The Citadel

The Citadel

by

John Phoenix

Copyright 2021 John Phoenix

Published by John Phoenix at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Unless stated by the author, this story is fictitious and a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Dedication

For my father who has always been my friend and for my mother a force of nature who never let me give up, both loved me unconditionally and never abandoned me. Without them and their sacrifices I wouldn't be the man I am today. For my sister who has always been by my side even though she is thousands of kilometres away from me. For my brother-in-law who treated me like a brother. For my nieces who are like two daughters to me. For that girl I just met but I feel like I've known her my whole life. There are more people who should and deserve to be mentioned but that would require an entire book by itself and a photogenic memory. I was tempted to erase this book like others I've written but I didn't do it this time. Hope you like it.

1

I can’t breathe! I tried to scream, but nothing, not even air, came out of my mouth. No breath to scream, no breath to call for help. I gasped harshly for air to enter my lungs, but I could not move.

Maybe I was dying, because it felt like I was falling down a long bottomless pit where the world didn’t exist anymore. I wanted to wake up and stop feeling the pain.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Where have I heard that before? I don’t know or I can’t remember. I probably heard it at church or something.

Maybe I am dying.

My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.

My heart suddenly began to pound harder, and I felt jolts of pain spread through my spine. It was like I was having one of those dreams where you feel like you’re awake but you’re actually inside a dream. Only in my dream state I was truly in pain. My arms felt numb, but my feet ached.

I don’t think that I was dead. Whenever I tried to take a breath of air I felt something cruelly stabbing me in my left side. I felt unable to move. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up in goosebumps.

‘Shit! I felt a sudden jolt of arrhythmia made my heart feel like it was going to burst. ‘I’m having a heart attack.’

I waited until my heart finally calmed down.

Suddenly, the pain miraculously disappeared, allowing me to breathe again. I had a feeling I should have been sleeping peacefully, but there was something that was holding me back. I felt tired, very tired, and the funny thing is, I didn’t even know why.

‘What is happening?’ I tried to access my memories and remember where I was and what had happened. ‘What had I been doing last night?’

Ok, this is weird. I couldn’t remember what I had been doing or why I was in so much pain. Never mind ‘what happened’ for the time being.

‘How about a simple question like who am I?’

A blank hit me hard.

I couldn’t remember that either.

‘Did I have an accident?’ I was feeling so confused. I moved my tongue about my dry mouth to produce saliva.

I tried to focus on what I could remember. One of the few things I remembered was total darkness, the mechanical sound of an engine, the vibration of something in motion, and the feeling of pain as if lightning had struck my body. I also remembered trying to scream, but not being able to get air into my lungs.

I intentionally kept my eyes closed as I tried to focus on sounds and smells. There was a sound coming from my chest. I opened my eyes and gaped, unable to move or speak in the surprising presence of a naked woman.

Okay, I wasn’t expecting this, but it was a pleasant surprise...

She was an African woman with short-cropped hair and naked… quite naked. I tried to look down to get a glimpse of her face, but I couldn’t recognize her.

‘Christ,’ I thought, horrified. ‘I don’t know your name either!’

Even in this amnesic state I know women are easily offended when you can’t remember their names when you wake up in bed with them. I tried to fit a name to this woman trying to remember when we first met.

‘Why can’t I remember?’

I couldn’t move and I didn’t really feel like waking her up until I had some answers. I was motionless for several minutes as I watched her snore, trying to access my memories, but there was only emptiness. I was worried about my amnesia.

‘I hope your memories are in better shape than mine,’ I thought, looking at her.

I was worried about what she would say when she woke up. It would probably be better if I got dressed first and wait for her to wake up. I tried to slip from beneath her, but she had me in a tight grip.

‘Damn!’ She had me pinned down. ‘Clues! I need clues to my whereabouts.’

Looking around, nothing felt familiar. I saw we were lying on a large, mahogany, four-poster bed with no sheets or pillows. We were in a large room with stone walls and a grey stone floor. The ceiling above us was high, with massive wooden beams.

If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that this was a medieval castle. My eyes found a faux window that showed a view of a mountain. The illusion was fairly good, but it wouldn’t fool anyone who really looked at it. That screen seemed important to me and it gave me a sense of comfort.

‘My name is—’

I still couldn’t remember! How can you forget your own name? Where were my things like my keys, my phone, my wallet or my clothes? I don’t know how I got here, or where I was.

The woman sighed and woke up, looked around as if confused and then looked at me with sleepy eyes. Her eyes were dark brown and her face looked calm.

Morning, she smiled, and when her eyes crinkled, a single tear rolled down the corner of her right one.

Morning, I replied, trying so to sound relaxed. Uh-huh. Morniiiing. That must’ve been some party to blackout like that.

It didn’t sound as funny as I’d hoped.

Do we know each other? She asked, her voice sounding sleepy like she was half asleep. She opened and closed her mouth to produce saliva. Where are we?

‘Okay, this is good.’ I thought to myself. ‘Thank God that you’re not yelling at me.’

I was hoping you could tell me, I said as I subtly crawled out from under her. This is going to sound like a strange question, but do you know my name?

No. She thought some more, yawning and stretching her arms, then asked, What’s the last thing you remember?

I— My memory was blank like those moments when you hear a song and you can’t remember the lyrics or the singer. I struggled to remember my last memory and felt it was almost within my reach. I was on a… I think… on a horse or something… no, not a horse… I said, suddenly excited to remember something. Before that, I… give me a few seconds, I think something’s coming…I remember this guy named Jenkins and we… I… can’t remember anything else… It’s all so confusing.

Who’s Jenkins? She raised her eyebrows quizzically. Your butler?

I don’t know. He was a driver…? I think, I said uncertainly. Not a driver but I remember him offering me a drink.

Looks like he shouldn’t be drinking and driving.

No-no-no… I shake my finger and suddenly a voice echoed in my mind.

‘Sorry, I couldn’t help. Tell you what… I’ll buy you a pint of beer on me!’

‘Look out!’ I heard my voice shout.

Ouch! A sharp pain hit me in my head.

Are you okay?

Yeah, I said, massaging my temples, trying to keep the pain away. He wasn’t drinking or driving. I think that he wanted to console me because I couldn’t find the man of my dreams.

Hmm, well why don’t you call him and together we’ll help you find this beautiful man.

What?! Hey, I’m not gay, lady! I blushed. I have nothing against gay people, but I like women, you know. Especially naked women… I trailed off, feeling uncomfortable. I looked around and realized we were both naked. Why are you talking about naked people?

I wasn’t, her voice took on a playful tone. But it sounds fascinating. Do you want to talk about it?

No! I feel myself blushing. I want to do the opposite!

‘Oh my God.’ I looked at her in panic and felt my nostrils flare. I want to erase those few seconds and start over.

Oh dear, she whispered teasingly. Don’t tell me my sisters are making you nervous? She pointed to her breasts.

As a matter of fact they are. I averted my gaze. Have you no shame?

Let me think about it… I looked back and saw her wrinkled forehead. Nope! I feel no shame whatsoever.

I automatically covered my private parts with both hands, looking for something to cover myself up, but found nothing. The bed had a mattress, but no sheets. Not even pillows. There was nothing to protect me from my nudity and this shameless woman.

She vaulted off the bed, nudged me in the ribs. What is bothering you?

Well, I don’t know... Maybe I’m a little bummed out that I’m naked and can’t remember my name! My voice was dripping with sarcasm. What do you remember before waking up?

Now her face looked frighteningly serious. She seemed to be thinking