The Night Tigress | Arrow [1]

Chapter 7: Looking Back

I opened my eyes, and took a deep breath. Gripping the zipper tightly, I unzipped the backpack that held so many memories for me. I reached in, and just pulled out the first thing I grabbed.

It was a framed picture, of me standing beside my best friend. Well, at least he was my former best friend. He's sort of dead now. In the picture, we were both smiling. That's rare for me these days. I've never actually smiled since his death, now that I think about it. I haven't trusted anyone either. I don't intend for that to change anytime soon.

I remember the first time we met... and, there we have it folks. My mind's drifting off again into the void of my past. I can tell that I'm about to have a flashback, as I've had many before. Here we go.

Third-Person POV:

Shade sat in her cold, dark cell. She was just sitting on the cement, as the captives didn't bother to give her a cot, even though the other prisoners had them. She didn't take up much space, so her cell was also significantly smaller than the others.

This was shortly after the time when she was injected with that strange cat serum. Not all of her powers had developed yet, but even if they did, they wouldn't work right now. The years of experimentation that Shade had to endure took a toll on her.

Her senses were dulled. She barely spoke a word. She barely had the motivation to move. She could barely even remember her own name.

A guard walked over to the cage beside her, and threw a boy in. The guard closed the door and locked it, the boy whimpering in fear.

"Omega-Alpha, teach this brat how to behave." The guard ordered the girl, walking away shortly after.

Shade looked at the boy through the bars. He looked back. For some reason, she felt bad for this boy. He looked to be around her age, and reminded her of herself when she first came here.

"What is this place? Why am I here?" The boy asked, sniffling.

"Hell. That's what this place is. You're here because the scientists intend to experiment on you. Turn you into a weapon for their benefit." Shade explained.

"They've already experimented on me." The boy replied.

"Then, they'll experiment on you more." Shade said.

"Who are you, even? How did you get here?" The boy asked, in a slightly curious tone.

"The scientists call me Omega-Alpha. My real name is Shade. But no one calls me that anymore. Not even myself. Ivo and his men kidnapped me. That's how I ended up here."

"I'm Kai..." the boy said in almost a whisper.

There were a few moments of silence before the boy spoke again.

"Maybe... maybe we could keep each other company?" Kai asked.

"You mean we could be friends?" Shade asked in a confused tone.

She'd never had a friend before.

"Yeah... friends..." Kai said, looking up at Shade with a flicker of hope in his eyes.

Willow's POV:

Yeah, Kai had hope. He actually believed in me. He really shouldn't have, though. He probably wouldn't have, if he'd only known that it would cost him his life.

I glanced at the picture for a few more minutes, until I decided to stand up and put it on my dresser. I walked back to where I was sitting, and sat back down.