Her Amber Eyes: The Failure. (Discontinued.)

Chapter Three: Memories.

I sat with my parents in the living room, their faces streaked with worry. They only told me that they had something to tell me and to come back home at five o'clock. 

My mom took a deep breath and started talking. "Adaria, there is no way to sugarcoat this, so I'm just gonna come out and say it. Me and your father are part of a secret organization called F.E.A.R, which means Find, Eliminate, and Retrieve."

She paused for a second, studying my reaction. When I burst out laughing, her eyebrows creased up with worry. I smacked my thigh and managed to gasp, "I know!"

"W-what?" my father exclaimed.

I calmed myself and looked at them, "I have known for a while. Like, years. You guys had gotten back from 'your vacation in Europe' and you left a pile of papers on the table that talked about your mission and about F.E.A.R. I am not dumb." I grabbed both of their hands, "I am so proud of what you guys do. You protect the innocent and destroy the evil."

My mom gave a breathless laugh, and soon everyone was laughing until we couldn't breathe. My mom grabbed my shoulder and said, finally composed, "Wow, I didn't see that coming. Okay, now that we got that out of the way, there is one more thing you should know." She looked at my father, who nodded.

"You're a Shifter."

This caught me off-guard. A Shifter? I've heard of them, thieves and criminals that are able to shift to the Other Realm using shadows. The stories say that all they have to do is stand in a shadow, and a bunch of hands pop out of nowhere and suck them into the Other Realm. That's why they are so dangerous, all they need is a shadow. No matter where they are, they can always Shift. Especially at night. Since the night is caused by the shadow of the Sun casting light, they are so much more powerful at night than day. And on nights when the moon did not cast it's dim but protective light on the land, it was said that no matter where you were, you could hear the blood-chilling screams of the innocent lives being taken. They are feared by everyone because wherever there is light, there is a shadow.

"Are... Are you sure?" I whispered. My father pulled me into a hug.

"I know you're scared, but there is a place that can teach you to use it for good. Remember F.E.A.R? They can help you."

I swallowed nervously, "How do you know I am not bad, like the past Shifters?"
My mother smiled at me and sighed. "My love," she said, "the past Shifters grew up in a world of violence and murder. In their world, it's kill or be killed. Your father and I raised a strong woman, who knows what's right and what's wrong."

She cupped my cheek with her hand. "F.E.A.R isn't all that bad. I promise. Besides, you might make some friends!"

I opened my mouth to argue that I have friends, when she held a finger up to my lips and stated matter-of-factly, "Darri, Cielo doesn't count as a friend."

I groaned, but my father chuckled, "To be honest, Rose, I don't see how Cielo isn't a friend."

I burst out laughing but my mother's gaze was trained on me, her milk chocolate eyes slowly turning to a burning amber. I turned to look at my father, but the same thing had happened to him. 

"Adaria, wake up." I reached out to grab my mother's hand, but she crumbled at my touch.

"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake -"

~

I opened my eyes to an annoyed looking Agent Jones.

"Good," he muttered, "she's awake."