The Void

7

7
A Girl with Green Eyes

Against the locker, he feels himself come back to life. His head shifts against the hard surface, and a sharp pain makes itself present. Coddling his forehead, he pulls his knees closer to his chest and leans forward. A mild groan leaves him, the deep ache in his brain throbbing as if kneaded by an angry baker.

The moments with his sister linger in his mind, and with it a familiar anger and protective instinct. For the moment, he forgets his predicament.

"Jessica..." he murmurs, feeling his sister's body leave his embrace.

A handgun's blast echoes in his thoughts, and his body flinches. The memory with his sister dissipates, blackening like a burning photograph. Flashes of the violent, cloaked men donning wolf masks triggers another quick reflex.

Like a man falling in a dream, he yelps out in panic, arms and legs flailing outward in fear of the impact. His eyes shoot open and find a nervous young girl sitting just a few feet from him. Her eyes mimic his own shock in that moment but soon settle as he does. With crossed legs, she perches her hands against her ankles and beams a wide smile that seems to brighten the dim room.

"Hi, sir!" she cheers, leaning in a little closer, "I'm so happy you're okay! You were, um, sleeping for, like, a kinda long time..."

Confused, his eyes scan the area around her as he rationalizes everything. He is back in the nightmare; back in the dark, quiet space of the security office's break room, and with the dead body of his slain assailant. And now for some reason, there is a young girl, no older than eight years, in the room with him.

"Uhh... Hi..." he mutters.

She giggles, bashfully recoiling behind her small hands. Looking him over, her big eyes gleam in the dull light like delicate porcelain jewelry.

"Wow, sir! Um, you look just like my daddy! Did you know that??" she asks, crawling closer his way.

"Uh, no, hon. How could I know that?" he replies, crossing his legs and sitting up.

"Oh, uh, I dunno. But daddy is super cool. You look like him, sir. So you must be, um, like, pretty cool too, huh?" she stammers with a blissful smile.

Her voice is light and charming, and he is unable to hold back a smile. Doing his best to be covert, he slides the handgun behind him while keeping his attention on her.

"Uh, yeah... I'm pretty cool" he says with a low chuckle, "Say, hon, where're your parents? What're you doing here?"

Her happy face falls, looking as if he had just reminded her of something upsetting. Seeing her a tad distracted, he quickly shoves the gun into his satchel.

"My parents... I was just with them... Or, uh... I think I was?" she says, pawing at the ends of her hair, "Oh, no... I don't know, sir! I don't remember what happened! All of a sudden, I was here, in this big dark place all by myself... I came in here because the light came on... then I saw the vending machine, a-and it had orange soda. I wanted to b-buy one, but I only have three quarters, so, so, uh..."

He nods along as Micaela details her actions. Her stammering worsens, every other word trying to start before her frantic mind can catch up. Reaching out, he rests his hand on her shoulder.

"Shh, shh... it's okay, hon. You're not alone anymore..." he soothes, giving her shoulder a rub. "Tell me what happened next? Where did you go after you couldn't buy your soda?"

"Uh... I left and walked that way," she says, pointing out the direction towards the parking garage, "a-and I found this big blue room with lots of windows. It was so scary, sir! I heard yelling, and then a loud BANG!"