"I believed in love once. Or at least I thought I did."
*
Athena's bare feet made very little slapping sounds in the abandoned corridor. She had never fancied shoes much.
She slipped her fingers through her fiery red hair, pushing it into a simple pony tail. Her dreams had encased her mind, bringing her a worried feeling in the deepest pit of her stomach. Dreams of a slowly burning world, one that was not the one she had believed in for so long.
Her fingers caressed the books on the shelves; Tom Sawyer, Moby Dick, Little Women. Her favorites in a just a small section of the massive library her parents owned. But the nagging feeling in her heart lead her to believe deeply that these weren't truly her parents; she had no proof that even she was even who herself was believed to be all her life.
She pulled out Alice in Wonderland, one of her most favorite books. She had read it so many times each curl of the letters and wording of the delicate sentences had become part of her very soul.
A hum of low voices entered the room, echoing hauntingly through Athena's ears. She instinctively twirled herself around a bookcase, hiding her presence.
"We must tell her, Charles." The woman's voice was strained and painted with concern.
"You know it will just endanger her more." The man replied, slumping into a chair behind his massive desk.
"She already knows something, the memory potion has no effect on her anymore. Dammit Charles, look at me." Athena had never heard her mothers Irish accent so think and demanding. Nor had she ever heard it so pleading for her husbands attention.
He seemed to be just as surprised. "She senses things are amiss, I know. I can tell." He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he did when he was stressed about work.
"We have to tell her. Before we're gone. There will be a time when they find us. When we won't be able to hide."
"Martha, dear." Charles stood, walking to his wife. His fingers wrapped themselves around Martha's cheeks, brushing away a stranded tear.
"We will tell her. But remember once we do, there will be no going back." His voice was more gentle than you would except, as if it was caressing her worries away. Athena dropped her book, causing her father to turn towards the darkness.
"Who is there?" He demanded, and athena reluctantly walked out of the shadows, her dark green nightgown hanging loosely and unflattering on her small figure.
"Tell me what, father?" Her face was red as she tried to hold back the stinging tears of utter confusion.
A bang sounded above them; her mother screeching in terror.
"They've found us! Athena run!" Her mothers motioning towards her to run was all in a blur as the ceiling crashed above her. A small pink light formed from a bookshelf, producing a small group of unfamiliar, but oddly familiar, people. Swords clashed with those that had barged in from the roof and a pair of hands caught Athena's shaking shoulders.
A boy, the same age as Athena, looked at her with grief, as if he had hoped for a better reaction to his presence than her punching him.
"Athena!" Her father cried.
"Go with him! You must trust him, and only him!"
She shook her head and watched as her father collapsed onto the ground, making a gurgling sound. The strong arms caught her again, this time she fell into them, not knowing what was happening in front of her. She fell backwards into the pink light, and everything went black.
