It was stupid, but he couldn't remember his own name. 

Everything was split into two categories: then and now. Then was filled away completely; nothing but a blank space where it had previously been. Now was, well, now. 

He unsteadily got to his feet. His vision filled with spots and the world moved beneath his sneakers. The shadows seemed to reach out to him, but when he shook his head they were gone. He threw out his arms, trying to steady himself. It reminded him of the beach, when the sand felt like it was pulling you into the never ending ocean, whispering sweet lies that haunted you for months afterwards.

He grabbed onto a nearby tree, attempting to regain his balance. Somewhere nearby, he could hear the murmur of a stream, but he was alone. He glanced around at the shadows of the trees, which had steadily grown longer as the sun fell behind the treetops. Someone, sometime had told him about the dangers of staying out too late.

He couldn't quite remember what they said.

But he knew it was something bad.

He instinctively snapped his fingers, and a small flame appeared on the tip of his fingers. Something inside him warmed in response, welcoming the magic dancing on his fingertips. The flame was a lovely mixture of cerulean on the edges and a deep shamrock in the heart, but he didn't focus on that for too long.

He had more pressing matters.

Trying his best to muffle his steps, he moved purposefully toward the water. It had to lead somewhere. Hopefully.

Through the undergrowth, shapes moved in the shadows, waiting for the darkness to swallow him whole. Whenever he turned to look their way, they shrunk back, but he knew that it wouldn't last for long.

At some point they would tire of waiting.

He quickened his pace, sprinting through the trees, but the stream didn't sound any closer. If anything, it sounded further away. 

He stopped, turning slowly around in a circle. He had to do something. But what?

Something touched his arm, and he froze, his breath catching in his throat. He turned his head to look, but nothing was there. 

"Christian," a voice whispered from behind him. He turned around, magic flaring up to protect himself.

A boy stood in front of him, his hair a bright blue that stood out in the ever growing darkness. Except his form flickered and faded, and the only things remaining were his golden eyes at one point.

"I've been looking for you," the boy said. His form was back, and he was a normal teenage boy talking to a friend.

Christian—if that was really his name, but he rather liked it—stepped forward. "Who are you?" He asked, his voice actually quite steady even though a storm raged beneath his skin. Sparks flew from his fingertips, and it took everything in him to prevent his magic from rising up and destroying everything within the next couple miles. 

"Do you really not remember your boyfriend?" He looked hurt. 

Christian tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. Something seemed off. He could be communicating with him through a spell, but that didn't quell his fears or magic.

Sometimes creatures take on the form of loved ones.

Without a second thought, he created a barrier of fire between him and the thing.

The thing laughed, its mouth twisting into a dark smile before its form flickered out for good. 

"Bad move, Christian," the creature whispered in his ear. The fire went out on its own accord, and he was left in the darkness. But this time he wasn't alone, and that was much, much worse. He shivered and stepped forward, only to run into an invisible form. "I feed on uncontrolled magic."

What did he just do?

The sun was all the way down. This thing wouldn't be the only thing hunting him soon. 

So he ran. He had to get out of the forest at some point; he only hoped that he would make it that far. 

The monster hollered after him. 

He could hear it trample through the undergrowth, excited by the hunt. 

Christian willed his legs to go faster. For his arms to propel him forward. 

He made it almost a mile before he stumbled over a root. He fell forward, his arms instinctively reaching out to catch himself. He screamed as his right arm cracked and pain flared through his arm. He bit down on his lip, the taste of blood filling his mouth. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself.

"Nice try, kid." The thing's voice echoed around the forest. "But you can't outrun me. You can't beat me."

Christian stumbled to his feet, his arm useless at his side. 

"What if I did outrun you?" Christian challenged.

"It's impossible," the thing answered.

There. The voice was coming from his right. 

"But what if I could?" Christian asked again.

There was no answer.

