"Just let me go! I promise I won't tell anyone!" The six year old had tears streaming down her porcelain skin. The men chuckled and gripped her frail arms tighter. The girl thrashed around; trying to break free. The men threw her onto a metal table. Her head collided with the edge of the table. Blood steadily leaked out of a deep cut on her forehead. The men strapped her down and left without a word. Shivering, the young girl tried to find a way to escape. She couldn't think straight with the injury on her head. Finally, after much protest, she passed out.
The teen bolted upright in the make-shift bed; covered head to toe in sweat. She lightly pushed through her hair with trembling fingers. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was almost two-thirty in the morning. There's no way I'm going to be able to go back to sleep. I wonder if anyone else is awake, the girl pondered as she got up from the bed. She went to reach for an ebony hair band with her left hand, but pulled back; wincing. The teen sighed and looked towards her shoulder. Her whole upper torso was wrapped in layers of medical tape. Her shoulder was heavily bandaged. She walked towards the door, no longer caring about getting her hair band. She twisted the steel knob and stepped into the cool hallway. As she walked, she wondered if she would ever get out of the military base. She didn't think she needed as much protection as they seemed to think she did. She shuddered as one particular thought crossed her mind. What if they did find her? Would she be able to fight back or would they drug her again? She cut off all thinking as she wandered into the lit kitchen.
"I figured you would be here sooner or later. Have another nightmare?" The girl jumped and spun around. Leaning against the doorway was the one and only Detective Morgan. She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.
'You scared me' she signed towards him.
"Still not talkin'? You know you've got to talk to someone sooner or later. You can't just hold everything inside. It's not healthy," Dec.Morgan stated as he sauntered over to the cabinet. The girl just shook her head and plopped down onto one of the many island stools.
"You know," he paused, "I still don't know your name." He stole a glance towards the girl and saw her leaning her head on the cool counter top.
"Would you mind if I gave you a name?" Morgan asked as he walked over to the microwave, carrying a bag of popcorn in his right hand. The girl shook her head and signaled for him to continue.
"How 'bout Cassandra?" The girl shook her head no.
"Elizabeth?" She shook her head again.
"Ummm...... Alexandria?" She made a face at this, making the man chuckle lightly.
"Oh, I have the perfect name! Shadow!" The girl's eyes became a shade lighter as she nodded her head eagerly.
"From now on you shall be called Shadow." The microwave beeped causing both to jump. Morgan turned and pulled out the popcorn; forgetting to let it cool. He dropped it with a yelp.
"You do realize you're supposed to let it cool before you pick it up, right?" Both locked gazes, stunned. The girl quickly slapped her right hand over her mouth and stared wide-eyed at Morgan. He wasn't much help for his jaw was touching the ground.
"Y-you talked?!" He shouted. All you could hear was thundering footsteps coming down the staircase and heading in the direction of the kitchen. At least ten men toppled into the room and stared at the girl wide-eyed.
"Did we just hear Morgan say you talked?" Agent Kiel questioned, stunned. The girl simply nodded. Everyone in the room high-fived each other. The teen just sat in silence once more. She was trying to make sense of it all. Had she actually talked? Was it all another hallucination? If it was a hallucination, than why did Detective Morgan hear me? She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't realize the room had gone silent. She glanced up. Every man in the room was staring at her. She cocked her head to the left in a confused fashion.
"We asked, 'can you say something else?'" She stole a glance towards Morgan. He smiled and nodded encouragingly. She sighed and shook her head. Anybody else would have pestered her until she spoke, but these men knew only a fraction of what she had gone through. They didn't want to push her too much, for they feared she would break if they did. They nodded in understanding and trudged back to their rooms. Morgan handed the girl a bowl of buttered popcorn and sat beside her. Out of all of the men at the base, the girl was closest to Morgan. She sighed and started to nibble on the popcorn.
"Do you want to talk 'bout it sweetheart," she sighed but nodded.
'I had the same one as I've been having for three days now. It's me, well a younger version of me, maybe five or six. Two men were dragging me down a hallway. They threw me onto a metal table and strapped me down. After that, they just left. I woke up after that' the girl finished signing her story and looked towards Morgan. He just gave a pitiful smile and tousled her hair.
"It's ok now. Hey, I have some good news for you if you're up for it," the girl nodded for him to continue.
"We found a family who is more than willing to take you in. Plus it's a good distance from here." The girl's eyes grew large and three shades lighter. Morgan smiled towards the girl. The only way he could read her emotions was by the shade of her eyes and the size. He stood and walked over to a pile of letters. He grabbed the yellow-tinted letter and walked back towards the girl. He handed the letter to her. She took it with shaky hands. She stared at him for a while, wondering whether or not she should open it. Morgan nodded and placed a calming hand on her right shoulder; careful not to hurt her. Trembling slightly, the teen opened the envelope and pulled the letter out slowly.
It read:
Detective Morgan,
We would be delighted to take in the girl you spoke of. My son and I have discussed it and we think it would be amazing to have a new sister/daughter. You may bring her over whenever she is ready. Please inform her that she will be going to school with my son when she is ready. We have a room prepared and we shall be the family that she never had. We hope to be seeing you and her soon.
Sincerely,
Mr.Souh
The teen re-read the letter, and read it again. She read it for the fourth time. It finally sank in. She was finally going to have the family that she never had. She turned towards Detective Morgan.
"Thank you," she whispered. Morgan encircled his arms around her and held her in a fatherly fashion. She stiffened up for a little bit, but then relaxed into his arms. He smiled as he felt her drifting off into a peaceful sleep. He swept her into his arms bridal-style and carried her to her room. As he tucked her in, he suddenly was overcome with guilt. He had drugged her popcorn with a sedative while she wasn't looking. He couldn't stand seeing the black bruises under her eyes and her pale, almost ghost like, appearance. He knew that he would be in trouble once she woke up, but he didn't care. He did what was best for her. Morgan walked out of the girl's (whom he now thought of as Shadow) room. He made it back to his room and immediately collapsed on top of the bed. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.
