Canary Cry

Prologue: Creation

Prologue: Creation

STAR CITY

1996

July 14, 01:13 PDT

It seemed like it was the hottest day of the year. The cloudless day plagued with sweltering rays of sun and little wind from the ocean, a rare occurrence. The heat persisting into the night, even as the sun sank below the horizon and gave the tired citizens a break from the blistering brightness of the day.

It had been a busy day for Star City General, the ER staff was on their last legs after too many patients and not enough sleep. All but one nurse, who seemed to be invigorated by her job and it's brutal double shifts. Older, her dark hair greying maturely and complimenting the kind warmth to her coffee eyes and smile lines. You could tell from looking at her she had lived a happy life full of joy and laughter.

"Charlotte" Her name tag read, Nurse Practitioner, she'd insist you call her Lottie.

Her ears perked up at a cry heard from what seemed far away yet much closer than you'd think. Following the faint sound through the waiting room of the ER, watching the ambulances come and go as she stepped outside. Hearing the cry again. This time louder and holding a piercing kind of note that rung out and echoed by it's on volition. Begging to be heard. To be found.

Hidden in the bushes, the cry could be found. Lottie pushing aside the harsh leaves and taking the beautiful baby girl. Tears rolling down her little cheeks from a big set of silvery blue eyes, no more than a few hours old and swinging her fists as another powerful cry left her lungs.

"Oh, oh, oh, it's okay sweet thing. It's okay. You're safe now. Who left you here huh?" Lottie gently cradled the still blood covered infant, the blanket she was wrapped in that of high quality and caused confusion in the nurse. But she pushed it down to focus on the little girl in her arms. The babe calmed almost instantly as soon as the nurse started to bounce her, Lottie walking back to the ER doors with subtle glances around the area. The list of tests and phone calls she'd have to make already compiling in her head.

A head of blonde hair, covered by a black hood, whipped around the stone collem not even twenty feet away. The teenager's face youthful, clammy, and pale. She couldn't be older than seventeen. Exhausted but relieved, her cerulean blue eyes fluttered shut as a heavy breath pushed past her chapped lips. A siren from an ambulance startled her, the blonde rushing away as soon as she saw her daughter be carried inside by the nurse.

The baby girl, affectionately nicknamed Janie Doe, spent the first three months of her life in that hospital.

"They still haven't given her a name?" A nurse, younger than Lottie but just as kind asked, interjecting a smile between her words as she let her wandering eyes bounce between the ER nurse who had been a frequent flyer in the nursery and the infant she carried. Lottie bouncing Janie Doe and cooing down at her, the infant acting as a surrogate for her long forgotten dreams of having children of her own.

"No, not yet. There's a family lined up to adopt. They came to see her yesterday; it's looking like a real solid placement." As Lottie spoke, her voice seemed to forget it was conveying good news. Her bouncing slowly coming to a stop, her smile turning somber pulling soft gurgles from little Janie Doe. The infant only months old but not liking the turn of the older woman's eyes.

"It's for the best Lottie." The younger nurse walked over and placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. Janie Doe squirming in Lottie's arms, her little face scrunching up as her small hand came up to hit her ear.