Christian gritted his teeth and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a thin metal tube. He ran his fingers over the engraving on it.

EJ.

So Christian wasn't his real name. He should've known.

The tube was awkward in his left hand, but he tried his best to hold onto it.

"Why are you playing with me?" He asked, his voice steadily growing louder, until the ground was shaking and the wind whipped around him. "Kill me. KILL ME."

"As you wish," the voice came from behind him.

He turned around, face to face with the boy from earlier. His golden eyes glinted even though there was no light. 

Christian's confidence wavered. Even though he didn't remember him, he knew him from somewhere. Some other life, perhaps.

Just not this life.

The creature stepped forward, its golden eyes narrowed. "I was told you were a fighter," it laughed darkly. "Guess she was wrong about something, after all."

Christian shrugged, flipping the metal tube in his hand. "Guess we're all wrong about something."

The metal tube flipped one last time and flared to life. It was a way of channeling energy. A way to control your magic. The world reflected the green and blue flames of the sword, and the thing's golden eyes reflected fear for a second before it schooled its features again.

But a second was all it took.

He lashed out, and it ducked at the last possible moment. It stepped backwards, unsure.

The hunter wasn't used to being hunted.

Christian flipped the sword in his hand. He wasn't used to fighting with his left hand, but he'd trained with it just in case.

He'd trained with Kai, the boy the thing was imitating. Kai was awkward with magic, but he was ambidextrous and a natural swordsman.

He taught Christian everything. 

Christian feigned right and twisted left. The thing hissed in pain, its shirt catching on fire. Christian was tempted to coax the flames to become brighter and hotter, but he was unsure of what it would do.

The shadows drew closer, drawn to the flames and cries of pain.

He had to leave. Now.

But he couldn't get its taunt out of his mind. 

She.

The flames went out with a snap of Christian's fingers. The smell of smoke choked the air, but he grabbed the collar of the monster anyways and forced it to its feet.

"Who's she?" Christian snarled. 

The thing impossibly grew even smaller, shrinking into the baggy clothes Kai liked. 

"Don't make me ask again," Christian threatened, showing the creature the tube he still held onto. The tube that was against its throat. 

"She never gave me a name. She had hair as dark as night and eyes to match."

Christian shoved the thing to the ground and walked away, aware of the encroaching beings in the shadows. He left the creature and stowed the warm metal tube back into his pocket, then he ran. 

He ran until he came out into a field. He stopped when he came upon a dirt path, the moon lighting his way.

Memories steadily rushed back.

His name was Emrys. His friends called him Christian, which was his middle name. Kai was his boyfriend. They had been dating for three years. Ava was his best friend. Or at least he thought she was. He had a little sister, who was a stuck up know it all, but he loved her more than anything. Their parents died a couple years ago. He was all she had.

And she'd almost lost him too.

He fist clenched at his side, and he started walking faster.

He knew who wanted him gone.

She called him Christian.

She could control shadows, and so she had a connection to whatever had attacked him.

By why try to kill him? They'd been best friends, after all.

Did she trust him to get himself out?

What was her purpose?

The path led to an old house. It looked like it was half standing, but when he opened the lock on the back door with a quick spell, it looked to be safe. He almost collapsed on the old carpet that created a cloud of dust whenever he walked on it, but he forced himself to keep going until he could find a bathroom. He cleared the surface dirt from the mirror with a towel he found in another room. 

He stared at his own reflection for a couple minutes. His bottom lip was coated in dry blood and slightly swollen. His dark hair had twigs and leaves sticking out everywhere. His arm was facing the wrong way and was an ever present throb in the back of his mind.

But he was alive.

That thought alone made him smile as he tried to clean himself up with the water that was a slight brownish color. 

But he was alive.

He returned to the path a half an hour later, his elation from earlier more subdued. The road went on for a ways until it led to an abandoned street. He stepped onto the sidewalk, and when he turned around, the house and its old road were gone.

