Who am I?

"What are you doing?" The person next to me asked. I just woke up on a park bench in a strange place. Where the fuck am I? I look around. There are trees, and bushes, and over the trees are towering skyscrapers. Maybe Benjing? New York? Oh! I'm in London. There's Big Ben. How the fuck do I know that?

"Uh. Hello? Can you hear me?" A hand waved in front of my face. 

"Oh, sorry really. Hello Elle. This is London right? Sorry, I'm a tad bit lost," I said to her. Her crystal blue eyes grew wide in fear.

"How the fuck do you know my name? And yes, this London," she sounded confused and worried. Her straight blonde hair was down to her shoulder-blades, approximately 20 inches. How the fuck do I know that? How do I know any of this? My mind is a stream of numbers and letters and code. What is happening? Lets see. What is 352x678? Hard, right? It's 238656. I pulled out my slim smart phone and checked my work. Damn, it was right. How is my mind like this? 

"Sir. Are you okay? What's your name?" Elle questioned, and her smoky, wobbly voice pulled me out of my mind. She was right up in my face. Elle's eyes sparkled and danced in the sunlight. Strings of her blonde hair hung in her face. God damn Elle's beautiful. Oh shit.. What is my name? Connor, no, John? Nah. Oh! I got a good name. Asa, or Otto. Palindrome. I love them. I think I'll choose Asa..

"Call me Asa," I answered. "I know you are going to ask why I know your name, and why I don't where I am exactly. I don't know either. I can't remember anything before today, including my name. I chose Asa. Don't know why, but I did." Elle paused a moment, almost like she's processing the information. Her eye's widened again.

She grabbed her bag, and started to stand up. "I'm sorry, I just remembered I have an appointment," Elle walked away. 

I stood up and grabbed her arm. "I know you don't have an appointment. You are lying. Really, I know. I still don't how. Please help me." Elle stopped walking and turned around.

"Come with me. I'll take you to my apartment, but you need to lose the clothes," she whispered. 

"Why?" I looked down at my clothes and frowned. I looked normal.

"I'll explain it to you when we get to my apartment." She turned on her heel, and I followed her. Am I a fugitive? No, I can't be. Am I part of a mad experiment? 

Elle picked up her pace, and I jogged to catch up with her. "Where do you live?" I pestered. She sighed and shook her head.

"I live on Baker Street." She turned right, then left, and we reached a ladder. "Follow me." Elle climbed up the ladder, and through the window. Sitting down her purse, she grabbed a shirt and a pair of pants.

"Put these on," she demanded, and I turned around and slipped off my shirt I had on. I had abs. And buff arms. I never had these before, right? I ruffled my hair. Slipping of my shoes, I pulled down my pants. I slipped on the other ones, and turned around. 

"Did you always have that tattoo?" Elle asked.

"What tattoo? Where?" I questioned.

"On the small of your back. It looks like a tree in a circle. Possibly Celtic," she replied. A Celtic circle with a tree. My mind is running through a few possibilities. Probably the Tree of Life. I wonder what it stands for. Maybe a company, or a personal meaning, not that I can find any. My mind pulled up a bunch of different companies and meanings. Immortality? No. I am not immortal. Smart? Yes. Immortal? No. What about the company Saol? Saol translates to life from Irish. Are they based in Ireland? I need to research this company.

"What do you know about Saol?" I ask Elle. She sat there silent. "Well? Do you know anything?" Elle sighed.

She stood up and in her wobbly voice spoke, "I know too much about them. My father-" Elle pauses. "My father is the founder of that wretched place. I- I remember you. I recently came here to London. But when I was younger, my father, Peter, used my mother, my aunt, and his sister as mothers to young children to try to make them the smartest people in the world, and immortal. I have no idea if he succeeded. I was a test subject. His favorite. I was one of the two people that were most likely immortal. He had tattoos on each person for how likely they are to be immortal and very intelligent. The plain circle was for someone who was most likely immortal and above average intelligence. The Celtic knot for intelligence was put on the ones who were smart, but most likely mortal. And the Celtic Tree of Life was put on the average ones. You are the other one like me. I- we can't let him find out we found each other. Or that I can do this." She stopped talking and walked towards me. Elle put her hands on my face.

"I won't hurt you. I promise," she told me as she closed her eyes and focused. My mind went blank. Memories came flooding at me like a tsunami at a city. The gray boring bedroom colored only by a screen. Young Elle with blonde, curly hair and bright blue eyes. Running on a treadmill to the point of exhaustion. Doing collage calculus with Elle, Felix, Mark, and Sean as an 8 year old. Trying to escape that gray, cold prison, to be stopped and taken back just to be tested on again. The nice woman with brown curly hair and kind green eyes. The old, hard man with the cold gray eyes. Elle. I remember her! I open my eyes. Elle calling to me. Saying Dan. My real name is Dan? Daniel!

"I remember you Elle. My name is Dan," I said in amazement. How the hell can she do that?

"Yea, I was going to tell you, but instead I decided to do this instead," she adjusted her jacket. "I- I mess with the mind. I can make you remember something and the forget it." I can even speak to people in their minds. I stumbled back at the sound of her voice in my mind.

"I- I don't think I can do anything like that," I told her.

"I'm sure you can. You might just not have discovered it yet." Elle smiled in encouragement. Behind you. My mind spoke in warning. I turned around and there was nobody there. Be cautious, it spoke again. I felt a breeze by my shoulder. I reached out where it was and felt a warm shoulder. I grabbed it a scream came out.

"Felix Julio Mendes. Stop it right now," Elle commanded him. A man our age appeared.

"Hello Elle. Daniel," he nodded curtly at me. "It's too late for you to escape this time."

"I'm sorry I have to do this," a voice said to me. "Mark?" was the last thing I said before I passed out.