Waiting for Amber Skyy

Chapter 22

I don't know how long I cried, but I assumed it was pretty long because now there was a layer of ashes under the fire. My body was on its side and curled against the ground as I stared at the crackling fire. I sniffed, and noticed movement just across from me. Speck was crouched on her feet, knees up and hugging them, also staring into the flames. Her cheeks glistened from the light.

At first I didn't want to move, but as soon as I adjusted my position she perked up, "I never meant to hurt you."

We exchanged a good look between ourselves before she turned her attention back to the fire. "I never wanted to be like them, or be picked to be part of them," she buried her face into her knees. "I'm sorry, they raised me to be like them. I couldn't say no."

She squeezed her legs as I adjusted myself to a sitting position. I looked at her small frame, her gear, everything; she was right. A normal army wouldn't recruit a girl at her age, or any small kid for that matter. Yet here she was.

I sighed, wiping my tear stained cheeks, "I know."

She glanced up at me and we exchanged glances again.

"I'm sorry for yelling, I-" I paused, trying to think of the best way to say this. "I just want answers."

I tilted my head back to stare at the stars between the branches. "Up until now, I thought my life was perfect. But apparently it was all set up." I grabbed the dirt and closed my eyes, trying not to think too much into it. Just thinking about how much my parents forced me into this life made my stomach churn.

"Nobody's life is perfect, Amber," she pointed out behind her legs.

"I know that," I bit back a little too harshly, making her jump. I took a deep sigh to calm down. "But not everybody has a destiny to be turned into this." I glanced down at myself. I had a tail, scales, furry ears, and freakishly large wings.

"I did," she mumbled, which I could hear just barely over the crackling of the fire. "I'm a test tube baby. They created me there. I can't change that." She hugged her knees tighter and my heart sank. She was in pain, and it was radiating off her.

Her head popped up when I brought her into a hug, sitting inches away from her and holding her as close as possible. She sniffed and returned it, her skinny arms wrapping around me. We held each other for a while before I said, "You can change that, Speck."

She looked up at me with big eyes. I gently smiled and brushed some hair out of her face, "Yeah you were created by them, but that doesn't mean you have to be like them. You shape your own destiny." Once I said that, a memory flashed in my mind back when I was first starting high school. I was so nervous, moving to a new place and all. I was asking my "parents" what I should do later in life. Their response was what I just said.

Speck sniffed and squeezed me one last time before pulling away, staring at the fire again. Crap, did I say something wrong? If only I had the ability to read minds...

"ITex was planning on making new guards," she spoke. I raised an eyebrow at her and she replied while rolling her eyes, "You said you wanted answers. I can tell you what I know."