The only proof of what had happened was the broken arm he had tried to put in a sling with an old shirt.

He glanced down the street before choosing to turn left. When he came upon a main road, it was very quiet. The world was sleeping. It was only him and the revenge boiling in the pits of his being.

No one came out at night. 

Because there were monsters in the dark.

He somehow got home, but everything was a blur. All he knew was his best friend had tried to kill him using the face of his boyfriend. 

When he stumbled through the door, Kai jumped up from the couch and ran to him.

"Oh thank gods," he murmured, pressing his hands to Christians cheeks.

Christian froze; he knew this was the real Kai, the one who cared for him, but he couldn't stop seeing the demon who wore his face. He couldn't stop seeing him on fire.

"Are you okay?" Kai asked. He looked hurt.

Christian shook away the memories, and he opened his mouth to explain when a ball of energy barreled into him.

"You're back," Ann said, hugging him. "Kai was starting to worry, but I told him it'd be okay."

Christian shot him a look over his sister. He raised his eyebrows. "Is that right?" He asked, a smirk twisting his lips. 

Kai shrugged, mouthing, "She's brave."

Christian smiled. At least something in his life was right. He had Kai and Ann. 

But.

But Ava tried to kill him.

But she was still out there.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Christian suggested to Ann, trying to keep his voice light.

She nodded and ran upstairs. He watched her go, wondering if he would ever see her again.

Kai watched him, waiting. He knew something was wrong. He knew Christian too well. 

Christian nodded to the couch Kai was waiting on. They walked together, their movements aware of the other. They knew each other better than anyone else.

"Where's Ava?" He asked when they settled down. Christian had his feet stretching across the couch onto Kai's lap, and Kai's legs were on the ancient, yellow coffee table. 

"I don't know," Kai answered, his answer slow as he pondered the question. 

He didn't need to ask why, because he knew Christian would answer anyways. "She asked me to meet her in these woods," he said slowly, racking his brain for every memory. "I don't know where, but I went. She—" Christian took a deep breath. "She used a charm to make me lose my memory. Something went wrong, and she left me in the woods. At night."

Kai bit the inside of his lip. "What are you going to do?"

He didn't ask, "Are you sure it's her?" or "how do you know?" because Christian wouldn't tell him if he wasn't sure. 

Christian sighed, "I was hoping you could help with that."

Kai ran a hand through his blue hair. Finally, he murmured, "I don't know. I just don't know. Why would she do that?"

Christian had no clue. He created a small tornado with a swirl of his finger. 

Kai poked Christian's foot. "You could always ask her, you know. You were like family."

"You want me to ask the person who tried to murder me why they tried to murder me?" Christian repeated, dumbfounded. 

Kai waved his hand and snuffed out the candles around them. "Whatever you want to do," he said as he got up. 

Christian moved to get up too and fell back. "Kai!" He called. "I think I broke my arm."

"Just now?" Kai's head poked around the corner.

"No."

"Not my problem," he called, disappearing again. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Christian echoed. He was left to his thoughts.

And that was a dangerous thing. 

He paced until he felt as if he had left a hole in the floor. Then he left, trailing uncertainly down the streets. He made his way to Ava's house, but when he stood outside, he stopped, taking in a deep breath.

She tried to make him forget something, but it went wrong. Maybe she didn't mean to leave him. Maybe she was saving herself, and he couldn't fault her for that. Maybe she was awake, pacing the floor wondering what she had done. 

Maybe she tried to kill him. 

He didn't know. 

And he didn't think he wanted to know. 

So he turned around and headed home. The flames in the lanterns rose and fell with his heartbeat. 

He was alive. 

He unlocked the front door and went straight upstairs. He paused outside Ann's door, listening to her murmur in her sleep. Then he went to his and Kai's bedroom.

"You okay?" Kai slurred when Christian settled into bed. 

"Yeah," Christian answered honestly. "I'm okay."