to the head. It doesn’t always work the first time, so it recommends to do it repeatedly until all the memories find their way to the mind once more.” He straightened up, crossing his arms as if to ward off any challenge to his arcane knowledge of healing.
Shachi nodded, fully convinced of the logic behind it. “Alright, let’s go and tell Summer-chan what’s happening.” They rose and proceeded to the bathrooms, where they had allowed Summer to take a shower. She had adamantly requested it after the chair treatment had failed.
“Summer-chan? You in there?” Blake called, trying to be heard over the running shower head. She peaked her head behind the curtain.
“Yes?” She looked concerned at their appearance.
“We want to try another method to regain your memories.”
“Does it involve more spinning?” She unconsciously shivered in distaste. That was not a pleasant experience.
“No, nothing that extreme.” Visibly relaxing he went on. “In fact, it requires you to stay in the shower, there’s no need to get out.”
“Oh, alright then.” She smiled, figuring that this one had something to do with relaxation.
She was very wrong.
Shachi nodded to Blake and Parker and the two grabbed one of the tables that held towels from the other side of the room. Dragging it over and turning it on its side, they placed it directly in front of Summer’s stall. Now, there was no way to get out but even if she did try to escape, it wouldn’t reveal anything from her shoulders up.
“Ok, Summer-chan, we’re gonna start now!”
“Alright!” Came her answer.
Shachi went over to the main temperature control and turned it all the way up, sending steaming hot water through the pipes. A moment later, they heard the shrieks.
“AHH! HOT! TURN IT OFF!” She tried to run through the curtain but banged against the table. The boys heard her fall onto the tile floor, then scramble but up. “TURN IT OFF!”
“Just a little longer, Summer-chan!” Parker yelled, hoping that their plan worked. Shachi then twisted the knob all the way to the other side, releasing the coldest water available.
“W-what are y-you d-doing?” She audibly shivered, teeth chattering behind the curtain. Her hands banged against the table trying to push it out of the way but Blake and Parker held it in place.
“Just a few more times!” Shachi yelled, once again turning the water to hot.
“THIS ISN”T HELPING IN ANY WAY!” Her shouts reached across the bathroom. “AHH!”
Twice more, Summer was subjected to the extreme temperature changes. Each time, her screams echoed through the room, causing the men to wince in discomfort.
Finally twisting the knob off, Shachi walked over to the corner where they had placed the towel. Grabbing one he walked over to the stall and shoved it over the top, dangling it above where her head would be.
“Here, wrap yourself in this. We’ll go to the other side of the room to wait for you.”
Her hand snatched the towel away without a word, and the men retreated by the entrance. There were several minutes without any sound, just the dripping of the shower head and the rustling of her drying off. They started to fidget, worried about whether it actually worked.
Finally, she emerged from behind the curtain fully dressed. Her entire body was red from the stress of the water. Walking silently over to them she stopped a few feet away, her face blank.
“Did you get your memories back, Summer-chan?” Shachi asked hopefully, eyebrows raised in anticipation. Turning her eyes towards him, she smiled.
“Yes, Shachi-san, I did.” She responded quietly. Her smile still in place, they sighed in relief.
“Ah, that’s great!” They noticed she was still smiling, and slowly their celebration turned to worry.
“Uhh...Summer-chan?”
“I’m giving you a full three seconds head start to get as far away from me as you possibly can. After that three seconds...if I catch you, you’re dead.” Her voice was low and cold, but that smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes was still fixed on her face.
“Well, that’s definitely the Summer-chan we know...” Blake commented, rubbing the back of his head.
“One.”
It took them a full second to realize she was counting.
“Two.”
All three men booked it out of the bathroom like the devil was chasing them. They got stuck in the door when all of them attempted to exit at once, but they were out the door a moment later.
“Ow…” Summer muttered, inspecting her burnt skin painfully. Poking it gently, the spot flamed in pain and she winced at the sensation. Sighing heavily, she went off to find the rest of the crew.
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